A Long Weekend

I have had a nice long weekend and it has been really good for me to take a couple extra days off work and spend the time with family. Saturday, we went over and helped our friends Eric & Joanne move. I love to help people move. It is a great time to get to know people better and there isn’t much more that brings people together than lifting heavy furniture together. It is true! … Good times, good times. Moving house is a real test to your Christian faith. Sarah even came and helped – such a good sport!
Afterward, I called Jen and asked if Sarah and I could come over for a Girls Night and watch a movie. She got so excited and told us that she would see us soon but almost hung up without telling me what time she wanted us to head over. She laughed and laughed at herself. Jen also knows what it means to be a good host. She talked Dave into cooking a fabulous meal, provided us with a fun movie series she recorded from PBS called Cranford (if you like Jane Austin – you will like this series which takes place in England during the 1800s. Take a look and Netflix it! I checked and they offer it for rent http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/cranford/index.html ), provided some Bugles and most importantly – chocolate! What Girls Night is complete without chocolate?
Sunday, Sarah & I agreed to watch Ethan for a couple of hours. Ethan was so cute when he met Cocoa for the first time. He kept saying, “Dog, Dog, Dog! COCOA!”
Today, we all met up with Dave, Jen, & Ethan for a hike to Shellburg Falls which is a hidden jewel just 5 minutes from the Evans’ home. So fun to be hiking with a group. Ethan loved every minute of it too. We reached the falls and Ethan exclaimed, “Ohhhh!” He said what we were all thinking! It was breathtaking. The water mist felt good too after the warm walk up hill.
We again brought Cocoa along for the hike. Some great news about Cocoa - her progress has been so rewarding to see. The last couple of days she has been acting like a normal young min pin – happy wagging her tail and getting excited. This morning shows the most improvement. She is wagging her tail, eating and drinking her food with excitement and no fear of others taking it away, she started hiding her dog bones to retrieve later, and she is licking our hands and faces when she is happy to see us. The structured walks have helped a lot. Josh has even taken her to walk in the mall and she has even done well when kids approach. Her self esteem has been much more improved and her head & tail has started to lift up. She prefers going everywhere with us, traveling in the car and investigating the surrounding once we have arrived.
The best fun is watching Coco get her bath. She had her second bath yesterday, after the hike in Portland. We wash her in our enclosed shower with several pitchers of water. She got a good rub/massage and then Josh even held her and turned the shower head on and rinsed her that way too. She seemed to even like it! She then lets us brush her and she lays in her bed content and falls asleep. At times she even snores! She knows who the pack leader is though and will almost do anything Josh asks and follows Josh everywhere. Although we are spoiling her with love, we are putting it in perspective with exercise, discipline, and then affection. Josh trains well and has gotten a few tips from The Dog Whisper – mostly in order to train me to do the right thing.
Well, tomorrow I am back to work – but at least I get another short week next week for Independence Day!