There is an ancient Chinese belief which states that there is an invisible red thread that connects each of us to all of the individuals who have been, currently are, and will in the future be important to us in our lives.
This red thread can stretch, twist, and bend… but will never break.
My friend was getting married, and Katie was so excited to go to the wedding on the beach. In addition to the excitement of a wedding, she was going to get to spend time with some friends she hadn't seen for awhile. What could be better?
The wedding was taking place close to this cave. Before it started, Kyla and I decided to play Hide and Seek. Can you find me?
Kyla found me!
Soon, Harper joined in for the fun.
When the wedding was about to start, Kyla and I decided to really enjoy the beach towels that we got to sit on for the wedding.
I had forgotten how much I love spending time with Kyla.
Harper came over for awhile and then went to sit with her mom.
We had enough time to play on all of the towels before the wedding.
Before we headed to lunch, Kyla and I wanted to take a picture in front of the cave.
While the adults socialized, Kyla and I entertained Sprinkles. We loved her!
The lunch was delicious!
We decided that we could just live at this beach house all the time!
Before saying good-bye to Kyla, we did a dancing routine with umbrellas.
After we left the wedding party, my mom took me back to the beach, so I could do some digging and playing.
Katie always enjoys spending time with Jennifer, especially when they can play games together. On this night, Jennifer was teaching Katie how to play a game on her Kindle.
With Katie's interest in presidents, of course the upcoming election has captured her interest. I try not to let any of my feelings sway her one way or the other. I just try to be neutral about all of the candidates and let her be excited. However, I couldn't hold my tongue for long when she became convinced that Donald Trump would be the next president. At first I thought, "I'll just let her be excited even though I secretly don't have any respect for Donald Trump - presidential candidate or not." After a couple of weeks though, I had to explain, "I don't want Donald Trump to be our next president. He's not a very nice man."
Katie, in her thoughtful way, continued to let this statement meander in her head. She knew I didn't want Trump for a president, but she was still pretty sure that he was a good guy. I didn't try to discourage her any more than that. Then, Donald Trump sunk his own ship with Katie. She saw a clip of him on TV, showing his childish behavior - name calling and making fun of people. Well, Katie was incensed! No longer did she think he belonged in the presidential role. In fact, she was downright angry at him.
A few weeks into Katie's change in attitude, I asked Katie what she would write to Donald Trump if she were to write him a letter. She responded, "I don't want to write to him because he's a mean man, and he scares me." I explained that he would probably be nice to Katie if she met him in person. When she had that reassurance, she told me that she would write this letter.
Dear Donald Trump,
Why are you so mean? Why do you call people names? I'm not allowed to call people names. We even learn about it at school. You should come to my school to learn how to be nice to people. If you learn, you might even get some friends. When you use mean words, it isn't pleasant. I think the job you want is important, but you should be a nice person before you have it.
Love,
Katie
In the midst of all of this, Katie has still been enthralled in learning about the presidents. As I've mentioned, she has always liked naming the presidents in order. Recently, she also learned a presidents song. Once she learned it, she added on her own special ending.
With Katie around, we couldn't just acknowledge that a year had passed since Bailey was born and go on with our day. A whole party had to be planned with cake, gifts, special dresses and entertainment.
I wore a special dress for Bailey's birthday and I picked out the perfect cake for the occasion that said, "Happy Easter."
I knew Bailey would sparkle in her new silver collar.
I also found a dress for Bailey.
My mom said Bailey would have to share her dress with Sophie on her birthday, but I'm not sure about that.
I liked that her dress said, "It's my bark day!"
After dinner and gifts, I changed into a performance gown.
I had to practice my introduction to "Party, Dog, Party" a few times before I was ready to go.
When Katie heard that it was almost Bailey's birthday, so was very excited and started making plans right away. One of her plans was to dance and sing for her dog. She made up a song called, "Party, Dog, Party."
It always warms my heart a little every time I see Katie spending time with her books. She does it a lot, and yet, I never get tired of it. Maybe it's the teacher side of me.
One afternoon, I looked over, and Katie had locked herself in a dog kennel again with Bailey. While Bailey enjoyed her chew bone, Katie provided entertainment by reading Aladdin.
