Clap Clap Clap!

Look what Zen learned how to do! He's so pleased with himself!

Zion's Hair, before and after

Sam persuaded Zion to have some of his curls chopped.

Happy 9 month birthday, Zen!

Zen was 9 months old yesterday. As you can see in this picture, he's sporting his first tooth, with the second one right behind it. We celebrated his birthday with a trip to church, (where he loves going into the nursery and watching all the other kids) and a walk by the lake. Zen adores Zion and Zion's best friend, Ben. They love to make him laugh and push him on the swing. He also loves Jedi--he follows her around the house, plays in her water bowl, chews on her tail, and steals her ball. Jedi is very patient with all of this, and she's a great help at cleaning up the cheerios, crackers, and other things that get flung off of the high chair.

Korean Students Home Stay

We hosted Chung Hyun and Sung Hun, 7th graders from Korea, for the weekend. I have been tutoring the boys during their 6 week visit to the United States. Some of our activities included swimming at the local water park, taking in a farm team baseball game and fireworks, meeting family members and mingling with neighbors, and playing Wii. I was proud of the boys for overcoming their fear of 80-lb Jedi--by the end of their stay, they were even calling her over to play. They never did get quite as comfortable with Zen, however. This was clear on Saturday morning. As Sam and I prepared breakfast, I wondered about the source of the sounds of dismay coming from the living room, and went to check. Zen was happily pounding and drooling on Sung Hun's foot as the poor lad froze, not quite sure what to do about the situation. Terror tot! :-)

Jedi's Camp Diary

i have seen heaven, and it's in northern michigan! i wasn't sure what i was getting into when they stuffed me into that minivan with the 2 babies, 2 9-year olds, the 2 moms, and all their stuff. i barely had enough room to turn around, but i decided that i liked my place in the car after jake started dropping crackers on the floor. the car ride was long and cranky, but when they finally opened the door to let me out into the clear air of the north woods--paradise! of course i found the lake right away. i zoomed in and out, in and out, hardly daring to believe no one tried to stop me! the rest of the week was filled with swimming, sleeping, and gathering love and admiration from all of the humans as they remarked about what a good dog i am (well, i really am). i made friends with a border collie pup named keiko, supervised hikes, inspected fishing expeditions, and accompanied my family on kayaking treks. i just can't wait to go back to covenant point next year!

Covenant Point