Saturday at the Beach with the Kids and the Dog (More Pictures)

My heart swelled with love Saturday afternoon. I watched this scene before me, a dad and his kids and their dog splashing and playing in the water with extreme pride for what I get to be a part of. My "weekend" son came running up to me, tentatively asking me to hold something of his so he didn't drop it in the water. "Naomi? Can you hold this for me?" he asked, not sure if that was something I would do. "Sure! Of course!" I responded, so thankful that he is finally coming around and letting me do some of the "mom" things. Daughter has let me do these things for quite some time, but the new development with her was a request for me to tuck her in and give her a hug goodnight Friday night. Perhaps she would have asked Dad to do it had he not already fallen fast asleep. Perhaps she would have gone without in the past. But not this time. This time when I asked my usual, "Is there anything else you need before the lights go out?" she responded by nodding her head and opening up her arms to me. "A hug?" I asked. "Yes, please," was her response. It melted my heart.

And yes, I know these are not my kids. They already have a mom, and by the sounds of it she's a great one. I wouldn't want to steal that privilege away from her, nor am I foolish enough to think that could even be a possibility (the mom you get is the mom you are attached to and that's just how it works). But I get to be in these two young people's lives, and I get to help make their world feel safe and stable and help them learn and figure things out and deal with things. I get to be an influence. I get to be a part of their lives and development. It's a huge responsibility, and it's a huge honor.





Kaya stole my hat again (a different one this time); she sure looks good in hats:






Mike calls the kids over to play with Baby in the water:

Woofstock (pictures by Kaya W. and Naomi C.)

Pictures by Naomi:

We entered Baby into a "Best Trick" contest after Mike and the kids spent no more than 24 hours teaching her how to jump through a hoop.

The stage area where the contests are going to take place:


Waiting for our turn in the contest:






The trick:


Waiting for the results:


Baby didn't win, but she should have! A lot of people came up to us and said she should have won, and her applause was by far the loudest. I think the judges knew one of the other contestants or something.

So, the kids wanted to buy her a shirt for being such a good sport. This is what they picked out:





We went to the car to eat some snacks, and play with the dog before it was time for me to start my volunteer shift.

Kaya humoring me:


The rest of the pictures are by Kaya:

Me with my volunteer backstage pass:

(My shirt says "Classy Lassie," and I think it was perfect for an event such as Woofstock.)

These are my favorite pictures, all of which Kaya took, of Mike and Baby playing:







































Now Baby gets to rest a bit:








And now Baby gets to do her favorite pastime, which is climbing trees:




Kaya's a very good photographer, don't you think?

I have a video too of the kids and Mike practicing in the driveway with Baby and the hoop (tire) that she jumps through, but I can't get it to upload to YouTube. I will continue trying and hopefully post that too, as live and in action is really the way to see this trick. I still think Kaya did an excellent job catching the essence of it on film though. It's really neat to see the kids be so proud of their dog.

I declare Woofstock a total success. It was so cool to see all the dogs interact with one another, to see proud owners parade their dogs around and to talk to other dog owners about the wonders that is owning a dog.