Day 25 Olivebridge New York

It's hard to believe that we are leaving for Westport tomorrow. It has been such a relaxing week hanging out with Matt's sister and her family. The first day was a little rough: I think my body was use to 75 miles per hour, and the stillness and quiet made me feel a little stir crazy. But by Tuesday I was finally able to relax, to breathe and just be. What did we do this week? Not much, and it was wonderful. Becky (Matt's sister) and I played with the kids, Dora and I walked down to the hen house to count cacoons and eggs, we threw rocks in the creek and caught pretend fish, we ate lots of snacks, took naps and generally just hung out. It was a very nice transition from the driving part of our summer to the being still part of our trip.

So Sebastian is in love with the dogs. The past few days he just can't get enough: he pets them, he chases them around, and best of all, he gives them kisses. On their necks, on their backs, on their wet noses. I think that Dora is continuing to recover from her experiences with Titus (no offense Dana and John! I didn't prepare her very well), and she will touch the dogs and tell them what to do (she is the big sister), but she hasn't got to the affectionate stage yet. I'm thankful that we have another 7 weeks around dogs, and I'm hoping that the dogs at our place in Westport are somewhat tolerant of small children.

Highlights of our time in Olivebridge: watching Sebastian walk a circle through the house, playing scrabble with Becky and Jimmy (oh the sack talk!), Wyatt's big grin and they way he gazes adoringly at Dora and Sebastian, going to Becky's softball game ("check out the arm on that outfielder!"), riding in what Dora calls the "rocket" (their lifted Excursion), the rooster, and of course, John and Lena (the dogs).