And then there were five

Last night, my brother and his three kids came over for a whirlwind visit. The "kids" - Emme, Ry-Guy and Toby - were the whirlwind. Coffee cups were almost knocked over, toys were fought over and upstairs off-limits rooms were explored. Oh, and I now have a new air conditioning system thanks to Kao. Yes, he put his entire head through the front screen door.

He was excited to see his cousins, and especially to see Toby and his full-body afro. Now before you get a visual in your head, let me explain that Toby is my brother's 8-month-old Labradoodle, who would look so cool with a mohawk that I am trying to convince my brother that I should give him one.





Toby is coming for the weekend, a sort of extended play date while my brother, sis-in-law and the kids are at a weekend-long baseball tournament in Amherst, NY. They left this morning, with me in charge of picking up the mutt at the end of my work day. It will be chaos for the remainder of the weekend as both boys love jumping, boxing and barking. Toby does most of the barking, but Kao howls at his rubber chicken and when he thinks we're not listening to him.

Chou is on reprieve for the night. His excuse... I mean reason: a baseball game. It's his regular team so I have no cause for complaint. Only I will be the one to chase both dogs through the house as Toby explores every nook and cranny while Kao follows wondering where he can find his next pair of underwear. He considers it a delicacy, especially when they're mine.

A few dozen dog park visits are in order, I think. It will give me a little bit of a break and the boys will hopefully let off some steam before we venture back to the house of breakables, Bella and bells (cowbells).

The weekend, bloggers, has gone to the dogs. Bella is going to have a heart attack. Either that, or she'll pack her bags and start hitchhiking to the next town.