A Boy and His Dog

I just love this picture of Jack and his best girl Dixie.  She is such a blessing in our lives.

A Boy and His Dog
Edgar Guest 

A boy and his dog make a glorious pair:
No better friendship is found anywhere,
For they talk and they walk and they run and they play,
And they have their deep secrets for many a day;
And that boy has a comrade who thinks and who feels,
Who walks down the road with a dog at his heels.

He may go where he will and his dog will be there,
May revel in mud and his dog will not care;
Faithful she'll stay for the slightest command
And bark with delight at the touch of his hand;
Oh, he owns a treasure which nobody steals,
Who walks down the road with a dog at his heels.

No other can lure her away from his side;
She's proof against riches and station and pride;
Fine dress does not charm her, and flattery's breath
Is lost on the dog, for she's faithful to death;
She sees the great soul which the body conceals--
Oh, it's great to be young with a dog at your heels!

Knott's Berry Farm

We kicked off our summer with a trip to Knott's Berry Farm.  I hadn't been there since I was in middle school or high school so it was a treat for me to walk around and reminisce.  We went with Lilly's Girl Scout Trip so we did some group tours/activities first.  We had planned on taking Jack to Camp Snoopy to ride all the rides, but once he set his eyes on those huge roller coasters, he was hooked!  Nana and I took him over to Camp Snoopy and he looked at those kiddie rides like they were the most pathetic thing he had ever seen!  Luckily cousins came over and saved the day.  Everything is better for Jack when his cousins are involved.  My sister, mom, and nieces took turns taking him on rides since pregnant ladies can't ride most of them.  I did what a pregnant lady does best...EAT!  I had an entire funnel cake with boysenberry sauce to myself while they all waited in line for the log ride.  At the end of the day we went to Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant to have ourselves some fried chicken and mashed potatoes.  My family spent every Easter morning at that restaurant with a big group of friends for many, many years, so that, too, was fun for me to go back to again.  I can't wait to take Jack back when he is older so he can ride the bigger roller coasters.

Cousins are here!  Life is grand!

First roller coaster and he scored the front car!

This ride is for Papa!

I think this was his favorite ride.

This was his least favorite.  It could have been because he was tired and hot, or it could have been the technical difficulties it was having.  They waited in line FOREVER and then when it was his time to go, he refused to cooperate with the checking of his height.  He would not stand up straight; legs apart, jelly legs, you name it!  This kid can be quite stubborn (he gets that from his father)!  Just to spite everyone, he refused to act like he enjoyed it.  He never even cracked a smile.

Enjoying some cotton candy while he waited in line for the next ride.

Definitely enjoyed this one!

 As we were trying to convince Jack that it was time to leave by letting him know he had ridden all the rides, we walked by this one and that clever little boy said, "Mommy!  I didn't ride that one!"  Great memory kid (he gets that from me ;).

Of course he had to have the red one.

Nana is such a trooper!

The end.