The ABQ

Per a previous post, Bode spent the last week down in Albuquerque.  Pat and Dana et al. were nice enough to host Bode, and Brenna did a lot of the heavy lifting acting as a chauffeur for the week.  I already posted some of the pictures that Pat sent me.  I went down there this past weekend to get Bode and bring him back home.  I stayed for a night, and we had a very nice time.  We swam in the pool...

and played some chess--Bode, while winless against Uncle Pat and me, has improved dramatically.  He does very well in the opening, but just needs to work on looking at the whole board--protecting the kid sometimes seems to be a lower priority for the little dude.  Still, I'm quite impressed with his abilities.

We also made smores in the backyard, with Sean getting the fire going.

Bode and Devin played a mean game of tetherball, with Kona, the new dog, trying to get into the action.

As always, Bode was sad to leave the Albuquerque McGuirks, but he was also rather sweet telling Mommy and me how much he missed us.  It is nice to have Bode home, and the dogs also expressed their joy when he returned.

While Bode was gone, Kristine Wolfe and her daughters Abbie and Avery came to dinner.  They were in Denver for Abbie's softball tournament and were able to come for some pizza and Scrabble (which I won, meaning I've won FOUR in a row!)...although I must admit I should not have won Friday's game.  Abbie, a teenager and not as cutthroat at Scrabble, played before me, and towards the end of the game, set me up for a lovely triple word score which enabled me to win.  I'll still take the win, but I do need to tip the ol' cap for the assist.

Barkley and Joey are getting along.  They play and romp, but the cutest is when they sleep next to each other.  Ashley and I came home the other day, and the two dogs were napping.

Very cute...until you realize they are sleeping a top some flowers I had recently planted :-(  We are going to visit Uncle Dave for the 4th of July--should be fun, although I think fireworks are banned in most places in Colorado (I'm sure there will be some lawbreakers setting them off though...)  Pleasant 4th to all.