The restaurant, VBS, Sam

Victoria was not interested in making anything for her to eat last night – and Mama rarely has anything prepared for dinner – so we went to the restaurant. I ate very little. I had made some soup for myself when I had gotten home, so I did not need anything more. Since we were there, Alex brought the girls to the restaurant to meet us. We were scheduled to pick them up at the house about a half hour later, but Cheyenne found out where we were and wanted to come there to meet us. There were not many patrons at the restaurant, so we got to visit more than usual. At the end of this month, Lin is leaving for what night turn into a couple years. He is courting a young lady he met online. Mama asked if he was going to come back married. He made no promises. We got to meet the young lady and she is delightful. He asked Mama to make him several loaves of bread to take with him. He told Mama he will miss that while he is in Florida.

VBS took over our service last night. Even though the church family knows that there will be no formal service, most still come and watch the antics of our VBS. With over 100 kids and the required thirty or so workers, it becomes a challenge to find enough chairs to provide adequate seating for the non-participant observers; but we always manage. Tomorrow will be the carnival night. It is typically the best attended night of the four. Parents will come to see what is going on and to give their children and grandchildren extra points in the contest that will conclude tonight. There will be a short Bible lesson, winners will be announced for the boys and the girls respectively. Team leaders and workers for the losing side have to kiss a goat. Mama and I are providing the goat. Following that there will be a lengthy activity time at the carnival.

Ninety percent of those who came last night and were not involved will be back tonight to watch over booths, games, rides, inflatable obstacle courses and bounce houses. It will take all of us. Meanwhile, for fifty cents you can have someone arrested and locked in “jail”. That is always fun; especially for the adults who like to have some other adult put in the jail for a photo op. Trace and Krystal came to pick up the boys and we got to visit for a while as snow cones and cookies were eaten. Trace may not like the thought, but he reminds me of his dad just about as much as his oldest reminds me of him.

When we got back from church last night, we laid down the seats in the Sequoia and covered the back of the vehicle with a sheet so Mama can take Sam for his yearly sheering. He is a mess right now. I have to confess that I am not at all enamored with the idea of letting him into the Sequoia under most circumstances. Right now, with how filthy he is, I am almost opposed to it. However, there is no other way to have him groomed for the summer. Without that grooming, he will be miserable in the heat through the next several months. Mama stresses over the ordeal almost as much as Sam does. She has returned to pick him up on a couple occasions to find him in a large crate in some obscure part of the shop behind closed doors because his continual moaning howl was so disturbing to the other dogs being groomed that day. I find it very comical. Mama does not.

While he is at the groomers, Mama is going to Mineral Wells to do some banking. She is worried about that taking too long and causing Sam to stay cooped longer than absolutely necessary. I had to ask several questions to find out that the urgency was self-imposed and not a condition of the groomer. If Mama thinks the groomer will be done quickly enough that she cannot make it to Mineral Wells and back before Sam is ready to go, the bank trip will wait until this afternoon.

Mama does love her animals.