Sister Brother Day

It's Sister Brother Day in "Speak" world today. Claire (7) and William (5) came to spend the day with Belle (16 mos) and Charlie (11 mos?). Ok, ok - in the case of the dogs, I'm using the term sister-brother rather loosely since to my knowledge they aren't even related.

This is my first quiet moment since 5 AM. The kids are playing legos and the dogs are napping after a very busy last five hours.

Charlie Bear is an early riser. I think it's because he likes his humans so much he can hardly bear to be apart from them. We all got up, got fed and did our morning business and then we went up to the tennis courts that were finally dry enough for two dogs to run and romp. We stayed for about an hour with Belle and Charlie taking turns chasing each other up and down the courts until both were too pooped to do much of anything. I started working "come" cue, but just treated them and released. Charlie was great - he would come every time I called for him. Belle - well, she was Belle. Eventually though, she did come and we all trooped home to welcome Claire and Will.

Claire and Will helped Belle and Charlie practice greeting children. Then, Claire helped me work with Belle on "Find Claire", "Bring the Bag", "Carry", and "Give". Claire liked "Find Claire" the best because she got to give Belle a treat when Belle found her. More later, I hope!