Once again, I have gotten a little behind on the diary entries. Maybe I should just resolve to do a new entry every quarter...I shouldn't fall too far behind that way. ;o) Anyway, we have had lots of things going on lately, so here goes!

As some of you may know, Kylan and I took up a collection of books in May to send to soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. We found requests and addresses on a website called Books for Soldiers. Between ourselves and Kylan's coworkers, we filled 13 shoeboxes with paperbacks and sent them to the troops. I included some candy, gum, and a letter with each box. And Kylan's office was generous enough to pay for shipping the books. The cool thing is, we have gotten responses from some of the soldiers. Some have sent letters and a couple have emailed photos. Our online photo album has a section entitled "Soldiers" where I have posted some of the photos.

Kylan's dad came up for a visit over Memorial Day weekend. We didn't plan anything for his time here because he said he wanted to work on our truck. And that's exactly what he and Kylan did all weekend. They managed to get our Explorer up and running again, so that's good. Now we have a way to cart some bigger items home from the Home Depot!

On June 1st, Spirit celebrated his 4th birthday. Of course, he got a ride to PetsMart to get some treats and he got some birthday cake too. Then on the 15th, I had a company hub visit at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. As co-chair of the CLE Cares Committee (which encourages editors in my department to participate in volunteer and charity events) I had to give a little presentation of certificates to recognize those who participated in charitable activities over the past year. I also arranged a collection of items for the Humane Society of Greater Akron (HSGA). I came home with a big box full of toys, treats, and canned food! Kylan and I, along with Spirit and Max, showed more support for the HSGA on the 19th when we participated in Bark in the Park. We took the dogs on a 1-mile walk through a wooded park and they had a great time. There were about 200 dogs in attendance and $15,000 was raised for the HSGA.

At the end of June, the 26th to be precise, Kylan's mom, his sister, and her husband and daughter drove up from Memphis for a visit. They only stayed until the 28th, but we had a nice time. We took them to the Akron Zoo and our niece Kirsten, who is 3 1/2 years old now, had fun checking out all of the animals. She even took a ride on a pony, but was a little too scared to feed the goats at the petting zoo. We also took the family to some of the places they wanted to shop...Kirsten was quite satisfied with all the running around once she got something from the Disney Store. (A girl after my own heart!) On the 27th, while the family was in town, Kylan and I celebrated our 4th anniversary. We were at the zoo that day, so it was a nice outing. And, of course, we all went out to dinner that night.

After his family left on the 28th, Kylan and I picked up a rental car, dropped two dogs at the kennel (the other two were "dog sat" from home), and packed our bags. We left home very early on the 29th and drove up to Toronto for the week. Our first stop was Niagara Falls...the Canadian side, of course. We parked at the top of Clifton Hill and walked all the way down and back up again. On the way, we stopped in some of the arcades and attractions just to play a few games and take a look around. Things have changed a lot since we were last there a few years ago. Then it was back on the road to Toronto.

We went out to dinner with my cousins and aunt the first night, and then relaxed a bit the next day. That afternoon (June 30th), we drove downtown to meet my mom for dinner and a show. We ate at a great Italian place called Alice Fazooli's. Then we went to see "Mamma Mia." It was such a great show! All those Abba songs really do make a nice story. We had lots of fun that night. The next day, July 1, was Canada Day. Mom came with us to a local park for a traditional free pancake breakfast. There were lots of arts and crafts vendors there too. And we took a walk through the Scarborough Historical Museum in the park as well. Then we headed down the road for peameal bacon on a bun...the so-called "Canadian bacon" you get in the States is nothing compared to the real thing. After that it was back to my parents' house where I sorted through and packed up some things from my old bedroom.

On July 2nd, we took a drive out to Oshawa to find a military museum that Kylan was interested in. Unfortunately, though we managed to find it, it was closed (contrary to the hours that were listed on its website). We made the best of things anyway and took a drive through the city and into Pickering, where we stopped at the mall. It gave us an opportunity to do some of the shopping we planned on doing...with the exchange rate, CD's and DVD's are a great buy in Canada! That night we went out with my buddy, Lee. Dinner, a little shopping, and then some clubs. We had a really great time. We went to Woody's for a drink and to "admire the scenery" (lol) and then it was over to The Barn for a little dancing. We even managed to get Lee out on the dance floor for once! We didn't feel like going home after that, so we went to yet another club and played a few games of pool. Like I said, we had a great time!

The next day, we picked up my mom and headed up to Barrie, ON, to visit with my cousin Llaina and her family. My cousin Jason (Llaina's brother) just moved his family to Barrie, and he and his wife, Cory, were there too. It was nice to see everyone again. Llaina's kids, Patricia and Jackson, have grown so much since we saw them last! Barrie's main street was closed off for a festival and we all went down to take a look. We took a walk by the waterfront as well. It's so nice and picturesque up there.

On July 4th, we went into downtown Toronto. We had to have our usual walk around Chinatown, though we were good this time and didn't really buy anything. (I think if we ever moved to Toronto, we would definitely have to live near Chinatown.) And Kylan got to see a little of the Kensington Market area as well. On the way home, my mom drove us into Old Cabbagetown so we could take a look at my great-grandmother's old house. I don't remember much about it, but it was cool to see the area again. Then we returned to my parents' house and we loaded the car with the boxes of stuff we had packed up a couple of days earlier.

July 5th was my 31st birthday and we spent most of it driving back to Ohio. I didn't mind though...I felt like the entire trip had been an extended birthday gift. And Kylan did make sure to take me out to dinner that night. Since then, we haven't been up to much. I bought and planted some new perennials in the front garden. And we acquired some almost new furniture from a friend (it's only a year old!), so we finally got to replace the sofa, chair, and tables in our front room.

That's all for now!
D.