stopping to smell the flowers and fall into ponds

Last weekend was lovely.  Saturday morning Robert and I took Ella to the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.  Ella really did "stop to smell the flowers" several times, much to the delight of the other visitors.  

This was our favorite flower.  

Saturday afternoon Robert and I took Margo and Josie to a different park and they went swimming for the first time.  Well, Josie definitely went swimming.  Margo chose to sit in the water and shoot me death stares.  At this park there was a pond with a stepping stone path over a shallow part of the pond.  Because my sense of humor is a touch diabolical, I decided to walk each of them over the stepping stones (Robert sat in the car with whichever dog wasn't being walked).  According to bystanders (we had a crowd), Margo jumped in the first time.  I was too busy trying to get myself across to notice this.  After jumping in, Margo sat in the water and stared at me, as if she was saying, "you got me into the mess lady, get me out of it."  So I scooped her up and put her on the stepping stones again.  She definitely fell in the second time, and once again, she sat in the water and gave me the exact same stare.  It's possible Josie will have to teach her how to swim.  Josie fell in the first time, allowed me to scoop her out, and then jumped in towards the end and swam the rest of the way.  Her attitude was clearly, "I'm over these stupid stepping stones.  There's got to be an easier way to do this."  It was hilarious.  

On Sunday I took Ella for a wagon ride in a different neighborhood and we found a Little Free Library with dog biscuits!

Robert also spent some time playing fetch with Josie while I struggled to keep Margo entertained.  Margo hasn't figured out the fetch thing out yet, which is ok.  What isn't ok is that she grabs the ball away from Josie like a jerk, and then runs away with the ball so Josie can't bring the ball back.  It's hilarious though.

I definitely have a favorite puppy at this point.  Something about the way Margo looks at me lights me up.  She also enjoys walks as much as I do, maybe even more.  And when I let them out to potty first thing in the morning, she likes to sit with me on the porch for a few minutes for cuddles and hugs.