Puppy LOVE!!

      You may have seen this on Instagram or Facebook but we did the unthinkable and bought the cutest little puppy at the "Puppy Barn" Saturday night. Kayli's trip was delayed by about three hours so I convinced Greg with that extra time we should go look at puppies to surprise her. He actually got online and saw a chocolate lab at the Puppy Barn so he agreed to go see if it was still there. Unfortunately there was only a black lab for sale and the chocolate lab was gone but when I saw the bundle of fur in the Shorkie bin I couldn't resist hinting at purchasing him. Surprisingly Greg was actually somewhat easy to convince and so we quickly sealed the deal before anyone else got any ideas. The boys initially were calling him Stewie which was not my first choice but when Kayli got home we decided Smalls was a much better name. So far he's been a great little addition to the family and checked out healthy at his first vet appointment. All of the kids can't get enough of him and Charlie especially enjoys picking him up and snuggling him and he is very patient with her. I'm just excited to finally have a small indoor dog that I can cuddle beyond the puppy stage.

They're in absolute awe at this point and can't believe this little cutie is here to stay!

He's so dark it's hard to get a good shot of his adorable little face.

That's right, Greg is letting the dog sleep on his shoulder. (Don't tell anyone but he loves this little puppy!)

Charlie loves the puppy too. I'm afraid she'll literally love him to death!

Kayli finally got him to snuggle close to her but he's definitely partial to the boys at this point.

Obviously pictures don't do him justice. 

      Also this week Greg had a little health excitement. He experienced a little bit of "heart failure" last Saturday night, which scared him enough to see the doctor. His doctor was not available so he ended up at the urgent care Monday where they did an EKG. Everything checked out normal on the EKG but of course everything has to be ruled out so he saw a cardiologist the next day and they have him on a monitor for seven days and hopefully we'll have some answers when they get all the information back. He won't be seeing the doctor again until August 17th so for now he's just hoping he doesn't have a repeat of the heart stopping feeling he experienced initially.

First and hopefully last E.K.G for a long time.

     And along with Greg's first experience with an EKG Charlie had her first experience at Build-a-Bear with her big sister this week. According to her big sister she was a bit of a pill at the mall but she sure loves her build a bear.

      We had our weekly movie just last night with all of the neighbors. This week we watched "Goonies". We're hoping we can get together for an adult barbecue and movie one of these nights and take a break from the kid movies, although Goonies is one of my favorites.

      It's been nice having Kayli back even if she didn't come back an absolutely different girl like I had hoped but she did have an awesome trip and maybe in the next week or two I'll let her post some photos from her trip and share some of the highlights. 

      Unfortunately our summer is coming to an end all too quickly but there's still some fun on the agenda so stay tuned.

Some fun!

     We've had some fun this week. We got to go swimming at our neighbors new pool and had a great time.

McClane loved the slide and showed no fear!

Charlie loved every minute of it and especially enjoyed floating around on the inflatable rafts.

Carter had a great time.

One of the "pool boys". 

     Then we had some fun at Trafalgar.

The airplane ride was finally up and running.

Brock

Charlie and Carter

McClane and Charlie. 

McClane made his first rock climbing attempt on the rock wall. He nailed it!

Harnessing up.

Here he goes!

Almost made it to the top!

Today we spent a few hours at Seven Peaks Waterpark but once again I wasn't able to get any photos but it was fun.

Then tonight we went to another Owlz baseball game with fireworks to end the night and it was awesome. This is a photo of the two littlest hanging out before the fireworks show.

Charlie and McClane

   And then here are a few random photos from the week.

Trying out some curlers.

It's a sucker sampler party.

The rug has become her blankie.

And that's our week. Tomorrow night Kayli returns from her 20 day church history tour/Heritage Tours and we can't wait to see her! She's had the time of her life but we're all ready to get her back home!

Parade, picnic in the park and more

     The American Fork parade was fun last Saturday. There were some substantial gaps throughout the parade but the kids didn't seem to mind.

Isaac, Charlie, Carter, McClane and cousin J.J. ready to start collecting candy.

Watching the parade from Grandpa's viewpoint.

Always thrilling to see the motorcycle police officers.

Grandma with baby Lexi

Greg and McClane

Uncle Blaine and Charlie in a frisbee attack.

     Then a few hours later we went to Picnic in the Park where the kids had a blast on the bouncy slides and cow train. And of course the face painting.

They're ready to have fun and they're serious about it too. 

Let the insanity begin!

Cutest princess!

Isaac, Charlie, Mark and Carter in a face painted selfie.

A rare moment where McClane actually was with us and not running around wild and free.

Always happy to do a cheesers for the camera.

I dare anyone to find a cuter thumbs up! Charlie is NAILING IT!

Lets do another round on the cow train. Charlie only rode about 10 times.

     Charlie wanted to go on the bouncy slide so bad but just couldn't quite manage on her own so thankfully there was a nice young man, (Marcus Smith) who was willing to assist her.

This photo just melts me!

      And there's no better way to end such a fun day then with hard tacos from Taco Bell and enough hot sauce to start our own business.

If you need a lot of sauce just ask the worker to give you as much as they dare without fear of getting fired. Personally I think this was borderline too much!

    Then Carter had Cub Scout day camp on Monday.

A little rope tying.

Silly boys. (Photos courtesy of my neighbor.)

     Now on to some random photos from our week. First this one...

Mosley!

Um...ok let's get a PUPPY!! This cute little guy belongs to our neighbor and he's ADORABLE!

Then a couple kids were sleepy.

After our weekly movie night this is where we found McClane.

And then just some fun around the neighborhood and in the backyard.

Isaac kept her with him for about two hours, one of the nicest breaks for me!

New storm drains in the road equals the best toys ever for the neighborhood kids.

In line for a turn on the hammock.

And we can't forget the FaceTime with Kayli on Greg's phone where Charlie and Kayli kept kissing each other. Cute sisters!!

Hopefully you can see Kayli's big pucker.

I have a feeling next week won't be as eventful but I'm sure we'll have some fun. And since it's still July 17th let me say Happy Birthday to my awesome mom!! Happy birthday Mom! You're the BEST!!

A lot of stuff!

     It starts with the 4th of July. Another fun year with the neighborhood!

Charlie sporting one of the neighbor boys patriotic hat.

Lots of great neighbors.

I love this tradition!

Josh, Kayli and Mark hanging out on the front porch. (And that's McClane by the water jug.)

     Then we sent off Kayli and her cousin Josh. They're currently on a 20 day church history tour and having the time of their lives. They'll be attending the Hill Cumorah pageant tonight and will be in the Sacred Grove Sunday! I could not be more jealous! Hopefully I'll get to chaperone some day with one of my younger kids.

Kayli and Josh

Boarding their new "home" for the next three weeks.

Then Greg and I celebrated our 20 year wedding anniversary. Greg surprised me with an overnight stay at a local bed & breakfast, which was awesome!

Our room was "Maui" and pretty nice.

     Then we had another fun movie night in our backyard with more of the neighbors. I didn't take any photos this time but it was fun and the goal is to make it a weekly routine until school starts.

Then last night we went to the car cruise in American Fork and I took a photo of my favorite car.

Some day maybe.

I'm loving the happy lady sitting beside Greg.

One car was throwing out taffy. Charlie was a fan.

Today is the parade, picnic in the park, the concert starring Nathan Osmond and fireworks. We may not get to all of the events but we'll see where the day takes us.