The Salt Flats on Labor Day

 

We took a little day trip out to the Bonneville Salt Flats on Labor Day.  It was Grover's first big outing:) 

It was a HOT day and it was SO very bright!  

Cute little Grover!  His first of many outdoor adventures to come!

It was fun for Cannon on down to get a chance to drive the van on the Salt Flats.

I love the genuine joy on both of their faces.

Cool picture of Faith.

A relaxing ride home for a boy and his dog.

Long Lake Labor Day Weekend 2022

The Friday over to Saturday of Labor Day weekend, Abe took all the boys, plus Greta, on an overnight backpacking trip to Long Lake.  I had planned to join them but decided to stay home and take care of Grover. 

This trip to Long Lake has been a favorite of Abe and the boys for many years.

Next year Grover will be big enough and we can take him with us and all go.

Since I wasn't on the trip, I don't have a lot of commentaries to share.  But I do love the pictures and it makes me wish I was there.

Cliff jumping is the main attraction.

Brandon is quite the fisherman.

Success!

Greta is killing me in this picture:)

I love this of Greta and Brandon.  They are fans of each other.

Peter's 8th Birthday

What a handsome little guy!  Peter's 8th birthday is a big deal!  He will be getting baptized in October and we'll celebrate big with family and friends.  Even still, I do feel bad that his actual birthday was somewhat overshadowed by preparations for and the start of Abe's and my big trip.  Hopefully, we'll make it up to him.

He got a Gabb Watch for his birthday and he was beyond thrilled.  He's made good use of it and is pretty good about keeping track of it and keeping it charged.

We went on a birthday lunch date to Chick-fil-A per his request.

Then I need to run an errand at Scheels, so we rode the Ferris wheel together.  It was so fun hanging out just with Pete.

Peter recently and successfully tested for his senior red belt in Taekwondo.

  So now he just has to earn his red/black and then his black belt.  We're thinking maybe next June?

Happy 8th birthday, Peter.  You have a huge spirit packed into a little body!  You are good and kind and powerful and you will do wonderful things in the world.

Welcome Grover!

 We are nearing the one-month mark since our glorious vacation to Barbados and the Grenadines.  It was really something.  But I think eleven blog posts dedicated to it is enough.  I am now ready to report on the happenings of life since then.  Just because I haven't been posting about life post-trip, doesn't mean we haven't been hitting life hard.  Or is life hitting us hard?  I suppose it is a little (or a lot) of both.

Back in the middle of July we went and picked this little guy out of his litter.  Yes!  We decide to get a dog!  His name is Grover and he is a mini-Australian mountain doodle (isn't that a mouthful?)  Thats 

Wait... I didn't think you guys were dog people?  

Yes, well, you've had good reason to think that.  Between roughly ten and fifteen years ago, we experimented several times with having dogs.  In all honesty, we were so busy taking care of babies and littles, that we were very poor candidates for having a successful experience with a dog.  That's a nice way of saying we were beyond terrible dog owners.  They were never inside dogs and we neglected them.  Sadness and shame on us.  So Abe and I made a deal.  If one of us was ever tempted to get a dog and suggested we do so, the other HAD to stand strong in opposition.  And our agreement held strong for over a decade.

But, when I came to Abe near the start of this summer with a proposal that it was now time for us to get a family dog and do it right, he offered absolutely no resistance.  

BIG TIME FAIL!

Grover at about four weeks old.

We decided to wait till our big summer trips were over to get a dog, but in the meantime, I started researching dog breeds and regularly checking KSL classified to get an idea of what was out there and what the price range was.  I was leaning towards either a mini-Aussie doodle (Australian shepherd mixed with poodle) or a Bernadoodle (Bernese Mountain Dog mixed with poodle).  Imagine my joy when a litter was listed that was a cross of the two kinds I was most interested in!!  And they'd be ready to go home right after our big trip.  And it cost about half as much as each breed alone was.

I immediately messaged the breeder up in Woods Cross (Scarlett Pups-- highly recommend), and we arranged to go see the puppies the very next day.  

We were all entirely smitten with the pups.  

We probably overstayed our welcome at their house, but we couldn't help ourselves.

Greta has been pretty scared of dogs, but this puppy encounter cured her of that!

Here are the boys loving on Grover's mom.  She is a mini (but on the larger size) Bernadoodle and was by far the friendliest, sweetest, snuggliest dog I have ever encountered.  SOOOO good-natured!  And I am so happy to say that Grover definitely takes after his mamma!

Fast-forward about five weeks, and the morning after we flew in from our trip, Faith, George, and I went to go officially adopt him. 

Let the Grover love begin!

The little kids just wanted to be by him all the time.

This picture is my favorite.  You can sense Peter's frustration that the puppy needed to sleep and couldn't play all the time.

He is just so snuggly.  

I think we've all been a little bit surprised by just how much we love Grover!  Me more than anyone!  He has been so much fun.  He is definitely an inside dog, but he has a hypoallergenic coat and doesn't shed.  So, hopefully, even if you're allergic to dogs, you can still come to our house:)

A sleepy puppy and a happy boy.

What a little poser!

I am his favorite.

Now I've become one of those people who talks about their dog all the time.  

And takes countless pictures of their dog.

And they think everything their dog does is so unique and hilarious.

And they spend ridiculous amounts of money at the vet for preventative care. 

House training and sleeping through the night in a crate have gone miraculously well.  I think we got the perfect dog.  

And I'm one of those annoying people who think their dog is the best dog in the whole world.

And we have little play dates with other neighborhood puppies.

Grover does NOT like to be left alone.  And really, the only time he is alone is when we all go to church.  He cries with joy when we get home!  He pretty much follows me around the house all day.  He loves to lay on the living room floor while I teach piano lessons.

He's going to be needing his first haircut soon.  I'm going to add "dog groomer" to my skill set.  I don't pay money for my own boys to get their hair cut.  I'm not going to pay for Grover's haircut.  Wish me luck.  I may not post pictures of him for a while if it doesn't go well.