Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband.  I wish I had more pictures to share but we are knee deep (ok, underwater, actually) in home projects so the day was spent outside working and avoiding our extremely hot house. 

So, this is all I have for tonight...

She has a name...

...and it is Mia! 

After a long family voting session tonight, we have named our little puppy Mia.  From a list of about 20, we narrowed it down to 8.  First, we went through the 8 and asked how many liked that name in general.  Will, obviously couldn't vote...plus, he was taking a nap.  :)

Lilly: 3
Lucy:  5
Mia:  5
Heidi:  3
Mylie:  2
Macey:  2
Abby:  2
Lola:  3

So, then we narrowed it down to Lucy and Mia.  Everyone voted for their choice.

Lucy:  0
Mia:  5

A unanimous decision and a perfectly fitting name!  When Will woke up we were telling him her name and he was pronouncing it so dramatically as 'mee-hawww'....like 'yee-hawww'.  :)

Welcome to our family Mia! 

I just can't wait any longer....

to introduce you to our newest family member....

Seriously....isn't she THE cutest puppy you have ever seen?

Shocked?  Here's how it all happened....

The girls really wanted a pet.  Rich and I have never considered ourselves 'dog people'....always said we'd never have a dog.  The girls wanted a dog.  We compromised and decided on a kitten.  So, that is what was planned for the near future.  They would continue to say things to me about being glad they were getting a pet but really wished it could be a puppy.  They were upset about friends they had who couldn't come over because they were allergic to cats.  Well, I've been known to go to Walmart for orange juice and come home with a computer.  Yesterday, I went to the bank and looked across the parking lot at this adorable dog boutique/store.  Hmmm...

I asked a lot of questions wondering if there could be a puppy that might fit into our family....good with children, hypoallergenic, no shedding, small and a few other things.  Well, there were 3 that fit.  Allie, Will and I saw puppy #1 and fell in love instantly...seriously, it was strange.  She was so gentle, so affectionate, adorable and not crazy!  Time for puppy #2....well, that lasted for like 2 minutes.  We asked for puppy #1 back and played and cuddled some more.  Phone call to Rich, paid a deposit to hold her, left for a little bit....went back to visit with her and stayed for atleast a 1/2 hour.  LOVE!  (What happened to #3...I don't know).  Allie's expressions on  her face were priceless.  I had my 'point n shoot' in my purse and started capturing video....I will post another day but she was singing  made up songs like "You're my best friend...I'm going to clean up my toys for you and take you home."  Will was also liking her very much! 

After school I told Emmie and Katie we had a surprise for them.  Katie had soccer practice first and then we all went to the store.  Emmie said that she knew where we were.  Katie said "I don't know where we are because I don't know how to read those signs."  :)  Katie said that she thought we were getting a kitten as we went in the store.  Emmie stated that they didn't sell kittens there...it was starting to sink in.  I quietly asked a worker to bring us our puppy on hold.  Oh my!  They were in love!  "This is the best puppy in the world!  This is the cutest puppy in the world!  This is the puppy I would pick out of all puppies!  Is this our puppy?  I had a dream I got a puppy JUST LIKE HER.  Can we take her home?"

Emmie asked if we could take her home that night.  I said that we should wait until tomorrow because she had to go to volleyball and that wouldn't be fair to her because she'd miss the coming home time.  Emmie didn't care....she wanted that puppy adopted.  :)  So, in between that soccer practice and Emmie's late night volleyball practice, we adopted her.  At first when I came home, I thought what in the world did we just do but that was only for a minute (or two).  They have all said the cutest things about this puppy and it makes it all worth it.   

I also must admit... it turns out that I AM a dog person....well, atleast a 'THIS DOG person'.  She is cuddly and sweet and calm and playful.  The girls love that she can go outside and go places with us.  She has already been back to the dog boutique for shopping and also to Emmie's soccer practice.  She also slept through the night from 12-7!

Since this was so sudden....we don't have a name yet.  Current choices are Lilly, Bailey, Ruby, Lucy and still looking.

I will have a lot more pictures to share but here are 3 from the store....so glad that camera happened to be in my purse.  :)

Ace of Cakes....playdough version

Yesterday the girls decided to play 'Ace of Cakes' (the tv show) with their playdough.  They designed cakes for quite a long time and had so much fun.  They were asking me to take pictures of their cakes and having competitions.  They asked me to put some of their favorite cakes on our blog to be voted on.  Wow...they really love this show!  First, they were thinking I would just post cakes and see which one won.  However, I decided that voting for the favorite of each girl was the 'safer' way to go.  :)

Thanks for playing along with us!

Here are Allie's cakes:

Here are Katie's cakes:

Here are Emmie's cakes:

poll by twiigs.com

poll by twiigs.com

poll by twiigs.com

  

First Day Of 1st & 4th Grade

Today was the first day of school!  Emmie is now in 4th grade.  I joke with her that I can no longer help her with homework since I only taught up to 3rd grade.  Katie is now a big 1st grader....going to school all day long...no longer home with me for lunch.  They were both ready for school to start!  I don't think I was quite prepared though....although it is always a very exciting day for them. 

I give up...

I'm never going to get around to posting about our trip how I'd like to... so here are some pics from the trip.

Cute cousin Jack...

Allie showing Jack how to play the Leapster...

Something....I don't know what....was really, really interesting...

Katie...always ready for the camera...

Will is always stealing my drink from me...

Will eating  McDonalds with Uncle Tony...

A photo shoot with cousin Grant...

Ahhhh....very cold Spaten beer in a VERY large, heavy and frosted glass that has been in Rich's family for many, many years.  Could you ask for anything more?  I was going to straighten out this picture but then I decided it was more fitting that it be crooked.

Still more to come...

More pics...

Again tonight....just more pics to share from practicing with my little models. I need so much practice....lucky I have these sweet little models. :)

Allie

I just felt like taking pictures tonight and Allie was my very willing model....mainly because I said we could take an umbrella.  :)  Here are a few pics from tonight.  I have some serious catching up to do on this blog although mostly from vacation because, really, we haven't done much of anything lately in this heat.

3 days a week...

In a few short weeks, our little Allie Bear will be headed to 4-year-old preschool.  She will be going 3 days a week.  She is also signed up for lunch bunch one day;  however, she is already talking about not wanting to do that so we'll see.  I will miss her while she is away but she is ready and will be sure to provide some laughs.  The other night while Emmie was having quite a bit of a tantrum of sorts, Allie came up to me all silly and cracking up and said "MELTDOWN!  Ha, ha, ha!"  She thought she was pretty funny and so did Rich and I....not in front of Emmie of course.  :0