Quick Trips and Decisions

Last week the girls, Garrett and I made a quick trip to Nampa for Garrett's orthodontist appointment that was Friday morning. I wasn't sure until last minute whether the girls would come or stay and then whether or not we'd have to cancel because Garrett's stomach started hurting Wednesday night and into Thursday morning. I was stressing about it but finally he said that he was feeling better and okay to make the trip. I picked up the boys from school on Thursday and then straight over to pick up the girls early from their school. I wanted to get on the road as quickly as possible. I had originally asked my grandma if I could stay with her for this appointment, but as I was grocery shopping earlier that day she sent a message saying she was still in Bountiful and wouldn't be back until the next day. She misread my original text message about the date. Well, I knew my parents were out of town until the next day as well, so I called my in-laws. I knew they had made a trip recently also but did not know if they were back yet. Nope. They were not back yet either until Saturday, but said we could stay at their house. What are the odds that all 3 of them would be out of town at the same time, but we made it work!

We got into town about 8:30pm. Once we got the kids settled in and watching Full House I left to go see my friends Heather and Tracy Ballantyne. I bought something for her on Facebook Marketplace and needed to deliver it to her. We visited for awhile before I finally went back. The next morning we went to the appointment at 10:30. It was quick so that was nice. Afterwards we went to visit our old neighbor friends Ashlie and Sydney. Sydney is home schooled for Kindergarten and so she was the only friend that was home to visit. We were there a little longer than I had planned but it was good to see them. Then we went home to pack up our stuff, clean up any mess we made and then ate lunch at McDonald's and gassed up at Costco before heading back home. We had to get back for Jack's last football game performance for band.

Visiting with Ashlie and Sydney. Garrett took the picture.

Jack had his last football game performance Friday night and we finally had our whole family there to watch him, as Garrett finally came. They did a good job and I was happy to see the color guard finally had a nice costume on instead of just the band t-shirt. The band usually stays for the whole game but they were instructed to leave after half time so they could go to bed and get plenty of rest because they have to be to the school by 5:15am the next day to travel to Yakima for another band competition. It's about 1 1/2 hours away and they perform at 8:30am. Jack decided he wanted to stay at the game anyway and got a ride home with a friend later.

Jack is one of the guys helping to carry the hammer on and off the field each time.

Got a picture of the siblings.

Curtis was actually waiting in the car so he wasn't in this picture. One of the other band kids took it for us.

Well, earlier in the week, Charlotte had been pushing again about getting a puppy and saying that she feels lonely at school and that a puppy would help her not feel lonely. I did tell her that maybe I was ready for a dog. I finally let her look on my phone for puppies for sale in Washington. Most people are selling them for $2000 to $3000! I can't believe how expensive they are. I wasn't really expecting to get a puppy that soon. I just told her she could look, but she happened to find a great deal on some puppies that were for sale right here in Kennewick for $1000. It's still a lot of money for a dog but even Cindy's uncle who sells golden retriever puppies sells his for $1400. I thought we might have to travel to Utah to get a good price. Not only were the puppies that Charlotte found in Kennewick but they are in the neighborhood that connects to our neighborhood. It was a 2 minute drive and a lot less in price than all the others. I went ahead and messaged the seller to see if we could come see the puppies. Two days later she hadn't replied, so I tried again. I gave her my phone number to text or call and not long after, she texted me on Friday. We were able to go see the puppies Friday night after we left the football game. Everyone was excited, except for Jack. He was not happy that we were even going to look at puppies. He did not want a dog.

There were 4 males and 1 female available but Charlotte had already decided that she wanted a boy. They bark less and are playful longer.

Charlotte had already determined from the pictures online that she wanted the dog that they labeled as "Felix". He had dark ears and so we think he'll be a dark color when older. His dad is a beautiful dark brown/reddish color. That litter actually started out with 11 puppies! We told them we would come back the next day after the band competition. 

The girls and Garrett stayed home for the band competition. I had them clean up the house before we got back. Curtis and I left around 6:15am to travel to Yakima. We watched all of the bands perform from his division before we took off back home. Our band did really well we thought and I guess the judges thought so too because later we found out that they won 1st place for their division and had best music and best color guard! It was so awesome to hear that! Those were just the preliminary awards but our band did not stay for the finals because it was homecoming weekend and they had to get kids back for the homecoming dance.

It was a chilly but beautiful morning.

The view behind the stadium was beautiful!

I made Jack come see us before we left. He usually never comes to find us because he's hanging out with his friends. It was fun!

Well, as soon as we got back into town we went straight to the store to pick up some dog supplies and then the bank to get money for the puppy. Then I drove over with the kids to get Felix. Charlotte had already decided that she was going to name her puppy Milo. She said his middle name could be Felix (his original name). Garrett didn't want the name Milo at first but now he's okay with it. So, we brought Milo home. He was very scared and shy the first day.

Bringing him home.

Milo was more scared of Sage than she was of him. 

Jack was gone most of the day. Immediately after returning, he went to a trampoline park with some friends and then came home for a quick shower and off to a stake dance. He wasn't happy that we brought home a puppy. He's slowly getting used to him though. Honestly, I almost felt like we were directed by the spirit to get Milo. The price was so much better. The location couldn't have been better! Everything just seemed to fit, even though I had not planned on getting a dog that soon. It puts a little wrench in travel plans when we want to go out of town but we'll figure something out. He's pretty darn cute!