Our very first puppy!

Thought it was going to be a rather uneventful Sunday when we decided to take a trip up North yesterday morning in hopes of getting some cooler weather and seeing some fall leaves happening ...Instead we got the biggest surprise EVER~~

We were just about an hour into our trip when, on the side of the road, I see this truck and it has a sign on it for "FREE PUPPIES". I looked at Eric who was driving and I asked.."did you see that??" And he goes..."Yeah..did you want to take a look?" Without any hesitation at all I said...Yeah I would.

We pulled over and I got out of the truck really not thinking anything of it. Of course it was impossible to leave the girls in the car so they immediately asked to see the puppies as well. There were 4 puppies total, most of them all black, some of them just had a few white spots on. We were told they were a mix between a boxer ( from the dad) and a herder type dog ( from the mom).

I have never had a pet in my entire life and recently found out I am allergic to them as well. However I can honestly say I'd been playing with the idea of maybe having a dog one day. Eric blames it on "Marley and me" the movie which we just watched the other day.

So, as we were still checking out the puppies yesterday we noticed this little fur ball almost all black just one little white spot on her belly and she's just about as mellow as I've ever seen a puppy. All I can remember after is almost begging Eric to take it home. By this time the girls were all mesmerized and just trying to take it all in. My hubby looked at me with a look that looked like: "Who are you and what have you done with my wife?" but instead he said: "Are you sure??"

By the time we had made our decision to take the puppy, one of the brothers had already been taken by another gentleman who also had pulled over on the side of the road.

We took her in the car and we had to go buy all the supplies needed for her since we had nothing at home. Lucky for us, there's a Walmart at almost every corner.

We continued on with our drive and didn't get back home until almost 8 PM that day. We decided to name her Izzie and we are soo glad to have her in our home. I feel like she truly completes us a family and we're looking forward to lots of great memories. For now it's still a learning process.

We're hoping to find out more about her at her vet appointment next week.

A look that says it all.

Uhmm...s'mores!!

This last weekend was incredibly busy for us but also lots of fun. The girls were invited to Carlie's 4th birthday party. For those that don't know, Carlie is Maile's friend and also they go to preschool together.

Carlie's mom had announced that they were gonna have a princess tea party for them and requested that everyone either dress up as a princess or wear a nicer more formal dress. With that in mind we went to the Disney store and got Maile her first ever Bell Dress after she had surprisingly rejected the "Sleeping Beauty" one on the grounds that it was too "itchy".

They had a great time playing and drinking lemonade out of fancy tea cups. During the party Maile saw the new Snow White doll ( she had just seen the movie the night before) and decided she must have that.

So with that in mind we hit the Disney store again and decided to buy her the doll. While we were there we discovered there was an outdoor concert going on and so the girls got to dance on the stage and run around. Maile told me on the way to the car...mommy this was the best day ever..so cute.

Then on Sunday we decided we were gonna try this new place called San Tan Flat. It's a place that one of our friends recommended a while ago and we wanted to go check it out. We went there again with our friends Tracy, Dave and Jacquie and of course their children.

San Tan flat is kinda of a western outdoor place with a little stage for outdoor concerts and firepits next to every table.

We had dinner and then we made s'mores right there on the spot. I, of course didn't grow up with s'mores or even marshmallows for that matter however I've grown to love them. Actually my first s'mores experience was barely a year ago.

Maile and Audrey had their first last night and just as it was expected Audrey absolutely devoured them while Maile kinda picked them apart and had the crackers first..the chocolate second and so on.

Of course I absolutely expected that of Maile since she's never had much of a sweet tooth and well...that's just Maile.

All in all, a great weekend with great friends...couldn't ask for more.

A little pre-school report

For those of you that aren't around I just wanted to share some of the things that Maile's been working on in pre-school and the above pictures are shots of some of the projects she has been doing. So far they've been working on letters A-E and with each letter they're working on they usually do a little arts and crafts project. The duck and the dog was something they made the week they were learning letter D and the elephant was obviously for letter E. They have also learned how to take turns, listen well and share with others. Maile particularly enjoys it when it's her turn to be on snack duty (once in a few weeks). At that time she will bring enough snacks and drinks for everyone in her class and she gets to share with her friends and pour the drinks for them. Its amazing how little things like that just do so much for their self esteem.

Maile also knows the days of the week now and the months of the year ( something we are very proud of) and she seems to be learning a new song almost every week. The other day we were in the car driving and from my seat I could hear Maile : "I pledge allegiance to the United States of America..." I could not believe the things she has learned in just a few weeks.

Speaking of reports...we also got report cards from the girls swim instructors the other day and learned that Maile was ready to move to the next level up because her swimming skills have improved a great deal. Her backfloats have gotten really good and she is now remembering to kick while swimming..something that Audrey is still struggling with a bit.

Regardless we are equally proud of both of them and just wanted to share.