First day of school 2018

We have a 4th grader, 2nd grader, and 2nd year of pre-schooler this year! I think we were all ready for school to start again. We had a really great summer, but I think we were all ready for more structure. 

These two looked so handsome for their first day!

Jackson is in a 4th/5th grade split class. I was a little worried about it initially, but he is loving it so far. He loves having a male teacher this year (and having 3 of his best friends in his class!)

Bode has the same teacher Jackson did for 2nd grade, and we love her! He also has a few buddies in his class, so going back to school wasn't too terrible.

Davis started his second year of preschool a week after the boys started school. He moved schools this year and has the same pre-k teacher both Jackson and Bode had. He loves school so far and is already doing a great job writing his name and will be starting the reading program soon. I thought he also looked very handsome for his first day!

Hard to believe next year we will likely have all four kids in some sort of schooling!

Huckleberry picking

The weekend we went up to Idaho Falls to pick up Charlie, we also went huckleberry picking with John and Sylvia. My mom and Remi also came, which was a lot of fun. We went picking above Kelly Canyon and lucky for us, there were lots of ripe berries!

The scenery was beautiful and it was such a nice change from the crazy hot summer we were experiencing in Utah. It felt totally pleasant in the shade, and I was convinced I could stay there all day, perfectly content to pick huckleberries. The kids were into it also, which made it a lot of fun (well, Davis lost interest fairly fast, but was entertained watching a movie in the back of John and Sylvia's Jeep).

Some of the huckleberries were as big as blueberries!

We got quite the haul and they are so yummy! We made homemade huckleberry ice cream, and I've made raspberry huckleberry jam. I'm excited to make huckleberry pancakes and find other uses for them. 

It really ended up being one of my very favorite days of the entire summer. It was one of those days where you just feel happy and content and everything seems just right. I'm already looking forward to next time!

Charlie

This is the picture that started it all:

My friend Andrea's dog, Penny, had puppies and even though we have always said we would have a dog someday, we hadn't yet pulled the trigger. After the puppies were born, she posted pictures of them when she put them up for sale. When I saw that first picture, I knew I was in trouble. 

We stopped by to see her and check out the puppies when we were in Idaho Falls for the Fourth of July, and then went and saw them again in Island Park (her family has a cabin there also). The kids were all in heaven and both Sean and I knew at that point it was very likely we would be buying one. I had my eye on Charlie from the beginning and he was even cuter in person. 

Molly holding Charlie on the left: 

He was only about 5 weeks old in these pictures.

The decision was made to make "Simon" (the temporary name Andrea's kids gave him) ours. We went with the name Charlie just because we love it and it is classic. His middle name is Huckleberry-- partly because we went huckleberry picking the same weekend we picked him up, and believe it or not, Sean loves the name. We were able to pick him up a few weeks later at the end of July. The kids were SO excited and couldn't believe we were actually making good on our promise to buy a dog. We had always told them, "When Molly is older." When Molly turned two, they actually asked on her birthday, "Can we get a dog now?!"

Charlie was really sweet on the ride home and didn't whine or whimper at all. 

Checking out his new digs

After his first bath

He's been steadily growing and will continue to grow until he is 60-70 lbs! He is going to be a big dog, and we're ok with that! I like the idea of having a dog that can be active and run and play with the kids. 

It has definitely been a lot of work so far, and we still have a lot of training to go, but I am really glad we finally took the leap. He is a great dog and very patient. He definitely still LOVES to chew and nip at the kids clothes, but from everything I've read, you just have to be patient and let them grow out of it. Thankfully he has left the furniture alone, but we do have a nice assortment of shirts and shorts with little holes in them! He potty trained fairly quickly, which I am super grateful about. He is easy to love (and forgive!) with that sweet face and fluffy fur. One of the things that really sold me on him was the fact that he is hypoallergenic and doesn't shed. He is 3/4 poodle and 1/4 golden retriever and he really doesn't shed at all. 

We took him back up to Island Park with us a few weeks ago for Labor Day weekend and reunited him with his mom and sister when we went to visit Andrea and her family. His mom was really excited to see him and his sister just pestered him the entire time. :) I love that he comes from such a great friend.

Welcome to the family, boy!