Oh, It Is Love

I say this every time... but life has gotten away from me.  Basically, I'm mostly just a slacker.  I feel like there's not enough time in the day.  I'm cleaning, or working, or just distracted by our newest addition.

I left you in suspense right before I brought home our little princess, so let me fill you in from there.

That road trip was EPIC.  Charley and I had a great time catching up about life.  Can I just tell you she has the best impersonation (im-animal-ation?) I've ever heard in my life!  If my eyes had been closed when she first did it, I would have thought there was a goat in the car!  (And I also probably would have crashed the car into a ditch.)  

Just to give you the gist, here are a few pictures from the trip:

This was the gorgeous view we had almost for the entirety of the trip.

We stopped at some VERY hot tourist locations along the way

We were chased by buffalo...

And almost killed by a Semi!  (He was driving in reverse.  Craziest thing.  ;-)

When we got to the hotel we previously saw had great ratings, we noticed a few things were off.  Like the building smelled like propane, there were nasty-looking mysteries in the pool, and this...

Something tells me this lock was broken...

But don't you even worry!  Charley set it up with a secure booby trap that was SURE to wake us from our sleep should any creepy-creepers try to come in and kill us.

 (I DARE you to try getting through this trap!)

Needless to say, this was not a safe location for us to stay a second night, so I called my brother, Jon, who lives in Kansas, and asked him if we could stay with him the following night.  That was not on our original route plan, but the detour would hardly add any time to our trip, and it seemed worth it to both of us to stay alive...

After explaining our situation to him, and ending the phone call, I sent him the picture of the broken lock, and this is the message he sent back.  Bahaha!

We finally reached our destination, and I met my sweet little puppy.

Emmi.

Thanks, double chin, for showing up in this picture... but this was Emmi's first picture with me!  :-)  She was so tiny and scared!

This is literally my favorite thing:  When Emmi tilts her head to the side.  :-)  True Love.

This is what she did for the majority of the trip, thank goodness!

She would occasionally pop her head out of her nest and come play with us.
"I'll take it from here, mom!"

When we finally reached Jon and Mallory's home  (at 3am) after some crazy  side trips, he brought this in for us .
"The door doesn't lock, but you can use this..."
My family.  :-)

Our last stop along the way was to stop and visit with a good friend from High School.  Dylan!  He is going to school in Salina, Kansas, so I ambushed him, and we all went to lunch at a tiny burger joint.  Best burgers and shake I have ever had.  Yummm!  And it was so great to see how great he was doing and catch up on life!


Now, we've had Emmi for just over two months.

(We can get her groomed until she's had all of her shots,
so she's just going to have to look shaggy for now.)

She's about doubled in size, she was potty trained (on puppy pads) within only a few weeks, and she's so playful!  When I first picked her up, the breeder was worried about her lack of appetite because she was bullied by her siblings (she was the little one), but the vet says she's right on track, and healthy as can be!

We recently enrolled her in a puppy training class every Wednesday, and she LOVES it!  (The treats and the other dogs are sure a change from regular, every day life.)  She sits whenever she greets anyone, rather than jumping on them, she knows her name, she can go for walks without rudely tugging on the leash, and she continues to amaze me every day!

She stock piles everything she can get her
little teeth on in the middle of the floor.
Super funny.
(Our carpet just looks that nasty because of
the lighting...)

Emmi is so perfect for us because she's high enough energy that we can go running around the park freely, but she's too slow to really be able to get away from me;  We play chase, so anytime I think she's getting away from me, I mix up the roles, and run away from HER, so that she starts to chase ME.  (Much easier to catch.)  She doesn't shed, she isn't a "yappy" dog, and she just loves people and other dogs!  Her jaw isn't strong enough to tear anything up, so she can chew all she wants, but nothing is going to come of it.  :-)

She's been to two movies with me (she just sits quietly on my lap and watches the movie or chews on a toy), and I literally take her everywhere I can with me.  I never thought I would turn into the girl who puts her dog in her purse, but I totally get it now... she's my kid.  I feel terrible just making her wait at home for me all day while I'm out and about.  :-/

I think Chris is starting to like her as well...

This is when we first brought her home.

Chris would probably never admit to being as in love with her as he is, but they snuggle all the time!

They love to take naps together!

This is them today, taking a nap between  General Conference sessions.

We love Emmi.  She's so funny, and sneaky.  I know that those of you who have children, think I'm crazy for treating my dog like one, but she's all I have for now, and I'd say she's going to pretty good job acting just like a toddler.  :-)