Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Best of 2009



Okay, okay, I'm about 10 years too late getting this blog started. I'm a bit slow:) But I couldn't let 2009 go by without at least putting some of it in writing. Clint and I have too may blessings to count... some of which include a beautiful warm home, incredible friends and family, a great dental business, our sweet pets, and most of all our angel Addison Rae. We thank our Heavenly Father every day for giving us the softest, sweetest, funnest, prettiest, coolest little girl in the whole world. She is our miracle. She is the best thing that has ever happened to us. She is our everything. Here is a summary of our 2009 year... the best year EVER!


The Crown Council's 14th Annual Event in Las Vegas! Gregor let us share the Presidential Suite at the Lowe's Lake Las Vegas Resort with Stu and Kristin, so we had a huge family room and dining room to hang out in with the girlies.


Addison with her BFF and cousin Ava on Valentine's Day.


Our little ballerina. Addison was about 9 months old in this picture and was just barely learning to stand by herself.




Our Easter Baby. Addison was very silly during her Easter photo shoot (what a surprise). The girl taking her picture kept doing a fake laugh to get Addison to smile, so by the end of the shoot, Addison was also doing her "fake laugh". In this picture she was doing it. Everyone in the entire Kiddie Kandids was gathered around to watch Addison get her picture taken because she was being so funny, and let's face it... they all wanted to catch a glimpse of the cutest girl in the world!

One of my most favorite pictures of the year. This picture captures Addison's sweet and witty personality.

Coloring Easter eggs at Mom and Dad's house. We actually got creative this year, using ribbons, jewels, and stickers. It's so much fun to get excited about doing these kinds of things again with our girlies.


Ohhh... the Aquarium. We spent many hours at the Aquarium this year. In fact, Addison loved it so much, we decided to have her Birthday Party there.


Fascinated with the Shark Tank!


Addison turns one! This picture was taken the second she turned one at eight in the morning. Soon after, Addison's birth Mom and Dad (Desirae and Brian) made a special call to our house to wish her a happy birthday. This morning brought back a flood of memories of April 30th, 2008. We will never forget the call we received from our case worker, letting us know Addi had been born a few weeks early! This day will go down as one of the greatest days of our lives.


The night of Addi's birthday, we went to Cheesecake Factory with Desirae and Brian... and then back to our house to open presents. It was awesome to have Des and Brian all to ourselves.


"Ad" (as we call her) got some very fun things for her birthday, but her main gift was a book we wrote especially for her. It tells of her adoption story and about her first year of life.


Without fail... a birthday visit from Grammy and Grandpa Anderson. They never miss a special occasion or a birthday! They gave Addison a fun toy and her very own "Look Who's Turning 1" t-shirt, that Addison wore to her birthday party.


And of course... spoiled rotten by Gamma and Gampa Anderson! Addi's grandparents started an education fund for her and put money in it to get things started! Ad also got an awesome hand-made quiet book from Gamma.


Addison's birthday party at the Aquarium! It turned out to be so much fun! Lots of work went into planning it. We had over 40 people there! Addison had her four families there. The Anderson Family, The Blackwood Family, and both Des and Brian's families were there. We can't believe the Blackwood family took the time to come all the way from Idaho to attend the party! We loved having them there. After a mix-up with the Aquarium, we were moved into the restaurant for our party. We were angry about it at first, but it actually ended up being such a great place. The room had murals painted all around the walls, and lots of fish and sharks hanging from the ceiling. We had lots of fish balloons and a dinner of pizza, fruit and veggies. While everyone was eating dinner, we played a slide show we had created of pictures of Addison's first year of life. The slideshow was an hour long, so it was fun to eat dinner and look at pictures of our sweet baby and all those who are most important to her. We ate Addi's "shark cake" and then Ad opened her presents. I was very surprised at how well behaved Addison was during the whole thing. There were so many people there and all the attention was on her, but she did great. After all the festivities, we walked around the aquarium and hung out with everyone. It was a MAJOR celebration with lots of people... but a great way to celebrate Addison's first year!


Gamma and Gampa Anderson... and cousin Ava.

Opening presents with Daddy... oh this baby got spoiled!


I took Addison to Granite Bakery and had her look through a catalog of cakes... and without hesitation, this is the one she picked!


Ad actually didn't get as messy as I thought she would. This is the special little cake we got just for her. She loved her cake, but the blue frosting was kind of sick:)


Our trip to San Diego/Coronado in May! Mom and Dad sponsored our entire trip and got us a totally sweet condo to stay in. We each had our own room and bathroom and it was heavenly. This was the first real slug vacation we had taken since Addison was born. It was so great to just relax and be lazy for 6 days! Me and Addison went early with Gamma and Gampa and then Clint, Stu, Kristin and Ava joined us later on in the week. It was kinda lame without Graham, who was working in Washington DC at the time. We went to the San Diego Zoo, The San Diego Aquarium, the spa, golfing, and did lots of shopping, eating out and of course... SLUGGING.


Addison loved being on the beach, except she wasn't very fond of the sand. She is a girl who doesn't like to get dirty (just like her Mommy). She would sit on her towel and stick her leg out and put her toe in the sand, and immediately bring her foot back to the towel. It would have been much easier if she had been walking at the time... cause crawling in the sand isn't all that fun, especially for a girl who hates to be dirty. But we had Addison walk along the beach while we were holding her hands, and she loved that!



Wiped out from playing on the beach. Addison fell asleep in Gamma's arms as we walked from the beach to our condo. It's a rough life.


All of us!


Addison had lots of fun collecting sea shells. In this picture, she is eating one. Why must she put everything in her mouth?


Gampa with his girlies!


Gorillas at the San Diego zoo were amazing... but a little scary!


Addison is very stingy with her kisses, so if you get one... you are extremely lucky!


We were mesmerized by the hippos! We sat and watched the hippos swim by for at least a half an hour.


Ohhh the coasters! There is a story to these precious coasters. I packed an entire suitcase full of toys and books for Addison to play with in our condo. She didn't touch any of them. Instead, for hours and hours and hours she played with these coasters that were in the condo. They were very heavy and probably made out of ceramic. She would lay them out on the table, and hand them to whoever was closest to her. Ad was extremely sad to leave her precious coasters behind. We thought about sneaking them into our suitcase and leaving some money on the counter! Our condo quite large and with lots of open space, and Addison actually started to walk while we were there! (at 13 months)


Summertime! Here is Ad all lathered up with 50 spf sunscreen to protect that soft sweet white skin... ready for her first dip in the pool! We went to my parent's pool at least a few times a week for the entire summer. We had our afternoon ritual (with Kristin and Ava of course). Swim, hot tub, throw toys in the hot tub and pool, eat "pop sips", play on the lawn with Cynder Dog, and then ransack Gamma's house. Thanks to Mom and Dad for sharing their beautiful pool and yard with us all summer. Their yard is a little bit of paradise!








Our first trip of many to the Hogle Zoo! We took Addison to the zoo at least over 50 times during the summer. We would go one to two times a week. She absolutely loved it.


Gampa and Gamma Anderson got season passes too, so they came with us several times.

Looking at the monkey cage and saying "oooo ahhh oooo ahhh".




Almost every single morning during the summer, the first thing Addison would do when I would go get her out of her crib... is say "choo choo choo choo" and raise her arm up and down as if she was tooting her train horn. She would also do this every single time I would put her in the car in her car seat. She would look at me and say "choo choo.... choo choo"... to let me know she wanted to go to the zoo and ride the train. The second we would walk into the zoo, she would run to the train and get in line. The train ride hasn't changed in over 35 years or more, it's still the same old weird ride with the mangy old buffalos, the odd mining town, and the train conductor who you can't understand a single word of what they are saying. The ride is so bad... it's good. And my baby was obsessed with it!




Auntie Kristin and Cousin Ava joined us on almost every trip to the zoo. It was just way more fun with them there. Here our sweet girlies are holding hands while watching the monkeys.

I loved hearing Ava say "nahserous" and "carousels" each time we would go to the zoo. So cute. We love you Juice Box.


Speaking of the carousel! We probably rode this as many times as the train.



Very serious while riding the "carousels"...


Sweet baby waiting patiently for a treat at the zoo.

We bought Addi her "Raffe" at the beginning of the summer and for the past 9 months it hasn't left her sight. She sleeps with raffe and takes him everywhere. For a while there she wanted to take raffe into the bath with her at night and would cry when she had to part with him for just a few minutes. Poor raffe has been washed several times and is starting to fall apart!



It was exciting to see how many babies joined the Hogle Zoo this year! A baby snow lepard, elephant, giraffe, and three tigers! It was fun to go each time and see how much they had grown.


Ad riding a gator in the play area of the zoo. Thanks Hogle Zoo for a great summer!


Sweet baby in my parent's backyard. Clint bought this dress for Addison while serving a dental humanitarian mission in the Dominican Republic.


Cuddling with Gampa.

Getting wet in the sprinklers.


At least once a week, we would head downtown to The Gateway for dinner, shopping, a snow cone, and of course, the fountains! This is a picture of Addison the first time she got to play in the fountains. She was psyched out of her mind. Cute little rabbit teeth. She is a very social little girl and likes to be around other people, especially kids. If we are eating at a restaurant, and there is a little kid sitting next to her, forget about eating. She just wants to keep saying hi and wants to get down and play. At the fountains she would always go up to other kids and try to make friends.

At The Gateway with BFF Ava.


Addison's favorite part is when the steam comes up out of the vents. As soon as it would come on... she would run as fast as she could to get cooled off.


Screaming as loud as she could. We don't know why?:) I think she was just happy to be having fun.


Ad loves to be silly. One of her favorite people to be silly with is her Gampa, especially at the dinner table. Gampa eggs her on. Here she is wrestling with Gampa in the backyard by the pool on Mother's Day.

Mother's Day in my parent's backyard by the beautiful lilac bushes. Kristin, Ava, my Mom, Ad and me.


Three generations!


Gampa with his girlies on Father's Day. Ava and Addison painted this very special candy holder at Color Me Mine. They made it for him to put on his Bishop's desk full of candy for all his ward kids. They actually really did paint it themselves!


What a great lookin' group. Father's Day dinner with the best guys around... Clint, my Dad and Grandpa Art Anderson.


The Salt Lake City Temple and grounds are important to us as a family. It's the temple where Clint and I were married, and it's the temple where we were sealed to Addison when she was 6 months old after her adoption was finalized. We were actually sealed to Addison in the same room we were married in. My Grandpa sealed us together, and it will most likely go down as the greatest day of our lives. One night during the summer we went to the temple at sunset and took these pictures. Addison is wearing a hawaiian dress that Stuart and Kristin bought her in Maui...













I love this picture of our beautiful little girl. She is the sweetest, happiest person I know and it is always a joy to be around her. Her personality is just so sweet, curious, funny, and feisty all at the same time.


We also got a season pass to Tracy Aviary this year. I actually hadn't been there for years. The birds are awesome... peacocks, vultures, condors, and even some eagles. The grounds and landscaping are absolutely amazing. The trees have been there for years and they have done a wonderful job landscaping the area. During the summer it always felt about 10 degrees cooler in Tracy Aviary. After walking around to see the birds, we would always walk over to the playground in Liberty Park, or feed the ducks.

Being silly with cousin Ava.


I wonder what that Addi Rae is thinking in this picture? This is the day I caught her shoving handfulls of little rocks into her mouth. She won't eat vegetables, but she'll eat rocks. Oh boy...



What an amazing group! Anderson Family Reunion in Salt Lake City! My Dad was in charge of planning this reunion, and he did an absolutely fantastic job. My grandparents have 7 children... and all together their posterity totals 88 people. We are all very close and we are all friends. During our three day reunion, we attended a Bee's Baseball Game, watched fireworks, ate our meals together, had a great "ancestor" program, visited the cemetery, went swimming, went to the park and put on skits for each other. Stuart and Kristin designed our Anderson t-shirts, which had every single person's name in our family on the back of the shirt. We have amazing ancestors who came before us, and I can only hope to live up to their examples of courage, faith, and determination.


During the reunion, we each received a large wooden red "A". We were to paint on it what we wanted our own LEGACY to be.

My incredible grandparents. They still get up every morning at 6:00 a.m. and walk 3 miles together. They are the most generous, thoughtful, intelligent, consistent, cheerful people you'll ever meet, and they have contributed so much to their community and to their family.


One of my most favorite places... Gardner Village! I took Addison there about once a week during the summer. It's out on 11th West and 7800 South. It's a bunch of old pioneer homes they have turned into fun stores. We like to shop, eat at the bakery, look at the ducks, go to the candy shop, and best of all... they have a petting zoo and a place for you to ride ponies. Such a fun place for the girls to hang out.


The petting zoo has pigs, goats, cows, rabbits, chickens, donkeys, and llamas. And... lots of dirt and mud!

My Mom, Kristin, and Ava always joined us for a fun girls afternoon.

Ad on her favorite horse... "Sparky".


My little witch at the Wee Witches Weekend! Gardner Village is known for the dozens of witches they put out at Halloween. Their entire property is decorated with larger than life witches. The first weekend of October is called the Wee Witches Weekend, where little kids can dress up as witches and go and enjoy music, face painting, a costume contest, and basically just run around like idiots. Lots of women dress up as witches and are walking around Gardner Village to scare all the kids. We dressed Addison in her black tutu and a shirt that said lil' witchy. As we were walking through Gardner Village, every single person would look at her and gasp "ohhhhh, look at how cute SHE is!"



Of course, "Raffe" had to be there too.

Looking at the fish and ducks with Daddy.

Ad went up on the stage and danced with all the kids.



Addison with one of the scary witches! Whenever Addi would see a witch she would yell "ahhh ha ha ha" like a witch.


Dr. Woody and his triathlons! At the beginning of the summer, Clint bought a road bike and started training for triathlons. In this picture, he is at the Jordanelle Triathlon. It's a 1/2 mile swim, 13 mile bike ride, and a 5K run. It was hot and there were millions of people and mosquitos. This tri was not set up very well and was pretty chaotic for those who were there to cheer people on. Addison and I drove an hour and a half and then walked about a 1/2 mile, got on a bus and drove for about 10 minutes, walked another 1/2 mile to finally get to where the race started. Those in the tri had to park miles away from the start line, so by the time they got to the race, they had already ridden their bikes for quite some time. And then after the race, they had to ride their bikes back to the parking lot. This was a very difficult triathlon... but Mr. Woody finished it! Addison and I are so very proud of him! In this picture Clint had just finished the swim, and then barfed in a garbage can for about 10 minutes:) It was awesome. He got sea sick in the water during the swim. While he was barfing, I told him he didn't need to finish the race, but he was VERY DETERMINED! Way to go Woody! Clint also participated in the Yuba Lake Tri, which was a much better experience.


Graham, Jamison Rice, Stu, Kristin, and Clint after completing the Triathlon. Stu and Kristin did the Olympic Distance... 1500 meter swim, 26.2 mile bike ride, 10K run. Wow!




The Utah State Fair! I know this is pathetic, but I look forward to this all year. I guess it's because I know that when the fair is here, that means that Fall is coming soon! Or, I guess I look forward to seeing Hercules the Giant Horse, eating funnel cakes, looking at the weird vendors and riding the rickety old rides that could fall apart at any time.







Family pictures taken at the Peace Gardens downtown. It was the hottest day of the year, but the girlies did really well.






My amazing parents who I look to for everything. I would be lost without them. They provide me with constant support and love and leadership. They are my guides, they are my examples. They are perhaps two of the greatest people ever on the face of this earth. I will forever love them and be forever grateful they were chosen to be my parents.



For my 33rd birthday, my parents surprised me with a trip to San Francisco! And The Snork came with me! Gregor and Allyson arranged everything for us. We had a limo pick us up at the airport and we stayed in a very luxurious hotel right in the middle of downtown. Best birthday gift ever! Thanks Mom and Dad... and thanks to Clint for being Mr. Mom for a few days. I couldn't ever explain how much I love this city. It is fantastically weird and unique and there is no place like it on earth. I could honestly walk the streets for days and days and be extremely happy just looking at all the stores and people and buildings. And that's what we did while we were there! We started early in the morning and walked the streets for 10 hours straight each day. The weather was amazingly warm for San Francisco. I packed turtle necks and jackets, and I was sweating the entire time. Very unusual for San Fran.


Pier 39 seals were really stinky this time, because it was so warm outside.

You can't go to Pier 39 without getting mini donuts with sugar and cinnamon. So good when it hits the lips... and washed down with a diet coke.

The Nordstrom on Market Street was totally decked out in New Moon decor. Edward and Jacob were everywhere. They had a special thing going on where if you bought $50.00 worth of Nordstrom merchandise, you got a free ticket to a sneak preview of New Moon two days before it came out in theaters. So, of course, Snork and I spent $300.00 there and were able to take several of our friends to a night out with Edward and Jacob. Boom.

At the last minute, we purchased tickets to Wicked. This was the third time I had seen it... and honestly, it just keeps getting better every time. We sat on the 2nd row, and it was absolutely fascinating to be that close and actually see their facial expressions. I just sat there with my mouth open for 3 hours in utter amazement of Elfaba's vocal talent.


The Blackwood group in Montana! We spent a couple days "camping" in Montana with Clint's family. Everyone roughed it in tents and cabins, except us. I'm not much of a camper... especially with a 16 month old! We had fun sitting around talking and eating together.


"That there's an RV." Now that's my idea of camping! Clint did some dental work on a nice patient who in turn loaned her RV to us for a few days. This thing was gi-normous. I don't even know how Clint drove it. But, it sure was awesome. It had a full kitchen, full bathroom with a shower, two queen size beds, and a recliner chair. The best part about it was the big screen TV up front. Addison sat in the front seat, in her car seat, and watched movies the entire time. She sat there for 9 hours straight without making a peep. I would go in the kitchen and get her snacks, and she just sat there watching her shows. Thanks to Clint for driving us safely!


On our way home from camping with the Woody family, we drove through Yellowstone National Park. I have been to the park I believe 21 times with my family, so it was very weird to be there with just the three of us! I was actually quite sad as we drove through, and I was really missing my family. But hey... I was in Yellowstone, so life was good. Here is a pic of me and Ad at Mammoth.


Joking around at Old Faithful Inn with Daddy. We took Addison on Geyser Basin in her stroller, but she wanted to walk the entire time. Actually, I shouldn't say "walk", my baby RAN the entire Geyser Basin hike... perhaps 2 miles? She had been cooped up in the RV for days and needed to run free!


We have NO idea how it happened, but while we were driving home, the drivers side window exploded and shattered! It was the loudest sound ever and it scared me and Clint to death. We still can't figure out how it broke. It was basically impossible for a rock to hit it. We think maybe somebody shot it? Anyway, we had to pay $400.00 to get it fixed. Lame!


Kristin took these pictures of the girlies at Wheeler Farm. She took about 200 pics, but these are some of my favorites.


This picture makes me laugh every time I see it.









Probably the cutest thing I have ever seen. Our little Princess Leia. We had a very busy Halloween Day. It started off with a trip to Busath Photography early in the morning to get portraits taken by Brittany, who is a photography genius! (as you can see...)






Little Tinkerbell was there too! (of course)




After lunch, a trip to the Pike's house for donut day, and stopping by Chad and Lori Gallagher's Halloween Party for some yummy chili... it was time for Addi to go trick-or-treating for the first time! Good thing her cousins... Peyton, Miley, and Holden came by to show her how it's done!

Their first house! We went pretty early, and there was also a Utah Football Game on Halloween Night, so there weren't a lot of people home:) Boo! But they still had fun.



After a few houses, our Princess Leia had the hang of it, and started running from one house to the next! She wanted that candy! (notice Daddy bought her a Darth Vader candy bag:)

Cynder The Wonder Dog!


Kristin the Witch, my brother Stuart the 80's rocker, and Tink.


Thanksgiving at our house! Mr. Woody taking care of the bird. The turkey was so moist and tasty... and so was the stuffing! Good job Woody. Lookin' good...


Stu, Kristin, Ava, Heath and Stefanie joined us for the feast.


There is no way to ever be able to say thank you to two people who have given you the greatest gift in the world. We love you Desirae and Brian. Because of your courage and love, we have the honor of being parents to the sweetest girl ever to be born!

A visit to the Hogle Zoo with Brian and his family.

Eating at Spaghetti Factory with Desirae and her family.



These girlies love each other so much. They pretty much see each other every single day, and yet each time... they greet each other with squeals, hugs and kisses. Here are some pics of a greeting at the Hogle Zoo. We love you Juice Box.




Festival of Trees with the fam. This was our favorite tree...
The Grinch! Ava kept saying "kuhkee" and "don't like him"... and Addison kept making growling noises. He's a mean one... Mr. Grinch!


They said on the news that this was the festival's 39th year. What an awesome way to raise money for Primary Children's Hospital. "Genius Lloyd... sheer genius."


Besides Christmas Eve Pajamas, this night is my most favorite Christmas tradition ever. Dinner at Lamb's Cafe. The oldest restaurant in Salt Lake City. It's always decorated beautifully with Christmas music blaring, and the rice pudding is to die for. And then after dinner, off to Temple Square to see the lights...

Doesn't get any cuter than that!

Under the big red tree.



Something new we did this December... Sesame Street Live at the E Center! We can't believe Gamma and Gampa forked out the dough for this one:) And we can't believe that we sat all the way through it without poking our eyes out. Actually, it was really cute. It was a live musical play about Elmo trying to decide what he wanted to be when he grows up. The girlies were thoroughly entertained.

Getting excited before the show!


Being silly over at Gamma and Gampa's house. Addison loved all their Christmas decorations... so we went over a couple of times just to visit and look at all the nativities and ornaments. Gamma was very nice to let Addison touch all her precious collections.



Our little kitty. This is the only hat and gloves Addison would actually keep on this winter!

Our Christmas girl in her tutu.







Even though we missed the Christmas Eve Extravaganza at Grammy and Grandpa's house this year.. they still gave Addison her snuggly Christmas Eve Pajamas! Best Christmas tradition ever. It doesn't get better than cheese bricks, the Little Gray Donkey, and new snuggly pajamas! Thanks Grammy and Grandpa!

The Princess and The Frog.

We had fun making gingerbread cookies and decorating them, but they were actually really gross and no one ate them:) They tasted so bad we didn't even want to take them to the neighbors:) Sick.


Since Ad is fascinated with trains, for Christmas we got her a train set. As most of you know, every morning, the first thing she says when we go in to get her out of her crib is "choo choo choo choo"!

Needless to say, she loves her train table and plays with it every day!

This year we spent Christmas with the Blackwood family! We stayed with Clint's parents. Their home is always warm and welcoming... and they are all fantastic cooks. The food on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was unbelievably tasty. If I lived in Filer, I believe I would weigh 200 pounds. Their Idaho cookin' is amazing. Addison had so much fun with her grandparents and all of her Blackwood cousins. Thanks Clint and Sheri for letting us stay at your house and for making our Christmas a happy one. We love you!
This is a picture of Ad in her Dora jammies. When she wears them she walks around the house saying "Duh duh duh duh duh"... trying to sing the Dora song.

Christmas morning loot!

Addison in her new Princess Jacket playing with her new Princess sticker book. Hmmmm... obsessed with princesses?

Grandma and Grandpa Blackwood gave Addison the cutest dress and shoes... and a game for the Wii.



Christmas Day afternoon we all went to see the new Chipmunks movie. Addison sat in her chair the entire time and danced to all the songs.

On December 26th, we celebrated Stuart's birthday (a day late) with bowling at Fat Cats, dinner at The Dodo, and dessert at "Top It Off". It was quite the extravaganza. On Sunday, December 27th, Mom and Dad made us Christmas Dinner and we did presents with the Anderson fam. And boy were we spoiled. We were all very happy to have Graham home from New York City for a couple of days!!! Oh how much we miss him. It's totally lame without him here and we wish he would move back:)


Even our Cynder Dog got some gifts... treats and a new collar.

Ad was a little shy with "Uncle Guy" at first. But, as soon as he gave her bubbles, nail polish and an Elmo sticker book... things changed:)

Honestly... one of the ugliest ever. The best thing is that Stuart has no idea. Anyway... Stu had a special Dora book written for Addison that has her name in it! Cool!


I'm sure it is apparent that since we take so many pictures of Addison, that she now avoids the camera at all costs! I was actually really surprised at how well she did opening all her presents. She seemed into it, and enjoyed ripping open all her gifts. Problem was, as soon as she opened something, she wanted to play with it immediately... instead of moving on to opening other gifts!

Oh Gamma and Gampa... you spoil this baby! From her grandparents, she received a whole box full of every single one of the princesses. They were all tied to the box, and we couldn't get them out fast enough! Addison's favorites have been Ariel (of course) and Princess Tiana. Every day when I ask Addison what she wants to watch on TV, WITHOUT FAIL... she will start to sing like Ariel. She has the sweetest, prettiest little voice. We will ask her several times a day to "sing like Ariel"... because it's the cutest thing you've ever heard.



A couple days after Christmas, Clint tricked me into getting a puppy! Here is the newest addition to the family... our Tessy Dog. When we got her, she was 3 months old. She is a border collie, and she is very smart and a total snuggle bug. We have been thinking of getting a friend for Cynder Dog for quite some time, and when Clint saw Tess at Pets Mart, he fell in love with her immediately. He brought her home to just "try things out". Clint knows I am a total sucker for animals, and of course, I fell in love with her immediately too. We are so glad she has joined our family. She has been a good dog so far, except for the peeing, chewing and bringing mud into the house:) Oh but we love her. These are pictures of the night we brought her home. A million thank yous to Marsha Madsen for rescuing Tessy's Mother and taking care of her and all her pups for more than 3 months! What an incredible lady!