Brand New Puppy!

Friday night, we drove down to Idaho and stayed with my parents.

Saturday afternoon, we drove to the puppy breeder and picked up our puppy!

My parents came with us, to see the puppy and take some pictures. As we walked into the house, she was sitting on the couch with a red bandanna around her neck. She looked absolutely adorable, and as Kevin entered, she became very excited.

We were the last family to pick up our puppy, and the other puppies had all been gone for a week. The breeders asked us if we had changed our mind, because they had gotten kind of attached to her, and informed us that, in their opinion, she was the very best of the female puppies.

That made us pretty happy, and we assured them that we hadn't changed our minds. The woman was especially sad to see her go, I think. She showed no shyness at all, and greeted Kevin with exuberant kisses. He immediately loved her.

She's a Norwegian elkhound. Grig's first dog was part Norwegian elkhound, and they later had a purebred one. We've been looking for one for a while, and are so grateful that we were able to find one. We really liked the breeders too. They seemed very responsible to us.

 My dad was kind and took the first three pictures (since in my excitement to rush in to see the puppy I had neglected to remove my camera from the car). We got the pup's vaccination record and some of its current brand of puppy food, and after visiting for a few minutes, left with our newest family member in tow.

She's adorable. She just turned eight weeks old.

Here's all of us!

Grig rode in the back with Kevin and the new puppy to help her stay in the box. We were worried she would be like Arkhon and get sick or nervous on the way home. She panted a bit, but after a few minutes, she laid down and went right to sleep. She slept most of the way home, and we only had to stop once to let her out for a restroom break. 

 We named her Siff. We'd been looking into Norwegian mythology, which naturally led us to Vikings and their gods. After looking through Norse female names, we found a couple we liked, but the name Sif (the wife of Thor) really stood out to us. We added an extra 'f' for personal reasons. I think it's super cute, and its seems to fit her. Allopex (Grig's brother) calls her our "Asgardian princess." It's nice to finally have another girl in the house again. We're still outnumbered, but at least I'm not alone anymore.

After a bit of a drive, we got home and I took her into the backyard to relieve herself. Then, we brought Arkhon out, who was a little bit overly energetic because he hadn't seen us in two days. Despite this, he and Siff got along great! Almost immediately, after she stopped being overwhelmed by his torpedo-like speed, they became the best of friends.

 Siff was a little stinky, so after we all played outside for a minute, we took her into the bathroom and gave her a bath. She wasn't a big fan, but she relaxed fairly quickly. She shivered after we took her out and we got her dry as quickly as possible.

 Arkhon is ecstatic. He loves having a new playmate. The stairs down from our deck were a little hard for her at first (expect some video of that), but Arkhon tried really hard to show her how. By the end of her second day, she was making it down the deck just fine. She still has trouble coming back up, but he's trying to help her with that too.

 This expression happened after I made my elephant imitation. She didn't run away, just cocked her head back and forth, trying to figure out what the noise was. She's not jumpy at all. She can be cautious, but she isn't frightened. She becomes curious instead. We really like that about her.

 She loves Arkhon. They play and play and play. Arkhon is super gentle with her. as long as he is aware she's around. He's occasionally knocked her over on accident, but she recovers quickly.

This is Kevin's favorite thing to do. He loves to pick her up. We have to limit it actually, because we want her to be able to walk around to. I think he loves feeling strong. She's very gentle with Kevin and very rarely bites him. I've always owned border collie crosses, and so it's nice to have a less-nippy puppy. She still explores with her mouth, but she doesn't want to bite his heels when she's chasing him. It fun to have a different set of instincts to work with.

So far, she's had a couple of accidents, but she's doing really well! Her crate training is going awesome, and last night, she only got up a couple of times.

We're pretty happy with her. She seems to be perfect for our family. We're trying to enjoy every moment her her puppy-hood, because with any luck, we won't have another puppy for the next 12-15+ years. We decided at the beginning of our marriage that two dogs was as many as we'd ever have. So, we're hoping Arkhon and Siff stay around for a long, long time.

Answers

This can be considered part six of a series of events. For the previous part in this series, follow this link.

The first thing I need to tell you, is last Monday, after I wrote my blog post, I went and looked on the local classified ads for Norwegian Elkhound. As I mentioned previously, they are nearly impossible to find, but I knew that there were going to be some there.

And there were. There was a new litter being advertised for that are ready to go home at the end of February. They were located near to my parent's home in Idaho. The Lord had provided another way for us to get the puppies. That night, we called them and asked if we could come and see them on Saturday, since we were going to be up that direction anyway.

Fast forward to Thursday afternoon.

So, Thursday, Grig called me. He told me that they were kind of in-between jobs right now, and they had given him the option of working on Friday or not (he works 10 hour days, so Fridays are overtime).

After praying about it, he set himself a goal and felt like if he accomplished his goal, he could take Friday off. He nearly did, but failed to complete the last task he had set for himself. So, he told them that he would work Friday.

We were a bit disappointed, because Friday night we were leaving for our Anniversary date (which I will talk about more tomorrow), and if he didn't' have work, we could get to the hotel sooner than 7:00 at night.

However, we felt that it was the Lord's will, and we hoped that maybe Friday would be the day that we found out about Grig's job.

Friday, Grig went to work and at lunch, I hadn't heard anything. I'm learning to be patient and accept the Lord's time, so it was actually okay. At the end of work, Grig called me and told me that he still hadn't heard anything, so he felt like he should go and talk to the boss again. The following is essentially what he relayed to me later.

Grig went up to his direct supervisor and the conversation went something like this:

Grig said, "Hey, it's been two weeks and I still haven't had my interview."

He said his supervisor looked at him a little strangely and said, "What exactly did he(his direct supervisor, who is also his brother) tell you when you interviewed with him?"

Grig said, "He told me that after 90 days I would have a review and I would also receive a raise if they decided to keep me."

His supervisor said, "Alright, let's go talk to him."

They went into the office and kind of stood there, waiting.

Finally, his direct supervisor said, "Grig wants his 90 day interview, and something about a raise."

The brother kind of looked at them out of the corner of his eye from where he was working at the desk and said, "Is he sure he wants to hear what I have to say?"

Grig was pretty sure he was joking. The higher supervisor then asked Grig how he thought he was doing.

Grig told him that he was still kind of slow, but that he had improved a lot, and given more time and experience, he would be just as quick as the other guys. The higher supervisor agreed and told him that they'd keep him on. However, he added that they were kind of between jobs right now, and he wouldn't be receiving a raise yet. He then added that if he didn't get one in the next month and a half, to come and talk to him again.

Evidently, afterward Grig tried to call me, but the call didn't come through. When he got home, he explained what had happened. We were very grateful, but also slightly confused. We had been told that we could get the puppy when Grig got his job, and his raise.

During our date, we prayed about it, and felt strongly that it was okay to put a deposit down on one of the pups.

Say hello to the newest incoming member of our family:

We're going to call her Siff.

Kevin in pretty thrilled about it! He sure loved going to look at those puppies.

We are so grateful to our Heavenly Father. It is nice not to worry about Grig losing his job. We were trying to have faith and patience, and the Lord has blessed us abundantly.

We also wanted to thank all of those who have been praying on our behalf. We really have appreciated it.

We can finally begin moving forward again. 

And did I mention...we're getting a puppy!?!?

A "Short" Walk

Yesterday, Kevin, Dakota, Arkhon, and I went with our next-door neighbor on a walk (this is the neighbor who received Arkhon's brother). We were walking her daughter to school, but seeing as we had two small puppies, we decided to leave at 10:30. School started at 12, and we didn't want to be late.

Even with the two pups, we made pretty good time and got there about 11:50. We would take frequent breaks and make the puppies ride in the stroller after a while. We were trying to be very careful not to over-exercise them.

Even so, by the time we got back at 1:20, the pups, Kevin, and Dakota were all exhausted. It didn't help that it was pretty warm.

It was really fun to see the differences between the two brothers. Arkhon is a little thinner and less fluffy, but he has a lot more energy. He also is a bit stubborn. Loki, his brother, on the other hand, is calmer and easily tired. It was funny. We walked about ten minutes and Loki wanted into the basket under the stroller. Once he was placed inside, he instantly fell asleep.

Arkhon on the other hand, did NOT want to take a break inside the stroller basket. He continually tried to jump out. It was only during the last half an hour of the three hour trip that he finally relaxed and went to sleep. That was nice. We'll have to keep working on that.

They love each other a lot. They're always excited to see each other, but neither one of them listens very well when they're playing. When the sidewalk was too narrow for both strollers to be side-by-side, the brother in front would try to get to the brother behind, and the brother behind would be straining to reach the brother in front. They were getting better at ignoring each other and walking though.

We had a great time, and I'm really grateful that my neighbor invited us to go. I like walking with her. We get along well.

The only downside of our "short" walk was that I missed the UPS guy so I had to wait until today to get our crate. It was totally worth it though.

We are planning on walking most days, but so far, we've only managed to do two day in the last two weeks. No worries, we'll get it!

Arkhon's first veterinarian appointment is set for Friday. I'm excited for him to start getting his shots so that we can take him to the dog park.

It's fun to see how quickly he's learning.

He already loves his crate. Just a moment ago, he started whining because he couldn't get into it. I opened it up, and he went right in, laid down and fell asleep. Hooray for successful crate-training!

We started off by putting his favorite toys, his water bowl, and couple of treats in there. When he would enter, we would praise him. After a few times of him going in on his own (it is important not to force them in), we started shutting the door. We lengthened the time that the door was shut, praised him when he was quiet and calm, and ignored him when he started whining. It didn't take long for him to feel relaxed.

Ideally, the crate is supposed to be seen as a safe place. I think he is starting to quickly recognize that. We don't let Kevin bother him when he's in there, and I think he enjoys finishing his naps. (Kevin doesn't like it when people or dogs are sleeping when he wants to play.)

He and Kevin are doing better at being nice to each other. Last night, Kevin would run over, pet him, and run back with a huge smile on his face as we praised him for being so gentle. Arkhon had this look that said, "I endure this because I love you." It was pretty funny.

We have a good time.

Day Four of Life with a Puppy

Some of you may be wondering how things are going at our home with our new arrival.

Honestly?

Things couldn't be better.

Arkhon already feels like part of the family. He and Kevin are best friends (though we do have to continually remind them to be gentle with each other). We try to monitor, but all it takes is a second for Kevin to hit Arkhon or for Arkhon to nip Kevin.

They're learning though. I think they'll understand how to play better soon.

Kevin loves his dog.

We ordered Arkhon's crate Thursday afternoon. It is supposed to get here today. Meanwhile, he's been sleeping under our bed. We'll start crate-training as soon as it gets here.

Arkhon has been picking things up quickly. He is already pretty good about not coming in the kitchen, not getting on the beds or couches, and not urinating in the house. He hasn't pooped in the house once, but he has had a couple of urinary accidents. Fewer every day, and usually if he does have an accident, it is simply because we didn't move fast enough when he was giving signs that he needed to go. The crate should help eliminate accidents all together.

Meanwhile, Grig tried to make Arkhon a bed out of a box. At first Arkhon didn't like it, but when he saw Kevin playing in it, and Grig cut another hole so Kevin could get out, he suddenly loved it.

He doesn't sleep in it, he just plays in it.

Aw, isn't he cute?

Kevin and he play a fun game where Kevin will run and look down one hole, and the puppy will pop out. That usually results in a lot of laughter from all involved.

Sunday we tried to trap the dogs in the hall, but our gate hasn't arrived yet either, so while we were at the temple dedication, they got out.

The damage wasn't very bad. One small accident and one chewed up pair of headphones (that Grig wanted to replace anyway) were the main casualties. Dakota, of course, was excellent. Also, Arkhon evidently helped himself onto the couch, because we've had to correct that a couple of times in the last couple of days.

He loves people, especially kids. Every time he sees someone, he wants to go say hello. He is doing really well at learning not to jump on people and walking on the leash. We all love taking walks together. He is really fast too! If we run with him, he can pretty much keep up already. He tends to run at our sides and not to run ahead, which is excellent.

He is playful, but calms down quickly. If you can't tell, we are very pleased with him.

It's been great to have his brother next door too. They're always happy to see each other, and they enjoy wrestling. Usually, his brother, who's been named Loki and is slightly bigger and heavier, pushes him over and ends up on top, but last night Arkhon got the upper hand.

I couldn't be prouder.

It made Loki mad though.

The other day, Grig put him on his lap, and then they both proceeded to fall asleep. It was pretty cute. Of course, as soon as I got out the camera, Arkhon woke up and jumped off. I did manage to snap this picture though:

Photo-bomb Dakota in the corner.

As for Dakota, does she love the puppy?

Not yet maybe, but give it some time. She's learning to tolerating the puppy.

She's starting to come around.

After all, he loves her, and that's what friendships are made of.

And introducing....

This morning started out great!

It was like Christmas. I woke up at 6:30 a.m., and as soon as I remembered what was happening today, I could no longer sleep. So, I began to deep clean my oven. Isn't that what everyone does when they can't sleep?

I was half-way through the racks and the bottom of the oven when Kevin and Grig woke up at about 7:45. We were planning on leaving at 8:30, but with the mess I made, we didn't manage to take off until 9:00.

We drove the hour and forty minute trip with our GPS giving us bogus directions, and we found our destination with no problem (it helps that we had been there only a month before.) We did, however, have a miracle on the way.

Since my sister's wedding, I haven't been able to find my wedding ring. We've prayed and searched everywhere. However, as we were driving to pick up the pup, Grig was searching for snacks for Kevin in the diaper bag. Suddenly he said, "Hun, guess what?"

He pulled out my wedding ring! It evidently had been in the diaper bag the whole time. I was so grateful. We immediately said a prayer, and after Grig had cleaned the sticky-candy-juice off of it, I was able to put it back on. Heavenly Father is very kind.

As we drove down the driveway to my aunt's home, we could see the puppies running in a field to the side of us. They had grown quite a bit and were quite fast. They raced us to the house and all six (mother included) greeted us with happy faces and wagging tails.

There is still one (maybe two) puppy(ies) available. She's the whiter one. There may also be a boy with similar coloring available too.

We said hello for a few minutes, and then we went and knocked on the door. My aunt answered, and we spent the next couple of hours fawning over our puppy and talking to my aunt. All of her kids were at school, so we didn't get to say hello to them; which was too bad.

We had a scare at one point. We had been playing with our boy, when suddenly he wandered off and disappeared about the time that my uncle drove in with his truck. We couldn't find him anywhere!

Visions of him lying crushed under a tire floated through my brain, but luckily, after half and hour or so, we found him in the den where his mother had given birth. He was pretty far underground with some boards covering the entrance. We had worn him out, so he just went to take a nap.

What a relief!

After that, my aunt was kind enough to fix us some lunch, we packed up our pup and the other dark male, and loaded everything into the car. The box we had brought was far too small for both puppies (though it might have fit them a month ago), so my aunt also supplied a new box. It was still a bit small, but it was big enough. They were cozy all the way home. Also, they were very cute.

The one on the right is our neighbor's pup. The one on the left with the broader white blaze is ours.

Kevin was pretty excited about the puppies being in the car. He kept wanting to play with them, and would get mad if his dad (who was in the back seat monitoring the situation) would touch them. He was tired and needed a nap. Grig was sure that he wouldn't fall asleep because he was too excited.

I guess he wasn't as excited as he was tired.

The puppy crashed too.

Other than a little car-sickness from our new pup (he threw up four times), things went really well. (Our neighbor's pup wasn't sick at all.) The pups slept most of the way. Grig thought he had the better end of the deal by sitting in the back while I drove, but at least I didn't have to clean up puppy-puke. :)

We reached our home and introduced Dakota to the new pup. We took them both outside so they would be on neutral territory before we brought him into the house. He was a little scared of her, and she didn't really care about him. She gave him a casual sniff and went back to what she was doing.

They've warmed up a bit, though Dakota still isn't sure what to think about the little guy. They'll get used to each other.

A long day for a little guy.

Next we brought him in and gave him a good bath. He did really well, and seemed to enjoy it. He seems to be a water-dog. He loves to splash in his bowl and in puddles outside. There goes the bath.

Oh well.

The pup is doing really well with house-training. He has only had two spills, and we caught both before he got very far. He finished up outside both times and has also defecated only on the grass. We have high hopes. He seems to catch onto things quickly.

Our neighbors seem to really like his brother and they were pretty happy to see each other when we ran into them later. We have plans to get them together and let them play.

Finally, we have officially picked our pup's name. We'd like to introduce:

Arkhon

After his long and exciting day, Arkon has spent the majority of it sleeping.

I'm tired too. I think I'm going to head to bed. I decided that I've been living off adrenaline for the past week, and when things got peaceful and I relaxed, I became exhausted.

Good night, all. It's been a good day.

Tomorrow's the Big Day!

If you ask anyone who's spent even a smidgen of time around me lately, they would probably tell you that I'm pretty excited. Tomorrow's the big day!

We are driving an hour and a half to pick up our new puppy from my aunt's home. I think our home has been about puppy-proofed (though I guess we'll find out for sure when he gets here).

It's been nearly a month since we've last seen the little guy, so I'm sure he's changed a bit. I was talking to my aunt on the phone yesterday, and she said our puppy is usually the first one to greet her when she goes outside, so that made us pretty happy.

We went to her home a few months ago with a very definite type of puppy in mind. The puppy shouldn't startle too much at loud noises (since we have a toddler), it should be curious, it should be friendly, fairly calm, and submissive. To our delight, more than one of the puppies fit this profile!

The mother was very friendly and calm, though I was surprised by just how petite she was. I'm used to Dakota's build, and this beautiful little mother was so delicate!

Our puppy's mother.

My cousin was pretty funny. He kept telling us, "You can have one for free! Take it with you!" We told him thank you, and we wanted to take one, but they were still too young. He then informed us that they had started eating solid food. His mother then explained to him that they still were drinking milk, so they still needed to stay with their mother.

When we saw the puppies, I was thrilled. Secretly, I hadn't really want just a black and white border collie. They're cute, but I like a little more color variation...and variation I received:

I love his coloring.

They were perfect. Now, if only they would fit our profile.

As we were examining the puppies, I made my elephant-impersonation, which if you haven't heard it before, can be quite startling. Two of the puppies were hiding, so they were ruled out of our choosing, one of the puppies took off running, and two sat still and didn't seem bothered by the sound at all.

We determined those two were in the running. They had similar markings (a.k.a adorable), so their look didn't affect the decision. One was a girl and one was a boy. I was more inclined toward the girl (I'd never owned a boy dog before), but Grig kind of fell for the boy. Both were friendly and laid easily on their backs (a sign of submission), but the girl fought it just slightly. I decided to step out on a limb and agreed to get the boy puppy (if we were going to get one). At the time, we still weren't sure, because we wanted to have enough money for vet bills and things.

Having decided which puppy we would take if we were going to take one, we took some pictures so that we could look at them while we were thinking about it. He's cute from all angles:

 Of course, the most important thing was that he got along with Kevin. Kevin had just woken up from a nap, so he wasn't too enthusiastic about it at first. However, he warmed up to it.

Do I need to say why I love this picture?

Grig and his two boys.

I'm so stoked! Tomorrow morning can't come soon enough. There are a few things we need to finish in preparation, but over-all, I think we're prepared. I've spent the last couple weeks deep-cleaning my house and we moved all the books and bookshelves to our room so they won't get chewed on. I just have to hide the computer chords (and finish the dishes) and we're good to go!

I think.

We went to the dog park last night with Dakota, and there were so many puppies there! It made me a  little crazy. They were really cute, and Kevin did really well with them. I think he'll warm up to the idea.

Dakota also did really well at the dog park. She usually likes puppies and bonds well with dogs that she's introduced to when they are young. Hopefully the pup won't bother her too bad. We're going to try to make sure he leaves her alone when she's had enough.

She is old, after all.

We think they kind of look alike too, down to the heart-shaped mark on the forehead.

I'm going to be a bit outnumbered by boys, but I'm getting used to that. At least I still have Dakota.

Wish us luck!

My neighbor is getting one as well, so we're actually driving back with two pups. She still has two more (I think they're both girls) if anyone is interested. Let me know ;).

My Sister's Wedding and Our Big Announcement

The third weekend while I was working in Idaho, my sister got married in the Salt Lake Temple. I drove down with my parents. Dakota stayed in Idaho since we would only be gone for a day and my parents had someone coming to feed their cat. Their neighbor nicely fed our dog too.

I stayed that night in my own bed while my parents went on to drive to Salt Lake. It was so nice to see Grig! I'd really missed him. It was really nice to be home, even if it was only for a couple of nights.

The next morning, we left our home super-early to go to Salt Lake. We dropped Kevin off at the hotel that my parents were staying in, so he could play with his cousins while we went to the temple sealing. He was pretty excited.

It was a beautiful ceremony. My sister and her new husband looked so happy and the feeling of peace was very strong.

Doesn't she look beautiful?

Once the ceremony was over, we quickly went to get Kevin and his cousins so they could be there when my sister walked out of the temple.

 After the temple, we went to a dinner served by his family and then we had a reception later in the evening. I took pictures during a lot of it while Kevin played with his cousins in the nursery room. They had a good time.

Kevin likes to play with two toys at once.

My sister designed these dresses for all of her nieces, and my mom made them.

 When the reception ended, we drove back home and I got to sleep in my bed again. It was really nice.

The next day we drove back to Idaho. We made a stop on the way though. During the last family reunion, my aunt announced that her dog had just had puppies. She wondered if anyone wanted any. Grig and I have been discussing for a long time whether or not we should get a puppy. We decided we would go and look and them and decide if we wanted one.

After visiting, we tentatively picked out a puppy and decided that if we could get so much money stored away by the time he was old enough to take home, that we would get a new puppy.

Unfortunately, Dakota is getting old, and I'm pretty sure she has cancer. We don't know how much longer she's going to live and we wanted her to help train the puppy before she leaves us.

This is the cake I made Dakota for her 14th birthday last month. She loved it!

We've been able to save up the money amount that we needed, so our big announcement is that we have decided to bring a new puppy into our family.  This is him:

Isn't he cute? He's got a great, calm personality to match. We are picking him up next Friday, the 19th. 

From there, we went straight to the next reception back in Idaho. This reception went faster for me than the one in Utah, because I knew almost everyone that came. It is always fun to reconnect with people I haven't seen in a while.

The matching father and son

The daddy/daughter dance

My sister with the only sister who couldn't come. We made a cut-out copy of her so that she would know we missed her. My dad posted the face on. I think it looks pretty awesome. 

It was a fantastic event, and a very happy one. I am so grateful that my family all gets along and loves each other. I am grateful that we know that husbands and wives can be sealed together in the temple for all eternity. We believe that when marriage is performed under the proper authority, that it can go far beyond "death do us part."

That is a comforting and wonderful blessing.