THE PRESENTATION

Kate's speech this summer focused on a presentation all about stuttering. Each day, she would put together a poster describing things such as, why people stutter, the different parts that make speech happen, facts about stuttering and so on. Kate was able to give the presentation 3 times!!! The first time was to a child that was a couple years younger than her that stuttered. The next time was to a group of college students who are taking classes to become speech therapists. And the last time, was to a group of about 10 kids that are Kate's peers.

Kate and Kendra teaching all about stuttering to the kids

This summer was so great for Kate to practice all of her techniques. But the cherry on top was definitely the presentation. I think that Kate learned so much from Miss Kendra. We will definitely miss her!!! Thank you Kendra for all of your hard work!

FASHION SHOW WITH RAIN

We ended up doing date night going school shopping. I have to tell you that school shopping in July is just so awesome! Less people, more selections. I'm telling ya, if you haven't tried it, try it next year!!!

Kate was adorable and the cutest showing off some new clothes.

Faith also obliged with a couple of photos. I'm sure that you can tell which shirt she likes best! I'm just excited to move past the solid black phase!

Dawson. Oh my boy! He is such a particular, peculiar child. He doesn't like collars, jeans, certain designs, etc. There is not always a rhyme or reason why he likes the certain things that he likes (and vica versa.) So, in the end, he wouldn't model for me. But he did want his picture taken on Grandma Zoey's deck during a monsoon!!!

I am ready for school ... and hoping that the kids will get there soon!!! Here's to only 1 more month!

WACHINKSAPA

Dawson worked hard this last year to earn his arrow of light. He loved scouts, and I think that is directly related to the awesome and amazing leaders that we had! They were so great!

Our pack has a lady come and explain all of the colors of the feathers. Part of the ceremony is calling them with their Indian names. I worked with Dawson to choose something that I thought fit him. But of course this picky boy couldn't decide. Finally, he decided on Wachinksapa, which means wise. I think that this describes him as the old soul that he is.

Then the boys each have a pouch that you put something in meaning in it so that they can remember the things that are important as they journey through life as a boy scout and priesthood holder. It was quite emotional to see the leaders get choked up and start to cry. These boys are 'their boys.'

Sister Jackie Marley

Brother Lane Marley

These are Wachinksapa's faces as we did the ceremony and added to their leather pouch.

Kade, Teagan, Dawson, with 2 of the very best!

Boys, we are so proud of you and your accomplishments! Keep up the hard work and always remember who you are!

UPDATE ON THE NEWEST GIRL

We have been so busy with our newest girl! Not only are we in puppy classes, but we also are spending at least 10 minutes a day working with her on commands, etc. She has been both a lot of fun and a lot of work. I think that our family went into it with a pretty good understanding of the work that it was going to take to mold a new little one.

The first day home she drank from Brandon's cup and was so, so timid.

This is a picture of us trying to shape her to the bathtub by feeding her in the tub. Notice that he hair is longer.

Echo likes to sleep on her back sometimes. I think this is just so funny!

Working on crate training and kennel training. 

And here is what Echo looks like wet! Only 10 pounds... the hair is quite deceiving!

Right now, Echo can sit, stand, go down, come, shake, and touch the potty bells and other things we want her to touch. She enjoys puppy class because there are other dogs there to play with. So we are working on trying to set up more playdates and fun things for her.

ODDS OF BRACES?

Kate finally got her turn to head to the orthodontist to see if she too was going to need braces. She is such a silly girl and insisted on taking pictures the entire time. I, of course, thought that it was a great idea!

The panoramic xray

Waiting for the orthodontist

A selfie is a must

And one with mom

Out of all of the kids, she is looking the best so far. It might be a miracle if we don't end up having to get braces on all 3, but for right now, this is something to smile about!

IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE!

Every once in awhile, it's time for a good change. I wanted Kate's hair trimmed up, but I let her decide what to do.

Here she is getting a wash!

And then the cut. I would say it was about 4 inches off!!! Perfect for summer and to clean up all of the dead ends!

And then final look! I think that she looks so much more grown up! I can't believe how big she is getting! Thank you Peggey for taking care of her! She had such a good time and felt so big telling you exactly what she wanted!

Love you Miss Kate!

GOODBYE AND HELLO - PUPPY DAY!

I lightly rubbed Kate to wake her up and said "Good morning!" The first words out of her mouth was "PUPPY DAY!!!" Needless to say, we had no problem getting the kids ready for the morning. Of course, we did have to say goodbye to our besties!

Side note. I have never stayed in a hotel where there was a mini fridge in the bathroom right next to a scale. I wonder if that is a hint! Definitely was a shocker!!!

Faith and Cambrie

Kate loved this little cutie!!!

 The girls! Cambrie, Myah, Kate, and Faith

The boys! Chase, Kaden, Ethan, and Dawson

After I looked through the pictures, I thought that it was so funny that between our 2 families, we have 4 girls and 4 boys! Here the group is together!

Of course, I had told Rachel that I wasn't going to cry. At this point though, the tears started to come out and I just couldn't help it!

I loved that our men were both wearing red! And Will in true fashion, was wearing his AERO shirt!

Chase wanted part of the action! He was so sweet with our family! Hugs all of the time! I will definitely miss them!

Quick picture of Cambrie, Sara, and I. Before the tears got too bad.

We said goodbye for now. They headed on a long 10 hour drive, and we headed to IHop before we went to get our puppy.

     

 Thumbs up for the special day and the chance to eat at their favorite breakfast spot!

The two big girls! We look awesome in this picture!!!

After a great breakfast, we headed to Heber City to pick up our puppy. During the week, we went through a process of elimination to pick a name for our puppy. We wanted a fun name, but also a name that isn't too common. We narrowed it down to Daisy and Echo. In the end, because Dawson was the only one that didn't 'vote' for pink girl, we wanted to 'keep the peace' and decided to pick the name that he liked - Echo.

Picking her up was awesome! We were given a bag full of toys for her, instructions, food, etc. Just like if you were bringing home a baby from the hospital. We were wanted to get her used to her crate, but she was not having it. All of the kids took turns on the drive home holding her, with Brandon supervising in the back seat. Yes, I was the chauffeur. She was great during the first hour. We stopped at Amy and Justin's house to show off our baby girl!

Andrew LOVED her!!!

But the funniest part was that she went right to Justin who is allergic to dogs. (So am I!) You can tell he was thrilled about it!

But he got used to it and reported later that evening that he was okay!

After spending some quality time visiting with our family, we headed back to Pocatello. She totally passed out for a good amount of time in the van. Doesn't she look comfortable ... and cute???

After the long drive, we made it home to start training our new puppy. The kids want to not only celebrate her birthday (5/10/14), but to also celebrate puppy day, the day that we brought her home. I have a feeling that she is going to be spoiled!

WHEN IN UTAH...

When in Utah, is it customary to go to Temple Square? We thought that it would be a fun (free) place to hang out for the afternoon!

First stop was Chic-Fil-A. Who knew that it would be dress like a cow day and get free food??? We ended up picking the wrong spot for sure!!! BUT, the kids did get their picture taken with the cow!

First stop was by the conference center and the kids wanted a picture. Somehow Will ended up being the only adult sitting! 

Our family! This is suiting I think!

Myah and Kate

We checked out the North Visitor's Center and the Christus statue.

There was a cool wall downstairs there and I had the kids stand against the wall. I didn't notice at the time, but the word Listen is in the center. Very fitting I think.

Dawson doesn't do escalators... so when he actually did it, we had him go back down and up again so we could mark this in the books! Way to go Dawson!

Our family in front of the Salt Lake Temple

We also ran over to the church museum

And the Beehive house

And the Joseph Smith Memorial building (I LOVE the view up there!)

Yes, this is usually the face that we get from Dawson! Sad, huh???

The day slipped away by going to the hotel, swimming, and ordering Watasch Pizza (which was pretty good.) We enjoyed our time to be in Utah and also to visit with the Bohney family!