Never Say Never

I started the summer doing two things I said I would never do: go to Disneyland in the summer (Jason and I took the kids once in the summer and the crowds were unbelievable), and get a dog (they pee on the carpet, smell like dogs, and take too much time).

WHY DISNEYLAND IN JUNE?

I won’t go into a detailed story…just the necessary facts.

My Grandma and Grandpa have always lived in Southern California. When I was a child I would spend one week each summer at the beach with my grandparents, cousins, and siblings. Good memories. Early this year I thought it would be fun to do that with my kids since we’ve never done a California beach trip…instead it has always been Disneyland trips. My parents, siblings, and their kids were all able to go. (Everyone except my hubby, Casey, and Martell who had to work ).

We left for California the day after school got out. After a couple fun days at the beach we realized the weather was going to stay cloudy and in the 60’s. That’s not too bad for kids but not exactly what the adults had in mind. I like to sit and soak up the hot sun. A week sitting at the beach with my jacket on was not ideal. My siblings with kids entertained the idea of going to Disneyland for a couple of days. I felt in a laid back mood so even though I anticipated huge crowds I thought “why not?”. Maybe it was because I anticipated the worst or maybe it’s because I remember Disneyland in July and August when it is blistering hot, but I was wrong. I do like Disneyland in June.

WHY A DOG… AND NOT JUST ONE DOG BUT TWO?

I have always said, “I will never get a pet”. Not a guinea pig, hamster, turtle, dog, cat, fish, etc. I really have never liked animals. I would not be a good vet or zookeeper. Heartless, I know. My kids have always asked for a pet, especially Ashtyn. When they were younger and wanted a dog I said they could have a baby instead. So we had Ethan. After Ethan was born when the subject came up I had to remind them that I have four kids and don’t have time for another “baby”. (Ashtyn always figured that if I only had two kids she would have been able to get a pet…too bad those last two kids came along).

I’m not clear on how I changed my mind about dogs. All I know is it started with a thought I had a month ago…maybe in the next year I should get a dog for the kids. I felt it would be good for them to grow up with a dog. Why? I didn’t grow up with a dog. But in my mind it was now or never because Chandler is already ten and in a few short years he won't live here anymore.

Side note: I’m not a shopper of ANY kind. Not clothes, household items, gifts, food…or dogs. I DON’T LIKE TO SHOP! (It causes me stress). But my sister Jen is a great shopper. She basically won’t buy anything because everything is a waste of money. But when Jen does buy something she researches until she knows she’s getting the most for her money. She’s the epitome of frugal.

With that in mind, months ago Jen mentioned that a Portuguese Water Dog was her dream dog because they don’t shed, are awesome with kids, have a calm temperament, learn quickly, are a good size, and they're cute. That was good enough for me.

At the beginning of May I told Jen that I would like to get a dog but I wouldn’t feel right about getting her “dream dog” unless she got one too. After some serious convincing she agreed to get one. We found a breeder in Montana named Debbie who I talked to every day for a week. During this time Debbie and I became great phone friends. Jen and I decided on two boy puppies and were extremely excited. For the next couple of days Debbie kept talking to me about her favorite puppy that was the runt of the litter. Debbie really wanted the runt to be with her brothers.

To make a long story short I went from “I will NEVER have a pet” to “NO WAY will I get two” to “having two puppies is PERFECT”. The day I got back from California we got our two sweet puppies. Maybe I anticipated the worst about dogs or maybe my life is calmer than in the past so I can invest time in pets, but I was wrong. I do like dogs. Indy and Belle have been two fun additions to our family.