Carter at 14!

 

Mr. Carter, why are you getting so old?  Why are you growing up so fast?  Weren't you just 4 the other day, calling yourself and your brother "Tarter and Taden", and loving watching "the silver plane" land at the St. George airport, and collecting good behavioral "dreen" (green) slips from preschool!  It's unbelievable that you are well into your teenage years now.  Happy 14th!  We are so blessed to have you in our family and to watch you grow into a wonderful young man.

 

Sister Emery is so thoughtful with her own personal gifts that she purchases at the store for her sibling's birthdays!

A chickfila lunch was a must!

Caden bought this yummy treat for Carter at his school.  He taped it to the door for Carter to find an after school surprise...

..better yet, let's surprise him with it at the bus stop and serenade him with a happy birthday tune on the ukelele!  It was so cute!

What a lucky man to be going to 2 restaurants in one day, Golden Corral for dinner with the fam.  Carter likes routine.  He's still going strong with his love for this place.

 

Time for birthday dessert and presents.  Can't believe there are no pictures of dessert??  Maybe they'll show up sooner or later.  I believe he chose a cherry pie and apple pie. (he's not a cake lover, crazy right?!) I must love this boy of mine because I am NOT good at making pie crust.  I am trying, enduring, and hopefully one day I'll get it right.  I am kind of a pie crust snob, loving my mother's recipe most of all, which entails importing Canadian ingredients.  That's no problem.  It's just the rolling out and forming of this stuff that I have to figure out.  I will.  I am determined!  Anyways... back to Carter's big day!  He had a very exciting present waiting for him.  He was given clues to hunt for around the house which led him to this very last one.  A wrapped up present of a toy dog, meaning a real dog, was in store.  He was cheering and jumping up and down along with the rest of the bunch, siblings, and cousins.  It was so exciting!

Here's the toy dog with a real leash attached.

 

Mom searched and searched for the perfect dog, but she was not found in time for the big day.  Plus, she wanted Carter's input.  It's a miracle that Carter's birthday wish came true.  His mom was "never" going to be a dog owner!  Never say never.  It's funny how someone can change their mind!  Carter wanted an iphone or a dog.  Hmmmm, we didn't want to do either.  Something took over me.  Curtis was confused.  Ha ha!

This is the Meyer's newest addition Ginger.  She is a cutie!  We have to admit that the Meyers are the ones that got Carter and mom thinking more about owning a dog.

After another week of online searching, we found the perfect dog for us!  Our little shihtzu, Jerzy has been a lot of fun!  She comes from South Jordan.  Oh darn, we had to make a trip up there and got to visit our cousins as a bonus!  Aren't these little puppies the cutest things ever!!!

This was the home where Jerzy was born.  She has 2 siblings whom were called "Stanley" and "Lily".  Jerzy used to be named, "Potato".  Figure that one out???

This is mommy Maggie.  I felt sorry for her that we were taking her puppy away.  And I felt sad for the family that owns her and watched the puppies be born.

It's time for the car ride home

I think we have a pretty happy birthday boy!  It's gonna be hard to top this present!

Isn't she the cutest!!  It was hard to pick a name.  She went a few days nameless.  The names we narrowed it down to were, Harley, Jerzy, and Piper.  You think we were naming a child.  It wasn't easy.  Carter pretty much had the final say.  He was happy with Jerzy especially because she does look like she is wearing a brown jersey.  She was our favorite pup of the litter because of her brindle coloring.  We're excited because she has kept that color well for over a year.  She was the most playful of her family too, but maybe I should have chosen a more docile one.  We have had a good year of training and she is much more calm now.  Everything has worked out!  Would I do it all over again?  Yes, for my children, yes, but not for me.  I've come a long ways, but I'm still not a dog lover.  I tolerate them better.

My sweet sister Cynthia helped us out so much in choosing her.  She was so kind to drive many miles from her home to meet little Jerzy and get a good vibe from the family.  Thanks for your help Auntie Cynthia and thanks for letting us come to visit!  

Picking up the dog was not the only activity we did.  We also had a great day at the park playing lacrosse and all kinds of games!  I just love how the dads got into it!

Look at these handsome boys with their new outfits from H&M.  Lookin' good!

Look how little she was!

And this is Jerzy's first swim at Auntie Shelly's pool.  The poor dog got way too much attention.  And yes Hancock children, dogs instantly know how to swim.  It's pretty cute!