Apollo

We drove home from Zion right after Thanksgiving with a special stop to make.

But first I forced the family to stop at the seven magic mountains just outside of Vegas, because why not (also photo op, obviously)

From there we drove an hour or so out of our way to Perris, CA to pick up our newest family member: Apollo.

We had thought about surprising the boys, but about month before we realized that they (Scott especially) needed some time to get used to the idea of loving another dog.  He had been missing Charlie big time for over a year and we knew that if he could wrap his head around the idea of loving a new dog then it would be a more successful pick up. So the boys knew where we were headed and all of us couldn't wait.

After we picked him up it was about another 2 hours to get home, which was a bit of an adventure, but we made it was no potty accidents in the car!

Pretty happy boys!

Apollo's first time/fall in the pool. 

I mean is there anything cuter than puppy pictures?

Apollo quickly entered the high energy (terrorist?) puppy stage.  Just in time for the Christmas tree.

But he also became part of our family just as quickly and we couldn't imagine our house without him. 

Having a dog again really helped heal this boy's heart.  He is definitely a dog kid.

We are still in the throws of puppy hood with Apollo but we know it will get easier.  Currently he eats everything, not chews it, eats it.  He has pooped out more socks, ear plugs, toothbrush parts than I care to count. He has started digging up garden beds and tearing patio furniture, but we are learning to puppy proof with each step.  However I am definitely looking forward to him being a little older and mellowing out. HAHA!