Wednesday, February 18, 2026

New DOGS March 2024

We got a DOG!!! Dakota has been gone for quite a few months by now and Cameron hated being the only one home. So naturally I asked Cam if he needs a dog one evening when he was fairly upset. Well Shane overheard my joke, and clearly took it to heart. Well about one week before we got ours, Braxton got his new puppy Rico. They loved to play together. Unfortunately, when Rico was only about a month old he got ran over by the tractor, so that was a sad day. He saved Braxton when he was super lonely and our sweet Aile saved us when we were all super sad.

We got Aile from Debbie Stanger and he is a bernadoodle. We looked around for a long time and knew we wanted a dog that didn't shed and that could be a friend to Cam weather he was riding his bike or just a walk around the park. Cam picked him out of a litter and he is absolutely perfect for our family. He brings sunshine and joy everywhere he goes. I had to mostly potty train him as I was the one home the longest, but to my surprise it was super fast and he is very intelligent.



Cam got a medal for mountain biking this year

Shane sat outside with Aile so he could go Potty. Aile is the Turkish word for Family and also just so happened to be the name of the first gentleman that Dakota baptized. He hadn't been baptized when we named our pup, but he thought it was pretty great when Dakota told him we named our Dog after him. We really wanted his name to have some meaning. It is said like "ollie", so we often call him Oliver, which is a funny nickname.





Braxton's Best Friend
 

February and Valentini

Cam got his drivers license, a bit late, but we were so excited. Because of Braxton's accident he didn't get into the class on time, so we had to register late and it took a little longer. Sometimes life just happens.


We get to talk to Dakota every week. Sometimes me and Shane can get on and sometimes its just me. But every week he brightens up the screen with his big giant smile and has the best stories and advice. Its my favorite part of my week!
Braxton bought his dream truck. He literally has waited his entire adult life for such a truck!

One day after Dakota left, Cam was having a hard time and I asked if he needed a dog. Well Shane grabbed on to that idea and started his search. And as we all know once the thought is in Shane's head it doesn't leave. Well Denim came and stayed the weekend with us with his two puppies so we could "try it out". It was a fun experience and we quite enjoyed the time with the pups. 

Sometimes you are just that tired, no concern for comfort, just sleep.
Family Photos look like this about weekly these days.

Dakota flies into Turkiye about every 6 weeks. They spend 4 days there and spend time with the branch and have activities as well as baptisms. He lives for these trips, they are what makes his survive the mundane of 9 am to 9 pm in the office contacting.




Our Yearly Valentini Tradition. We love having Teeny foods and spending the day together.


Our Valentines Tradition is to dip our own Chocolate strawberries


For Logan's 16th Birthday his mom took them for an overnighter in Moab. They rode their bikes on the beautiful red rock and had the best time.

Rueben has been with Bella's as our head cook for 24 years. He left for another job that has benefits and retirement. We will miss him so much.
Just my two boys branding cattle. Braxton in his element and Cam learning something new.

Me and Kiley and Jolene went to the grand opening of "Just Ingredients" and this is how many people were waiting. It was mass chaos but it was fun to sample all the protein and things they sell.