We let the big kids stay up a bit later even than what we would normally consider to be a late night last night for two reasons. First, it was our last night of vacation and they wanted to be a part of the card playing, movie watching fun and it's hard to argue with that. Second, I had a feeling that they were going to have a bit of trouble falling asleep knowing that they day had finally come..... PUPPY DAY!!! Yes, as of today, the very long wait for a puppy of their own has finally come to an end.

It's always hard for our kids to tear themselves away from our family trips, but I hope the Kyker side didn't take their eager departure this time too personally. At the end of our trip home from Birmingham they would get to walk their first pet over the thresh hold and welcome him into our family. To say that they were excited is a bit of an understatement.

After a ton of research, Jimmy chose the Black-mouth Cur breed of dog as the perfect one for us. The kids know him as the Old Yeller dog and have read the book and watched the movie tons of times (until it was actually official that we would be getting one and then it was all of a sudden too sad for them to watch anymore). Black-mouth Cur's are strong, smart, burly and gritty dogs and he wasn't going to come to any wimpy name. There were lots of contenders and even a front-runner for a while, but when Jimmy suggested one in particular the kids grabbed onto it and never looked back. He's named for the most decorated, most celebrated Marine in history. And everyone knows that Marines are pretty strong, smart, burly and gritty.

Allow me to introduce to you General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller (We call him Chesty; "Chesty Pullah when he's in trouble," according to Ben.).

Welcoming Chesty joy....