The Oldest Island Boy has been asking for a puppy for a long time now. He's asked and asked and finally before Christmas we gave in and told him he could have a puppy. He had his heart set on a Beagle so I began a quest to find one. I hunted and hunted but couldn't find any in our area. I found several sights on the internet but most of those breeders were in the Carolinas and there were a boatload of them in Vermont but I didn't like the idea of having a puppy put in a crate and then shipped to us so I knew we needed to find one within driving distance. The Island King and I discussed driving up to North Carolina but with work and the kids we just really didn't have time for a 2 or 3 day road trip. I got lucky right before Christmas and found a breeder online who lives in Southern Georgia and they had just had a new litter. After emailing back and forth and then talking with the Island King we agreed that we would buy one and could drive to her farm and back in one day so I bought a puppy. They turned 6 weeks old this past week so we planned to drive up and pick up the little guy on Sunday. My parents agreed to keep Island Girl and the Youngest Island Boy for us so we could take the Oldest Island Boy and go get the puppy. We wanted some one on one time with the Oldest Island Boy and we wanted him to have a little bonding time with his new puppy before the other 2 kids met him. My dad came and picked up the kids on Saturday and then the Island King and I took the Oldest to Petsmart to stock up on supplies for the new pup. The Island Boy was so funny - he shopped and shopped, wanting to get everything his new friend would need. We came home with a bed, food bowls, a collar and leash and lots of puppy toys and the Island Boy arranged everything in the puppy's bed, ready for his arrival. 
Saturday night was worse than any Christmas Eve we've ever had. Every 5 minutes the Island Boy would ask how many more hours til we leave and I thought the poor kid would never get to sleep. He finally fell asleep and when I woke him up Sunday morning he jumped out of the bed and was dressed and at the front door ready to leave in under 5 minutes. Sunday was a beautiful day for a long drive and we headed out about 9:00. We were in the car for about 10 minutes when the Island Boy started asking how much longer til we get there. The Island King laughed and told him that we weren't even out of town yet and that we still had hours to go LOL The farm we were going to is about 300 miles from our house and it took us about 4 hours to get there. They live in Moultrie Georgia and it was a beautiful drive. We live on a barrier island so it's always fun to drive up into the country. We saw lots of cows and horses and even saw a field with a lama in it. The scenery was beautiful and it was really nice to have some quality time with just the Oldest. Of course all conversation centered around the new pup and that boy must have asked 10 million questions LOL The people we got the puppy from also raise horses and when we got to their farm we were amazed at all of the beautiful horses they have. Then she brought out the new pup and let me tell you this is the cutest puppy I've ever seen. I mean he is SO cute! Of course it was love at first sight for the Oldest. The lady handed him the pup and I swear my son just melted. 
We chatted with the breeder for a while and she gave me all of the paperwork and a nice package with all sorts of pamphlets and info on the dog. The dog really took to the Oldest and within 5 minutes they were the best of friends. When we decided to get the dog we asked the Oldest what he was going to name him and he told us that he needed to wait and see the dog before he came up with a name. We spent a good bit of the drive up there throwing ideas for names around but as soon as we met the puppy the Oldest started calling him his little buddy and after a few minutes he looked at us and said "His name is Buddy".Labels: Done