Kaylie's sweet lil toy poodle, Charlie, got very, very sick, one night so Daddy rushed him to the vet. It appeared that Charlie had gotten into some poison and there was nothing the vet could do for Charlie except make him more comfortable. Daddy brought Charlie's little body home and we buried him in our little flower bed by the canal that Charlie loved to chase pine cones in. Daddy and Kaylie are going to go up in the mountains next spring and find a special rock and Daddy's going to make a headstone for Charlie. Kaylie felt so sad and we all shed a lot of tears. Mom always told Kaylie that if anything ever happened to Charlie she could get another pet. We talked about it and Kaylie said she always wanted a turtle. We looked and looked for just the right turtle. As Christmas approached Kaylie started getting her hopes up thinking we would never find her little turtle. Unbeknown to her, Momma was hot on the trail of her new turtle. She found an ad on KSL, but the owner lived in Utah and with the holidays coming, a trip to Utah was not an option. Daddy thought to call Aunt Micah and ask how close the address was to her. "No problem," said Aunt Micah. "That's only 10 minutes away." What a relief, but Aunt Micah's family wouldn't be coming to Idaho until after Christmas. So Daddy started to brainstorm again and realized cousin Rhett would be coming through Utah on his way to Idaho. Aunt Micah went and picked up our little turtle. Then Aaliyah took great care of the little girl until Rhett got there. Then, Rhett picked her up and on the way to Idaho they did some crime fightin' Ninja style! :) Finally, we got her to Grandma Palmers. We were going to Grandma's for Christmas Eve but there was absolutely no way to hide the turtle's cage in the car so we decided to give the turtle to Kaylie that night. She had NO idea she was getting the turtle. Daddy was wearing a sweater vest so he sneaked into the other room and put the turtle inside his vest. Then he came out into the family room and told Kaylie she had a present inside his sweater and she had to unwrap it. She began opening each button, one at a time. Her first glimpse inside she got a huge smile on her face because she thought Mom & Dad had gotten her some sea shells, which she loves. One more button and she jumped back. Aunt Ang captured the look on Kaylie's face with her camera, just as Kaylie realized it was a turtle in Daddy's sweater. You have never seen such a look of shock, excitement and surprise on anyones face. Getting "Turtlie Speed Bump Palmer" here was a whole family event. Thanks so much to everyone who helped. It was truly a moment to remember.
