OUR PUPPY WAS BORN!!!!

Our little family is expanding!

Lowell's parents have a pure bred golden retriever named Beau, and his grandparents have a pure bred golden retriever named Bonnie. In January, they were bred, and on March 28th, Beau & Bonnie became the proud parents of OUR NEW PUPPY as well as his EIGHT SIBLINGS.

We have 6 weeks to prepare ourselves, then we're going to pick up puppy and Carlynne (puppy from the farm; Carlynne from the airport) on the SAME day. And oh what a gloriously grand day that will be!!

I may as well have carried this litter in MY uterus for how excited I am about this next step in our lives!!!

This is getting a TAD ridiculous!

Remember our once finished basement?? You know, the one that we were simply going to pop a kitchen on into, and call it a suite?

Well, we knew that before we could do anything, we had to demolish and trash the seventies bar counter (as it was dominating the kitchen's turf)...

(It was loud...)

Good. Done. Ready for a kitchen now right? WRONG!

We learned that in order to have a STOVE in the kitchen (which, in my opinion, is pretty imperative), we needed to get a permit from the city to create a legal secondary suite.

Okay fine.

But in order to meet all the legal requirements, we needed to dry-wall any common wall/ceiling for fire-proofing. So, we ripped out the common walls and removed the ceiling tiles (because while we're at it, we're going to replace pipes, re-do electrical, and sound-proof the ceiling). Brian & Candy- bless their sweet souls- came from Fernie, B.C for the sole purpose of helping us (and feeding us and keeping my recently surgeoned mother company).

My Dad worked his butt off despite his surgeoned finger. (Yes, both of my parents have recently had operations and are now temporarily gibbled.) What a trooper!

"Away with you, ceiling tiles!"

When the ceiling came down, Brian noticed that there was no insulation between the foundation and the wall panels (on the walls that we were NOT planning on tearing down). So, since we were dry-walling anyway, we decided to rip it ALL down...

Then our contractors came over, saw the framing, and advised us to tear it down as it had been done wrong. Okaaaaay....WHY NOT?!

So, Tavis & Chryslyn and Sheldon & Rosie came over and helped us remove the carpet and THEN demo the outer wall framing.

We had a few boo boos while removing the carpet, but nothing a good carpet layer can't deal with (right??!?!)!...

Chryslyn and Rosie also thought this was all getting a bit ridiculous...

Oh, and we also demolished the mantle while we were in demolition mode...

This is the spot that was formerly the mantle...

So, what was a beautifully finished basement BEFORE (i.e., 5 days ago), is now a giant dark hole of emptiness (and dust)...

And holes (thank you, plumbers)...

Now plumbers, electricians, contractors, and furnace dudes are filling our home, so things WILL look better.... eventually... I hope!

Julie Anne's broken-neck situation: an update!

Ever since our post about Julie Anne's neck-break, Lowell and I have received several kind emails inquiring after Julie Anne. So, we thought a little recap and update were in order!

On December 27th 2009, crazy Julie Anne and her crazy friends decided to tube down a crazy hill.

When they hit the road, the girls flew out and the tube continued on it's own little ride...

(Looking at these pictures makes me cringe... but at least posting them is not as bad as airing the death of the Georgian Luger on national television...)

Julie Anne remained conscious and walked off the hill, but felt kind of funny. Thank heavens dear Tina insisted on a little trip to the hospital. That "little" trip included laying motionless on a stabilizer board for hours, X-rays, an ambulance trip to the foothills hospital, surgical consults, SURGERY, many visitors, and the beginning of the road to recovery...

Julie Anne patiently sported the unwelcome neck-brace contraption like a pro for 12 weeks. During that 12 weeks, she was robbed of sleep, work, and the ability to drive and be active... but she remained our crazy, beautiful, happy, fun-loving Julie Anne. Better 12 weeks of limited mobility than a lifetime right Julie Anne? THAT'S THE ATTITUDE!...

On March 23rd, Julie Anne met with her surgeon who gave her the a-okay to remove the brace. FREEEEEEDOM!!!

The surgeon was impressed with how well her vertebrae fused, and pleased with her range of motion. Woohoo!

Thank you all for your kind notes, your thoughts, and your prayers. We're so pleased to have our non-broken-necked sister back. :)

THE G FAMILY HAS FINALLY REPRODUCED!

On March 17th, Marc & Kylie became the proud parents of Tyrn (pronounced TIE-rin) James- 8 lbs 5 oz!!

LOOK AT THOSE DARK CURLY LOCKS! Just like his Mommy...

What an adorable little family...

And check out Ty's biceps already...

He MUST get those from the G side. :)

We haven't met this little angel in real life yet, but we've cooed over skype.

(Check out the happy grandparents in the bottom left corner!!)

He's just so precious. And he looks a lot like Marc did when he was born...

For 5 years I've been a very proud Auntie of our wonderful nieces on Lowell's side, and now I'm SO THRILLED to finally be a BIOLOGICAL AUNTIE!!!! It's really special for me to see my big brother hold his son and the first grandchild in our family...

Marc did a great post about Ty over on his blog. Check it out!

Welcome to the family Tyrn. We love you already and can't WAIT to meet you!!

THE TWINS ARE HERE! THE TWINS ARE HERE!

Evelyn (6 lbs 6oz) and Lynelle (6 lbs 11 oz) were born to Lori & Dave (Lowell's sibs) on March 3rd and they are soooooo cute.

(They are donning the dresses that I made for them.)

They're apparently fraternal twins, but they sure look identical! I'm pretty certain that the bracelet on Lynelle's leg is still the only differentiating "trait".

This past weekend, Lowell and I had the opportunity to put our parenthood skills to the test! Well, it wasn't a TRUE test because Dave & Lori were still there, and also I'm incapable of breastfeeding at this point...but still. We DID get a chance to take a night shift and console the babes so Lori & Dave could get a bit more sleep.

Apparently we're not at our MOST alert/attractive in the middle of the night...

During the days, Lowell spent a lot of his time being a jungle gym for big sisters Carmen and Charlotte (and getting an intense work out at the same time)...

And I spent as much time as possible snuggling with these adorable little munchkins...

Here's Lori with Evelyn & Lynelle. The kiddies are cloaked with the 'hooter hider'...

Soooo sweet...

Uncle Lowell is AMAZING with Carmen & Charlotte, but he's also great with the babes...

Perhaps a tad frightened... but still totally smitten...

Lowell made these little numbers for Evelyn & Lynelle...

Carmen & Charlotte were also eager to help out with the twins...

Oh how we love our crazy little niecies...