Family: Old and New

Pictures: Sookie, Luke and his new puppy, Sookie helping Derek install a gate, and Sookie and her siblings out on the farm where we picked her up.

Here is Sookie. Our new dog. I know, we had a dog, right? But Ally just wasn't cut out for this kind of weather, so now she's happily toasting herself in my parent's sunny dining room. Derek and I have always wanted a big dog, but have never had the space or the time. We've had our eye on the papers for years, and last week there was Sookie! With her seven chocolate labrador brothers and sisters. Derek and I already had a date night scheduled, and we have a history of not knowing how to go out on a date, so we continued in usual form by going to see some dogs while Harv and Helene baby-sat for us last Thursday night. Both of her parents are chocolate labradors...but sookie is golden.

We picked her up on our way home from Winnipeg on Saturday where we also visited Luke's one and only Nona (our neighbor Connie from Mulvey), picked up a baby-gate and...Auntie Lissa! Luke was pretty happy to see his Auntie Lissa. She flew into Winnipeg Saturday afternoon and we had dinner at a nice restaurant before heading back out to Winkler. We all slept pretty good that night, except for Sookie. She is having a tough time adjusting to being apart from her siblings, but who can blame her?

We had a very fun outing last Friday night with Luke. We took him to the pet store to pick out some toys for the puppy, among other gear. Luke squeezed all the squeakers until he found just the right one. He picked out a Canadian goose that honks instead of squeaks, which I find to be a pleasant alternative. He also picked out a rope toy that has three little bits of rope strung through a brightly colored rubber tube. Turns out he likes that one better than the puppy does!

This week I may be posting later in the evening because Derek is in Winnipeg taking a course on the gospel of Matthew and he might take the computer every now and then. It will be nice to have Melissa around this week with the new puppy and Luke to keep my hands full and Derek on the road so much. As I'm typing this she's reading a Cooking Light magazine and doing that annoying thing that Dad always does, reading out loud while other people are trying to ignore him. But I'm getting sucked in because she's reading recipes out loud, and who can resist commenting on "Spicy Stir-Fry Tofu with Snow Peas, Peanut Butter and Mushrooms". Geez.