WELCOME AIDEN DOUGLAS BOWES!!!
After an unexpected burst bag of waters, an ambulance ride from Pitt Meadows to Royal Columbian, and 15 hours of labor, Dilys Hunter-Bowes and husband David Bowes welcomed their first baby into this crazy world on July 3, 2006, at 2:10 p.m.
Arriving 5 weeks early, Aiden Douglas Bowes weighs in at a respectable 5 lbs. 2 oz. I had the honor of meeting him today, and he is absolutely, positively gorgeous.
I'm an AUNTIE! (At least the closest thing I will be to becoming an auntie for a LONG, LONG time...right, Ash???)
Anyway, our wonderful friends have this amazing new life with Sir Aiden. Think happy thoughts for them as they adjust to being a threesome.
Meet Racquel ... she's very sweet ...
"Mom, look! She's smiling at you!"
"Honey, that's not a smile when they make that hissing sound..."
Train Boy
Trains on the hearth (from left to right): Annie, Clarabel, Henry, Murdoch, Harvey, and Salty.
Aren't you impressed?
My life is not my own. It's Thomas the Tank Engine's life. I'm just borrowing it for the time being. Now I must go get my buffers polished. Excuse me...
Meet my friend, Frank the Fly
Cute, eh? Makes me itch.
Baby grapes...it's gonna be a good year!
Aren't the baby grapes cute???
Awwww, pretty puppies...
Lila and Nat, enjoying the summer with their humans.
Brrrr, Mom...it's colddddd...
After an afternoon of intense "swumming" (see note below) in the backyard blow-up pool, Brennie was freeeeeezing. A few prior photos really showed the pretty hue in his lips--it was about the same shade as this font color. BUT, I couldn't pry him out of the water. His choice. That's what being a big boy is all about.
Teacher and student...
Yes, we're considering a haircut. I know, I know...it's time. But those curlsssss...
Look, Mom! I can SWUM!
Nope. That's not a typo. That's what Brennan calls it. Swumming. He's 4, too bloody smart for his own good, so every once in a while, I let him have a grammatical hiccup because it's just so damned cute.
And he can thank his sister for spending time with him to get him to relax enough in this FREEZING COLD water to get his torso wet, kick his feet, and have a rousing good swum.
Summer time...and the livin' is easy...
They actually managed to get along for, like, 4.2 minutes. Long enough for me to snap a collection of photografias.
This is what we saw on the way home from dogs on Tuesday night. Gorgeous, eh? This is Cloverdale, heading north to the freeway (er, highway, whatever it's called here). We managed to get a few photos of the operator firing up (this is not one of them). We would have followed it to where it landed, but it appeared to be down a private road and I wasn't in the mood to get a ticket. Nice mountains in the background and everything, eh?
Be still the hearts of all young women...
Behold Michael.
He is the hearthrob of the junior dog show world. Recently 18, our dear Mikey is playing in the big leagues now, I hear. I get all confused about what and where and age limits and all that. I s'pose it doesn't matter. What DOES matter is every girl under the age of 24 has a crush on Michael (and even some over the age of 24----what? I'm married! Stop looking at me like that--I'm a happily married woman and besides, I'm 16 years older than he is. No, it's NOT like The Graduate -- that is so 1960s...oh, this conversation is every shade of wrong.)
And it's not just the doggie girls who pant at Michael's presence. However, they find him uber-sweet because of his penchant for poochies. He's a great handler.
A DOG HANDLER, pervert. Get your head outta the gutter. Sheesh. SOME PEOPLE.
Lisa and Megan...enjoying the quiet...
After the actual doggie instruction is over, the junior kennel club director guy (Wayne) gives the kids a lecture on, well, dog stuff. The kids all whine about it, but they love it (especially one little smartie pants I happen to know rather well...). Anyway, here's Lisa, chillin' with her pooch, Megan, who I think is a miniature Schnauzer, while the kids sit in the sizzling corner of the arena listening to Wayne pass on sage advice about the importance of touch to newborn puppies.Anyway, nice photo, Lisa. You look gorgeous, dahling.
THIS is Georgio...ssshhhh...don't tell my cat...
I know. I'm not a dog person. I'm working on it. BUT--this is George, and his momma is Karen, and his sisters are Lyric and Baby Cleo...and Karen won't give me any of 'em. This teeny tiny Pomeranian is SO incredibly smart that I would actually consider having one, simply because they look (and act) like cats. Even their poops are smaller than my cats. That's cool.
A fond salute to the last dog class of the 2005-06 season...
Nice, ladies. Real classy.
(Teresa, don't kill me...remember--we're sisters!!! And if I'm dead, then you have to take care of all my kids...don't forget!)
Pretty puppy...dim, but pretty...
What a goooooood-lookin' beagle. That's Nat. Dumber than a mud fence, but beautiful. This was the last dog class of the season, with only a few shows on our schedule this summer, the junior kennel club camping trip in August, and of course, the start of an exciting new season in September (my FAVORITE time of the year...). The following are a few more piccies from the group. Nice folks. Some of 'em are sorta weird, but it takes one to know one.
