Hi friends –

As many of you know the family has been working very hard on the kennel we all live in. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s a kennel that has been neglected in any way it’s just that there has been a lot of extra things going on and I have to say with the improvements, it’s looking great!

It seams like every room is getting it’s little touch ups. I noticed the other day as I took the twelve steps, in two leaps, to the second floor I noticed that the baseboard that had been peeling was now freshly rubbed with this stuff mom called painted. When I got to the room where it magic water makes it rain inside I see new baseboard there, a refinished vanity and mirror with a fresh coat of tan paint with a hint of green to it. It’s hard to describe, but looks very nice. The vanity, dad says,by it’s measurements, makes him think it was built in place got refinished with decorative molding and a gloss black base. The top and sink are getting updated too, I can’t wait to see what that looks like together. I have already seen the sink and new faucet since I helped dad put all that together but it has not met it’s new home quite yet, but with mom’s artistic touch I know it will be perfect. I asked about the rain machine and those funny seats with the water bowl at the bottom and dad assured me that the rain box was brand new about three years ago and the water bowl chairs have had all the replaceable parts looked after. (I’m a guy, we worry about these things.)

With all these updates I think the most impressive has to be the completely new kitchen. This is where dad and our friends have spent the most time and effort. There are new cabinets, counter tops and appliances. The best part I think, anyway, is that my friends from work came over to make boxes stick to the wall. Dad has been waiting weeks to complete this step. We woke up relatively early on Saturday morning, mostly because Lucy, the aging basement monster makes sure she gets fed at least four times a day, but also because dad knew he had at least our friend, Derrick coming over to help out. We were both surprised when Barry showed too. He said he would if he could but we never knew for sure until we happened to be looking out the window and saw his truck pull into the parking area. I was so happy to see Barry I was jumping like a puppy. Barry doesn’t get to come to where we live very often and I was so happy to see him outside of the office. I even tried to bring him my stuffie, I call him monster, but don’t worry, he’s not scary. Mom said that Barry was busy and he couldn’t play with me so I stayed out of the way, mostly. Guess what? It got better when my friend Derrick showed up to help too. I thought for sure we were going to the park, or the beach, or anywhere fun really it didn’t work out to be much more than another work day, but it was fun seeing them and I was amazed at how fast we went from having old yucky stuff next to the new lower boxes to new upper boxes that stayed on the wall even after they all stopped straining to hold them, I guess they must have pressed really hard, we got up the next day and they were still there.

I’m really happy that we have such a great pack of friends who always help us when we really need it. This whole process of updating and clearing has been really exhausting for me. Every night when Mom and dad stop working I can’t wait to get to bed. Watching them work really makes a dog tired.