Jared & Mary. Plus 1. OUR ANNOUNCEMENT.

Yes, you read that correctly.


I was going to have this post ready to rock as soon as I got up this morning, but I caught some sort of sickness just as Jared and I were driving back from my parent's house.  That makes what I'm about to say a little less climactic for me, but it's still been a big 24 hours in the McDaniel homestead.


I've been keeping secrets from you for months (unless I saw you over Christmas break, at which point I probably told you, because I'm super awful at keeping secrets).  


But, I didn't get to see everyone, so today, today, I get to tell you!


After months of waiting...


...after dreaming about this day since I was a young girl..


...after many days of anticipation and planning...


Jared and I are pleased to announce the first addition....

...to the Jared and Mary McDaniel family!


Drum Roll, please....

Y'all thought I was pregnant... didn't you?!  Bahahahaha!  I'm a bit devious and thought it would be fun to mess with you a little.  I got a really fabulous email from one of my sisters telling me that I was weaving a "complex web of deception".  Now, now, it's funny, don't be upset.

Kobuk, 3 weeks old

I was serious about dreaming about this day since I was little.  If you didn't know my family or me back then, then you probably do not know that we used to breed black labradors when I was kid.  We had a litter of puppies about once a year, and I got used to puppies and dogs being around... they were such a big part of my childhood and our experiences together as a family.


Jared also grew up with dogs, including a golden, a miniature Schnauzer that was tough as nails, and a labrador.  The Schnauzer's name was Hogan and all I've ever heard were childhood memories of Jared and Hogan, off to conquer the world.   If I were to draw a Western-themed comic book, it would feature Jared, Hogan, and his stick horse named Fletcher.

Kobuk, 5 weeks old

All of this to say... I started secretly plotting and hoping that we would be able to get a dog not long after we got married, but all these moving shenanigans have made that nearly impossible (or at the least, not responsible).

I appreciate that getting a dog for some people isn't really a big deal.  But, it is for us.  It's HUMUNGOUS.  (Just asking my family members... they've been getting daily emails of puppies for over a month.  They also listened to many comments and day dreaming about him during the break.  They would probably like me to stop.  Too bad for them...)

After getting settled this semester, we found out my supervisor was having a litter of Golden Retrievers.

Awesome dog feeder, Jared, Jared's dad, and my G-pa put together.

We decided around the beginning of December that we would bring Kobuk home after Christmas break.


Kobuk comes out of pure-bred, AKC registered parents.  His mom is a dark red color and comes from a hunting background, and his dad is a more medium golden color and comes from a show/conformation background.  We anticipate that Kobuk will look quite a bit like his dad in color and size (he's probably going to be a small bear--his dad weighs in at a "modest" 90lbs., but appears even more enormous because of his super-thick coat).

(Kobuk's mom is in the foreground, dad in background)

Kobuk is a town, river, and national park in Alaska.  His name is pronounced like "Co-Buck".  Jared and I thought it would be a great name for our first puppy grub.


This will not be the only post about Kobuk, have no fear.   But it's naptime, so we're over and out...