Happy New Year!!
Here's to 2023!
Hi all! We hope you are happy and healthy out there!
I took a couple weeks off from the newsletter, but I thought today would be a great day to start it up again.
2023 had some amazing memories, too many to highlight in our newsletter, BUT I thought we would do things a bit differently and highlight Seven stories.
Our Top SEVEN Stories from 2023:
Beaker’s Date with Benny
A story that has tickled and delighted fans on Twitter is the interactions between Beaker and Benson (Benny) another Golden Retriever. Benny and his sister Bowie live in Ontario and this is the second date they have went on. By date, we meant a skype date. We film the whole thing and it’s the sweetest type of content you could ask for, even if the two dogs don’t get 100% what is going on.
The Ginger Stuffie and Texts From Bunsen (printbook) Volume 1 Launch
The orange sassy cat that Kris and Adam rescued has quickly become just as much part of our family as the dogs. She has also been a HUGE hit with the internet, especially on Tik Tok, as a video about cats staring her got millions of views.
We worked really hard to replica her into a stuffed animal form and we were beyond thrilled with how it turned out.
We also found a way to self-publish Texts From Bunsen Volume 1 which was only an ebook in 2022. We sold out quickly and were blown away by the pawsitive feedback!
Adam Graduates and We Explore Alberta
In May Adam graduated from high school. We were super proud of him, and he has started a science degree majoring in Biochemistry. It’s like our genes produced a pretty good mix as Adam has Kris’ math skills and my science skills.
For the summer Kris and I explored Alberta, taking multiple trips into the mountains, around central Alberta to the many lakes and rivers, and an amazing trip way south in the hot arid badlands. Our BnB there as a WINDMILL. It was a great way to spend less money, but still scratch the wanderlust we have (and include the dogs!)
Beaker Starts Dock Diving (still working on the diving)
It may seem like Bunsen steals the glory and is the main face of what we do on social media, but Beaker is just as equal to him in our family. Where Bunsen can be stoic and a bit pouty during Toddler Time, Beaker is just STEADY. When Kris found a local place that teaches dock diving, we had to give Beaker a shot.
Beaker LOVED it. She isn’t amazing at it, but she LOVES to swim and is REALLY good at the swimming part. We are working up to the jumping or diving part.
If she never gets there, that’s ok. It’s something that is just for her and while Bunsen cools his paws next to a fan in the summer, Beaker is swimming her little heart out like the aquatic master she is.
Bunsen and Beaker are Comic Con Celebrities !
Thanks to my previous work as a cosplay artist, someone from Edmonton Fan Expo reached out inquiring if Bunsen and Beaker could make an appearance.
I’m not going to lie, we were excited but also very nervous.
Comic Cons have thousands of people and would it be too much for the dogs?
They wanted Bunsen and Beaker to pose for photos with people….could their training hold?
The answer was YES.
The dogs ROCKED. Not only did they wear their costumes for hours, they posed for 45 minutes STRAIGHT with hundreds of people THEN we got to meet Sarah Natochenny the voice of Ash from the HUGE Pokemon cartoon.
It was a magical experience. The dogs were all-stars. Kris and I couldn’t have been more proud of them.
The Beaver.
In the summer we noticed a ton of the sticks on the forest floor were going missing. We just assumed that Adam was scooping them up on walks for some reason. Then we noticed that the creek was unbelievably full of water.
Then we noticed the trees gnawed down.
We had a BEAVER!
We were so excited. Beavers are amazing and we tried for a month to catch it on camera. Finally, we did!
The internet voted on the name NORBERT and we now have a new resident of the farm. It was wild how much work the beaver got done, and by the end of October 30+ trees were felled!
We can’t wait for more adventures!
Kris and I release Texts From Bunsen Volume 2 as a Book, Ebook, and Audio Book!
Kris and I worked super hard all summer redoing hundreds of Texts From Bunsen into our second book.
From the summer to November we edited, recorded video, and went back and forth with our new printer.
Once it was released the whole community showed up for us and we sold out of the print book in 2 weeks.
We also got them all delivered before Christmas.
The second version has more jokes, and I think they are snappier and more hilarious.
We are thinking about doing a second print run in Feb, so keep your eyes peeled for that!
That’s a wrap on 2023! Check out our website so some AWESOME deals for the last week of Dec and first week of march!
You and Kris (and Adam) are awesome! Thanks so much for your content - so fun and fresh! And “punny” too! Happy New Year 🎊
You sure did a lot last year, all of which we enjoyed, as did you and Kris. You are such positive, enthusiastic people. It gives us something to look forward to. Stay healthy! Elaine