Felicia and Tyler's wedding in Oklahoma 2008

I can't seem to post these in order so I'll explain: This is after the ceremony. The bride and groom have just walked away.

Now it's Ian's turn to parade away! He is walking after my cousin Gloriana who is Felicia's big sister.

Felicia and Tyler after their civil ceremony. The Spanish Branch President married them and he was more nervous than the bride and groom. He forgot to seat the audience after the ceremony began!

Ian delivering the rings. He was very careful but decided to stick around....he was right smack in the middle when it was time to kiss the bride!

Ian and I attended my cousin Felicia's wedding in Oklahoma a year ago. He was the official ring bearer but was a bit disappointed when he discovered he wasn't getting to be a "reindeer" instead. Nevertheless, he delivered and behaved like a perfect little gentleman. After he walked up to the stage, he kept practicing kneeling with his little pillow and the rings and everyone was trying not to laugh.

This is my brother Andrew and his puppy Blade (it could be Knife or Dagger, I forget. I know it's a deadly weapon of some sort!).
Photos taken in Oklahoma last year for my cousin Felicia's wedding. Andrew drove in from Fort Bragg with his dog and I have offered to babysit him during Andrew's deployment to Afghanistan. It's been a year now since these pics and I'm sure he is now huge!!

It's time for a puppy

We have been considering for months, if not longer, to get a dog. 3 out of 4 kids in the Carranza household have voted in favor and Catherine, bless her heart, insists on another cat.
We have visited Pet Stores, met several adoptable pets, scoured online adds, classifieds and researched different breeders.
We were "lucky" one day to take care of a stray chocolate brown lab who was wandering our neighborhood on a rainy day. He had a bandaged foot but was pretty dirty so I debated on bringing him inside the house. I set up a makeshift bed in our backyard under our deck stairs but the dog followed me up the stairs to our very small deck. This is a Chihuahua sized deck, not a Labrador sized deck, so I decided to wipe his feet and Sofia and I brought him in and drew him a warm bath. Mind you, this is not a small lab...and in the end, we had to enlist Fernando in helping to lift him into the tub. He loved it after the initial shock! (The dog) and He hated doing the dirty work (Fernando) but he was squeaky clean and Sofia gladly blow dried him.
We reported him lost to the Humane Society and the local animal shelter and were prepared to wait a day or two until his owner(s) appeared, all the while hoping that they wouldn't!
We fed him, played with him and after I picked up the girls from school and had just crossed the railroad tracks entering our neighborhood, I spotted a suspicious "have you seen me" poster. I almost missed it and decided to back-up the car and take a second look, and lo and behold, it was Riley who had a bandaged foot and had been missing overnight!
Oh well, we enjoyed him enough to want one for ourselves and Riley's mom and dad were very happy to have him back once we notified them.
So now we are on the hunt and have considered everything from a mutt to a purebred.
Originally I did not want a puppy as I dreaded the potty training, but have found it difficult to find an adult dog that fits our needs and that gets along with "active" kids, so I have decided to go for the puppy. I have found that many are crate trained and potty trained before they come to you anyway.
One of my requirements is short hair. I'm still finding "Riley" hair in the oddest places of my house! So low shedding is always a plus. I also prefer a white or mostly white dog so I can spot any stray fleas! (My eyes aren't what they used to be)
As much as I love large breeds (I once had a beautiful brindle Great Dane named Helga), our house is just not big enough and I'm not a fan of tiny dogs. I just cannot handle their temperament and neither can Catherine (she's scared to death of them!). Therefore, we are going for the medium size dog and we have a few breeds that we would really enjoy, but will possibly go for either an English bulldog or a bull terrier. The English bulldog seems to be friendlier overall and remains my top pick, besides, I love their stocky build and squished-in faces!
So, hopefully, I will soon be writing about our new family member and our great adventures.