Introducing Piper

That's right, there's another foster dog in the Laird household.

My co-worker and friend Lisa called me last week to tell me that a dog showed up on their doorstep. After plastering the neighborhood with signs, no one claimed this sweet face. I told her that if no one claimed her, I would agree to foster her and get her in the Humane Society's program.

Fast forward five days, and here she is. Let me just tell you how awesome this dog is. She is probably the best foster we've had. She has not had one accident in the house and appears to be completely potty-trained. She also does fine in a crate, which we put her in when we're at work and during the night. She's just this little spunky love ball. She loves playing with Dax and Darbi and isn't afraid to be submissive when necessary. Dax loves to play with her. Darbi could care less. She'll be ready for adoption in about a week. Let me know if you or someone you know is interested in adopting her.

Hi, I'm Piper and I love to play outside!

Piper looking cute for the camera!

She loves to run with Dax and Darbi. She's surprisingly fast but pounces rather than runs.

If I had to guess I would say she's two years old. I have a better guestimate on Saturday after I take her to the clinic.

Sarah is married!

This blog goes out to my good pal Sarah who just got married this weekend! I am so happy for her and her new husband. I have gotten to know Chad over the past couple years and can honestly say she found a great guy!

Friday night after the rehearsal dinner, several of us girls went to Michael Murphy's Dueling Piano Bar in Bricktown to celebrate Sarah's pending nuptials (she was getting married the next day). All I can say is, if you've never been to Michael Murphy's, you MUST go! We all had so much fun. We kept it pretty calm considering we wanted the bride to be nice and rested for her big day. That's not to say we didn't get her up on stage for a little fun!

Sarah got married at the beautiful Dominion House in Guthrie. She looked stunning! Everything was perfect! Sarah, thanks for including me in your special day! Here are some pics from both nights. Love you!

I think this is where he told her, "I'm going to need you to get on the piano."

I'm not usually that white. OK, so I am. But she's not usually that tan!

This chick rocked! As you can see, they play more than just pianos.

Ryan and I at the wedding!

Yay! Mr. and Mrs. Chad Bayer

Check out all the crap the groomsmen put under Chad's truck! Apparently they went "garage-saling" that morning and picked up some keepsakes.

Backyard "Woof"fleball

I'm pretty sure everyone knows how much Ryan and I love our dogs. A couple years ago we started a summer backyard tradition of playing wiffleball with the girls. We have two very smart Labrador retrievers ... emphasis on the retriever. Here are a couple videos from tonight's wiffleball game.

This is Dax. You'll notice that the ball actually bounces off her mouth as she tries to catch it in the air.

This is Darbi. At the end I say, "Oh, no. I dinted the ball." It's because I hit like Babe Ruth.

President Bush at Woodward's Let Freedom Ring

This may be my most controversial blog entry to date. I had the awesome opportunity to go to Woodward for their annual Fourth of July celebration, Let Freedom Ring featuring President George W. Bush. You may be asking, why did he decide to spend his first Fourth of July out of office in Woodward of all places. It's simple, they asked and he said yes. In his words, it was nice to be around his "own kind". Two of my amazing grandmas live in Woodward so I got to spend time with both of them. One grandma is very involved in the community so we were able to secure some pretty sweet seats. Not VIP, but not bad. So before you go hatin', check out the pics.

An estimated crowd of 6,000

Laura Bush surprised us all and showed up!

Give a little wave...

When I first heard his voice, I couldn't believe it was actually him standing up there. Very surreal.

Jumbo George

Flag hanging from a crane over the crowd

And just a quick 35 minutes later, it's over.

Colorado Part X: Outtakes

These are the shots that didn't quite make it off the cutting room floor. But I still think they deserve special recognition:

Snacks for the trip.

This photo now adorns the desktop on our laptop at home.

This was taken at the hotel in Raton, N.M. where we told the receptionist that we had "one small dog". They felt pretty special to have their own bed.

Lake San Cristobal on the way to the Alpine Loop

Gift shop fun

Big horn sheep

Freemon's General Store -- the best hamburger

Colorado Part IX: Fishing at the Rio Grande Reservoir

Saturday, June 27. We ventured a short 30 minutes to this little piece of heaven called the Rio Grande Reservoir. It was here where we spent the afternoon fishing and relaxing. I won't talk about who caught the first fish or the most fish, but I bet you can guess.

Colorado Part VIII: Horseback riding through the mountains

Saturday, June 27. Saturday was our last full day in Colorado. I had plans to go horseback riding and then the rest of the day we were going to be fishing. The weather was PERFECT.

Me riding on joker along side the Rio Grande River.

Colorado Part VII: The Alpine Loop

Friday, June 26 -- The Alpine Loop. We woke up early Friday morning to begin our journey along the 26-mile trail on the Alpine Loop. The backcountry is littered with abandoned mines and homes that make anyone wonder how people could survive in such a hostile environment.

Ryan and I rented a 4-wheel drive Jeep for our excursion. The photos and video below will explain why. The entire journey took nearly seven hours.

Not quite Ansel Adams, but I gave it my best.

This was taken shortly after we began our journey. It rained quite a bit at the beginning.

Coming up on the American Basin.

Why 4-wheel drive is recommended.

Me in the American Basin.

The American Basin.

We let Dax and Darbi run free! They had so much fun.

They even got to play in some snow!

To me, this looks like a golf course.

I was probably really nervous here.

A bit of snow.

I kept saying to Ryan, "The sky seems so blue."

Pretty waterfall, goofy chick in a hoodie.

Ryan running some trails.

Dax and Darbi pooped in the backseat.

The rental.