The Afternoon Agenda of a Dog

2:00 pm: Chew on a bone.

2:09 pm: Beg for belly-rubbin's.

2:15 pm: Practice your synchronized scratching.

2:16 pm: Engage in barbaric fighting with your friends.
2:20 pm: Pin your friend to the ground by the neck.

2:28 pm: Kiss and make up.
2:35 pm: Monitor the traffic of other dogs and humans.

2:40 pm: Stare off into the distance and consider the brightness of your doggy future.

Bed bugs

I think I now know what the Three Bears felt like when they came home and found Goldilocks sleeping in Baby Bear's bed. Except, I think it's the Harry Bear that snuck into the bed this time.

Cherry Mania

Our first "crop" of the season: The cherry trees produced gallons this year, so we (mostly Daddy) have been working like crazy to pick, pit, and freeze all these cherries.

The First

Last Saturday, Dave and I visited the home of John, Sarah, and their one-year old baby, Jacob. He had more adults all over him than ticks on a dog (ok, so maybe the analogy isn't appropriate, but it works). He had a great time opening his presents but even more fun eating his very own cake. Puppies...Babies...it may be offensive to compare them, but we think they may be the two cutest things on the planet. And, this baby may be among the cutest of all (He's tied with Cody, Ambrose, Henry and Leandra). Happy Birthday, Jacob.

Variations on a Theme

How many , you ask, how many more pictures of puppies can we look at? Well, even though you've finally realized the theme of our blog, one is never enough. So, here yet again, is another picture of Maggie and her favorite kittie Cirrus Dean. And yes, they are sleeping on the couch throw of their favorite adolescent wizard, HP. What could be cuter?

More wedding day fun!

Here's to a good-lookin' wedding party! From left to right, we've got Marie LeMaster, Anna Rucker, Hannah Leitz, Laura Rucker (me!), the bride and groom, AKA Leah and Dave (last name still to be determined), Seth Richardson, John Sheehan, Tim Sheehan, and Joe Sheehan.


Becca did such a great job as a flower girl. She practiced many times her technique of spacing the scattered flowers an even amount all the way down the aisle. She put much more effort and thought into being a flower girl than I ever would have as a flower girl (well, more effort than I would even now). And Devin and Becca both looked absolutely beautiful in their new dresses.




Dave's best man was Seth Richardson and Leah's maid of honor was me (Laura!) . Seth and I decided that without us the wedding wouldn't have even happened. We played an essential role in getting the two of them married. We did sign the marriage certificate as witnesses to the marriage, after all. And looked darn good doing it, too.



Proudly presenting: the new ol' married couple. Didn't anyone ever tell you that you're not supposed to make out in a church?

We have many many more pictures we could share, but alas, there are so many. Our friends with blogs have posted some great pictures of their own. We were so very glad to have shared the experience and have common memories to look back on. Check out the Secret World blog, Silent H's blog, Leandraland, and Jason and Amanda's blawg all which are linked from our page on the right. You should check out their blogs, anyway, as they are all entertaining and enjoyable to read. A special thanks to Naomi, sister to the groomed (I mean, groom), who was kind enough to take great pictures before, during, and after the wedding.

The Big Day

Well, the wedding day finally arrived - or, that is, it crashed into being with sound and fury. It took months and months of preparation with a healthy dose of procrastination, but we've reached the concensus that it turned out pretty darn well. (We, at the Puppy Mill, hope you all agree.) To make our case for what a good time we had, I'd like to present some pictures as evidence. It's only fitting that we start out with a picture that has a cute dog in it, plus it shows who was really doing all the work in the last days before the wedding. You know all that work that went into it, like peeling 32 pounds of potatoes for Potato Salad, assembling 150 miniature flower pot/melt-away mint combos for favors, and decorating the church and reception hall....well, needless to say, it wasn't Maggie doing it.

Like much of the planning for the wedding, our mamaw, the oh-so-talented Emma Mae Armstrong, created and arranged all of the silk flowers and centerpieces in the church and the reception hall. She really did a bang-up job. Otherwise, you might have been looking at one Big Lots candle and a couple of mashed silk flowers if it hadn't been for her.

Our mother, Carla did most of the food with help from mamaw, our aunt Renee who did those yummy meatballs!, and our friend Regina who made a smashing pasta salad. If mommy's hair looks a little limp and face a little red it could be either because it was pretty hot outside of the church or because she got very little sleep the night before worrying about every detail of the big day.

We had so many friends join us for this celebration of Leah and Dave gettin' hitched. Some honored guests include Leandra Kelley and Henry Vance, whose parents so graciously provided many of the pictures you're seeing on this very post. As our pictures aren't available yet, they (and our uncle Steve of the Steve/Neva clan) sent us these digital pics. Jason and Amanda and Sherry and Lee were a just a few of the library (and library associated) folks who came out for the festivities. Tom Kmetz, Julie Grannis and Tom Carroll, Tim Bush, and Stacy and Xavier Scott also joined in on the fun.