Dogs do the darndest things...

Funniest thing happened this morning.  Gabe woke up early and took Texas out.  Then he put him on the porch with all of his toys and things so he could hang out and not have to go back in his crate.  Then Gabe came back to bed.  We woke up about an hour later and Texas had climbed the chair onto the little patio table and had fallen asleep on the table cloth.  We were laughing so hard. Normally we would get the dog down right away, but we couldn't until we had both snapped a shot on our phones and our camera.  Love this puppy.

Texas Forever....

Alright, so I know that that was kind of a lame title for a post... but let me explain here.  When Gabe and I first moved to California, we decided there were a lot of other things we wanted to pay for instead of cable.  So one night we popped in the t.v. series DVD, Friday Night Lights and became ADDICTED.  It is an awesome show. Its about a high school football team from a small town in Dillon, Texas, where the only thing that matters is Football.  You've got the cheerleader, the football players, the coach and the coache's wife, the booster club and the cows.... its awesome.  We love it!   There's a line that they always throw around in the show... "Texas Forever", and we always joke about it. Well, when Gabe and I decided to get a new puppy, guess what we named the little guy.... 

Meet the Newest, Cutest member of our Family.... Texas! Isn't he pretty much the cutest thing you've ever seen?  I think so!   Gabe and I had been wanting a puppy for a couple months now.  Gabe wanted a manly dog, one that would run and play around with him, protect me when he would have to travel, and most importantly... NOT fit in a purse.  I wanted someone to go on walks with me, hang out and be a cuddler.

In walked the American Bulldog.

When we were looking for puppies at stores, in the pound and on Craig's list, we couldn't decide which would be the best fit for our little family and for the family that will someday grow.  We found this little guy on line and decided to research the American Bulldog. American Bulldogs are great family dogs.  They love their master and are gentle with kids.  They are said to be courageous and heroic.  We called around to some people with ABS (as they call them) and we could just not hear enough good things about them.  So we decided to go for it.  We called up the lady, Gabe used his great negotiating skills and got him for an unbelievable price, and a couple days later we had a beautiful pure bread American Bulldog.  

We are loving this little guy.  He is such an awesome puppy.  We are amazed at how good he is.  The first night he went right to sleep in his crate and didn't cry at all.  He doesn't go potty in the house (well most of the time), he sleeps alot and he loves to play.  It is so fun to hang out with him in our apartment complex.  I tell ya, I have met more people in the last two days than I have the whole time we've been here.  People love to come up and pet him and make googly voices at him.  And he is so gently towards them, they will just stay and talk and talk.  Its been so fun.  I love spending time with this little Dude.  And of course, if you know me, you know that I tend to over worry about things.  Needless to say, I'm on the phone constently with my dad, asking him questions about training him, feeding him, walking him, and trying to keep this little guy alive.  (Thanks dad!)  I think that Gabe and I are doing alright though.  The little boy seems happy and healthy and loves to play with us, rough house a little bit and then curl up in our lap at the end of the day.  

We're going to have lots of fun with Texas.   I'll update pictures, I can tell this guy is already growing fast and before we know it, he is going to be a BIG dog... just you wait!   

Ecuador memories...

So I was going through all my pictures this morning and I couldn't help but look through the album when Gabe and I went to Ecuador.  I love looking at the pictures and it reminds me how much I love and adore those sweet little angels down in Ecuador.  These cute little orphan children taught me so much about life.  They taught me that you don't need much to be happy.  They taught me how to truly love.  They taught me how to be selfless and care about others.  They taught me that a smile is easy to give, costs nothing, and can change lives.  They taught me that miracles still happen.  They taught me that angels truly surround us.  They taught me that Heavenly Father loves His children.  They taught to live life to the fullest and to love with everything I've got. I've been able to travel to Ecuador twice.  The first was a couple years ago when I lived there for three months and worked in the orphanages, and the second was with Gabe... 

It was a little over a year ago in May that a few of my friends (who had gone with me the first time) , Gabe, his little bro Roman, and I made the trip down to Ecuador.  Gabe and I had just barely started dating and for me, it was the best thing that could have ever happened to be able  to go back to Ecuador together... for a few reasons.  First of all because I loved these kids and the city of Cuenca so much and I wanted to share that with someone I really cared about.  Second, because Gabe loves South America, its history, its culture, and I got to see him speak and interact with the people, which was so cool!  Gabe served a mission in Venezuela and speaks awesome Spanish.  It was so fun to actually unerstand a full conversation with the people (after Gabe translated of course) and have him translate to some of the people my gratitude and thanks for taking care of these amazing children.    And last but not least.... It was in Cuenca that I really fell head over heels in love with my cute husband.  It was so fun to be with the kids together, to throw a party for the kids, walk the streets of cuenca together, and see him interact with the kids I love so much.  He was so awesome and brought down so many clothes and things to donate to the kids.  They loved him so much, especially the little boys.  The volunteers that go down to Ecuador are mostly girls, so when the little boys get to hang out with a guy (that speaks spanish) they are so happy!  And Gabe's brother Roman went down to so it was double the fun!  It was an awesome trip. And I can't wait to go back to South America with Gabe.. (hopefully Venezuela next, I would love to meet the people that he served)   

Anywho... I'm so glad I stumbled through these photos today... so many awesome memories!!!!