Meet Enzo
We think we have a new family member. He is a rescued greyhound whose real name is actually USS Race On. He’s staying with us for a couple of days to see if he is a good fit for our family (and if we’re a good fit for him). We’re already calling him “Enzo” so I guess he’s going to stay.
I don’t think it shows in the photos, but he’s a big guy at around 87 pounds. While he has a lot of power available to him he is very gentle, especially indoors. He is great with Sophie and Claire and mostly lays down while inside.
Laura came up with the name “Enzo” as a reference to his speed, as in Enzo Ferrari.
He’s a picture of him doing what he does best. He’s not shy about turning up the speed when he’s outside and has a little space to race around. The story is that when he was a pup a trainer bought him for around $36,000 and he raced other greyhounds. Apparently he was very good at racing and was very profitable for his owner.
A Day of Christmas Activities
Today was the day that we used to call “Christmas Tree Valley”, though I’ve never been to a Christmas tree farm with the group. This year we started off with a Christmas party at Sophie’s school. Here she is with the first of two visits with Santa.
As we expected, Claire was not a fan of sitting on Santa’s lap.
Sophie was so excited to see one of her teachers, Miss Angela.
Next, we moved on to meeting up with the old neighborhood gang. Before we went to the winery, we headed to a local Santa and model train display… and Santa #2 was no less traumatic for Claire.
Once we got rid of the guy in the red suit, Claire really seemed to enjoy watching the model trains. She could watch and watch and watch…
At the winery I took Sophie for a walk among the grapevines.
Just an interesting tidbit. This is a photo taken from the winery looking across the road and waaaaaaay across the field. There are a few housed perched among the bluffs. This is probably the biggest.
Gingerbread Housing Project
Just like the tradition of carving Jack-O-Lanterns at Halloween, Sophie likes to make a Gingerbread House at Christmas time. Claire was all too happy to help this year though I think she was in it for the sugary (and stale) decorations.
A little round candy spillage never hurt anyone. Mom took it in good strides and even laughed it off as the tiny balls rolled onto the floor.
Thanksgiving in Chicago
We spent Thanksgiving Day up in Indiana, but the day after we went into Chicago to enjoy the sights and sounds of Christmas. Sophie really got a kick out of the city and the decorations.
Sophie has really been fascinated with trains so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to ride the subway.
A self-portrait.
The holy land. It was worth the wait.
A little Sophie-Subway Montage…
Everything Halloween
I’ve been a little behind on posting pictures, but the good news is that I’ve been taking pictures. I’m going to take this opportunity to post a big bunch of photos taken over 3-4 Halloween events: Pumpkin Picking, Jack-O-Lantern carving, school Halloween parties and Halloween night.
Claire really enjoyed feeding the baby goats and Sophie was glad to help.
The infamous corn maze. It took us a good 25 minutes to work our way out of it.
Sophie was eating kettle corn as she lead us through the maze. Maybe she should have been dropping them like bread crumbs. Maybe then we could have gotten out faster.
Here’s the halloween party that some of the other Mom’s and I got roped into planning. It was actually fun getting to hang out with Sophie at school.
One of her teachers, Miss Melissa.
And Sophie’s favorite, Ms. Kathleen.
Apparently Ben has been feeling sad lately… 
The man with the right tool for the right job. Here I am using a Dremel to carve my Angry Birds jack-o-latern. It didn’t work as well as I hoped.
Can you tell which head was photoshopped in this picture?
November 9, 2011 - 1:40 am - no comments +1
Trunk or Treat!
The event is trunk or treat. Its the ultimate convenience in Trick-or-treating. About 70 cars parked in the parking lot of Sophie’s school and the kids went trunk-to-trunk in search of candy and fun. We finished in 20 minutes.
Claire really enjoyed wearing the skunk costume. She didn’t mind it at all.
by Joe
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