It IS a Wonderful Life

Yesterday morning I "warned" JTK that we would be watching "It's a Wonderful Life" that evening and he would not be allowed to be on his netbook OR play any games on his DS.   Of course, I got a couple of "child abuse" comments out of it, but if Joey is warned about something so horrific he can usually handle it.  ;)    I remember never having heard of this movie until I was away at college and a friend asked me to go to her film appreciation class to watch it with her about a week before Christmas break.    The feeling of hope and joy I had after watching that movie is indescribable and I can still recall it over 20 years later.     I wanted to let Joey grow up with this movie, but I had to wait until a good age.    It's a tough sell for a 12 year old boy in 2010 - a black and white movie that revolves around family and friends.      He *was* a little bored at first, but by the end of the movie I received the pronouncement "It IS a GREAT movie."   :)   

Lenny

Yesterday was an all around good day.    We got to the adoption event late because we needed to stop by PetSmart and get a photo of Santa with 3 of our perma dogs.   Of course, taking Hopper and Cooper anywhere together is never a pretty sight.   Cooper has to show the world how tough he is by barking at any dog that gets near him and Hopper has this excruciatingly high pitched bark that he unleashes on the world due to excitement.     They were having trouble with the camera so we had to wait a little longer than usual but we met some nice people in line.    There was a lady that had the cutest, sweetest little long hair chihuahua in the world.    His name was Lenny and he was such a great little dog - he was happy and excited to meet every person and every dog in the store!

You bite his leg, I'll get his hand!

By the time we went in to see Santa, it took about 10 minutes for Cooper and Hopper to stop acting like they'd rather kill Santa than be near him.    It was actually pretty funny.    They had Santa set up in a training area so the door could be closed and Hopper and Cooper were running around in a frenzy - just trying desperately to stay away from the scary man in the red suit.     I wanted Joey to be part of the picture and how it turned out, he absolutely had to.    Cooper was the only one who couldn't be won over by Santa - he wouldn't even accept a treat from him.     I cropped this picture to highlight  Hopper and Cooper exchanging a look of fear and dread.

Then we rushed home, picked up TRex and went to the adoption event.   I have to admit TRex looking freakin hilariously adorable yesterday.   I put what used to be Burton's monster sweater on him and I hadn't realized until yesterday that it's red and green!  Perfect for Christmas attire.    Everyone in our group was commenting on how cute and great TRex is and how they can't believe he hasn't been adopted.      When everyone started talking about that, it reminded me of just how far he's come from his puppy mill days.   He's still a little nutty, but his affectionate and loving side is present more often than his fearful and paranoid side.   He didn't bark or growl at one man yesterday!    Due to his perfect behavior, I decided to go ahead and chance it and take him to a different PetSmart and get a picture of TRex with Santa.     JTK and I had talked about it before but Joey had pointed out how TRex generally hates men and really dislikes men with a trucker hat and beard.     So when Joey pointed out how Santa is a man with a hat AND a beard, I had nixed my plans to get the picture.

TRex with Bells On!

What was so cool during our trip into PetSmart, walking through the store and then leaving - TRex made dozens of people smile.   It was a really nice feeling.  I know I force these dogs into silly outfits, but if it spreads smiles like it did yesterday - there can't be anything wrong with it!

A Christmas Miracle - TRex didn't bite Santa!