New Stuff - the details

We have another car. It looks like this...

Brian has been driving an employer provided truck for a long time. Therefore, we only owned one car because we didn't need a second vehicle. Well... his employer decided that the employees can longer bring home the trucks overnight (something to do with insurance). He has to leave his truck at the Valparaiso yard (he works for the local utility company) and drive to and from the yard with his own car. Brian's office is in Gary. This means he has to drive 5+ miles southeast of our home to pick up the truck then drive northeast to Gary. This adds about 30 minutes of drive time to his daily commute. Since we didn't have a second vehicle, he has been driving my car to the Valpo yard and leaving me stuck at home.

So we started searching for a second car. We really wanted a Honda Odyssey but it was out of our price range. With all the recent work on our house, we just couldn't afford one. So we ended up finding a kid / dog friendly Element. The seats are waterproof, the floor is covered in rubber. It can literally be swept out and wiped down with a cloth. So the next time, Claudia projectile vomits in the car I won't have to worry about the stench remaining in the fabric!

We have another dog. He looks like this...

This is Snoopy McNugget. He came from the same shelter in Miller, Indiana that Sophie, our first dog, came from. We get regular updates from the Miller shelter via e-mails and Facebook. The updates include fundraisers and pictures of adoptable pets, including McNugget. (Note: Brian has wanted a Westie for 13 years) He's a 5 month old puppy and he's cute... a dog that doesn't stay for a long time in the shelter. We figured he would have been adopted quickly. He was. By us.

We stopped at the shelter on our way to a White Sox game to drop off a donation. While we were there, Brian asked about McNugget. He was still available! We took him out to the grassy area for some play time and Brian and the kids fell in love with him. McNugget played fetch with William which thrilled William because he has been trying to teach an uninterested Sophie to play fetch all summer.

So far he has been great. He gets along with Sophie. He fears the cat, Rosie. He potties outside and sleeps all night (except for the first few nights). He listens better than both kids and never complains. The vet says he's very healthy. We changed his name to Snoopy which he is happy about. He secretly told me the other shelter dogs were calling him "Chicken McNugget". He doesn't like being called a "Chicken". Looks like we found ourselves a little furry teasure!