Thanksgiving, part 3 - the Macy's Parade

The night before Thanksgiving, we tried to go see them blow up the parade balloons. We were a little late getting Central Park but everyone else wasn't - it was PACKED. What a bummer. As Julia said, "Daddy, I can't see Snoopy!"

When it came time for Thanksgiving day - we were lucky that NYC is pretty easy to get around, and that Thea Chris could watch Julia and Grace (since it was a little too col for them). Eventually, it did warm up some - especially in the sun.

In any case, we hustled to find a good spot on the upper West Side before the really big crowds showed up. When the parade started, it was floats for as far the eye could see! Sophia had a great view - she even got to see Snoopy!

I'm not sure who had more fun - Sophia or Mommy - they were both smiling so much. It really was a great time!

Thanksgiving, part 2

From Annapolis, we trekked through northern Maryland and New Jersey. Eventually, we reached New York City. (I'm still amazed that Thea Chris does this jaunt every few days between the two - just the time, not to mention the tolls.)


Here are 2 of the monkeys jumping on Thea's bed in NYC:


And another one playing games with the cousins:



While we did get to see some of the NJ family, but we didn't get to see cousin Felix. (Although technically he and Randall now live in Pennsylvania, but we still consider them part of the NJ Posse.)

The Thanksgiving Trek, part 1

We had an adventurous Thanksgiving, logging roughly 1,200mi each way. We trekked across the Smokey Mountains, through Virginia, over to Annapolis, MD. We visited Thea Chris for a couple days, doing a little sightseeing around Annapolis: the Severn River harbor and the Chesapeake Bay, the U.S. Naval Academy, etc.

We were even lucky enough that Thea Chris watched the girls for a little while so that Mommy and Daddy could sneak out for a traditional Chesapeake Bay dinner. We went to the famed Cantler's Riverside Inn for steamed Maryland blue crabs! Wow were they good!

Movember is Over

Thanks to all of you that helped me reach my goal!!!

Here's one of the final pics of the "mo." And yes, I shaved it.

Its Movember Again

Movember (the month formerly known as November) is a moustache growing charity event held during November each year that raises funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation and awareness for men's health.

I was able to raise over $1,500 in 2007. My 2008 goal is $2,000. Please consider donating ANY AMOUNT to the cause - all the money goes directly to the Prostate Cancer Foundation. To donate and follow my progress, visit http://us.movember.com/mospace/1806166

Thanks... and here's a pic of my mo so far.

Are you ready racers?

Last weekend was the Race for Education, which benefits the schools in our area. We were blessed with a very nice fall day: sunny and about 72F.

So, after lots of preparation - Mommy packed a picnic for all the 'snackers' and everyone was strapped in and ready - we made our way over to the park where the race began.

Due to all of our racers - and their various snacking needs - we participated in the 1 mile 'fun run/walk' rather than the actual 5K race. So, our two best racers - Sophia and Julia - were off and walking. Of course, since they are "faster" than everyone, they raced ahead of Mommy, Daddy and Grace.

We saw several friend and teachers along the way. Eventually, we made it to the finish line. Although it was a big production, its safe to say that a good time was had by all.

Happy Halloween!

The girls were all Princesses for Halloween: Sophia was Ariel (a.k.a. the Little Mermaid), Julia was Cinderella, Grace was Tinker Bell, and Mommy was Snow White. Since it was warm (about 60F) on Halloween evening, the girls were able to go out for a little longer. According to Sophia, it was the "BEST HALLOWEEN EVER!"

Someone is 6

With both grandma & Uncle Gregg and Yiayia & Thea Chris visiting in consecutive weekends - as well as a "friends party" with some of her school chums- Sophia had the Hanukkah of birthdays. According to Sophia, this was the "BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!"

Minnie Mouse

To celebrate the letter "M", Sophia's class had a Mickey/Minnie Mouse day at school. Not to be outdone, Mommy made Sophia's cool Minnie Mouse costume, complete with the felt ears. School has been fun, as everyone gets used to a new routine.

Meanwhile, Minnie - I mean Sophia - has been busy after school. She takes tennis lessons on Tuesday evenings at a local court. She is also still in swimming lessons. She was recently promoted to level 3 and just this week level 4.

With the Grace's birthday out of the way, the countdown has begun for Sophia. She regularly tells Mommy how she can't wait for her birthday. However, it is still a couple weeks away.

Until then, Halloween themes and costumes are the debate du jour.

The running of the weenies

We attended the 13th Annual Running of the Weenies, sponsored by the Germantown Animal Shelter at the Germantown Horse Arena. It is a race of, you guessed it, dachshunds (aka weiner dogs or weenies). It is part of the Germantown Festival.

This pic was one of the heats. At 87 degrees, it was unseasonably warm (even for Memphis) but we sweated it out to see the eventual winner: Mia.

Grace Turns 1

After having to watch other people blow out candles, Grace finally got to celebrate her own birthday. Here are a couple pics commemorating the big ONE!

Its been a long time...

What can I say? Its been a long time since my last post. In the interim, we have seen many of you and Grace got dipped.

Here's a pic of Grace from a couple weeks ago. Hard to believe but the little smiler is 11 months old now! She's definitely growing up. In fact, she's pretty much refusing to eat unless she can feed herself. Nevermind that she only has TWO TEETH.

Swimming Sophia

Sophia has become quite the swimmer. She just finished her fourth series of swimming classes at the gym (each series has 4 lessons). She is able to swim in the pool without her life jacket. Mostly she uses a "noodle", which is a long foam tube that little people can tuck under their arms.

Of course, she also has her swimming goggles (the ones in this pic are the "old" pair) so that she can see underwater. She gets to the pool at least 3 week, not of mention the backyard (aka the poor man's jacuzzi) or the pool in the development.

Julia is following closely behind her big sister. She took "mommy & me" classes in the early spring and is also a big fan of swimming. In fact, she regularly tells dady, "I went swimming today!" when he gets home (even if they didn't get to the gym that day). However, its a little tough to get clothes back on her at the gym after being in the pool. Reportedly, mommy has to chase her around the locker room (according to Sophia).

Happy B-Day Daddy

For my birthday, in addition to a very surprising birthday party, the girls got me a digital frame for my office. The party was 'very surprising' because it was a few days before my birthday, so it caught me off guard since I expected it the next week. The girls made me banana-nut muffins, which are my favorite. A little known fact is that mommy delivered homemade banana-nut bread to work for our very first Valentine's Day (of course I was hooked ever since!).

Mommy made a wonderful dinner, along with fresh strawberries and whipped cream for dessert. It really was quite the party, complete with many helpers to blow out the candles.

The digital frame was something that I had wanted for some time. I didn't want something fancy but I did want something to show off of the girls at the office. Also, it would replace several frames I had on my credenza.

Guilty as Charged

I've been accused of neglecting my blogging duties by more than a few of you. I can make some lame excuses like, "I'm been traveling a lot for work" (which is very true!). But, obviously, I am guilty as charged.

Here are a couple pics of the three amigos in the backyard. If its been so long that you don't recognize her, the little one is Grace.

Snow in Memphis!

Holy moly! It's snowing in Memphis!

If you listened to the local news or some of locals, you'd think the sky was falling - and for some them it pretty much was. Schools were are closed at noon (hours before it was even snowing) and businesses closed.


I drove home at 5pm - the roads were barely slushy with most just wet. Certainly bridges were covered with snow but nothing to grind things to a halt. Nonetheless, Memphians were driving 25 mph.

These are some pics one out the front of the house and one out the back (with the girls' playhouse).

More b-day pics

This is a pic of the most of the gang. I say most because Grace is off camera.

Anyhow, a great time was had by all...

Julia's 2nd B-day

Its hard to believe that Julia is 2 but its true. Here's mommy "helping" blow out the candles...

Yiayia and Thea Chris came to celebrate and we talked to many family and friends that sent birthday wishes.

Still hard to believe....

The girls with Uncle Bob

In our travels, we were able to catch up with Uncle Bob a couple times, which included a trip to Bob Evan's for some yummy breakfast! Uncle Bob is amongst our dearest family & friends. Its really tough not being able to just pop over to Bob's for a quick visit. Nonetheless, we got to hear an update on the Rhode Island contingent, David and 'little' Bob.

We were also able to visit with Gordon, Micki and the girls. We constantly hear how big our girls have grown but their girls have REALLY grown quickly. We also got to hear all about Gordy's upcoming trip to Durham, NC, to see the N. Carolina vs. Kent St basketball game with his former partner Big Mike O.

Sophia with Nouna Chrissy

Lots of stuff happened over the holidays. Yes, we were remiss in our blogging duties, so we're trying to catch up.

The girls were able to spend an extended visit in Cle. So, they were able to catch up with some very important family and friends. This a pic at Sophia's godmother (Nouna in greek) Chrissy and Amy. It also included catching up Chrissy's mom, cousin Mary Ellen, who helped watch the girls while we we in Strongsville. "Mommy, I really miss Mary," Sophia said repeatedly on the drive home.

They were also able to get spend some time with Julia's Nouna Val and the rest of the V clan before they left for their annual holiday cruise. It's hard to believe that its been a year since many of the Skor clan attended the V's annual holiday cruise. Of course, if you've been keeping score at home, it was on last year's holiday cruise that Grace decided she wanted join the family.

We were also able to visit with our goddaugher Dina and her family. We were also able to visit with our very good friends Rob & Jamie and our goddaughter Emily.