Choo-Choo

Fox and Mary took advantage of the 70 degree weather and went to the train park in Scottsdale for a playdate last week. Fox LOVES choo-choos.

He liked to play on the tracks...

He can climb up the playground equipment without any help.

Fox with his friend in the caboose.

Fox coming down the slide.

We also went to the train park again in the evening later in the week with our other friend. All the holiday lights were up and it was full of people. It was awfully cold though!

Fox and our friend, Steve, on the little steamers.

Fox poking his head out from the penguin.

Fox and James.

And our odd family photo.

We are tripping left and right over all the toys Fox got for Christmas. Seems that Santa was very generous this year! Plenty of choo-choo's and cars!!! He is also talking up a storm and might have just perfected his whining skills.

We are keeping ourselves busy with family plans, visiting friends from out of town, going to a wedding or two, birthday party here and there and other events to keep from going nutty waiting for responses from Pharmacy School Admissions. Yikes.

The List (<- according to PharmCas and Supplemental Applications we have submitted)
University of New Mexico
University of Southern Nevada
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
University of Florida
Midwestern University
Mercer University
University of Utah

So this is us. nothing else to report. adios!

Holiday Party

Our church had a Christmas party the first week of December. There were over a dozen hams (no lies), lots of potatoes, lots of corn and lots and lots of rolls! So you can only imagine how much dessert there was.

There was a live band and Fox LOVED it. He danced around and clapped his hands.

We danced with Fox as well.

Figures Fox is the one who isn't sitting towards Santa but will crank his neck to see him!

The family photo with Santa. This was the only photo of Fox not crying.

And here's the crying...

Our house is uneventful - other than the fact it's almost the end of the year! We learned Fox LOVES Taylor Swift songs - who would have guessed. We sent off almost all of the remaining Pharmacy school applications. Also sent off our Christmas Cards in the mail to a selected few - times are tight people, money does not grow on trees!

so that's us. nothing else to report. adios.

Gobble Gobble

November was a nervous time for us football wise. Match who's team is who's.

For whatever reason, Mary decided to make this the first item in November's updates. HA!

As mentioned in previous post, Fox likes to wear his helmet all the time. (James' old boss made the comment one time that our kid will need to constantly wear a helmet because I mean, look at his folks, it's James and Mary! Looks like he was right.) So it is not a problem at all for us to get him to wear one while riding his bike.

Fox at Mary's Cub Scout night for "Ride Right" and "Safety First" (depending on the Wolves or Bears book). The Scouts had a blast riding around the church parking lot in pratical darkness (the lights did come on eventually).

Fox crusing around the lake/pond by the Library in Gilbert.

Mary let Fox pick out his clothes to wear that day. Oh Fox.

Fox likes to sit in our bed with "snackies" when he wakes up in the morning and catch a few minutes of Disney Channel.

Well if James and Mary have been busy, what have they been doing?! College hoops started. Guess who's team is who's.

Our readers who know about college hoops will understand this photo below. This is our house.

Of course, the Thanksgiving Turkey came to visit us this year with his annual bearing of gifts - PAJAMAS! (too bad we ate his distant cousin...shhh...he doesn't know!). The video is of Fox opening his gift and saying "gobble gobble". enjoy.

so this is us. nothing else to report. adios.

Dirting in October

In addition to the other stuff we did in October, we also made our trek to Buckeye to Carrie and John's annual Halloween Party to go off roading. DIRT! Here is Fox loving the side rail. James went with John on the Poker Run and came back with dusty lungs.

Fox also loves to wear a helmet...ALL THE TIME.

So that's it. nothing else to report. adios.

What we did in October

Dear Loyal Reader,
Mary sends her apologies with the lack of weekly updates for October. We went to a Church Halloween Party - where we had our homemade pirate costumes. Thank you red electric tape! We went to Albuquerque, New Mexico to visit UNM. While there, we visited Mary's friend and found out New Mexicans LOVE green chile in everything they cook (couldn't get away from it!). Did we mention we drove in the Jetta there? Did we mention Fox threw up before we even got to Payson on the way out?

Small car + whiny toddler + barf smell from the whiny toddler = patience tester.

We stopped at a National Park and drove with the sunroof open and windows down. Mary cut her hair and got bangs. Our list was edited a zillion times as we came to a final list - for that month.
-JMF

Enjoy the photos.

Fox and Mary playing with the water spikits at the Library in Gilbert. That's right, this is October. Glorious t-shirt and short still!

Mary fed the parking meter at UNM and this is what happened...

James looking pretty pleased after the UNM Pharmacy appointment. For some reason, we HAD to be next to the FAIL meter.

Fox wielding a sword. Ultimate Fail if you'd ever seen one. Yes, a refurbished pirate sword is in the back.

TigerBeat cover right there. Ladies Man!

Fox bobbing for apples at the Church Halloween Party.

Fox on the put-put. Tiger Woods, watch out for Fox!

Our homemade Pirate costumes. (post-bangs)

Father and Son at the Painted Desert.

Fox enjoyed freedom from the cramped Jetta.

Fox makes a funny face.

Fox and Mary in the Petrified Forest. (pre-bangs)

It really was that cold.

The Arizona High Desert tuns to dusk.

The Arizona Sunset.

So that's us. Nothing else to report. adios!

Some Favorite Summer Moments

With summer coming to a close, we reflect on some of our favorite moments while on our trip overseas. Reminisce with us!

A typical yummy lunch.

This is the way some people got around in the more rural areas. The motor can also be used for aid in harvesting the rice fields.

The limestone mountains when we went to the northern part of Laos for a few days.

A temple 5minutes walking from Mary's Aunt's house.

A blurry/in-focus photo of fruit on a tree in the backyard.

View from Mary's Aunt's kitchen window.

Mary carrying Fox in a Becco carrier at Vhat Phou - all the way to the top.

Ginger, oranges, tomatoes and more at the daily market. We would go twice a day for fresh ingredients.

Fox in one of our many bulkhead seats. We took a total of four planes totaling 19-20 hours of flying time (not including layovers).

A Treehouse. The sky was always that blue.

A neat shot of the Mekong River from a restaurant.

We have been slacking with our weekly posts - much apologies! This weekend, we are going out of town to visit a friend and university. Next weekend, we are going to Buckeye for some much needed time in dirt. James is crying and ready to lay down in traffic because of his Jets' loss in OT. Mary can't argue 3-3 for her Jags who barely won their OT game. Our first batch of applications goes out next week. Then the waiting will begin.

So this is us. Nothing else to report. adios!