Art For The Sake Of Art

Jaxson enjoys the children's artwork at Tillery Park, all created and designed by local Fort Worth children. Very cool.

Just A Day At The Park

Beckett's Papa was kind enough to invite Jaxson and I to join him and a few friends out at Tillery Park to enjoy yet another beautiful day in Fort Worth; Robyn had to work, so the boys had to fly as a duet today.

Strother, Beckett, and Jaxson seemed like the Three Musketeers as they weaved in and out of the many walkways and kid-sized passages at Tillery Park; which is an absolutely gem of a park in the TCU area of Fort Worth.

Strother's mom and dad, Blythe and Darin, were kind enough to supply us with bagels, cinnamon rolls, and a few quiche's while the kids played and enjoyed the late morning sunshine. The boys are all within one month of each other, as far as age, and the varying personalities and levels of development was an enjoyment that only parents could truly appreciate and understand. Interaction seemed as natural as could be, and we wondered if Beckett and Jaxson remember each other from their days of napping and enjoying Thursday night dinners with Momma and Papa Long.

Leaf Me Alone

With the local temperature pushing 80 today, and Booger and Cody-Man staying with us for the afternoon; we couldn't think of a better way to kill some time than to get all the leaves together in the front yard - and let kids be kids.

God must have intended on kids jumping into leaves one day, because they work perfect as a cushion between the kiddos body and the hard ground.

It took a minute for Jax to get warmed-up to the idea, but Jaycee and Cody jumped right in without testing the waters first.

Dreaming

Cowboy Moments

Having a deep conversation about the Cowboy's sad day.

Stuck between two Redskin fans....poor kid.

The Fly

Let It Be

Hopefully Not Foreshadowing

The only bars I hope you are ever behind are the ones with beer taps and cute bartenders.

Jax and His Uncles

Jax with Uncle Casey

Jax and Uncle Peebs Enjoying Frederick

New Year's Weekend in Maryland

Maryland has become Jaxson's home away from home over the last six months. With three trips over that time period, he is becoming all too familiar with plane trips that take him northeast.

Some trips have been smoother than others, as far as plane rides go; but all-in-all this was a great trip to see both Uncle Casey and Uncle Peeb's (Michael) and their lovely wife and now fiancee; more on that later.

After we landed Saturday morning, we headed north from BWI Airport to Frederick, Maryland to unload our baggage and head for lunch. Downtown Frederick is a great little spot. Extremely pedestrian friendly with storefront shops, cafes, and pedestrian walkways that meander around a small creek and in and out of old buildings from days gone by. We found a great little dive restaurant and bar called Bentz Street Sports Bar. Being the only group in the restaurant at the time, it gave us plenty of freedom to have a few cold brewski's and catch up on old times and new times yet to come. A little FYI, if you ever happen to find yourself in Bentz, order the Old Bay Wings - very nice.

Sunday was all about football. We were all looking forward to watching the Cowboys trump the Redskins while we were in enemy territory - but as we all know by now, that didn't happen. We enjoyed ourselves tremendously none-the-less.

One other small event happened on Sunday - Michael asked his lovely girlfriend of 5 years to be his wife. In only the way that fits Michael and Kristin. As the group (including all the Coon's, Jaxson, two of Kristin's brothers, her mom and dad, Casey's wife Sam, Robyn and myself) enjoyed some light afternoon snacks and good conversation, Tex (Michael and Kristin's dog) wondered into the room with a ribbon around his neck and something mysteriously hanging from the ribbon. As Kristin leans over curiously and begins examining the box, Michael takes it from her and gets down on one knee. To our delight, Kristin joined the family with a simple, "Yes."

With such a busy and emotional day on Sunday, Monday was all about just hanging and waiting for Father Time to exit the year and welcome in a new year. After lounging around for most of the day,we headed to dinner at Rio Grande Cafe before heading home for the midnight ball dropping. To be honest, some of us were in bed by 12:05am, so not much to discuss with the ringing in of the new year.

Tuesday we headed home. A little post Christmas shopping in the morning, followed up with some lunch, then off to BWI to head home. The flight home was a little rough, not turbulence wise or the act of flying itself; but actually a puppet show gone horribly wrong....

Jaxson wasn't feeling the nap time session he usually does on a flight; so, to pass some time Robyn thought it would be good to use the air-sickness bad as an impromptu hand puppet, which worked wonders. To much "wonder" is bad sometimes, and Jaxson started laughing so hard he began bringing his snacks of Goldfish and granola bars back to the surface. And being the great dad I am, I sacrificed by body and tried to catch most of the ABC food (Already Been Chewed). So for about the last 90 minutes of so of the flight, I had the joy of smelling that great smell that my boy bestowed upon me.

Kind of ironic if you think about it. I didn't have the airsickness bag to catch the "goods" because Robyn was using it as the puppet which made Jaxson sick. Damn Murphy's Law.

Like I said, most of the trip was excellent and we will be headed back that direction in October for the wedding - looking forward to it.

Bathtime Can Be Brutal

Let me set the scene.

Jaxson and Robyn are enjoying bath time, minding their own business and scrubbing all the necessary parts. A giggle here, a giggle there - all fun and games.

Then the playroom bully, Vinny "The Curious" George wonders into the bathroom. He starts interrupting, asking too many questions, just making himself an unwelcome guest. Now, if you know Jaxson, you know he is a very well mannered, low-key individual; until you ruffle his diaper trimmings - then he just gets plain irate.

Water and bath-toys started flying, Robyn started crying hysterically, Jaxson was screaming obscenities and speaking in foreign tongues. All Mr. George could manner to mumble in the haste was a mercy cry of "uncle," so Jaxson let up. When the dust cleared, it was evident that Jaxson had lost his cool and snapped.

The doctor says that the arm should be reattached and in full working order with some physical therapy.

Let's all hope the best for Mr. George

Strike a Pose.

As part of Robyn's birthday gifts, I told her I would brave the elements and the shoppers and take her to shop after lunch. To my surprise, it wasn't bad. Jaxson enjoyed his moment in the spotlight as he strutted his stuff in front of the dressing room mirror.

Birthday Lunch at Lucile's

Jaxson and I took Robyn out for a birthday lunch at Lucile's in Fort Worth. A great little gem of a restaurant in an old 1920's building. The atmosphere was great as we wasted the afternoon away.

One Small Step..

I could not imagine a better Christmas present then this.

Watch Boo's reaction in the background, priceless.

Throw a Spear, Grab a Knife

Lessons are learned by doing, my personal motto is "Educate By Doing." This simply means, that in life, sometimes you just have to do it, and what ever happens, happens - and you learn from your mistakes and you grow from these mistakes.

For my kids, I want them to experience as many things in life as possible. I want them to hurt themselves, have scars, and learn how to live by living.

All this being said, I found a great presentation from the TED blog. The title says it all, "5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do." It is about 9 minutes long, but well worth the time if you have kids or are planning on kiddos.

Enjoy.

Family Interaction

Ashley and Trey enjoy an impromptu game with Jaxson late on Christmas evening.

Christmas Morning Memories

Packing Popcorn and Presents

We all woke up bright and early Christmas morning to see what Santa had left our Little Bambino. Along with the usual sweaters, books, and magnetic alphabet and numbers; Santa also let behind some packaging popcorn from a delivery of a Curious George that his elf, Aunt "T" & Uncle "J", had delivered to the house.




A little bonus gift free of charge that has created a priceless image and wonderful Christmas morning memory.

Giving His Thanks

Jaxson asked me to send out a mass digital "Thank You" to all who gave him gifts over the holidays. He is fortunate and blessed to have family member and friends that love him dearly and who shower him with attention, love, and gifts.

So from Jaxson to you, Thank You and we love you all.

Unwrapping the Fun

It has begun.

It is now officially open season on gifts.

Please feel free to unwrap at your own convenience, I know Jaxson has started on his end.

With the big day just hours away, we let him start practicing for Santa by unwrapping some gifts from a few dear friends of ours.

So beware, if your gift is within reach - it may be next.

Long-Hair Hippy Freak, No More.

No longer is my boy welcomed in the rebelious, hippy communes in the DFW area after giving into the man and getting his first official haircut.

Fairly harmless for the most part, a few whimpers at the end, but nothing to brag about. Cool Cuts did a fantastic job, and let Jax watch Nemo and sit in the big red fire engine. Much smoother than when Robyn and I tried to tackle the muff on his head.

I guess some things really are better left to the professionals.

The end product...looks like a new kid.

Vroom, Vroom....

Stimulation Overload

Parade of Lights - 2008

What has become a tradition for us since the arrival of Jaxson, we made our second trip to the Arlington Parade of Lights on Saturday. It is nice to live in a big city but still have activities that feel like "Small Town, America." The parade doesn't have extravagant floats or even top-notch local celebrities, but it does have a unique feeling all it's own.

People line Abrams Street in downtown Arlington, and some set-up shop REAL early to get a seat - Mr. Bruce Wacker was there 2+ hours before the start to make sure we had a spot right in front of city hall in a prime location....we thank you for that.

The mayor showed up, along with local high school marching bands, cub scout packs from around the area, and even Santa was able to hang out for a bit and bring some holiday cheer. Jax is still a little "iffy" of whether or not he likes the big bearded man; we are working on that.

And what's a parade without sparkly souvenirs and Elvis's covered in lights riding motorcycles...if that doesn't say Christmas, I don't know what does. Another huge "thank you" to Mr. Wacker again for buying Jaxson his sparkly thing-a-ma-jigger (not sure of the correct terminology.)

All in all, a good night to welcome in some colder weather and to nudge a bit closer to Christmas.

Watching the Watch Dog

Rock Star In The Works

After a hard night of living on a virtual stage while playing "Guitar Hero" at a friend's house, Jaxson and Sawyer needed to call it an early night.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!!!

Sorry to do this to you kiddo, but this blog is set up to capture all your big moments in life...good, bad, or embarrassing. As you proceeded to find yourself a winner at dinner, I managed to find myself a photo that I am sure will come back and haunt you at your wedding.

Griswald's Go Mexican

Seeing Christmas through the eyes of child is something that I think we all wish we could do again. The twinkle of lights, the colors of garland and tinsel strung on the tree, the sound of wrapping paper being torn in anticipation of what's being revealed. These are all fond memories we experience as children, and that feeling can not be recaptured....or so I thought.

For the last few weeks, Robyn said she had a surprise for Jaxson and I; but we had to go to Campo Verde, a Mexican restaurant in Arlington. Robyn hates surprises, so for her to hold out for that long and the sense of urgency she had to get us there made me think something was up.

Holy Crap.

I didn't know if the surprise was food or something at the restaurant - the only thing I knew was that she said that I had to bring a camera. Walking up to the restaurant, nothing looked out of place or abnormal. A few lights dangled in the wind, some randomly placed beer signs, and a "Special of the Day" banner greeted us. Like I said, nothing abnormal.

Then it all changed.

I opened the firsts set of double doors, then the second set of double doors. Then, there it was in all it's glory. The most hideous, gaudiest, blantant, flamboyant, and gorgeous display of Christmas decorations I had ever seen. I was truly speechless.

Not sure if I walked into a cruel dimension where Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas met the Griswold's who then met Elf, or if this was really happening. But I was impressed.

Read the numbers on the sign that I took a picture of, and just think about how much "stuff" that is. I heard a rumor that it took staff 6 DAYS to hang everything, wow. The pictures just do not do it justice, so please go experience for yourself and enjoy your trip back to childhood.

Killing Time

An early afternoon Saturday strolled turned into a day at the park. As we wandered around the neighborhood killing some time on a lazy day, we made our way to the park at the elementary school down the street.

I think playgrounds were invented by adults that wanted to play, but needed some way to cover it up, so they claimed they were building it for the kids. Each time we come to a playground, the adults end up playing more than the kids.

I guess everybody really is right when they say age is just a number.