"Jingle Bell Rock"

Mary performing at her winter piano recital. She did a wonderful job!

Ready, set... GO!

John racing Houston Dynamo star Geoff Cameron at soccer camp.

Winter is here!

It's close to freezing here in Houston. John got all bundled up before school and was all ready to walk to school. Thanks to Grandma Trish for sending these perfect winter coats.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Meg, Mary, John and I shared a delicious Thanksgiving feast with Pa and Nini. Mary and John helped Nini get ready yesterday, then today Mary helped Meg with the mashed potatoes and the pecan pie - both of which turned out wonderfully.

We are all grateful for the health, happiness and prosperity shared by all our friends and family. We hope everyone reading this enjoyed the holiday and found much in their lives for which to be thankful (like proper grammar).

Nini and Millie

Chris and Meg

The Ferris Family in Pa and Nini's backyard

Mary walking Millie

John concentrating on his homework

Ghoul Girl, Grim Reaper and Harry Potter

"Trick or Treat!"

Mimosa Street Gang before school

Ready for a Halloween party!

Meow!

Happy Halloween!

From Catwoman and Superman

Texas Renaissance Festival

Yesterday, Baba accompanied us to the Texas Renaissance Festival. This was the first time we had gone in a couple of years and we all had a blast. The name is a bit of a misnomer; while there are plenty of Renaissance-related things to see and do, it's not purely Renaissance themed. Rather, anything that looks or seems quasi-European from the 1200s-1600s is fair game there (as you'll see from some of the photos below). For many it's just a good excuse to let their freak flag fly.

Nearly half the people there were in costume: knights, fairies, gypsies, kings, elfs, ogre... you name it. John and Mary dressed up as well.

Maiden Mary and Sir John with one of the locals.

Mary and Baba on a giant swing (all the rides were man-powered -- no engines or electricity)

John and Meg on the spinner (also man-powered)

John, Chris and Mary on the Dragon Egg ride

Meg enjoying the scene

John getting his face painted

The results

Mary with her painted face

All 3 painted faces

Mary enjoying the rain

Fall

If you haven't seen it, here's Mary's first blog entry. She wrote this for the Texas Children's Hospital blog and it was published last week. It's about the time she had the flu a few years ago.

http://www.texaschildrensblog.org/2011/09/when-i-had-the-flu-i-felt-terrible/

I've asked her to write a follow-up after she gets the FluMist next week.

And here's a great picture Meg snapped of John playing soccer today. He played another great game - it's such a joy to watch him play every week.

John focusing on the ball

John wearing his new Harry Potter costume

Muggles beware!

Mary's essay for school about her summer

Click on the image below - it should open up into a larger window so it's easier to read. It's an adorable essay Mary wrote for school about her summer trip to Tip Top. Enjoy!

Mary at the Zoo

At least we're not having a hurricane

First day of school!

On Galveston Bay at sunset

Tomales Bay

Enjoying a walk along the beach at Tomales Bay.

Sunset at Tip Top

Meg's surprise party video

I know this is a couple of weeks late - I forgot to post it to our blog. But here it is, better late than never.



Thanks again to everyone who made it such a great surprise and fun party.

Oh, and I did notice that I misspelled Mission at the end of the video. I was just too lazy to re-edit and re-publish the video.

Mary calling Nini on her new cell phone!

She got it for her birthday today. She'll call more relatives tonight when the West Coast is awake.

3 Generations of soccer fans

Baba, John and I just saw the US defeat Panama 1-0 at Reliant Stadium. The US will now play in the Gold Cup Final against the winner of the Mexico vs. Honduras game.

John and Mary leaping into the pool

We are spending a fantastic weekend at The Woodlands Resort. The pool is amazing and fun. Happy Father's Day to all the dads!

Mary riding Taxman at horse camp

John and Mary ready for their first day of camp

Mary cooling off at Discovery Green

Mary after her Girl Scout Bridging ceremony

Bridging is an important transition in a Girl Scout's life. It's a defining moment when a girl becomes aware of her achievements and is ready for new adventures and responsibilities.

We're very proud of our big girl and grateful to Meg who has led Mary's troop for 4 years.

All done!

Photo from just before graduation.

More photos to follow later.

Wedding Video

Hope everyone enjoys the short video I made of the fantastic wedding weekend in Seattle. Please feel free to forward on to anyone else who might want to watch it.



You can watch a higher res version of the video here.

The song is by Aqualung and it's called "Brighter Than Sunshine." It's from a CD Alexis sent me for my birthday a couple of years ago, so I was happy to be able to use it as the soundtrack for the video.

Meg and Alexis

The wedding was beautiful and wonderful. Alexis looked amazing and everyone had a grand time.

We're still in Seattle and really enjoying the Emerald City.

Trip to La Grange

Last Sunday, Mary, John, Meg and I drove out to La Grange, TX, a remote town about a 2 hour drive from Houston. Jim and Delrena, friends and neighbors of Pa and Nini, invited us to visit their son Barrett's weekend home. Our friend Cara and her daughter Mary O (we call her that to distinguish her from Mary F) also met us up there.

Barrett and his friend Nina were wonderful hosts. We went for a long walk to feed horses on an adjacent property. Delrena hid dozens of Easter eggs for the kids to find. And we all took turns driving Barrett's ATV over his expansive property. It was a wonderful way to spend a warm spring day. We were only a hundred miles outside of Houston, but it felt a lot farther than that -- in the best possible way.

The song in the video, BTW, is called "Free" and it's by the Zac Brown Band. We elected not to use the ZZ Top song "La Grange" for our video. But you can listen to that here.

Chris Ferris, PhD

Ten years ago, I started my PhD program at the UT School of Public Health. Since that time, a lot has happened. John and Mary were born. Meg completed her PhD. I changed jobs. Three World Cups were held.

Today, I completed the last step for my PhD. I presented my dissertation to my committee and a few others: Meg, Tom, Margaret and Keeta, a friend from my office. The presentation went well and afterward I was officially Chris Ferris, PhD.

Presenting my dissertation

I am feeling a combination of happiness, relief, excitement and gratitude. The gratitute is mostly for all my friends and family members who have encouraged and cajoled me along the way to keep going and finish. Everyone who said I would be happy when I was done were 100% right.

I want to say a special word to Meg, who has provided unwavering support the whole time -- even when it meant taking the kids on a week-long trip so I could take my qualifying exams. I would not have finished this without her love, assistance and support.

The graduation is in a couple of weeks and I'm looking forward to it -- wearing the cap and gown and the whole deal.

John exploring in La Grange

Video of trip to Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Seems like we make one of these videos every year. Hope you like the latest edition starring me, Mary, John, Baba and Pa.

Mary's favorite part of the rodeo

Trailer for Jumbo Fun Ball

Enjoy the latest action-packed adventure movie from Ferris Films -- starring Mary, Meg, Chris and John!

Go Texan Day!

The annual Houston Livestock and Rodeo starts this week and Friday was Go Texan Day. Kids (and some grownups) all over Houston got to wear their finest cowboy/girl gear yesterday. Here's how John and Mary looked on their way to school.

I shall call him "Mini-Me"

Note the vintage "Star Wars" t-shirt.

Marble Run

John celebrated his 5th birthday today (his actual birthday is Feb. 6) with friends from school and our neighborhood. Afterwards, Ellis came over to help John open all his presents. After the wrapping paper stopped flying around, John and Ellis played with Marble Run, which allows you to build a path for marbles using chutes, bridges, columns and more.