Guns 'n' Ammo

Our neighbors the Manns invited the Mimosa Street gang to spend the night in Lufkin, TX, at a hunting lodge of which her parents are members. It was a beautiful location about 2 hours outside of Houston and we all had a great time hanging out, talking, eating barbeque, making s'mores and drinking beer.

We spent most of Saturday afternoon shooting guns that belong to our neighbor Steve. We aimed at tomato cans, empty beer cans and a zombie poster stuck to a tree. I don't remember the names of all the guns, but I was surprised by how powerful the guns were. It was a good reminder of why I think guns should heavily regulated, if not outright banned. I was also surprised how much fun it is to shoot stuff. John was among the kids who had the chance to shoot a few rounds under close adult supervision.

Taking aim at a tomato can with a semi-automatic rifle

Trying out a pistol

Everyone wore ear plugs or other ear protection

John got to shoot a gun into a river

Video of our trip to Bolivar Penninsula and Galveston Island

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

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

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.

Trailer for Jumbo Fun Ball

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

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend started off right, with a trip to the West U. pool with Pa and Nini. We bought an underwater camera on the way and snapped some cool pictures.

Mary doing a handstand

Scaling the climbing wall

Leaping off the wall and into the water

Pa's entry into the pool from the slide

John swimming

John reaching for the camera

John's picture of Chris

Friday Night Fun with the Ferris Family

The four of us goofed around last night with the Photo Booth application on our new iMac. The results, which were pretty silly, are below:

Welcome to the New Ferris Family Online

We're bailing out of the old web site and converting to a regular blog. This will allow us to update the site on the go -- from Chris' iPhone or Meg's Blackberry. For example, the two photos below of Mary and John were taking with Chris' iPhone and posted immediately.

We'll still post longer photos albums (see the links on the right) as well as videos to YouTube (those links are also on the right).

You can get regular updates on the blog by becoming a follower (on the lower right). I think you have to have a google account to follow in this way. You can also subscribe using an RSS feed from the far lower left.

Or, of course, you can just check the site regularly if that's what you prefer. Please make sure to leave comments so we can know how you like the new format.