Happy Holidays

        Well it seems that the holidays are a time to pull all your loved ones together, whether its your family or just your close friends.  Its a time to hold them close and truly be thankful for the things that you have in your life.  I Have to say that I'm thankful for both my family and all my close friends.  My sister Shannon recently moved into town to help take care of my Mom.  So this post isn't gonna be super long but I just wanted to tell Shannon and Cindy(my mom) that I love you guys and I'm looking forward to a wonderful Christmas with yall. By the way spellcheck yall is a southern word for the term you all. 

Laura Faison Rest in Peace

Laura we will miss ya.  I hope you have more peace in the afterlife than you ever did in life.

Product Review

                 The Wii
Over the next few weeks as Christmas approaches I am going to try tp start reviewing some of the hottest toys for the kids or really anything  that could be good for the family to spend together.  The first such thing that I have had an opportunity to review is The Nintendo Wii.  While we were in Tennessee Alex, Ryan, Tonya and myself had a chance to put a Wii through its paces.  Ryan is a little older than Alex so he recognized the Wii immediately.  The boys started with playing the baseball game(with a little help from me and Tonya).  I didn't think that Alex would be able to play it but my theory was soon proven be wrong as seen in the picture below.  The game was very basic and easily geared towards younger children but I think older kids like me and Tonya lol would be bored quickly with it.  We switched to the boxing and I noticed right off the bat the controllers aren't very accurate at all.  We also played the tennis (boring) and then the bowling which was excellent.  So all in all the Wii and Wii sports was a blast for the little ones but I wonder if it has the staying power to compete with the new peripherals for the PS3 and XBOX 360.  I hope to be reviewing the other two motion devices in the coming weeks.    

Brothers Unite

Well this weekend was quite the event for me and the family.  This weekend the wife and I took a trip to Tennessee to see the Grease play that I told you guys about.  Tonya had the great idea that we invite Laura, B.J., and Ryan to the play.  Ryan and Alex are half brothers, they share the same father( Laura and B.J. are Ryan's mom and stepdad). I hadn't ever met any of them before and I was a little leery about how everything would go.  Alex is three and Ryan is six so I didn't know if they would get along at all.  Well needless to say from the pictures above that my fears were totally unfounded.  Laura and B.J. were very nice and completely cool about everything, and Ryan was totally adorable.  The boys were fast friends and they got along marvelously the whole night.  Ryan was well behaved and a perfect little gentleman.  As a matter of fact things went so well we had Ryan spend the night with us over there so he and Alex could spend some more time together.  They played games and watched movies. It was a total blast.

Grease Jr. the premiere

I have to say that this was an amazing play starring my niece Kaillen whose expert acting held this production together.  First of all I have to tell you a little backstory about this play.  They are doing a PG version of Grease that is extremely charming in and of itself.  But the real reason that this was such a good play is that behind the scenes the cast has been ravaged by a stomach virus that takes out fifteen of the cast of fifty.  But now only did the show go on it was a total success.  I have never seen any version of grease so it was an entirely new experience to me.  With that said its hard not to fall in love with these fourth and fifth graders as they give the performance of their little lifetimes.  Tonya and I took our son Alex with us and he had a great time for the most part(with the exception of when he lost his ringpop at the beginning of the second act to which he was heartbroken over).  Needless to say it was a blast and I'm posting a few pictures of the action.

Christmas continued

Ok so now that I have figured out the eternal riddle that is what to get Tonya next is Alex.  I guess its pretty safe to say that he can't read .... yet.  So I can talk all about his Christmas.  On the way to daycare today he informed us that Santa Claus (which I have always been curious as to why this mythical mysterious man hails from Germany) is going to get him the Iron Man mask and repulsor gloves.  By the way spell check repulsor is a word I am not making it up or misspelling it.  I was nervous that he might say something else as we have already bought the mask, gloves, and chest arc reactor (which is just a lit up triangle that sticks to his shirt).  My son's birthday is just a couple of days from Christmas so we have to double up on the gifts so that its fair .  The birthday stuff is probably gonna be a lot of Buzz Lightyear stuff.  We took him to see Toy Story 3 when it came out and he was instantly hooked.  I know this may be a little off subject but the movie was amazing.  It was a very tender movie that had a surprisingly sophisticated story.  The people at Pixar know exactly what they are doing when they make a movie.  Anyway Buzz and Woody have been regular characters in our playing ever since.  He is usually Buzz and I'm Woody because we are best friends I guess lol.  So he is running around flying while I'm saying there's a snake in my boot. Well that's all I have for now but keep coming around because I always have something new here and I'm starting to review books and things very soon.

Christmas is approaching.

        So currently I am wondering aimlessly across the internet I am mentally scrambling.  I thought that I had the perfect gift for my extremely beautiful and smart wife.  But as I casually brought up the item I was intending to get her I am blown away as she shows almost no interest in it at all.  What am I to do?  She even went so far as to say that it sounded like something I would want.  I am speechless and as I lift my jaw from the floor I begin to wonder if I superimposed some want of mine unto Tonya.  Now I am running a complete blank.  I have a feeling about something that she might want even if it doesn't serve an useful purpose.  I forget that sometimes women aren't quite as utilitarian as a lot of men typically are.  Okay wait I think I just figured it out.  I will keep you guys informed on how it goes.  By the way this is a picture of my hunny.

Alex "The Brains"

The Legend of Taderpole

   The Legend of Taderpole

The other day me and Alex were playing in his room when he very calmly informed me that I was a "taderpole".  When I asked him what a taderpole is he just smiled at me and said,"You are, daddy."  Suddenly like he had revealed some playground mafia style secrets, he clams up and wont say anything more about it.  So later I nonchalantly call him a taderpole which he responds to by unleashing the legendary  Alexander Axe strike.  I was totally at his mercy with only my begging and crying to save myself.  Later as I nurse my wounds I begin to wonder what kind of Illuminati sort of secret was I dealing with.  Tonya told me that she thought that this was some kind of pronunciation of the word tadpole.  When I proposed this to my resident genius, Alex, nodded that no it wasn't a tadpole all the while with that knowing smile and a slight giggle.  I have always known that my son is stronger and faster than me, but now I am beginning to suspect that he is a super intelligent mastermind secretly running the household all while giving Tonya the illusion of control.  Alas I lost any delusions that I run our household long ago.  So now I am left to wonder about the untold legend of taderpole.  
   

Introduction to Josh

Well everyone, my name is Josh and I'm writing this blog.  I hope to detail my experiences as a husband and a father.  This journey has been nothing short of amazing for me.  I never realized how rewarding it could be to be a father, to have a family.  I look back at the last three years and I couldn't imagine my life without them.  Well enough reminiscing let's dive right in.  My wife Tonya is a CNA and is a compulsive workaholic.  It's funny how even though I'm the man she really is the rock in our relationship.  I truly believe she can accomplish anything she sets her mind to.  This same dogged determination defines everything about her.  She brings out the best in me whether or not it wants to.  This was one of the first things I noticed when we first met.  I had never met such a strong, confident woman before.  A single mom that saved her son well being by leaving his biological dad .  She left with nothing but three dollars and Alex.  But when met her she had already rebuilt her life from scratch.  And then there was Alex.  This handsome little man who was so young and yet you could see the strong will he got from his mom.  A boy that as long as I have known him doesn't have any fear.  My son, Alex the great lover of scooby doo and superheroes (Iron Man is topping the list right now).  Well I will back soon, till then I leave you the words of Oscar Wilde - Life is far too important to be taken seriously.