Pink Moustache from the 50 Cent Machine

Christmas Break

I have fond memories of spending Christmas Break in the marsh duck hunting.  In an attempt to re-live our glory days of old, Scott and I headed out to Johnson's Bayou on a recognisance mission to scope out some ponds that opened up in the marsh.  The walk was tough, but sunrise on the marsh was nice.

There wasn't much to shoot at, but at least Scott and I had time to catch up.

The only thing that flew in range was a flock of six spoonbills.  Both Scott and I unloaded (knowing full well what we were shooting at), yielding the lone kill of the day:

The hunting in Longville was a little better, thanks in part to the corn feeder on dad's property.  Over the course of the week, I shot 8 or 9 squirrels and about as many doves - enough for a nice pot roast that we prepared and ate with Gabby's family in Corpus.  On the last afternoon that I hunted (Christmas Eve), I shot two squirrels about an hour apart.  When I went to pick them up, this is how I found them:

In a few years, I'll have to take Bea along with me.  She's not too fond of the sound of gunshots, but she does like the woods.

We'll have more pictures from Christmas and Corpus shortly.

Merry Christmas!

As always, the girls inisisted that at least one parent stays in the photo.

Maggie's Thanksgiving kill

The other day, Maggie found one of the "Santa" gifts we had bought for her.  I thought it was kind of cool that she wanted a bow and arrows.  Here she is testing it out with some target practice in the front yard.

Looks like "Gerber Baby" will be on the menu at this year's Thanksgiving feast.

My job interviews start next week with Alabama and Maryland.  The following week will be Kansas State and Minnesota and the week after that will be UT San Antonio and Penn State.  I'll have a busy run up to the Christmas/New Year holiday.  It will be challenging and exhausting, but also exciting.  The future is now, as they say.

Playing in the snow

We got maybe an inch or so of snow on Saturday morning.  Not much, but still enough to get the girls excited.  It appears Maggie has still not lost her fondness for the taste of snow.

Well....

We've officially crossed the threshold into full-fledged middle age.  Bye youth...

With a 3rd kid on the way, it was time for a spatial upgrade.

Job Update:

Since our last post, I've added a few additional interviews (two of which Gabby is really excited about (see if you can guess which two).

1. Penn State
2. University of Central Florida
3. University of Texas, San Antonio

I am now sitting at 11 interviews with at least 7 of them at top 50 Chemistry programs (MIT, Penn State, Minnesota, Indiana, Maryland, Boston College and Colorado State).  I am getting more and more confident that I will land a nice position at a top university.

We'll keep youposted.  We may get our first snow tonight!

Update:  We did get our first snow.

The Maggie Special...

One of our favorite breakfasts (cookie crisp, coco puffs, and chocolate milk)

The aftermath.

Finally, here's the girl's new trick.

Baby and Job Update

Gabby had another check up this week, and all of the baby's measurements look normal.  Here are a couple of sonogram pics.

Job update:  I've had a busy week. I now have interviews scheduled at:

1. Alabama
2. Maryland
3. Kansas State
4. Minnesota
5. Indiana
6. Boston College
7. Colorado State
8. MIT!!!!

What an unbelievable opportunity at MIT.  It will be like arguing a case before the Supreme Court. This is the best Chemistry Department in the world.

I finally raked some leaves up for these girls

The sycamores have been dropping their leaves over the last few weeks and, after allowing a substantial portion to blow onto our neighbor's lawn, I finally decided to rake the front yard.  For those of you who don't know - sycamores make great leaf piles!!!

Gabby is doing well with the baby.  She is still getting a little sick at times, but that should pass soon.  We have a doctor's appointment this week to check up on the baby.  I'm not sure what they are measuring this time, but all of the major tests were normal on our last visit.

We're still not completely settled on the name, but our initial name is Augustus James Thibodeaux (Gus) - just like this guy:

On the job front, I have interviews scheduled with the the Chemistry Departments at the Universities of Alabama and Maryland in early December and at the University of Indiana in January.  Things are looking good in the early goings, and I am really optimistic that I will get at least a few more interviews.  The application deadlines for many of the schools that I applied to have not yet passed and I know that many places are still reviewing applications.  With a little bit of luck, I will lock up at least 6 or 7 interviews, which should be enough to get at least one offer.  It is a very competitive career path, but it is all I really want to do, so I'm hopeful that I'll find a way to make it happen.

I'll be sure to keep you all updated.

And now for the big moment you've all been waiting for...

...raise the curtains, pan the lights...

Gran and Papa visit

I did not take many pictures, but I was able to capture a few notable vignettes that nicely summarize Gran and Papa's visit.

First, Maggie ensured that Gran and Papa took note of the items she had circled in the Christmas catalogue.

Second, Papa's sciatic problems helped him to get a lot of interaction time with Bea.

Finally, we had such nice weather on Sunday that Papa and I slow-cooked an elk roast on the BBQ pit.  Papa will post some pictures of that one, but BB kept us company with her stick.

For the job update, I have interviews scheduled with the Chemistry Departments at Alabama (on Dec 1-2) and at Maryland (Dec 3-4).  I'll make sure to load up on Thanksgiving food, because it looks like I'm going to have a busy week.

Bea will soon be a middle child...

...because Gabby is pregnant again!

And it's a boy this time!

Maggie's Halloween Story

(Illustrated by Maggie  Author by Maggie)

My Halloween Book

By Maggie!

[Autumn in the forrest.....]

I was walking in the forest. There were spiders on my body everywhere.

There was a monster behind me.  I was scared but I didn't look back.

There were two pumpkins between me.  They were scared of me.

I heard stomping going towards me.

There was ghost above me. OOOOOOO!

There was a witch in the air.  I did not know the witch was in the air.  I heard the witch make noise.

Then I saw a little house with a window.  I saw vampire.  I ran as fast as I could, but then I was out of the forest.

The End.

Bea gymnastic videos

We may have gone a little overboard on one of these photo ops.

On a totally unrelated note - my gray hair is really standing out these days. (I blame the girls).

The fall colors are here

The fall colors have really turned a new leaf this past week as we enter the peak.  The sycamore in the front yard started dropping its leaves this week.  

We were all prepared to rake up a nice pile, but then a north wind came in and blew all the leaves onto the neighbor's yard. 

Despite the fall colors, it was actually pretty warm out today, so Bea and I took a bike ride.  You never know when it might be your last of the year.  Here are a few videos I shot riding through our neighborhood.

We took time to stop at the park, where Bea loves to climb on the little fake rocks.

An update on the job search:  I've submitted about 100 applications at universities all over the US and Canada.  Still early in the cycle, but I've had a phone interview with Worcester Polytechnic Institute (a small school in metro Boston) and I have interview scheduled at the University of Alabama (yes, that Bama), Chemistry Department right after Thanksgiving.

I'll be sure to keep everyone posted.

Bea singing her ABCs (kind of)

It's that time of year

Time to bust out the coats!

And, of course, the sunglasses.

And time to start warming up towards indoor activities.

Halloween is getting near

This past week, we busted out the old Halloween decorations.  After a little initial apprehension, Bea quickly starting to get in to the Halloween spirit.

Thanks to Honey, we also got some matching red dresses that the girls wore to church this week.

This is how Bea swings

It's official...

...we have a famous daughter (click on the link)

https://champaignparks.com/programs/schools-out/

My little mestizo

Definitely loves her maize!

Bea gymnastic videos

Here's some videos of Bea at gymnastics.  Here, she's jumping into the "pit."  A couple of weeks ago, she was jumping into this thing with no assistance but, this time, she wanted a little help.

Here's Bea on the obstacle course.

Sorry for the delay

Sorry for not updating the blog more frequently.  I have been immersed in my research proposal for the 2016 academic job cycle.  I am almost finished (completely retooling) my proposal, so hopefully, things will lighten up soon.  When that occurs, I promise to raid Gabby's extensive library of un-blogged pictures and videos in order to make more consistent updates.

In the mean time, here is Bea showing me how she ride's her bike at day care.

Family Pictures