Weekend adventure time with Mr. Fox. Mr. Fox is a good behavior tool used in my son’s kindergarten class. And, as some of you know, my son is really having a hard time accepting this new life as a big time school boy. 90% of the time he just can’t stand thinking about school or talking about school. He can be quite the grump. But last Wednesday he came home telling me one of the kids in class told him “that I juss always bees quiet so maybe Mr. Fox will come home with me”. It was the most tender moment I’ve had with him about school since it started. Low and behold, Friday after school he gets off the bus gleaming from ear to ear. I was thinking, finally this kid had a good day. Then when he came inside he pulled Mr. Fox from his backpack and was too excited for words. So let us share with you our Adventure time with Mr. Fox.

First things first, Mr. Fox got to take a bus ride with Brooks. We had a pretty busy schedule, but it was no problem, Mr. Fox didn’t have any objections to running our errands with us. Brooks on the other hand, was a little concerned about Mr. Fox’s safety and cleanliness. I eased his worries and let him know we’d take extra special care of Mr. Fox while he was with us. Off to our adventures we went.

We started our Friday out by heading to Famous footwear, Beau and Braden both needed new running shoes for cross country. While the older boys delicately picked out the perfect sneaks for maximum running capabilities, Brooks and Bennett enjoyed a bit of hide and seek. More like, hide and hang half way out of the empty shelves, but it was still fun.

Next up on the to-dos was Target. Brooks, although a giant for his age, is the youngest and suffers from a severe case of entitlement. I guess we have all just catered too him this long, and if he didn’t get the answer he wanted the first four times, he had another two attempts to get his way. This method has worked well for him. Thus, you see the boy can no longer walk, he wants to ride in the basket. And for the sake of just getting in and out of the store, I boost this kid as high as my t-rex arms allow and literally have to coach him into the cart. Even though the cart was his idea. It is insane. But sometimes I need to just keep the peace. Target didn’t have what I was looking for so this trip was short lived. But we didn’t leave empty handed, the boys each picked out some gum. And the world was saved.

Saturday morning Brooks and Mr. Fox woke up early and we headed out to Coolidge to watch the older boys run in their cross country race. Maybe Mr. Fox spread some good luck to Brady, or maybe it was his new kicks, but Brady beat Beau for the first time in a race! It was exciting. Or maybe Brady won because he had a bribe planted in his head from the boss. Something along the lines of “if you beat Beau in a race, I’ll buy you anything you want from QT… Anything”…

After the cross country meet, Mr. Fox joined us in the celebration of my 33rd birthday. Mr. Fox was happy to be in the picture, but Mr. Brooks, well not so much.

Sunday was a pretty uneventful day. Brooks and Mr. Fox played outside, jumped on the trampoline, played connect four, and minecraft. By the days end, Mr. Fox took a sunset ride in the wagon along the backyard sidewalk courtesy of Braden and Bennett.

I’d say Mr. Fox had a pretty good weekend. I am really hoping that these small adventures are something Brooks will hold on to when he’s feeling down about school and the tiny pressures of a 5 year old in kindergarten. I also hope that he will remember these little moments fondly as an adult. I treasure the times I get to watch my children simply enjoying being little, using their imagination, and not thinking twice about the worlds opinion around them.