Deer in the yard...

We had a herd of deer in our yard all week.  Tess just thought it was great!...and we still get excited too!  We all run to the window to see if there's a buck!  I wonder what Tess thinks?  This is just so different from our home near the beach...

Tess at the window watching the deer in the front yard...

our neighbors horses...

The ranch ajacent to ours has some beautiful horses.  Jeff, the kids and I walked over to feed them and pet them. It is so peaceful to walk through the ranch and watch the animals.  Tess can't stop asking questions...
Tess and Cameron love the Stallion....
and the stallion loves Cameron!!

gone quading...

more ranch fun...

I've never met a kid who deosn't love it here...big kids included!  Ranch life is such a nice contrast to our life at home.  The kids love the open space and the freedom!  Today we had more quad rides, hikes around the ranch to the top of the river, and more flyfishing.  Tess and I went to stroll around main street Park City while the boys did their best Daniel Boone routine.  It's cold with a clear blue sky so being outdoors is great!!

Off to our ranch in Utah...

Our ranch house...
a view of the river from our back patio...it runs right behind the house
Dad flyfishing in the backyard  while Tess and Cameron watch...

We are so very lucky to have a second home, a ranch on 40 acres, in Utah.  We don't get there as often as we would like but when we go...it's PARADISE!!!!  We are taking Tess, Cameron and Bennett out for a week.  We're really excited for Tess to see the ranch and to see snow for the first time...It's an easy trip...OC to Salt Lake in just over an hour...

Well, as we suspected...she loves it!  She has been fishing, riding a quad, saw snow and deer, felt what 20 degrees feels like and walked main street Park City...and that's just day one!  I think we answered about 350 questions by lunchtime...it can really challenge your patience sometimes!!, but at the same time, she's just trying to understand it all...mountains, wild animals, snow, freezing weather...how to get each finger in the right place in your glove!!!  It's funny what becaomes a challenge!

Can you say BLUE LOLLIPOP!!!

So lets talk about food...I can't believe there was ever a time (3 short months ago)  when Tess barely ate anything!! I can remember when we first arrived from Addis Ababa she lived on bananas, avocados and tortillas-literally, that was it. She wouldn't even try a french fry or a piece  of fruit.  I now have to cut back or she would eat a house for breakfast.  She eats twice as much as Cameron, who is 10.  She'll eat a whole bagel, a whole banana and a glass of juice for breakfast...and ask for a morning snack for her back pack for school to hold her over until lunch (which is at 11:00!).  I'm lucky if I can get Cameron to finish half a bagel.  If we eat out, Tess will have a hamburger and fries and usually ask for another one!!  When she gets home from school she wants another bagel, an apple, a drink and popcorn...no kidding an hour later she comes up to me asking for food!!  I say not until dinner-but I am shocked that she could already be hungry!!  I hope she continues to be active!!  At least food is no longer an issue...now we'll tackle self control!

TOMS shoes party...

Awhile back I shared about a great company called TOMS shoes.  For every pair of shoes they sell they donate a pair to a child in need.  Then, they take the 10,000 or more shoes that they are donating and they do what's called a SHOE DROP.  You can see more on their website... TOMSshoes.com

Anyway, Bennett is the TOMS intern at his high school.  He is responsible for organizing at least 2 fundraiser events for TOMS this year.  Tomorrow, Bennett and I will have a table during lunch break at school to get kids to sign up for our first event...a TOMS "STYLE YOUR SOLE" party.  Kids order white canvas shoes and at the party on DEC 12th, we watch a video about TOMS shoes, we decorate shoes, eat food,  laugh and have a great time while working for a great cause...we'll keep you posted!

Tess's first trophy...

Tess with her first trophy...
Tess and her soccer coach...
the end of season ckae for the Shooting Rock Stars...
the team at their pizza party...

Tess had a great first season in AYSO this year. She is proving to be a spunky little athlete!!  She realy looked forward to each game and practice.  She's not very happy that soccer is over and keeps asking lots of questions about next season.  The best part is that all the girls got a trophy which Tess has been wanting since her brothers each have armfuls of trophies...yeah! 

Who loves ya baby???

Tess is so blessed to have so many people who love her so much.  It shows in her happy face and confident sense of self that can only come from being totally and completely loved...there are so many but here are a few love shots...With mommy's sweet friend Joan...
with my big "to cool for school" brother Bennett...
with my mom!!!  
with my first bestest friend from school, Greta
with my twin brother Cameron...we do everything together!!
with our best friend Granny...
with my coolest big sis, Christine...
with my favorite vovo and vovo!!!
with my best little buddy Kidus...
with my awesome rockin' dad...
with funny Aunt Rachel...who loves to swing higher than me!!!
with my first grade teacher, Mrs. Gerhard...
with my cool teenage cousin Alexis...
with my fun cousins Brooke and Brittany...

Thanks for filling our lives with LOVE!!

Parent-teacher conferences

Tess and her best buddy Greta...
Tess's favorite part of school...tetherball!!!
Tess's  first grade class...

We had parent-teacher conferences last week.  I was so happy to hear how well Mrs. Gerhard felt Tess is doing.  She had assessed Tess in September and set goals to be re-evaluated in November...guess what...her October assessment surpassed the November goal!!  She is reading better than some of the kids in her class!  and completely gets addition and subtraction.  I work with her for an hour everyday after school and it is really paying off.  

She loves going to school and is happy to go everyday.  Her favorite activity is tetherball and she tells me she plays it at every recess.  What a big relief to have her adapt so well to school!

Now back to SMU...

The Jonas boys at dinner...soooo handsome!!!
A float in the homecoming parade...
At the SMU/Memphis football game...GO MUSTANGS!!!
At breakfast...the whole Jonas gang!!
On the boulevard during the tailgating before the game...
On the porch at Christine's dorm...
Shopping in town with our college girl...
Too bad this is blurry but it's such a good shot of all of us...

Jeff, Bennett, Cameron, Tess and I all flew to visit Christine at college this weekend.  It was so great to see her again...always is!  That old saying about giving them "roots and wings" really has some meaning now!!  As much as I miss having her home, I know the time will come for each of our kids to test their wings...and she is soaring!! It was Homecoming and there were some really fun things happening on campus.  We saw the homecoming parade complete with floats made by the sororities and fraternities...Tess was in her glory!  She just loved it and cheered for each one.  When we went into the big football stadium, she screached!!  She was so excited to see the game, players, cheerleaders, marching band...she must have asked 400 questions!  The weekend just flew by!  Can't wait for Christine to be home for Thanksgiving...OK, so I'm still working on letting go so she can soar a little farther...