Tessa - January/February 2016

I'm hoping that letters every couple months will be more manageable for me, so here's what we did the first two months of 2016.

We started off the year ice fishing and have gone a few times the last couple months.  The 2nd trip we went it was windy and cold and you jumped right in the shack before we were even done setting it up.  You accidentally got knocked in one of the holes we had drilled and your foot got soaked before we had even started fishing!  In true Tessa fashion though, after we had bundled you up on the fourwheeler you sat there and played on my phone and didn't complain about being cold or bored once.  

You lost another tooth and really look like a toothless Ted now.  I sent dad this picture while he was in Albuquerque doing hiring, and he told you on the phone that night that you could drive a train through that gap!  Thanks dad!

I finally got to work on a quilt for your bed, and even though it still isn't finished you are pretty excited about it.  I can't wait to see it on your bed, and I hope you love it many years.

Dad bought his own present for his birthday, so I had you and the boys paint fire pictures on canvases for him to hang by his desk in the office.  That's Ty's, yours, and Logan's from left to right.  He was so excited to get them and hung them up ASAP.

This is a picture from the day you got your foot soaked ice fishing.  I finally had enough of the wind and asked dad to take us to the truck where we would wait for them to get tired of the wind.  You looked so cute hanging out in the front seat with the heaters on your feet and my sunglasses on.

This picture is awesome.  This is pretty typical of an outfit you'd wear to school.  I think you may have been home sick this day, and you played with Tyson building with the Magformers.

YOu guys got an extra day off school after President's day weekend, so we headed out to Horseshoe Bend by Page.  You were definitely the most cautious of all the kids and didn't venture too close to the edge, thank goodness!

After hanging out there for a while we stopped by Lake Powell to throw some rocks in and collect shells.  The water was SO cold!

On our way home we were playing one of our favorite car ride games.  We pick a topic and then take turns naming something that starts with each letter of the alphabet, so if the topic is food someone will say apple, and the next person will say bread, etc.  We always do the same topics, so I threw everyone off and chose "plants."  It was dad's turn and he had the letter N, so he came up with "noxioius weeds," something they deal with at the Forest Service.  You were next and without skipping a beat or needing any help you said, "Obnoxious weeds!"  Dad and I laughed and laughed about that one.

The Balloons and Tunes Festival was in Kanab in February, and we were so happy that the weather was better this year.  On Saturday morning I couldn't get the boys out of the house to go chase balloons with me, but you wanted to come, so we followed the crowd to some nearby fields to get a look at the balloons a little closer up.  It was so fun to see almost 40 balloons in the air at one time.  Dad left for Oklahoma the day the festival started so we didn't get to hang out with him as Smokey this year, but we did have a fun time at the street fair with Grandma Hillier playing in the bounce houses/bubble soccer balls and eating pizza before you guys went home with her to spend the night.

The last Sunday in February we loaded up the dog and the boys and went geocaching.  We found one that our friends had hidden near the creek and then replaced the one we had hidden that was washed away by floods late last summer.

You guys played in the creek and got nice and sandy before we headed back to the car to spend the rest of the evening at home.

You had your 2nd trimester parent-teacher conference this last week too.  Your teacher gave you glowing praise in every aspect with 100% on your math tests, spelling tests, and a reading level that is the highest in your class at 4th grade 2nd month.  We are so proud!  He also said you are a good friend and helper in the class, which makes us even more proud.  We love how well you are doing in school, and it has been fun to see you grow and learn this year.

We have a lot to look forward to this spring with Easter, spring break, and a trip to Phoenix coming up!