Where to Begin...

hanging out at Skilak Lake with the Willis family. If you look close enough, you can see a grizzly bear in the river.
hiking in Alaska
our "neighborhood" moose near the yurt
cousin Liana
cousin Alex at the pool
PS-I caught this fish
the only time we had to wear our raincoats--we had perfect weather the whole trip!
Tessa LOVED life at the yurt! Bekkie, Ben, Luca, Alden, Dan and super-pregnant Amber came down for the weekend!
Our newly landscaped yard!
camping near Independence Pass (Colorado)


Wow. I have to appolgize to those of you that check this--it's certainly been a long time since I've updated this site (thanks to the facebook craze). We have had a great summer! The first part of it was spent landscaping our dirt hole of a yard. Jesse successfully installed a sprinkler system and Papa came out to help with the finishing touches (he's an awesome gardener). After the big project was finished, we spent nearly every weekend camping and exploring Colorado. Greg, Evelen and Liana came out to visit for a weekend and Nana Lola, Papa and Michael met them here. We've been able to squeeze in a couple of trips to Rifle to visit Grandma (Karen) and Grandpa Michael; Grandma has been down to visit a few times as well. Tessa and I spent a lot of time at the country club with Grandma Nancy and have been keeping busy with baby playdates, zoo trips, Mommy stroller walks and lunch dates. Jesse is finishing up a big year-long project at the Air Force Academy and has been keeping busy and happy with his new job. Tessa and I took a trip to Minnesota and South Dakota in August. We finally got back up to Alaska in early July and had a BLAST at the yurt, which was in perfect shape. It was SO nice to see our friends and visit the old stomping grounds. We already have a trip planned for next year. And I should probably mention the most exciting news: Tessa is going to be a big sister! The new baby is due April 2. I have been terribly nauseous and exhausted, though thankfully, the first trimester will be over in 2.5 weeks. Nana Lola is coming out Saturday to keep us company for a week. I know I am missing tons of fun summer events here...I will try my hardest here to keep this site updated and will post some new videos and photos soon! Hope everyone is well. Cheers,

More Photos and Videos...

chillin' in the Colorado sun!

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit Monday night and had the Thompson family over for dinner--we had a blast, as always! :)

Tess got a new doll stroller. Can you see the damage from her first bad fall on concrete?

California!

Tessa, Nana Lola and I ventured to California over Memorial Day weekend for Maya's wedding. We flew into Sacramento and drove to Tahoe Wednesday night. Thursday afternoon, we continued on to Mammoth Lakes. Maya runs the student housing facility at the community college in town, so we were able to stay there for the rest of the trip. Her wedding was beautiful--ceremony was on a mountain lake and the reception back at the housing center. We went for a few hikes in the Sierra mountains, walked around town and just enjoyed the scenery. Monday was spend traveling home (this journey took 13 hours! But, well worth it:) We had a blast!

Trip to Minnesota and South Dakota

rides at the Mall of America with Uncle Charlie

Great Uncle Lee

riding the 4-Wheeler!

kitties!

naked horseback riding at Great Grandpa Ownie's!

Uncle Michael and Alice the horse at the farm

Great Grandpa Ownie in his farm truck

Nana Lola on the farm

Uncle Michael taught Tessa how to play the piano

Papa and Nana Lola got her her own little park bench for their house. She loves to sit on it!

Michael and I went to Gleason's gymnastics school one night for adult's open gym (I am happy to come back in one piece and realize I am no longer 16 years old:). Tessa apparently wouldn't take off her sun hat all night and wanted to read this animal book over and over and over...

12 of over 46,000 people who participated in raising money for breast cancer on Mother's Day at the Mall of America.

Our little Walker!!!

Mid-Mommy walk today with Pam, we stopped at a park to hang out in the 80 degree sunny weather. Tessa and Delilah were playing and having a nice conversation. The next thing we knew, Tessa started walking! I think she just needed a little confidence from a friend. We're SO excited!!!
Oh, and I should also mention, she gained a pound in 2 weeks, putting her back on the growth chart!

Wild animal in the night

Hello everyone! I wanted to post this video of a wild animal we caught on video in the dark.
Little Tess just loves her Scandishake that she drinks every night. It has 60 calories/ounce, so you can imagine how sweet it is. She has a sugar-high freak out before she crashes every night! It's surely our evening entertainment! Enjoy!

Feeling Better, Eating Well

Papa and Nana Lola gave Tessa a room make-over for her birthday!



pushing her kitty in her wagon

Great Great Grandma Powell

Nana Lola

Pushing cousin Alex in her wagon

our darling animals!




I've been told by a few folks now that it's time I update the blog--sorry! I took Tessa to a GI Specialist last Tuesday that determined she had something called C-Diff that was causing the vomiting and bloody diarrhea. Apparently, after she was on antibiotics for Strep after her birthday, it killed off all of the bacteria in her GI tract, except for a tougher one that flourished and took over, causing her to feel ill. They treat this with Flagyl, but luckily we didn't need it, for she got better on her own. During this latest illness, her Pediatrician basically told me he wanted to consider putting this feeding tube in in 2 weeks. After voicing my concerns to the GI Doc, he thought we should first try to put her on a new "diet;" consisting of almost nothing but Pediasure. He also perscribed a high calorie shake for bedtime that has 60 cal/oz. He thought we first need to get her back on the growth curve, and then worry about getting her to eat more solid foods. Ingenious. He also said there's drugs out there that can increase your appitite, so we have a few options if this "diet" doesn't work. Tessa has been doing great with this diet and we think has been getting the calories she needs for the first time in her life. I have very little doubts this plan won't work! Thank god! She has been a happy kid this last week! She's even been entertaining herself for 20 minutes at a time! Her kitty is feeling better as well (we named her Porkchop) and they are the best of friends. Tessa is certainly not afraid of sharp kitty claws! We've realized she picks up on things very quickly. I often do something only once in front of her, and see her repeating it on her own minutes later. She has learned how to take off the battery cover to the remote control and successfully replace the batteries in the incorrect position. She's also mastered getting down the stairs and off the couch all by herself. What a big girl!