Tidbits...

Funny conversation with Tessa yesterday….

Chris: Tessa you want a Kit Kat?

Tessa: No I don’t like them

Chris: How do you know you don’t like them if you have never tried them?

Tessa: Because I let my imagination go wild and it tells me I don’t like them

Then she comes downstairs crying. I asked her if she fell and she says no mom I just got done watching Cinderella and it was so sad. The prince and Cinderella fell in love and I was just happy for them. It made me sad. Anything to do with cry is sad to her....even when its happy.

OMG where does she come up with this stuff. I am telling you we have a drama queen on our hands!!

Update...

Not a whole lot has been going on up here in Canada....

1st Week of May Tessa started Soccer. Although she really didn't seem to enjoy it that much at first she seems to now. It's been fun to watch.

Also in May we had a visit from Grandma Debbie. We headed to the Mountains to Johnston Canyon Resort. It was BEAUTIFUL there. Hiked one day and did all the touristy stuff... I will leave you with a bunch of photos.

Johnston Canyon Lower Falls

Just outside our cabin door...

Our Cabin

Tessa loved this bear...just her size

Banff Falls

At the top of the Gondola in Banff National Park

Tessa kept posing during our hike into the woods....here are a few funny shots...

Riding the Gondola. She loves it!!

Grandma Debbie & Tessa stopping for a break on the hike...

Updates...

Wow what a busy few months we have had...

First off we had a WONDERFUL trip to California. It was filled with so much. We visited with my "Welsh" cousins that I hadn't seen since I was 6 years old. Then went to Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, San Clemente Pier, San Diego Zoo, Disneyland, L.A., Hollywood, and Santa Monica. WHEW it was a busy but great week. I think Chris is ready to move there! HAHAHA Then on our way home we were about to land in Edmonton and the pilot came over the loud speaker and says "We are about to land in your final destination Edmonton. It's not bright and sunny here...(pause) it's SNOWING!!!" I just gave Chris that look of "We have just landed in hell" Oh I hate snow...
I am happy to say it was a wonderful 70 degrees this who past weekend. Spent both Saturday and Sunday at the park.

I will leave you with some of my favorite photos from our trip... Sorry 4 the photo overload!

Huntington Beach

San Clemente Beach (Chris, Alicia, Tessa, Reagan, & Kirstin)

Tessa & Casey on Huntington Beach

Chris, Tessa & Alicia at San Diego Zoo
Laugna Beach
Where's Tessa?

Our little Shirley Temple

Casey Jr.....

California Weather...

Disneyland

Take care everyone....I will try to be better about posting...

Lots of things going on!

A few weeks back we went to the Telus World of Science. Tessa has been there several times with her dayhome, so she was a regular showing us the ropes. There are so many really cool things to do there. Matter of fact we are headed back there next weekend to see the snake exhibit.

Here are some silly pics of my kids ;)

This is a screen where you can watch someone eat something and watch it go thru their system...interesting but also gross...

My Hero...

Nice!

Lego was the big exhibit for the past few months. It's amazing what they can build out of Legos

KINDERGARTEN!!!

I knew this day would come but didn't realize how hard this is going to be...Tessa had Kindergarten Round up this week!! Can you believe our baby is going to school this fall? We met her teacher and she was very nice, boy does she make me feel old! I don't think she could be any older than 23...


Then today we went to the Shrine Circus and picked up these two clowns...

Jaden and Tessa

Last but not least and probably the most exciting is....drum roll please.....

We are headed to DISNEYLAND in California!! Tessa is so excited it's not even funny. She talks about it daily and keeps asking is so and so is going to be there. I think she is going to be disappointed to find out that Dora doesn't live at the castle too. Our countdown begins...15 days!!!

Little bits and pieces…

Tessa rarely say’s anything bad about the dog or cat… but lately she keeps saying “Harley, go away, your annoying me” Yes, that is right my 4 yr old uses the word annoying. OOPS ;)

Tessa says... “I love Mommy, I love Daddy, I love Tobey, I love Harley, and we are all family” and now she has been adding the fish (Chris had a great idea to buy 13 fish for Tessa’s room!) How I get talked into these kinds of thing I don’t know…I guess I am a pushover!

I dread the day this child quits giving hugs and kisses…It will be a sad day. We(Chris & I) look forward to the 20 plus hugs and kisses we get each night from Tessa. She is such a snuggle bug. This has only recently started happening…6 months ago she would roll her eyes at us in disgust when we would ask for a kiss. I will take what I can get…

Tessa cannot pronounce Gymnastics…she says nim-nastics. Talking about gymnastics, I have been getting after her because at gymnastics my child is a space cadet! She will let 4 or 5 kids cut in front of her during routines and she just let’s them. When I told her not to let kids cut in front of her, her response was “But I’m just trying to be nice”. What can I say to that….

I told Tessa that she would be starting soccer in May her response was “But I can’t because I don’t know how to play”

Tessa talks 24/7! Really I’m not joking. She talks more than any child I know. Even people who are around us agree!

Tessa came and grabbed Chris’s hands and said… “Dad, did you know that Diego has a friend named Alicia(Alissia, Spanish way of saying it), and I LOVE that name” Chris responded saying that was my name and she was so excited that her mom had her favorite name!! Now instead of calling me mom she will say “Where’s Alicia?”

You know how when it’s really cold out(OK maybe my Texas friends don’t know, you can just pretend its 30 degrees out) and the steam that comes from the buildings….well Tessa was at daycare the other day and all of a sudden with every bit of excitement in her said “JADEN, I know where the clouds come from!! At your school!” She thought that the steam coming from the elementary school was making clouds!

I asked Tessa “Where do you live?”
Her response “Not Texas” (Must be all the white stuff – lol)
Now normally she would say “ANADA"

Tessa knows her colors but Friday at school they mixed Black and White to make grey. When she was asked what color it made she simply responded "Light Black"

SNOW, SNOW, SNOW

This is what our back yard looks like after it has been snowing for 2 days!! Just 2 day's ago it was 46 degrees out! I feel like I am in IOWA with drastic weather changes within 24 hours. As of right now I think we have about 6-7 inches.

This is our camping grill we have been using as our grill(we sold our big grill before we left Texas)Yes, we are still braving the cold to grill!

Silly Tessa

Grandma Neels sent Tessa a little care package that included these sunglasses. So cute I must say ;)

Random things..

I received this email from a friend and the idea is to copy this email and bold everything you have done so far in your life. Instead of sending this around in ANOTHER email you could read it here...

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band ....at school
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland /world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter (Does a ultra-lite count?)
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day


Looks like I have a long list to check off! I am 33% of the way there ;)

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Tessa's version of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star...

Busy times...

We have had a busy week. Wrapping up gymnastics for the fall session.

This past Wednesday, Tessa had her 4 year check up. She had a physical for the first time and she did very well. She is still in her 25% for her age. She weighted 34lbs and 39in. tall. I totally thought she would have been much bigger. She sure does seem like it. All her babyness has gone away ;(

Then yesterday I had my teeth taken care of. I had oral surgery removing 3 wisdom teeth and one molar tooth. Other than looking like a blowfish, I feel ok. Very sore but that should go away soon, I hope. It's good for my figure haha liquid diet always does a body good ;)

Here is a photo of my funny cheeks...looking kinda rough




Then today Tessa had her 1st dentist appointment. This was our 2nd try. 1st time didn't go so well. Tears and all. But she had all 10 of her teeth that she is suppose to have and her molars will be coming in within the next year or two. They said they could tell she brushes her teeth because there wasn't any tarter on the teeth. The only thing they said is that we really need to start flossing her teeth. I was kinda shocked that they actually clean their teeth when they are that little but they did, along with a fluoride treatment.

Anyway this has been a busy week...I am heading back to bed to get some more rest. As my mouth starts to throb the minute I lift my head off the pillow.

Sneak Peek at our Christmas photos

We went and had our photos taken today. We had the best photographer. She knew exactly what to do to get Tessa to smile and even giggle alittle which gave us such a great turn out. I was super excited that these turned out. I was a little worried because Tessa was a little cranky on the way there, due to no NAP. Oh I figured it was going to be a disaster...but here is a sample of some of the pictures.

November

I haven’t been neglecting our blog just been busy…

This month Tessa turned 4! I can hardly believe it. It feels like yesterday when we got the phone call that our birthmother was in labor. She had a great birthday despite me having terrible toothache. I will get to that in a moment. She received TONS of gifts from our parents(clothes, games, stuffed animal she has now names Betsy, barbies, and movies). I think she thinks this is her birthday month! It takes so long to get mail here that we were recieving a package everyother day for a week! We bought her the Leapfrog computer. It is WONDERFUL, I can’t believe how fast she caught on. She loves playing the memory games on it. Thanks to everyone for all the gifts and birthday wishes. She enjoyed her birthday!

My tooth. OMG I don’t think I have ever had this bad of a toothache in my life. It is terrible. It took 2 weeks to get into the dentist but I went and found out the reason why I am in so much pain is that my wisdom teeth are coming in sideways and is cutting into the nearves of my molars!! It feels like I am being electrocuted, seriously it feels like shocks going thru my body!! No joke. WHAT!?! Is what I thought, I mean come on I am 33 years old! I swear I never had any problems with anything growing up and within the past few years I had to have my tonsils removed and now my wisdom teeth. JJJJJJJEEEEZZZZZ Hopefully when I get them removed in December I will not have any more adolescent problems. ;)

On to the funny things Tessa has said & done lately:

Last night Chris was in the shower and the conversation went like this:

Tessa ask me “Is daddy in shower?”

I said “Yes”

She then marched off opened up the door and yelled “Daddy you’re not supposed to take a shower in the dark, your suppose to take one in the morning when it’s light out”
Where that came from I have no clue!!

Tessa told me that because her and I are girls we will be getting Dora toys from Santa, and daddy will be getting Diego toys because he’s a boy.

I don’t know why I am sharing this because it’s quite embarrassing…but here it goes. We went to pick up Tessa from daycare and Tammy our babysitter was laughing as she tells us that Tessa informed her today that my mommy and daddy have big bums and I have a small one! Tammy thought it was quite humorous, Chris and I just looked at each other with embarrassment!!

Usually at the grocery store Tessa wants to still ride in the cart. But last night she wanted to walk, totally fine with me. So she is walking down the aisle and singing & dancing and some Christmas song came on over the loud speaker. Tessa yells in front of a TON of people “Come on mommy shake your booty with me!!” OMG I think I turned every shade of RED!!

I will post some pics soon....

Pumpkin Carving

Dracula and Smiley Face

Tessa being silly

Instead of Tessa carving a pumpkin with a knife she gets to color with markers, glue & glitter.

Random things that have happen lately...

• We were driving down the road and I had a little road rage and Tessa says "Mom, don't be so angry"
• We have tried to teach Tessa manners such as please, thank you, no thank you and so forth. She will say excuse me when she has something to say and when you are not listening to her, when she finally gets our attention she will say "Your not listening to my words".
• This is bad....I was giving Tessa a bath the other night and she was splashing and having a good ol' time. I accidentally got a few bubbles on the bathroom floor and Tessa says "Mom don't do that dad will get pissed!!" You know we are usually really careful with what we say around her but it was so funny I couldn't help but laugh because she said it exactly the way Chris always does.
• Tessa still carries a blanket, matter of fact I believe it's the blanket that co-worker(Lissa Drummond) bought for her shower gift. This thing looks like it has been ran over a hundred times. It was such a soft pretty pink color, and it just doesn't keep the lovely downy smell anymore!! I guess one day Tessa told Tammy(daycare provider) that she loves her blanket because it smells just like my mommy. I was kinda embarrassed at first, because if I smell that bad OMG!!! Then of course Chris reminded me that I carry it every morning right after I put my perfume on. ;)
• Tessa has several imaginary friends...something like 4. She plays with them, reads them stories, tells them that Harley(our dog) is an alligator and if they don't hurry to the couch they will get eaten. I don't ever remember having imaginary friends, could be I had little brothers that I would dress up in girls' clothing!! Ha Ha they will kill me for telling people that. Remember boys, I have pictures in my possession!! Blackmail someday;)
• Tessa has it made up in her mind that my mom is Uncle Casey's mom. If I say grandma is on the phone, she will go "Uncle Casey's mom?" Back in May my mom came to visit us in Austin before we moved to Canada and Casey kept telling her that was his mom...I guess it has stuck!
• We have a conceded child she will say "I am as pretty as a princess"

Well hopefully I gave you a little chuckle about what everyday life is like in the Prilipp house.

Jasper...

Great time had by all!! Friday night we checked into our cabin, ate dinner, hung out with Jason, Ally and Quinn. Saturday we got up and headed to Columbia Icefields. It was so windy...on the way we passed several falls and lots of great scenery. Then stopped in the city Jasper, to do some shopping and eat dinner at the famous Jasper Brewery Company. Sunday we headed home...sad to return to the real world. Here are some of our favorite pictures.

Athabasca Mountains:



Cheers to a GREAT DAY!!!


Chris finished his sampler beers...

The view from our cabin:

Columbia Icefields: