Ni hao friends and family,
As always, Travis and I hope this letter finds you and your family happy and healthy this holiday season…
Here are some of the highlights of our year:
Hong Kong and Disneyland: At the risk of sounding like a complete cornball, I got a little teary-eyed when we entered Hong Kong Disneyland… the music, the smells, and the excitement in the air… It’s one of the best things about having a kid… you get to re-visit your childhood. Anyway, the park itself is nothing to brag about. Travis and I found it to be a bit small. The best part was the Lion King show. We also spent some time on Hong Kong island, which was terrific, and the harbor is gorgeous (see picture on the holiday card). We have some friends that live nearby so we spent some time with them. It’s quite expensive so we didn’t do a lot of shopping but we enjoyed the scenery and our swanky hotel. We splurged and stayed at the Conrad Hilton because they had a two-for-one deal. Kowloon island was also really cool… lots of bright lights and neon signs. We only spent one night on the Kowloon side but enjoyed walking around and eating the street food.
Xian and Terracota Warriors: Dorothy and Alex (our friends from Bremerton) visited in March, so we decided to all take a trip to Xian and see the famous Terracota Warriors (see picture on Holiday card). Yes, this is a tourist trap of sorts, but for me, I thought they were fascinating. A farmer who was drilling a well in 1974 came across the statues. They were first constructed in 246 BC and each figure has its own unique facial expressions, which is why they’re so amazing… Can you believe how long they were in the ground for? The best part of Xian was walking around the Muslim area of town. Travis and Alex walked the city wall and back alleys of the city. There was a gorgeous mosque there and we saw some men praying. Gabby first learned to use chopsticks on this trip, well kind of…
Summer: Travis and I both love Washington State in the summer time… we enjoyed our time with family and friends and soaked up the record breaking temperatures. In June, we took a road trip with our friends Beth and Josh Zarling (and daughter Harper) to Yellowstone. There is so much to do there! The highlight for me was seeing “Old Faithful” (see picture on Holiday card) and driving around looking at all the beautiful scenery. Gabby also liked Old Faithful and one of our funny memories was her saying, “Come on, geyser!” when we were waiting for it to erupt. I’m sure Travis’ favorite part was all the interesting Geology of the area and learning how to fly fish from Josh.
Travis: He’s doing great and is still teaching grade seven math/science. He’s also the team leader and science department head. He achieved a life goal of learning to play the guitar and played at a small music festival in Beijing last Spring, called Rhinostock. He also started playing saxophone again after a 15 year break. A teacher band invited him to play with them on the Rolling Stones song “Brown Sugar.” After their first practice he was invited to join the band. They are called Zuo Gao Su which means “Take the Highway” and play at local pubs once or twice a month. They have a great time and play some good music, like Fleetwood Mac (personal favorite), Steve Miller, and Rolling Stones.
Cara: I’m still a grade 9/10 school counselor. I have new colleagues this year and they’re great. I went to Jakarta, Indonesia in April for a conference on the ASCA school counseling model and how to incorporate it into an international school setting. I had a fabulous time! I really like meeting other counselors and the networking aspect, and I have to say… it was nice having some “me” time. The best part was getting a “hair bath,” which is where they wash your hair and massage your head, neck, and shoulders for about an hour… It was awesome- my hair never felt so healthy. Being a mommy keeps me busy and I really enjoy spending my time doing things with my family...
Gabby: Where to start? The changes are so fast and furious that it’s hard to keep up with it all… Gabby will be two and a half on December 28th. She’s attending junior pre-school twice a week across the street. We’re really happy with the school and she loves it! It’s a bilingual program so she is learning both languages, in addition to Kung Fu, Kindermusik, art, and tons of other things. The biggest change this year is that she’s talking. Right now, she loves the Snow White story and tells me that the “mean lady” gave Snow White a bad apple and said “ha-ha-ha!” It’s so funny. She loves to sing, dance and dress-up in “pretty dresses.” She likes to help me cook, enjoys being read to, and is now sleeping in her big girl bed. Gabby is super tall, in fact she’s off the chart in height. I’m just glad that she is healthy and happy… If you recall from last year, she was diagnosed with Celiac Disease (can’t eat wheat, rye, or barley) which has been a challenge but I’ve done lots of reading about it and she is going to be just fine. I love this age and I wish I could just bottle it up. I don’t want her to grow up anymore!
Next Up: We signed-on for another school year in China, so the clan will be here at least until June 2011… not sure of our plans after that… we just go year-by-year… We’ll be visiting Travis’ brother Toby, his wife Debbie, and their boys in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) during Chinese New Year. We just had an awesome time visiting with them on their trip to China. They stayed with us for the week after Thanksgiving. They visited the great wall, Forbidden City, temple of heaven and many other sites. It was great for the cousins to play all day long as well. It was fun to show them around and share our lives with them, we can’t wait to see how they live in Dubai. For spring break, we’ll be traveling to the Philippines for a teacher conference and will spend a couple of days in Boracay (one of the hundreds of Philippine Islands), which is known for their amazing beaches. Winter is cold in Beijing so it’ll be nice to getaway to some warm countries.
For this winter break, we’re off again to Washington to spend it with family and friends. We wish everyone a safe and FUN holiday season and have a Happy New Year!
Warm Wishes,
Travis, Cara, and Gabriella Tebo
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