Gabby's School Newsletter 11/2-11/6

Creative Movement

Fisherman fishing Ff Ff Ff, Fisherman fishing Ff Ff Ff, Fisherman fishing Ff Ff Ff, Ff is the sound of Ff

Class of 2005 Progressiver Dinner

In the international school world, there's some sort of special bond or connection you have with the people you come in with... many of our good friends left last year but there are some of us still around. We enjoyed a fabulous night of great food and people with a progressive dinner. If you've never heard of this, it's when different people host part of the meal (appetizers, main course, etc.) so you hop around from place to place. It's really fun and convenient since we all live in the same compound. We were the last stop- dessert. I made magic cookie bars, pumpkin pie, and chocolate chip cookie bars. My friend, Andy, made a chocolate espresso cheesecake that was awesome. It was a great night and I'm going to miss these people when they leave (or us, whoever leaves first!)... I'm sure we'll do this again in the spring.

It Snowed!

We woke up this morning with snow! We got about four inches, which is quite a surprise this time of year. Our school has never had a day off for snow, so I'm not holding my breath for that one... The Wu-Kurtzigs came over for brunch and it was fun to see the girls hang-out. We met this couple when we were in child-birth class before we had Gabby and have become good friends... We also put the Christmas tree up. Yup, that's right. The Tebo tradition is to put the tree up the day after Halloween. When you have a family, you get to make-up your own traditions... I love this time of year so I want to enjoy it as long as I can... :) Pictures will come later...

Halloween Night

Capital Paradise is the place to go for trick-or-treating... our compound is full of expats and people who love to celebrate western customs, so we made the most of this and got together with some friends and enjoyed the night. Gabby had the choice of being a bumblebee, ladybug, or kitty cat this year, and she chose the kitty cat and did a great job (meow!). She really hates people in masks or anyone dressed-up (especially Santa Claus), so she did have a mini freak-out when she saw a girl dressed as a ghost (see picture above). We stopped-off at some friends who were having a party and warmed-up with some hot apple cider, then headed over to Alex and Stephen's house (a couple we hang-out w/ a lot) who had another family over... we ordered pizza and talked while the kids played until about 9 pm. All in all, a successful Halloween!

United Nation's Day

Whoa! Busy weekend. On Friday, Travis and I had Parent-Teacher conferences until 5:00. That night, we celebrated our birthdays, with some other friends, at King's Bar. We decided to have an "80's Party" theme. Travis turned his collar up and rolled-up his jeans. I couldn't find anything to wear so I didn't dress up. I know, totally lame, but I've been so busy lately... it's insane. We had so much fun, though! We didn't get home until 1 am. Trav's band also played that night. I'll be sure to get some video of that and post it on our blog. On Saturday morning, Gabby had a birthday party. Afterwards, her school hosted a "United Nation's Day," where all the kids dress-up in their national costume and bring a dish from their country. I had no idea what to put Gabby in... there really is no national costume of America. I could only think of a cowboy hat and boots, but that's not the American culture we relate too... Thank goodness my awesome friend Beth made Gabby a red, white, and blue dress for the Fourth of July this summer. She saved me! It's super cute and says "Democrat" all over it (my mom is rolling her eyes now). I put it over a white shirt and blue jeans (that's pretty American, right?) and placed a red, white, and blue garland over her head. I had it left over from when we went to the Olympics. The school set-up some arts and crafts activities, jack-o-latern cutting, and other things. We also participated in the "Wrapping your Mummy" game- which we won! Gabby got her face painted and we enjoyed some yummy international food. I made pumpkin pie to represent the U.S.

Gabby's School Newsletter 10/19-10/23

Group Activity "My World"
This week the children made the map of the world for group activity. They painted and decorated the country/continent that they are from.

Hannah, You You, Yuan Yuan, Barbara & Gabby work together to finish the North American continent.

Arts and Crafts
The children made their papier-mache globe, Chinese map and the flag of their home country.

Happy Birthday Travis!

Travis had a fabulous birthday, thanks in part to our wonderful friends (who are like family) and Chef Song with his amazing food. I love this guy! He has a website that has pictures of all the food he makes, then you email him what you want and how many people, then he shows up at your house and does all the cooking and cleaning. It's awesome and pretty reasonably priced. As you can see, Gabby is wearing her ballerina outfit. She loves this thing and wears it all the time.... She dances around and twirls... I love it! In the last picture, is Chen. We love this woman and is one of the reasons we love China... she is so kind and loves Gabby as if she were her own daughter... For Trav's birthday, we threw him a pretty big party (over 40 people) and had a blast! I was having so much fun that I didn't take many pictures. Oops. I'm surprised we fit all those people in our place but it worked out okay. Of course, everyone has fun at the Tebo's house! Ha!

Look below for jack-o-lantern pictures!