The Soladay Family

It's About Time!

2012-01-17T19:35:00.002-06:00

Here is my official Christmas/New Year's post.

It's about time, right?

Let's get started.

One of the many perks of being a teacher

is having 2 whole weeks off work to spend with my family during Christmas.

Prior to the big day,

most of our time was spent buying last minute gifts, sleeping late,

doing a craft or two

and hanging out.

My kind of winter break.

Ryan and I didn't have our boys for Christmas Eve this year,

so we spent the evening with Carol at one of our all time favorite places to eat with Ed and Carol.

Definitely a great time but would been perfect if Ed could have been with us.

Ryan and I got up the next morning and opened presents together in front of the fire.

Don't gag, but it was really romantic

and helped with the sting of our children not being with us.

Next, we picked up my boys and Carol

and drove out to my parents to celebrate Christmas with my whole family.

There are always tons of gifts!

And my mother always has their house decked beyond greatness.

She is so incredibly talented.

The cousins always have such a great time together!

Can you tell my boys love having their picture taken?

It gets a little crazy when the kids start opening up their presents.

I managed to sneak a quick pic with my hubby.

Now, getting one with the whole family is another story

because I don't think they stayed still longer than 5 seconds.

Melts my heart watching Ryan with our nieces.

They love Uncle Ryan. =)

Next on the list was Christmas at home with my boys.

Carter is the only one left, for the most part, that still believes, so watching him is still so much fun.

He was so excited about getting a fishtank for his betta he named, Eddie.

So excited!

Carter and his Razorback pillow pet.

That thing was a beating to wrap.

Preston asked for a PS3 and a Kindle Fire this year.

His father and I split the list, so he could have both.

He's already reading Hunger Games on the Kindle.

Makes a mama proud.

Yes, Austin was present on Christmas day but isn't much on letting me take his picture these days.

Teenagers.

On to the day after Christmas.

Trysten arrives, and we celebrate with our whole little crew together.

It's finally T's turn!

Later that evening,

we went over to Carol's to hang out and let the boys open their gifts

from Grandma, and we can't forget

The Soladay Family Scavenger Hunt.

Ryan and I helped Carol put it together this year.

It wasn't the same without Pop...

The boys read their clues

And searched high and low, until they found the surprise.

A 22 inch touch screen computer!

I think I'm enjoying it as much as they are!

Thanks, Grandma!

We love you!

Last, but certainly not least, New Year's Eve!

My parents graciously hosted a grand kids sleepover on New Year's Eve!!!

The kids were ecstatic and can't wait to do it again next year!

The grandkids brought their stuff:

My mother, again, had the house ready to go!

The snack bar:

Some games:

(Not pictured....the countless number of Nerf guns and bullets)

The table:

(Complete with blowers which my parents let the kids blow, scream and go wild with at midnight!)

They had an absolute blast,

as did Ryan and I on our kid-free New Year's Eve.

We arrived at my parents around 1:00 PM the next day

to find a house full of crazy kids and 2 VERY tired grandparents!

Everyone came together for lunch, complete with black eyed peas....of course!

Trysten with my neices.

Makes me smile.

Alexis loves my grandmother's cane.

Go figure.

She scouts it out every time.

My brother made some bloody marys

Great way to start the year!

Thanks for a wonderful New Year's, Mimi and Grandaddy!

We love you!!!!

To round out the Christmas break,

Ryan made steamed lobster and grilled some steaks

for the whole fam the night before the boys went back to school.

Yum.

Now, that's what I call 2 weeks of fun.

Glad it only took me a month to put this post together.

Have a great, my friends!!

A Simple Resolution for 2012

2012-01-05T10:05:00.001-06:00

Hello, friends!

I haven't even done our Christmas or New Year post

because I haven't downloaded the pics yet.

I vow to do that this weekend.

As for now,

I'm documenting my resolution for 2012.

It's always nice to make a fresh start and fix what's broken or needs a tune up.

*My personal resolution for this year is pretty simple.

I am permanently removing myself from all drama and negativity around me.

There is little of it in my life...on purpose, but what there is, I am done with.

Let's face it, life's too short to dwell on what we can't control.

I've been working on this for awhile,

but I've finally realized I'm wasting my time.

It feels like a huge burden lifted off my shoulders,
and I can't believe it took me so long to get here.

There is too much good in my life.

Now.....on to enjoy that good stuff. =)

Have a wonderful rest of your week!

Together...2011

2011-12-30T10:51:00.014-06:00

It's Official!

2011-12-20T19:12:00.000-06:00

I took the Art EC-12 exam last Friday,

and I received the results this afternoon.

It's official, friends!

I am a certified art teacher!!!

I am so excited!

How many people are lucky enough to find their absolute dream job?

I feel very blessed in so many ways.

It's been a rough year, friends, and things are finally looking up for the Soladay family.

Here's to more good news to come!

Hello Out There...

2011-12-15T10:17:00.004-06:00

Hello, friends!

I have not logged onto our blog since November.

Lots going on.

This is such a crazy, busy time of year.

We have had something holiday related to attend every weekend.

Ryan and I have been to 3 Christmas parties already and have another one on Saturday night.

In addition, the kids have had family events at school and several end-of-the-year projects to work on.

On top of all that, we've been studying with The Teenager every night for his semester exams

which take place next Monday, Wednesday and Friday before the Christmas break,

while I, myself, am studying for the Art EC-12 test.

Busy.

* Last Sunday was the annual neighborhood cookie exchange.
This year I made a little something I found on Pinterest.
Oreos, white chocolate and sprinkles
Easy.
Even though the party was only for the moms,
it didn't stop our sweet little guys from helping make the cookies.

Yum.

They were a huge hit.

One of my students told me he brought one for his lunch on Monday since his mother was at the party too.

What a great group of women.

So glad we moved here.

*I decorated for Christmas right after Thanksgiving as usual

but haven't even felt like posting any pics.

It's a weird holiday season this year.

Our first without Ed.

There is definitely a big hole in our hearts.

It actually, literally hurts thinking about it.

The kids are feeling it too.

They asked recently to watch the video I put together for Ed's funeral

but only made it through a few pictures.

He had quite an impact on our little boys.

It still doesn't seem real.

Ryan and I sadly don't have our boys on Christmas Eve this year,

so we are going to dinner with Carol that night

to celebrate the memory of Ed at one of our favorite places we used to all go together.

So.....here's what I came up with this Christmas.

Not a lot changed from last year except for the table in the dining room.

I can't wait to recover these chairs.

I love the fabric, but I want to lighten them up, and make them a little less color specific.

This pillow is from our trip to New York last year

where we visited the Mackenzie Child's factory with Ed and Carol.

{A close up of the Christmas banner I made}

I love the way red and black look together.

On to the front porch.

It wouldn't be Christmas without our stocking.

And my favorite signs everywhere

{A collection of old and new}

Some new Santas, some from Ryan's bachelor days and some from his childhood

The Santa from my precious mother and the reindeer Ed made when Ryan was little.

The monkey I bought last year at Frisco Mercantile.

Still love that place.

The mantle looking the same as last year.

This pillow is one of my favorites for many reasons!

The Christmas rug Carol bought me for my birthday last year.

I was in New York with her on that day, and despite the horrific blizzard going on,

she was determined to take me out for some retail therapy.

*And finally, a few of my current favorite finds from "that" website.

How true is this:

I'm totally copying this for Carter's Valentine cards this year.

How cute are these!

I want this mug.

She was my very favorite author I read during college in my literature classes.

Brothers are awesome.

I want it all:

And last but not least,

for your pure enjoyment:

Have a great day, friends!!

Thanksgiving and Other Stuff

2011-11-28T21:56:00.002-06:00

Helllllllloooooo, friends!

I am a horrible blogger.

I own it.

Big time.

Where do I start?

Chronological order seems to be the smart thing,

so here it goes.

*The last Friday before the kids got out for Thanksgiving was Grandparent's day at Carter's school.

My parents and Carol came to celebrate.

Carter was so proud!

*I was off all last week...one of the many joys of teaching...and copied some Pinterest love.

I made a little mess:

Meet Mr. Snowman:

I also shrunk him down to make an ornament for Preston to take to school.

*Speaking of Pinterest...shocker...I know...here are a few of my current finds for your enjoyment:

Seriously.

No one wants to know about people's dirty laundry.

Sometimes Facebook feels like high school all over again.

Do you remember these?!

Awesome.

Remember how hot they were in the summer because of the metal?

This cracks me up.

Try it.

You know you want to.

Yes, he does.
Our experiences teach us,
and it's up to us to do what's right even though it might not be what we want.
That's a difficult lesson to learn.

*Thanksgiving was wonderful.

So wonderful that I took NO pictures.

Pathetic.

Ryan and I were so busy hosting that we forgot to pick up the camera.

I'm hoping my dad was able to get some good shots.

I did take pics of the tables before our families arrived.

The kid's table:

I made these place cards for the kids.

Totally stole the idea off "that website".

I added some fun to the table.

What are the buttons for?

For tic-tac-toe of course!

Who doesn't love a little Thanksgiving trivia?

I was surprised how many of the kids knew the answer!

Do you?

Hangman anyone?

It's the teacher in me.

I traced Carter's hand for this.

Surely everyone has made a turkey with their hand at some point in their life.

Right?

I had to include some treats for the turkeys. =)

On to the adult table.

I love the chargers from Hobby Lobby.

The leaves and acorns came from our yard,

and the mini chalkboards are from World Market.

They had jute string in them,

but I replaced the jute with wire.

Annnnnnnnd done.

Sad.

I did get a picture of the craft that we did on Thanksgiving.

All the families took one home to enjoy for many years.

Another project from Pinterest.

I love how they turned out.

At the end of the day,

unfortunately after my boys had left for their dad's,

Ryan and I realized we hadn't taken any pics.

I grabbed the camera to at least get a shot of us.

Easier said than done.

Really?

I do so love this man

Thanks to Trysten, we got one decent pic.

Okay....That's enough for one post.

Have a great week, friends!!!

Hello, Friends!

2011-11-17T14:53:00.000-06:00

*Wow, it's been a challenging week or so.

My sweet hubby has been travelling nonstop,

and I have been manning the fort by myself.

"All by myself" has been compounded with some attitude issues regarding The Teenager.

He chose to ground himself on Saturday.

Yes, I said chose.

He smarted off, so he, in my opinion, chose to be grounded.

When he is grounded, he is absolutely a terror to be around.

He's mad, and he wants everyone around him to know it...and feel it.

Because my brother and Austin, AKA The Teenager, have always had a special relationship,

I called him and asked him to come pick Austin up for some uncle/nephew time last night.

He did, and they did.

It went great.

Austin was able to ask him questions about why Ryan and I expect some of the things of him that we do,

and Ben reiterated to him how good he has it.

Austin came home with a smile on his face,

positive words out of his mouth,

and a hug for me.

I know we're not out of the woods,

but I think it was good for him to hear it from someone outside of our little crew.

* I love teaching art.

Period.

* Carter and I have been reading a chapter from Charolette's Web every night.

Do you remember reading it when you were little?

It's such a sweet book and a wonderful departure from all the crap on TV.

Speaking of reading,

I am happy to say that Preston and Carter love to read.

I was so disappointed that Austin never really enjoyed reading they way I do,

so I guess 2 out of 3 isn't a bad deal.

Preston is currently reading the series

Series of Unfortunate Events.

When I taught 5th grade, my students loved the series, but I never picked one up to read.

Last night I read a couple of chapters with Preston and actually enjoyed it.

Carter is into the Captain Underpants series.

Shocker.

Complete potty humor.

Boys love it.

Oh, well.

He's reading, so I'll take it.

* Did you know that high school kids, at least here,

have to earn community service hours every year in order to graduate?

Austin has earned 10 so far and will earn more tonight when he works a booth at Family Math Night.

Pretty cool, I think.

* We're hosting Thanksving again this year,

and I have been working for almost 2 weeks on the tables for the adults.

Ryan and I bought new dishes etc. from World Market a few weeks ago,

and I found some great chargers at Hobby Lobby.

Pics soon.

This week, I've been working on the kids' table.

Fun!

I can't wait to show y'all the pics!

Well, friends, that's it for now!

Duty calls!

Have a fantastic day!!!

On a Brighter Note

2011-11-09T18:09:00.004-06:00

On a brighter note, guess what my hubby did today.

I'll tell you because you'll never get it right.

He was in 7th Ward in NOLA working with Habitat Humanity!

How cool is that!

As part of the leadership conference,

the company he works for arranged for them to work on 3 different homes,

so Ryan spent the day helping put a roof over some deserving family's head.

I love that man!

What a great time of year to be helping those in need.

He said he was exhausted and has a whole new appreciation

for how hard the guys work that do that for a living every single day.

Ryan and the other guys are rewarding themselves with dinner and drinks on Bourbon Street tonight.

Good times!

Lately...

2011-11-08T21:20:00.000-06:00

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about how much I miss the man on the right in the pic below.

This photo was taken only 6 months before we lost my father-in-law.

Not a day goes by that he isn't on my mind.

When I look at his picture, it literally hurts.

I honestly cannot come to terms with his absence.

I want my husband to have his father again.

I want my mother-in-law to have her best friend again.

I want my boys to have their Pop again.

How long does it take for the sadness to go away?

Maybe it's the holiday season approaching.

The first Thanksgiving without Ed.

The first Christmas without Ed.

Who will do the scavenger hunt for the boys?

It was always Pop.

How freaking perfect everything was 10 months ago...

Hello, Friends!

2011-11-07T19:03:00.003-06:00

Hello, friends!

It's been a long day, and I'm exhausted.

To top it off, Ryan is out of town all week,

so I'm ridin' solo with the clowns.

He's in NOLA at a leadership conference.

NOLA.

Must be nice.

I'm in Prosper at a animal wrangling conference.

Here's the latest.

* I took down all the Halloween hoopla November 1st,

and here's what I put up for Thanksgiving.

It's not very exciting.

I found this little sign this weekend, and added it to the fireplace,

My mother always put these pilgrims out in my childhood home for Thanksgiving.

I wish you could see the turkeys on the little sign.

They're there.

I promise.

The room we've done absolutely nothing to since we moved in because we're just renting.

Our dining room.

The acorns actually came from our back yard.

* I spend waaaaay to much time on Pinterest.

Here are some of my latest pins.

Aren't you excited.

When I was checking out people's boards,

I realized that you can tell a lot about a person

from the things they post.

There are some funny people in this big ol' world we live in, friends.

If I had a daughter,

I would preach this to her until the cows came home.

Since that will never happen,

we'll teach our boys to be that kind of man.

I love this one.

I am learning to do this.

It's hard sometimes.

Awesome.

Another good one.

Check out #1.

So very true.

I've had to teach this to Ryan.

He's kind of a neat freak.

Annnnnnnnnd done.

I'm off to feed the boys.

I made buffalo chicken sandwiches in the crock pot.

Guess where I found the recipe...

Update!

2011-11-03T14:53:00.000-05:00

Hello, friends!

Here's what's up.

* You know one of the best parts of your kids getting older?

They can do the chores you hate doing.

Case in point:

"Picking up dog poop"

Enough said.

* We carved pumpkins with the boys last weekend.

They each picked a template out online,

we traced them on the pumpkins

and cut those bad boys out.

Notice Ryan cut the bat out instead of cutting out the circle around the bat.

Good job, honey.

A+ for effort though.

* Halloween was great!

It was different, but it was still fun.

Different how, you ask?

Well, Trysten celebrated with all the ghouls in his mom's neighborhood,

so he wasn't in tow with our crew.

Austin ran senseless with all his friends,

and I do mean senseless.

At one point,

he passed us while hanging on to the side of a friend's golf cart

along with about 10 other boys.

Not okay.

Precisely the reason we didn't allow him to take our golf cart.

And Preston wanted to trick-or-treat with all the goblins his age.

So.....it was Ryan, Carter and I,

along with some friends of ours from the neighborhood and their daughter.

It was strange.

It was different.

Our boys are growing up,

and I don't like it.

Moving on...

I have to say, our hood is a total party on Halloween.
The streets are packed,

people are handing out goodies for the kids as well as a little

somethin'-somethin' for the adults,

everyone knows everyone or is ready to meet someone new.

It's awesome.

This is a typical scene.

Tons of families.

That's what it's all about!

Annnnnnnnnnd that's it.

How sad is it that this picture is the only one I took while we were out.

Fail.

I have never done that before on Halloween.

Fail.

There was just so much going on, and I got a little side tracked.

I did manage to get one of Carter in his costume.

Yes, that's my 7 year old dressed as Jason from Friday the 13th.

See, about 3 years ago, I gave up the whole

"I will not allow you to be anything scary."

I figured, they're boys.

Boys love scary.

They have no idea who these characters other than they know they're scary,

and, again, boys love scary.

I'm pretty sure Carter won't be scarred from dawning these ratty duds for one night.

Not to mention, the mask and accessories only lasted about 15 minutes, and he was over them.

Good times.

* I have decided to take the Art EC 12 certification by exam test in December.

What does that mean?

I would officially be certified to teach art!

I have found my DREAM job.

Landing this long term sub position as an art teacher was a total fluke,

and I couldn't be more excited about the possibilities for next school year.

There's a brand new elementary school opening up here next fall,

and I would love to be the art teacher there.

Wish me luck on the test....I have lots of studying to do!

* Ryan's company car has finally been ordered as of yesterday.

That means "The Mer", as Austin calls it, is going up for sale.

Anyone want to buy the black beauty?

Happy Thursday, friends!!

My Love Affair With Pinterest

2011-10-26T13:52:00.001-05:00

Are y'all sick of me talking about Pinterest?

If you are, you probably should exit out of this post so as not to further sicken yourself.

I seriously can't get enough of this site.

It changes every single day.

All day.

One question though.

Why the weird name, Pinterest?

I get the "pin" part, but what's the meaning behind the rest?

Someone please tell me so I can sleep at night.

Update:

Some totally smart person just explained the name to me.

Just in case you were wondering the same thing,

it's Pin-Interest.

You know, your interests, what you're interested in.

Duh.

I spent 4 years in college and still couldn't figure that one out.

Scary.

Moving on to the 3 things I am obsessed with this week on Pinterest.

I sound like Andy Cohen from Watch What Happens Live.

Love him.

1. Crockpot Tortilla Soup

I "stole" this recipe from Pinterest on Monday,

dumped all the ingredients in the crockpot on Tuesday before I left for work

and came home to the most incredible smell around 3:30.

To say the kids loved it, is an understatement.

They licked their bowls clean last night.

Seriously.

Hello, sassy bowl of greatness.

We'll be seeing you again real soon.

Let me know if you want the recipe.

2. Giant Scarecrow

I found this big guy on "Pin"...that's what I'm going to call Pinterest from here on out...last week,

and it was love at first sight.

I said to myself, "I can do that".

And I did.

I think it turned out pretty cute.

3. Halloween Character Banner

Remember when I showed y'all a preview of these awhile back?

Well, I made one for home and one for my classroom,

but the office staff liked it so much,

they hung it up in the office!

One first grade teacher even had her students replicate it

and incorporated it into a mini lesson.

Pin is awesome!

There are so many great ideas.

"They" say that imitation is the best form of flattery,

so to the creators of all this fun stuff,

be flattered and thank you!!

Now, friends, go pin some stuff!

Happy Wednesday!

Totally Lame

2011-10-24T17:10:00.003-05:00

"Here's the story of a crafty lady"

"Who was bringing up 3 very lovely boys.

All of them had hair of gold, like their mother,

the youngest was just 2"

"Here's the story, of a man named Soladay,"

"Who was busy with a little boy of his own."

"They were 2 men, living together, but they were all alone.

Till the one day when the lady met this fellow,

and they knew that it was much more than a hunch,"

"That this group would somehow form a family.

That's the way we all became:

"The Soladay Bunch,

The Soladay Bunch,

That's the way we became the Soladay Bunch."

Totally lame.

I drew these the other day...don't laugh...and couldn't resist.

Have a great week!

Sweet Story & More Pinterest Love

2011-10-19T18:37:00.001-05:00

* I came across the sweetest story on a news website today.

Here's the link.

The title of the article was:

Couple Married for 72 Years Die Holding Hands

How precious are these two.

Gordon and Norma Yeager were in a car accident together, and both suffered life threatening injuries.

They later died in the ICU holding each other's hands.

The couple's son had this to say about their passing moments...

"It was really strange, they were holding hands, and dad stopped breathing but I couldn't figure out what was going on because the heart monitor was still going," said Dennis Yeager. "But we were like, he isn't breathing. How does he still have a heart beat? The nurse checked and said that's because they were holding hands and it's going through them. Her heart was beating through him and picking it up."

I love stories like this...

UPDATE:

Okay, so I guess I didn't click "read more" on the article to

find out the tragic injuries sustained by the

other people involved.

I should add now that my heart goes out to the families

negatively affected by this accident.

* I can't get enough of Pinterest.

There is nothing you can't find there.

Here are a few things I came across this week and had to repin:

How true is this!

EVERY teacher can relate to this.

Boy can I vouch for this one.

Two powerful statements:

How creative.

Bookshelves made from ikea spice racks.

Genius.

The words to your first dance song.

You could use this same idea for so many things.

Love it!

Filing this one away for future reference.

Annnnnnnd done!

Have a great rest of the week!

Random Update

2011-10-17T23:33:00.000-05:00

Hello, friends!

Lots going on as usual.

Here's a quick random update of all the business as of late.

* This past weekend was anything but uneventful.

Two of our little guys were grounded.

Like no watching television PERIOD,

no playing outside PERIOD,

no hanging out with friends PERIOD.

Do children realize that when they are grounded,

the parents are grounded as well?!

Not only can we not take the kids to do anything fun,

although we did go out for a family lunch after Trysten's basketball game,

but we have to deal with their attitudes when they are reminded of their confinement.

To top it off, when you are in a divorce situation,

the child who is grounded tries to call the "other parent" for sympathy.

So, we let them do it.

Twice.

Now, this is not to say the whole weekend was a bust.

To the contrary.

It made for a lot of family time.

A lot of which was spent on the patio playing UNO,

watching old home videos, talking about vacations we've taken and lots of memories of Pop.

Lots of memories of Pop.

Sunday was a different story because I was under the weather.

I was in bed ALL day Sunday

while Ryan did laundry, wrangled the clowns and cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner.

And that was our weekend.

I'm praying our 2 guys have learned their lesson

because I don't want to be grounded anymore.

* Speaking of being in bed all day Sunday,

I watched a lot of trash TV.

A lot.

I watched parts 1 and 2 of the whole Kim Kardashian's wedding.

Wow.

That was a huge undertaking.

I also watched part 1 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey Reunion.

Did yáll see that mess?

It was out of control.

Teresea has been blacklisted out of the family.

Why?

Because she's crazy.

I could go on, but I won't.

* See this little guy:

I love him.

And he loves school.

Look at him writing word problems for me to solve.

Makes a mama happy.

Speaking of school,

I transferred him to where I'm teaching all year.

We are only 2 doors apart,

and I cannot tell you how fun it is to see him every day.

It doesn't get much better.

Are yáll still here?

I'll be back with more later, but for now, it's Sudafed and bed time!

Happy Monday!

Anniversary Weekend!

2011-10-10T17:44:00.004-05:00

Ryan and I had such a great time in Florida this past weekend!

Lots of time in the sun, sand and the occasional hurricane-like weather conditions.

Hold on for the recap!

On Thursday, our actual anniversary, I flew in to Fort Lauderdale, where Ryan had a driver pick me up and take me back to the hotel to meet him after his workday was over.

{He had been in Boca Raton all week on business.}

I walked into our hotel room, and Ryan had arranged for a dozen red roses to be delivered.

Of course he did.

He's that good. =)

Later that day, I finally got to meet Ryan's new boss and was able to

put faces to names of coworkers of Ryan's from literally all over the world.

Total blast.

The next day, Ryan and I left Boca Raton and headed for our hotel in Fort Lauderdale.

Welcome to Fort Lauderdale Beach!

It was beautiful!

The view from our balcony:

We spent the whole day between the hotel pool and the beach.

We officially celebrated our anniversary on Friday night at our favorite spot,

YOLO, from the last time we visited Fort Lauderdale.

You Only Live Once

Tuna sashimi with cucumbers and seaweed salad

Coriander-shallot crusted salmon with tabouleh

Yum

Center-cut filet with wasabi potatoes and tabouleh

Dinner was delicious, and the company was awesome!

My sweet hubby and I...yep...he's pretty darn sweet.

A perfect night.

The next day, we woke up to hurricane-like conditions,

but that didn't stop us!

We drove down to another hot spot on the beach for lunch and to watch some college football!

Lulu's Bait Shack

Oysters

One of our favorites!

What else do you eat during a college football game?

Wings of course!

We finished the day watching the Razorbacks sweep Auburn at a local sport's bar.

Another fantastic day, rain and all!

The reward came the next morning when we woke up to this weather:

Our flight didn't leaving until almost 7:00 PM, so we spent the day on the beach.

I heart this man. =)

While walking around, we came across this guy.

I'm willing to bet this isn't his first appearance on YouTube.

All good things must come to an end, and sadly we eventually had to drive back to the airport.

It really was such a great vacation!

I love that just the 2 of us can go away together and have the best time.

Can't wait to do it again.

Happy anniversary, Ryan!

I love you!

Until next time sun and sand!

Four Years Ago Today...

2011-10-06T00:00:00.029-05:00

Four years ago today..

and I have never been happier...

As always, Ryan, thank you for being the man you are, taking care of our family and loving me the way you do. I don't know what I did to get so lucky.

I love you!

What better way to celebrate 4 years?

Four days and 3 nights in the sand and sun with my better half of course!

Today I am flying to Florida to meet Ryan for a weekend of fun!

I CANNOT wait!

Below is where we'll be "rehoneymooning".

Good times, my friends!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Thank You & My Latest Obsession

2011-10-03T19:37:00.004-05:00

I have to start by saying thank you to everyone for the prayers for Kylee.

Her surgery went better than anyone could have hoped for.

Please keep praying for her continued recovery.

She has a long road ahead, but if anyone can do it, she can.

We love you, Kylee!

So....my obsession.

Pinterest.

Thank you to the evil person who suggested I check it out.

Not really.

I heart it.

You can find anything and everything on there.

What in the world did we do before the Internet?!

Behold a few of the genius finds I have come across lately:

Have you ever wondered how in the world to

wear a scarf without looking like you're hitting the slopes?

I have, and look what I found?

Genius.

What about trying something different with your locks?

Here you go.

Want some inspiration for a future kitchen remodel?

Bam.

Love

Hate that ugly thermostat on your wall?

Here's a genius solution.

Make lemonade out of lemons.

Seriously?

Why didn't I think of that?!

Are you a teacher looking for ideas to use in your classroom?

Pinterest has ém.

Want a fun and creative way to display your children's art work?

That just happened.

Don't know how to decorate your mantle for Christmas.

Now you do.

What about a genius way to capture memories from a vacation.

I'll definitely be doing this for our anniversary trip to Florida coming up in less than 3 days!

And what about some words of wisdom?

Pinterest has you covered.

The really freaky thing?

I found an image of one of my own DIY projects on Pinterest.

How did that happen?

Crazaaay.

Am I the only one obsessed?

I can't believe it took me so long

to jump on board.

You can check out more of my pins here.

Long Story Short

2011-10-02T17:42:00.000-05:00

Last week one of my best friend's daughter, Kylee,

who was also my student 2 years ago, collapsed while at school.

Two teachers/coaches took immediate action.

One performed CPR to no avail,

and the other quickly utilized the Automated External Defibrillator, or AED,

and after two shocks, Kylee's heart began to beat again.

Every parent's nightmare is to lose their child,

and Mike and Sheryl almost experienced it first hand.

I cannot even imagine.

After we dropped Ryan off at the airport today,

the boys and I went to visit Kylee,

who is having a Pacemaker placed in her heart tomorrow morning.

A Pacemaker.

At 12 years old.

Such a brave and precious little girl.

Long story short, hug your babies, appreciate every day and say a little prayer for Kylee.

Thank you, friends.

Halloween Hoopla!

2011-09-26T19:39:00.008-05:00

It's no secret how much we love Halloween in our home,

so with the big day about a month away,

I jumped at the chance to bring out the goods.

Hold on for picture overload!

The mantle.

I changed it up a bit from last year.

And without the lights:

This spooky guy is new.

I kinda like him.

Especially since he was only $3.97 at Walmart.

I bought these spiders at World Market and added the little witch hats.

I made these after work today.

Spray paint, spray adhesive and glitter

Easy.

Remember these from last year?

They have lights inside of them that flicker at night.

I did make new tags this year.

I heart Halloween colors.

Another little witch hat on the spider.

I couldn't resist.

Esmeralda is a new addition to our Halloween stash.

She's awesome.

Can you spot the Halloween surprise on the gallery wall?

Here it is. =)

Just a little something.

Pardon the picture quality.

Creepy friends are the best.

They make life more fun.

The bar needed a little love too.

Isn't he cute =)

The kitchen

What?!

You didn't know ghosts like wine?

And what would Halloween be without an ode to Poe?

Annnnnnnnnnnd done!

Only 35 more days!

Linked up at

Real Quick

2011-09-20T18:36:00.000-05:00

Real quick, friends.

Just 3 little pieces of info to share.

*Have I mentioned lately how much I love my new job?

I do.

I have made so many new friends

and some that know someone that I know and visa versa.

It really is a small world, and I love it.

I have never worked in school where everyone is so welcoming

and where there is so much community involvement.

Today my principal asked me if I was up for a few more long term

substitute jobs this year.

Yes, please.

Yay!

Basically, I'm teaching all year.

I'm a happy girl!

* I added a few more things to the gallery wall.

Can you tell?

My favorite?

The one below.

It's an early anniversary present.

Love what it says.

* See these little guys?

I made them.

I'll show you where they're going soon.

Did you realize Halloween is only 41 days away?

That's it.

Have a great week!!

The Latest

2011-09-18T19:40:00.005-05:00

Hello, friends!

Life has been busy here lately.

I'm writing while dinner is being cooked on the grill,

so let's get right down to business.

Here's the latest happenings at casa de Soladay.

*This past week was homecoming here in big P.

The entire school district celebrated .

The entire town celebrated.

Even the boys' orthodontist decorated their office in green and white.

I love living here.

It still has that small town feel.

Wednesday night was the homecoming parade,

so we ventured out with the rest of the community to watch.

The homecoming court

and the varsity football team

It brought back lots of memories from when I was in high school.

A long time ago.

Almost 20 years in fact.

*Austin made the freshman baseball team,

and they had their first off season game at home on Saturday.

Check out the facilities below.

The field is turf.

Certainly a step up from my high school.

Oh, and the basketball gym has stadium seating and a huge jumbo tron.

Seriously!?

These kids have know idea how good they have it.

*I did a little more fall decorating this weekend.

Next weekend is when I bring out the Halloween stash.

Cannot wait.

For now I'll settle for fall.

Recognize the candle, Carrie?

* I also started working on a new gallery wall.

It's just a start.

The carpet isn't really this ugly.

I have a few more ideas for later, but for now, it is what it is.

You likey?

I found the "Family Rules" sign at Walmart of all places.

*The littlest things make me happy,

like this organizer I found up in New York while staying with Carol.

Each of the younger boys has their own slot where all their homework,

notes from school, mail {like Carter's Highlights magazine and the latest Halloween costume catalogue} etc. is neatly organized instead of in random piles all over the kitchen counter.

Love.

*Trysten had his first basketball game of the season this weekend.

His teammates call him Little Dirk.

He loves it.

We're so happy that T has finally found something that he loves to do.

He scored about 10 points!

Way to go Trysten!

Annnnnnnnnd done.

Not a very exciting post, but it's all I have!

Have a great week!!

Weekend Recap

2011-09-11T17:41:00.000-05:00

I was feeling a little under the weather this weekend,

so Ryan and I spent a lot of kidd-free time around the house.

After such a busy week,

a slow paced couple of days was just what the doctor ordered!

Lots of time was spent out on the patio...with our puppies of course.

Ryan grilled some tilapia for us on Saturday night.

Yum.

We were teased all weekend long with beautiful fall-like weather.

And............it's gone.

Just like that.

We are supposed to be back over 100 degrees this week.

Seriously?

Despite the rising temps,

I put out some of our fall decor.

Soon this will be filled with pumpkins.

Can't wait!

Remember these guys from last year?

Just a few hints of the upcoming seasonal changes.

I'm so ready for fall.

To me, it's all about college football, cooler weather, pumpkins, Halloween, back to school.

Awesome.

Speaking of back to school,

I started my new job this past week as an art teacher.

I LOVE IT!!

It is so much fun!

I am loving being back in the classroom with all the kids.

I had no idea how much I missed teaching,

and it all came back to me as if I had never stopped.

Here's to week #2!!!

I cannot end this post without mentioning the significance of today.

It's been 10 years since 9/11.

10 years.

It's hard to believe.

The elementary school where I work held a special assembly on Friday

honoring those who lost their lives that day.

It was extrememely touching.

The Teenager and I spent about an hour on Thursday night

watching videos on Youtube of 9-11 newcast compilations covering the tragedy

as well as videos captured by people who lived near Ground Zero.

It took me back to that day

and reminded me of just how horrific it was...is.

My thoughts and prayers will continue to go out to the families

who lost their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters...

It is hard to wrap my head around the fact there

are such evil people living on the same planet as us

that knowingly set out to destroy so many lives.

It's heartbreaking.

On a positive note...

This day has special meaning to Ryan and I because it's the 5th anniversary of our first date!

Dorky.

I know.

Our lives, and the lives of our children, changed forever 5 years ago.

I am forever grateful that fate brought us together.

Have a great weeks, my friends!!

Fifteen...

2011-09-06T19:48:00.000-05:00

Fifteen years old...

Where has time gone?

My first born.

My first experience as a mother.

I was so young...

I read every book.

I asked every question.

I researched.

I took classes.

I took on motherhood without looking back.

I was determined to give you everything you deserved.

Everything I received as a child.

Despite the obstacles,

I finished college and walked across that stage

while you, only 3 months old, lay sleeping in the audience.

I was so proud to be your mother.

Now our relationship is changing.

You're entering a whole new chapter in your life.

One day soon,

I will no longer be the apple of your eye.

Some other little girl will take my place.

It's my job to let you grow up,

but you'll always be my little boy.

You'll always be part of me.

I love you, Austin.

I am so proud to be your mother.

Happy birthday...

Labor Day Family Weekend

2011-09-05T16:57:00.000-05:00

Hello, friends!

What a beautiful Labor Day weekend with our whole family together.

Life is good around our home these days.

We celebrated Carter, Ryan and Austin's birthdays

with my whole family on Saturday over at Carol's house.

Yes, you heard correctly.

Carol is back in Prosper for good!

We are thrilled, and the boys are enjoying hopping on the golf cart for a quick visit with Grandma.

It's good stuff.

It's also nice to have Carol living back in "The Prosper House" as it was nicknamed.

It's a special place.

Lots of wonderful memories have taken place within its wrought iron gates.

Ryan set up the bounce house,

horse shoes, and brought multiple basketballs for the kids to shoot hoops with.

Carol's yard is a boy's playground with more than enough room to run around like crazy.

Kites were flown:

Golf cart rides were taken:

Fun was had by all in the bounce house:

My boys LOVE their "girl" cousins.

Carter keeps asking me if he can have a baby sister.

Ummmmmmm...no.

Card tricks were performed:

And then they all passed out.

Sweet boys.

Flash forward to Labor Day.

This is were we have spent most of the day...even as I type...because the weather is gorgeous.

Ryan and I have walked the dogs with the kids,

taken the boys on cruises around the hood in the cart,

ate lunch...and dinner soon...on the patio,

simply enjoying the company of our whole crew together.

Doesn't get any better.

Oh, actually it will when the ribs Ryan is cooking are done.

Happy Labor Day, friends!

Happy Birthday, Carter!

2011-08-31T12:30:00.000-05:00

Happy 7th birthday, sweet little guy.

You truly are something special.

Your laugh is contagious,

and your smile is unforgetable.

My last baby.

I am so in love with you.

Happy birthday, Carter!

We love you!

The Bad Part...

2011-08-30T18:07:00.001-05:00

I do a lot of blogging about how great life is,

but let's face it,

there are bad parts too.

One of those bad parts has been looming in my mind for a few months,

and now I need to vent.

Bear with me, friends.

Hear me out, and let me know what you think.

Child support.

Probably one of the ugliest parts of divorce.

I have experienced what it's like on both sides of the fence.

i.e. I've been the recipient of child support

and part of the giver {meaning married to a man who pays child support}

The problem with child support is that the laws governing its distribution are frankly archaic.

They were rewritten in the 1980's, in a completely different era of parenting

and need to be modernized to represent the divorced couple of today.

They were written when divorced dads were "weekend fathers"

and didn't spend the amount of time with their children that they do now which is a good thing.

In addition,

it's not something that can simply be decided upon according to a mathematical formula.

There are variables that need to be considered.

I receive child support.

I appreciate what I get.

I'm not looking to bleed the father of my children dry so that he cannot enjoy his own time with our children.

I constantly think about that.

Here begins the problem.

A lot of women don't think about that.

They go for broke.

In all honesty, how much do you spend per child in your home per month?

I would say somewhere around $500 is average.

That's a good average.

With that said, when custody is split 50/50 or 60/40,

why is the father paying, in many circumstances, almost 3 times

the average amount it takes to monetarily take care of a child per month?

What is that money going to?

According to The National Father's Resource Center,

one of the biggest flaws is that the courts simply assume the custodial parent is spending

the child support money on the child,

when in a lot of households, it actually goes to other sources.

Yes, I've done a little research.

It's not a divorced father's responsibility to take care of his ex wife's entire family.

Only his child.

I have friends that receive ridiculous amounts of child support from their exes, and I just don't get it.

Their childrens' fathers are extremely involved in their lives,

yet they are forced to pay an amount that inhibits them from being able

to do certain things with their kids when they are with them due to financial constraints.

I am all for women getting what is needed.

But when do women step up,

and take as much care of their children as their fathers do?

It took 2 to make the child;

it takes 2 to be financially responsible.

One more thing...are you still here?

Once a child support order is in place,

is there ever a reason to change it?

It depends.

Just because you can is not a reason.

If your ex was unable to pay enough to simply cover his half at the time of divorce,

it is reasonable to expect a change in the future when said parent gets on his feet.

Because the father works hard to take care of his family,

and is in return rewarded with a pay increase while still paying a more than acceptable

monthly child support payment is not a reason.

Why would a mother go after her child's father for more money

simply because he has had success?

Why is a women even allowed to do that when the amount she is already given is satisfactory?

It baffles me.

Especially when the mother is remarried and has a 2 income home.

This is where divorced men get the shaft.

Don't get me wrong.

There are a lot of deadbeat dads out there that need to go to jail for not supporting their kids.

But, what about the ones that are active participants in every part of their children's lives?

And breathe.......What do you think?

Peace, Love and Harmony

2011-08-25T19:31:00.002-05:00

Have you ever had one of those days

when things just don't seem to be going the way that you

originally thought they would when you woke up?

You know, the kind of day when you get up thinking the world is a great place,

and the inhabitants of our vast planet are good peace-loving beings,

only to have your rose colored glasses replaced with HD lenses

precisely magnifying the not-so-good portions of our existence.

Ya.

That was my day.

At least the beginning of it, but I refuse to surrender.

I'm making some lemonade from lemons, my friends.

The best part?

Tomorrow is Friday!

Ryan and I are kid free all weekend long.

Peace, love and harmony.

The boys made it through their first week at school.

Awesome.

Here's the run down:

Austin {AKA "The Teenager"}loves high school.

He's already made friends with some older kids, so he's feeling better about the whole scenario.

Makes a mama happy.

Preston is totally stoked about 5th grade.

He has 6 teachers this year

and when asked what his favorite part of "intermediate school" is,

his response was,

"Not having to walk down the hall in a straight line."

He's easily pleased.

I picked Trysten up from school today for the first time this school year

and when asked about how he was liking 4th grade so far,

the word "boring" was used 3 times.

He'll come around.

He always does.

Carter is loving being at his school without his older brother.

I think he feels more "grown up".

He keeps telling me that he just missed getting his favorite 2nd grade teacher by one.

When I asked him how, he said,

"Because she's next door to my class, so I missed getting her by one door."

Okay.

Thank the good Lord above that Ryan has been in town all week.

Getting back into the swing of things with all of our clowns is no easy task.

Love those kids.

That's all for now, friends.

Have a great weekend!!

Short and Sweet

2011-08-22T15:35:00.000-05:00

Hello, friends!

So many exciting things are going on

that I cannot wait to share with all of you.

Here's the short and sweet version!

* Yesterday was a special day in the Soladay household

because someone had a birthday.

This handsome man below turned 36.

Happy birthday, Ryan!

You are an incredible father and husband,

and I am so proud to be your wife!

We love you.

* Carter lost his first tooth last week!

Do you know what this means?

It means I have no more children who will lose their first tooth.

Ever.

Bittersweet.

* This is what the chalkboard in the kitchen said yesterday:

It is hard to believe another summer has come to an end

and another school is ready to begin.

I really do love this time of year.

New school clothes,

new school supplies, new beginnings.

Flash forward to this morning...

Carter was so excited this morning.

My baby is in 2nd grade this year.

I love this little guy.

Carter gave his new teacher a small gift to help make this school year start on the right "note".

See, they're notepads.

Clever.

I know.

Preston started 5th grade today

which means he's at the intermediate campus.

He's big time, people.

Such a sweet kid.

This kid started high school today.

High school, my friends.

It's going to take me awhile to get used to saying that.

Bless his heart,

he was so nervous this morning.

His biggest fear was having to eat lunch in close proximity to juniors and seniors.

Broke my heart to hear his worries.

Love him.

Can't wait to see what great things this school year holds!

* Speaking of this school year,

remember when I said I was going to substitute teach this year,

and I made those little clipboards to give to all the principals here?

Well, 30 minutes after dropping one off last week at one of the elementary schools,

I received a phone call from the principal asking me if I would be

interested in doing a long term substitute job for a teacher going on maternity leave.

Needless to say, last Thursday I met with the principal, assistant principal and the teacher going on leave,

and by the end of the day, the principal called me to confirm my employment!

And guess what I'll be teaching:

Yep.

This girl will be an art teacher beginning September 6th until sometime in January!

I am super excited about this opportunity.

Yay for art!

* One more final piece of exciting news.

Ryan surprised me with an anniversary getaway for us in early October!

He booked us a 4 day trip to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to celebrate 4 wonderful years of marriage!

The beach, the beautiful weather, the great company.

It doesn't get any better.

Oh, except I get to fly first class.

Ya, baby!

We cannot wait!

That's it!

Short and sweet.

Have a great week, friends!

All Good Things Must Come To An End!

2011-08-15T17:54:00.002-05:00

Hello, friends!

Despite the fact that our family vacation did not take us to some exotic locale,

it was by far one our best ever.

Why, you ask?

Let's see:

1. Lots of family togetherness relaxing and goofing off

2. The kids got along REMARKABLY well

3. The backdrop was a perfect for a family of active boys

4. Did I mention the kids got along really well?

The boys loved that the neighbor's dogs were all over the place!

And I do mean ALL over the place.

Going out on the boat never got old.

Just hanging out

I love these boys!

And this man.

Be still my heart. =)

When not on the boat,

the boys were still on the lake.

Pushing each other in:

But then helping each other out

And finally passing out at the end of the day...

It truly was a blast.

Even the car trip home was fun.

I was a little nervous about not having the DVD player to keep the boys entertained during the ride,

since our rental car {mine is STILL in the shop} was without one, but it was great!

Get this:

We actually laughed and talked as a family instead of driving in silence

while the kids' ears were attached to headphones.

Amazing.

I know.

One thing that really touched me was when Austin told Ryan how much he loved him being his step father.

Friends, it was awesome.

Our little family has come a long way over the past 4+ years.

It just keeps getting better.

When you're a blended family,

the time you have together is precious because it doesn't happen every day,

and taking the time out to talk about the good things is priceless.

Warmed my heart for sure.

Until next time, Lake Hamilton...

We love you!!

Hello From Lake Hamilton!

2011-08-11T11:25:00.001-05:00

Hello from Lake Hamilton!

We are having an absolute blast.

As I said 2 years ago when we last visited as a family, the lake house is a boys' paradise.

They're in their element.

Sweet boys.

Lots of UNO games taking place as usual.

And LOTS of time on the boat.

Doesn't get much better!

Trysten and I

Brothers!

Food on the grill at the lake is perfection.

The usual minor surgeries are taking place.

What kind of surgeries you ask?

Why getting splinters out from the deck of course.

We brought both of our dogs,

which means dogs from all over the hood are at our back door wanting to play.

Speaking of the neighborhood dogs,

2 of them are obsessed with giving the boys "piggyback rides" as Carter says.

Observe:

Trysten is keeping us entertained as always.

Such a sweet kid.

Ryan once again managed to surprise me on vacation.

Seriously.

How did I get this damn lucky?

A card?

On vacation?

Yes, please.

I'm a lucky girl.

We ventured away from the lake house for a bit of action of a different sort.

We're quite a large crew.

Time for some go karts!

"The Teenager" has been so much fun to be around this trip.

Such a handsome kid.

Sweet little Carter.

Trysten was so excited that he was tall enough to drive all by himself.

Maybe next year, Preston!

Next up, bumper boats!

This is Austin's friend, Ryan, that came with us.

Great kid.

Love these boys...

Miniature golf, anyone?

Okay!

We took the boys to eat at The Fisherman's Wharf right on the lake.

The fed the ducks while we waited for our food.

Love =)

Herb encrusted talapia, grilled shrimp, catfish, clam chowder, oysters

Let's eat!

I heart this family!

More fun on the way tomorrow

with another big day on the lake!

See you later, friends!

Hello, Friends!

2011-08-01T17:26:00.000-05:00

Hello, friends!

I really suck at blogging lately, but I am determined to change that.

Here's what's been up since the golf tournament.

* We had our first Prosper Desperate Housewives Poker Night.

Holy Texas Hold 'Em.

We managed to play 4 hands.

Four hands in 4 hours.

We might have gotten a little side tracked.

Love these girls!

* I finally got around to taking the boys to In-N-Out Burger.

My review:

hamburgers = good

The boys didn't care for the fries, but at this point, it's more the novelty of going.

* Let's talk braces.

Remember when Austin and Preston got braces last summer?

Well, because Ryan worked for such a small company,

the only dentist/orthodontist we could go to was Monarch Dental.

They are horrible.

With his job, we have new and much improved insurance,

so we were free to go to anyone as long as as they are in our network.

Long story short, I made an appointment with a new orthodontist literally around the corner.

They informed me that they will need to take the boys' braces off, and start all over.

Seriously?

That means the $3,000 we've spent thus far is basically down the drain.

Awesome.

By the time they're out of braces, we will have spent about $10,000.

Nice.

* Summer is quickly coming to an end, but before it is officially gone...

IT'S LAKE HOUSE TIME, BABY!!

We are leaving early Saturday morning for 7 fun filled days of

boating, tubing, fishing, swimming and relaxing!

Look how much younger the boys look the last time we were there:

We're letting The Teenager bring a friend this year,

which means we are continuing to move swiftly into a different era of parenting.

We're no longer cool enough to hangout with 24/7.

The Teenager needs supplements.

It's okay.

Ryan and I both remember those days.

Can't wait to see Lake Hamilton!

* Speaking of summer coming to an end,

I've decided that I'm going to substitute teach here in Prosper this school year.

I thoroughly enjoyed being home last year,

but I have to admit, I got a little stir crazy at times.

Substituting would allow me a lot of flexibility and a little extra cash to put straight into savings!

I decided to make a little something something to drop off at all 6 of our campuses here.

You know, something to make the principals remember me.

They're mini clipboards with my contact info, all my teaching experience,

my various certifications and references.

You likey?

* Ryan and I went to Winstar this past weekend to see Billy Currington.

He's awesome.

We had such a great time

and brought the camera to document all the fun, only to discover

that I had left the memory card in my laptop at home.

Nice.

The next night we went back to a theater that we have been to a few other times.

It's called iPic.

We went early and Ryan killed me in multiple games of pool

while we shared a bottle of wine before we watched

Horrible Bosses

Cute movie, and totally out of character for Jennifer Aniston's typical roles.

Good times.

Y'all still here?

* Sara and I met up Sunday at Cafe on the Green

at the Four Seasons resort for brunch with Dee who was in town from North Carolina.

She is precious, as is Sara's new baby, John Robert.

I have pics of the day somewhere on my computer.

I edited them, and they disappeared.

I'm hoping Dee will email me the ones she took!

Dee?!

* I am receiving daily messages from the high school about

things such as freshman orientation, parking tag registration, etc.

WHAT?!

Slow down, people.

I'm not ready yet.

Austin will be 15 in just over 4 weeks!!

Totally freaks me out.

FIFTEEN

That's like almost driving, dating and attempting to sneak out age.

How in the hell am I going to make it through the boys being in high school?

I held Sara's sweet angel yesterday, and he's so small.

Yet, they they grow so big, so fast.

Makes me wish I could slow the clock down.

Enjoy your babies, friends.

Have a great week!!

Golf Tournament Recap!

2011-07-18T15:05:00.001-05:00

Hello, friends!

The golf tournament was a huge success!

It was such a great time and a fantastic tribute to Ed.

It was a proud day to be a Soladay.

I cannot describe the overwhelming feeling I felt as we pulled into the parking lot of the club

the morning of the tournament and saw all the golf carts lined up,

each labeled with the players' names, ready to go.

Overwhelming for sure.

All the planning was done, and the day was here.

I imagined Ed looking down on us and hoped he was proud.
I am waiting on the edited pics from the photographer,
but here are some from my camera!

I am forever grateful to all of our sponsors, for without them, the day would not have been possible.

With my handsome husband ready for the day!

As players arrived, they were directed to their carts so they could

load their clubs and then went inside to register.

Each player received a goodie bag at registration with gift cards to places like the PGA Store, Golfsmith,

Starpower Electronics, NIKE cards, passes for use of the practice bays

at the PGA Store and golf towels I had made for the tournament.

It meant a lot to see how many golfers immediately attached the towels to their bags.

At 12:30, everyone got into their carts, and Ryan welcomed everyone to

The First Annual Ed Soladay Golf Tribute!

Carol =)

Ryan and my brother waiting for the club's golf pro to finish giving instructions for tournament play.
See the man walking in the background?
That's Mr. Teramoto.
He came all the way from Japan to play.
Awesome.

Ready to go!

Such a pretty course.

Two of my dear friends, Katie and Sheryl, were among the volunteers at the tourney.

How cute are they!

That's Sheryl's husband's team in the pic below.

They actually ended up winning first place.

They shot a 55.

A 55, friends.

They might have used a few mulligans.

Just a few.

Or maybe a lot.

Stephanie, Melissa, Marci and Kristi!

They were so much fun.

Melissa is starting a girls only poker night once a month here in the hood.

Forget Bunco. Let's gamble.

First one is this Friday.

Can't wait!

This is a crazy crew, so it should be a blast.

The Browns and the Liparis
Ed and Carol's neighbors and golfing buddies

The fun didn't end after the tournament play.

Nope.

After all, this was a Soladay event, and we know how to have a good time.

We had good ol' Texas barbecue, live music and an open bar with drink specials like The Fast Eddie.

When it was time to award 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place and draw raffle prize winners,

Ryan started with a speech thanking our sponsors,

and then he stopped, too choked up to speak.

My heart broke because I thought he was going to say something about his father.

Instead, he said, "I owe all this to my wife."

My reaction?

Below.

I was completely caught off guard.

When he said that, everyone started clapping, stood up and turned towards me giving me a standing ovation.

It was surreal.

All the planning had been for Ed.

It wasn't about me.

It was an extremely touching moment.

One more reason I am so blessed to be Ryan's wife.

Okay...back to the party.

After the awards, we raffled off prizes which included several foursomes at golf courses in the metroplex, a wine tasting for 4 at Landon Winery, dinner at Sauce-on-the-Square, an iPad 2,

a big screen television and more.

And then things like the pic below started happening.

{a recreation of a pic from Ryan's and my wedding}

And this:

{Seriously?}

At one point, Ryan grabbed my wine glass, put it down and stole me for a little dance.

Sorry, ladies.

He's taken.

One more picture before the party is over...or until everyone left and came over to our house.

Mother and son...

At the end of a very long day,

Ryan and I collapsed into our bed with smiles on our faces.

It was a good day.

It was a great day.

The First Tee left with money for their cause,

and everyone had fun.

Can't wait to do it again next year.

We love you, Ed!

I'm a Horrible Blogger

2011-06-29T21:41:00.000-05:00

I'm still here.

I'm a horrible blogger.

I haven't read a blog in foreva.

I haven't commented on a blog in foreva.

I apologize, my girls.

You know I love you.

I have been consumed with golf tournament hoopla.

We are down to less than 2 weeks.

I have felt like a horrible mother because I have been so incredibly busy.

We've managed to make it to the pool a few times.

Our boys have been real troopers running errands with me.

I just want everything to be perfect.

One hundred and thirteen spots have been filled,

and only 31 are left.

A true testament to Ed.

People from all over are coming to play.

Arizona, California, New Mexico....Japan!

The emails I have received have been extremely touching.

Ed is truly a man who touched many lives.

Lives we had no idea on which he had an impact.

It's pretty special, friends.

On other news, here's what else is up.

* Remember forever ago when my car was

destroyed in the hail storm?

Well, the parts for my car are still on order

with no end is in sight.

It's taking a year and a day,

and my car looks like a piece.

* Speaking of cars,

Ryan's new job is providing him with a new set of wheels,

a gas card, insurance paid as well as all oil changes, car washes etc.

Fantastic, you say?

Well, yes, but remember the new toy he bought back in November?

Well, it would be stupid for us to keep it

with Ryan getting a FREE car for his job.

It would be sitting in the garage.

Rarely driven.

Lonely.

Sad.

Abandoned.

For now, I am driving the hell out of it.

Just sayin.

* Did I mention how busy I am with the golf tourney?

* Ryan and I are going out of town next month to see Billy Currington again.

Heard of him?

He's awesome.

He's not coming to Texas, so we're going to him.

He's "Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer" and thinks "Beer is Good and People Are Crazy".

Know the songs?

I think he might like beer.

* Ryan went out of town on business for the first time this week.

Wow.

All it takes is 72 hours for him to be gone for me to see how much of a team we are.

Me, 4 clowns and 2 dogs.

All alone.

No help.

It totally makes me appreciate everything my mother did when we were little.

She was a fantastic mother.

Who knew that tiny little people could be so difficult at times?!

Despite their difficulties, we love them so. =)

* There's more, but I'm tired.

Very tired.

Have a great rest of your week, friends!!!

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-19T21:05:00.001-05:00

Definitions of father (n)

fa·ther
1.man who is parent: a man who is the parent of a human being, or a male animal that has produced offspring
2.man acting as parent: a man who brings up and looks after a child as if he were its father
3.man who is ancestor: a man who is an ancestor, especially the founder of a family or people

Synonyms: dad, daddy, pop, pater

Fathers are pretty special people.

Whether by birth, by marriage or by a special person fulfilling

that role for someone in need, a father can never be replaced.

I am blessed to have amazing "fathers" in my life.

Today I celebrate all that they are.

My Father

Actually, I still call him, Daddy. Don't judge, friends. He has taught me so many things that I hope to pass on to my own children...responsibility, honesty, the importance of a good education, faithfulness, dedication, determination and the importance of family. I love you, Daddy.

Thank you for being the man you are.

My Husband

When I stop and think about my husband, I realize that many of the things I love about him, are the same things I love about my father. His integrity, responsibility, determination, dedication, faithfulness, honesty and love of family. Notice a trend? Thank you, Ryan, for taking care of our family, loving us, protecting us and putting us before all else.
Thank you for being the man you are.

My Father-in-Law

This Father's day was difficult with the absence of Ed. It was a reminder that he is no longer here. There is no way to describe what the loss feels like. It doesn't seem real. It doesn't seem fair. I would do anything to turn the clock back to that night, and make it snow so hard that he wouldn't have been able to go outside and shovel snow. The thing is that if you know anything about my father-in-law, you know he is a man of determination, dedication, integrity and would go out and take care of shoveling the snow no matter the weather because he always takes care of his family. Once again I realize how much Ryan is like his father...just like he is so much like mine.

Ed, we miss you every single day.

Thank you for being the man you are.

I feel blessed that my boys have 3 of the

most incredible role models as to what a father is.

That is a true gift.

Thank you Daddy, Ryan and Ed for being the men you are.

I love you.

Happy father's Day.

Recap Overload!

2011-06-14T17:20:00.002-05:00

This weekend was all about family, my friends.

Hang on for recap overload!!

Preston had his final game of the season and final game with the

team he has played with for 6 seasons.

He's decided he wants to play baseball in Prosper next season.

Good times with this crew!

We spent countless hours at the pool.

Brothers...fighting one minute and best buds the next!

Hello, handsome!

I bought the boys some water balloons,

and they filled up a bunch for the pool.

No one was off limits including me.

Word to the wise,

even if you do not think your child will actually throw a water balloon at you,

tighten up your abs just in case you are wrong.

Nice.

A local baseball park had their grand opening this weekend.

We ventured out for the festivities.

There were the coolest kites.

Tons of people

And lots of fun!

Sweet Carter

Love these 2 =)

There's a story behind this face.

Watch the video following the pic.

Silly boy!

Almost time for fireworks!

Showtime!

A perfect ending to a fantastic family weekend!

Hope yours was just as great!!!

It's Summertime Funtime!

2011-06-08T15:44:00.001-05:00

Summer has officially commenced in our home.

The children are ~~shooting each other with Nerf guns~~ quietly playing in the other room.

Here's what's been up.

* Ryan started his new job on Monday.

He came home a little overwhelmed the first day from information overload.

It's a huge career change for him, and I know he'll thrive like he always does.

I'm very proud of him, but I guess y'all already knew that.
After getting to spend every day together for the past 2 weeks,
I have really missed him during the day.
Okay.
Enough sappiness.

* On a disappointing note,

we have to put the building of our new home on a temporary hold

after finding out that the tenants in our rental property

must purchase the house before we can purchase another one.

They want to buy it from us

but need a little more time to get their credit scores up.

No worries.

We'll wait.

Time is something we have a lot of!
If the lot we wanted is gone when it's time to buy,
something better will come our way.
That's the way life goes!

* Austin started his golf lessons this week.

Look how cute The Teenager is all golfed up.

Check out the big guy's new set of clubs.

A very special gift from Carol.

Thanks, Grandma!

* During the summer,

the boys have a lot of down time.

A lot.

This is what Carter decided to do with his on Tuesday.

He said he wanted to sort his drawers.

Guess who got stuck with the sorting.

Yep.

Yours truly.

Thanks.

I have to come up with some things for us to do during the day,

or I think I just might go out of my mind with all these clowns.

The older they get,

the harder it is to find activities that will appeal to all their different ages.

For instance, Carter wants to see some movies that Trysten, Preston and Austin think are "for babies"

and Austin wants to see things that I don't feel are appropriate for the little guys

and I'm not about to loosen up on that so I'm stuck.

See my dilemma?

* Speaking of movies,

Ryan and I went and saw Hangover II last week.

I don't care what anyone says.

We loved it.

We laughed the entire time.

I will say that if there was a rating past R,

this movie is definitely worthy of it.

Just sayin.

* Trysten arrived last night for a whole week!

A whole week of having the entire family together is greatness.

Looking forward to the weekend!

That's it for now, friends!

I know it's nothing exciting, but that's all I got!

Have a great week!!

Weekend Recap

2011-05-31T16:48:00.000-05:00

Hello, friends!

I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

We had a 3 day weekend full of much needed family time!

The relaxing schedule was a preview of the upcoming glorious months of summer.

Lazy days by the pool, the lake house, spontaneous weekday excursions.

I am so excited!

The boys did, however, remind me this weekend of what happens

when they have a little too much togetherness with each other.

There were definitely some attitude challenges.

(All pics were taken with my iPhone, so excuse the quality.)

Exhibit 1 Timeout after hitting his brother with a pool "noodle":

Exhibit 2 Pouting because we had to go to Preston's baseball game instead of the pool:

It's a rough life.

As seen in the first pic, much of our time was spent at the pool over the holiday.

This was right before Preston was sent to timeout.

Aren't those things made to be used IN the pool?

Love these kids !

While at the pool,

I discovered something horrible.

See the pic below.

This is what happens to your skin when you lay out without

enough sunscreen from high school through college.

Sunspots.

Nice.

What was I thinking??!!

Oh, ya.

I was thinking that I was going to be young forever.

Moving on.

We went over to my parents for dinner and to let all the cousins play on Saturday.

They had a blast!

That's Alexis.

I swear she's the happiest baby ever and loves all the big kids.

Addyson.

I could eat her up.

That's it!

I have totally been slacking with the camera.

My little camera died...again...and my new one is so intimidating that I'm not comfortable with it yet.

Fail.

This is Ryan's last week off before his new job,

so we'll be hanging all week long.

We thought about a quick getaway

but felt it was smarter to put more dinero away for our new casa.

Have a great week, friends!

I have some ideas to bounce off of you later in the week, so until then...

Take care!

Short Version...Kinda

2011-05-25T20:34:00.003-05:00

Lot's going on.

I don't feel like typing, so here's the very short version.

* Since Ryan is finishing out the month working from home before he starts his new job,

we're enjoying lots of together time before his schedule gets craazay.

Yesterday we started with lunch at Campisi's

where I asked Ryan what pepperonis were made of,

which prompted him to google it on his phone,

which led to him discovering that Slim Jim's are made from cow's lips.

Never will I eat one again.

Lunch is over; on to Dave & Busters.

We played old school Galaga...our favorite.

Dorks.

I know.

Next up, Ryan killed me in air hockey,

which we followed up by playing several of those games where you shoot people.

I found it oddly therapeutic.
Today, after going by his old office for the last time, we decided to try out a new restaurant called
Whiskey Cake
Totally cool place.
The decor was very urban/ industrial/ Anthropolyish.
Check out this chandy pulled straight out of the Anthropology catalogue.
Love.

And this metal bad daddy with an Edison bulb.

I thought of you Coco.

(Pardon the bad iPhone pic.)

Now for the food.

Let's start out with some deviled eggs.

Awesome.

Say hello to my little friend,
Mr. Fried Green Tomato BLT Sandwich.
Yum.

Okay.

This is called the OMG Burger:

Onion Rings, Mushrooms, Goodness

Holy largeness.

We'll be back fo sho.

* Ryan and I tailgated all day last Saturday with lots of friends for the Jimmy Buffett concert.

People go all out for this thing.

Like really all out.
I personally saw it as a guy's chance to replicate the whole
"Show me your boobs for beads" kind of thing.
Exhibit A:

We saw another golf cart full of college age guys that had a sign that said,

"Boobies for Coozies"

They told me that I really needed a coozie.

No thanks.

My boobies are for his eyes only.

Just sayin.

* With this school year coming to an end shortly,

I have found myself thinking about one thing in particular.

"The Teenager"

He will be a freshman in high school next year.

High school.

My dear blogger girls, picture your first born.

Now imagine him...or her...going to school with guys that have full beards

and girls that have way bigger lady lumps than I do at 37 years old.

Not good.

Period.

* So, I have been doing Zumba lately.

Anyone tried it?

I heart Zumba.

It's 1 hour of constant cardio with a sassy Latin dance flair.

Try it.

* TAKS is over.

Thank the good Lord above.

Our boys did well.

Lots of hard work and commended performances.

We are so proud of them!

* One last note.

Dear Mother Nature.

WTH is up with all the tornadoes?

We have currently TRIPLED the number of tornadoes from this time last year.

This is NOT normal.

I am convinced the world is coming to an end.

Don't act like the thought hasn't crossed your mind.

Seriously.

Too many people have lost their homes and their loved ones.

Enough.

Annnnnnnnnd done.

That was the short version.

Kinda.

Just for you, Sass, I won't say,

Happy Wednesday.

Have a good one, friends!!

Our Future Digs!

2011-05-18T16:57:00.000-05:00

In less than 4 weeks when the builder finalizes the changes we want in the original plan,

we will be paying the deposit on this:

So that we can build this:

You likey?

We are so excited!

The best part?

The the right side of our lot is on the golf course.

Ryan is stoked.

This time next year, we will be homeowners!

Happy Wednesday, friends!!

Ch-Ch-Changes!

2011-05-16T17:20:00.000-05:00

Hello friends!

Usually I would post a weekend recap being that it's Monday,

but pardon me while I make an exception.

I have been hinting to something huge going on lately,

and I can finally make the big announcement!

Well.

For our little family it's big.

Huge actually.

See this handsome man pictured below with me:

He is now officially the

South Central Regional Sales Manager for Simplex Grinnell,

an international Tyco Company!!!

I am so incredibly proud of Ryan.

This is a huge change as he is leaving the computer industry

and venturing into (for him) a completely new field with so much room for growth.

It will require travel which will be another huge change for our family.

I am totally freaked out about that part, but we will learn to adjust.

This move also allows us to move forward on so many plans we have made.

I'll save that for later this week...today is all about Mr. Soladay!

I love you, Ryan, and I know that your father

is looking down with a smile on his face.

He is so proud of you...

Weekend Recap

2011-05-09T16:40:00.001-05:00

Super fun weekend!

Newlywed time for 48 hours straight.

Awesome.

Lots of celebrating took place.

Hello!

2011-05-03T20:51:00.000-05:00

Hello, friends!

It's been awhile.

Get ready for a random list of what's been up.

* Carol was in town for a week recently.

With such beautiful spring weather lately, time was spent at the winery and on the golf course.

Carol is quite a golfer.

Makes me seriously nervous to think about playing with her.

Seriously.

My handsome hubby

The Soladays!

* Speaking of perfect weather, we are living outside on our patio lately.

And not just Ryan and I.

The kids are right there too.

I love this little guy.

* The golf tournament planning is going great, and the foursomes are really starting to fill up!

I have received sponsorships as well as fantastic prizes donated.

If you live in the area and would like to participate,

feel free to email me for registration information!

* I don't know how it is where you live, but teachers here in Texas are in a panic

in fear of losing their jobs due to major cutbacks in education funding.

I know a few teachers who have lost their jobs for next school year, and I feel awful for them.

I'm glad I'm not looking for a job, because there are no teaching jobs to be found.

It makes no sense at all.

* Despite all the beautiful weather lately,

Sunday was a totally different story.

Cool and rainy.

All day.

It was fine with me because it meant familytime all day.

Lots of this took place:

And lots of these were played:

There was even a little bit of this:

(Try to make it to the end.)

That's about it, friends other than being knee deep in baseball tournaments almost every weekend.

Hope you're having a great week!

W.A.F.G.T

2011-04-17T19:18:00.001-05:00

What a freaking good time.

Seriously.

The tailgating and concert were an absolute blast.

Can't wait to do it again in a month for Jimmy Buffet!

I don't have a ton of pics.

Too much going on to pick up the camera.

Here are a few for your enjoyment.

Sheryl, Jennifer and I.
Love these girls!
Could they be any cuter!?
Inside and out. =)
It is always a good time when we're together.
I have not laughed that much in a long time!

Ryan and Jen's hubby, Brandon,

How hot is my man in his Red Wings from his frat boy college days!

The obligatory kissing shot. =)

Sheryl and her hubby, Mike.

Once inside, we couldn't get over how incredible our "seats" were.

Behold:

I have no idea where this pic came from or what was going on.

The crew!

Horrid pic of me, but I had to include it.

Can't wait to do this again next month!

Okay.

One more.

Good times!

Hope your weekend was just as fun, friends!!

Taking the Good With the Bad

2011-04-12T15:10:00.008-05:00

The Bad:

All the work Ryan and I did over the weekend to our back yard blew away Sunday night.

Literally blew away.

We had 80 mile per hour winds and hail the size of golf balls.

Nice.

Our roof has to be replaced

as well as all the gutters on the west side of our house and pipes and vents all over the roof.

Let's talk about my car.

It lost it's spot in the garage after Ryan brought his new toy home, so it sat outside during the storm.

It is now covered in dings.

Literally covered.

My back right taillight is broken too.

Nice.

The Good:

We are going with 2 other couples to this on Saturday night at Cowboy Stadium:

I am so incredibly excited!

SANDBAR seats right next to the stage!

The concert starts at 4:30, but we're heading out around 1:30 to tailgate before the show.

Ryan and I are HUGE fans of both Kenny Chesney and the Zac Brown Band,

and only craziness can be expected with the 3 couples going.

It is going to be such a great time!

You have to take the good with the bad!

Have a great week, friends!

Welcome Back Spring!

2011-04-10T20:40:00.002-05:00

What an absolutely beautiful weekend!

The weather was perfect.

Spring, how I missed you so.

In Texas, you have to enjoy every second of spring...because that's about how long it lasts.

A few seconds.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnd DONE!

It's summer.

Ryan and I were kid-free this weekend,

so we kicked it off Friday with happy hour on the patio at RA for drinks and sushi.

Good times.

We spent all day Saturday working in the backyard getting our green thumb on.

Results?

I thought you'd never ask

These are the roses I planted last spring.

They came back and are bigger than last year.

I'm kind of proud of my skills here.

Look how huge the blooms are!

Hydrangeas. My favorite.

They won't make it deep into the summer, but for now they're awesome.

Yellow hibiscus.

Petunias

Are you bored yet?

Don't answer.

Have ever seen these before?

They're called Chicks and Hens.

They remind me of Mexico.

Ryan and I picked out some funky little cactus for the table.

How cool are these guys!

Can't forget the front porch.

These are double petunias.

Ok.

Enough of that.

After all that work,

we cleaned up and went out to the art festival in downtown McKinney to see an old teacher friend's work

and ended up at the winery.

Good times as always.

Welcome back spring!!

We enjoyed you all weekend long while at happy hour,

eating breakfast and watching the Master's on the patio, working in the yard,

relaxing at the winery, taking late night golf cart rides and spending time with family.

So glad to see you again!

Thanks for sticking around, friends!

Just When You think...

2011-04-04T23:44:00.001-05:00

Just when you think you're coping...the loss becomes real.

And it hurts.

What's Going On

2011-03-31T19:33:00.000-05:00

Here's what's going on in our neck of the woods.

Please pretend to be interested.

We made it in the Prosper Press again this week. The boys think we're famous.

The weather has been BEAUTIFUL here lately. Especially on the weekends. This past weekend, Ryan and I spent all day Saturday hanging out with friends at their pool watching a little March Madness and later cooked steaks on the grill. We were determined to eat outside...eventhough the temp dropped about 15 degrees when the sun went down. Yes, I am wearing an Auburn sweatshirt. That's all my friend had. Ryan was not happy.

My husband the Unabomber.

Baseball is in full swing here at Casa de Soladay. For real. We have practices and games during the week and a tournament nearly every weekend. If I didn't keep a calendar, I would be lost. Ryan tries to get me to keep all my dates in my phone, but I'm old school. I have to have an actual calendar that I can write on. Arcaic. I know. Am I the only one that still uses an actual calender?

We decided to sign another year lease on our house. The plan was to buy after 1 year, but the people renting our lease house needed a little longer to build up their credit in order to buy house, and we need them to buy our house so we can buy the kind of house we really want to buy. We LOVE the home we're renting, but after living in it for awhile, we have realized that we need 1 more bedroom, and a 3 car garage is a must. All we know right now is that we're definitely staying in Prosper (preferrably in the same neighborhood), but haven't decided if we want to buy an existing house or buy a lot and build. Here's to another year of renting!

I have been consummed with planning the golf tournament. I want everything to be perfect. I want Ed to be proud. The response has been overwhelming. I have even received emails from people in New York wanting information. Just goes to show how loved Ed is. On a side note, when we were at the funeral home in New York, the funeral director told us that he and his wife had lost their son in a car accident when he was very young and in order to keep his memory alive, they light a candle in rememberance of him everytime their family gets together. Carol and I loved the idea, so when she was recently in town, I suprised her with our own memory candle. We let it burn all evening long. The candleholder and sand have sentamental value as it was used to hold Ryan's and my unity candle at our wedding, a time when Ed was with us. Sometimes after the boys go to bed, Ryan and I light it and just sit on the couch and talk about Ed. Miss him so much. It still doesn't seem real.

That's it, my friends.

I hope you had a wonderful Thursday,

and have a fantastic weekend!!!