Happy Birthday, Carter!

Happy birthday
to my sweet little guy.
You make me laugh, and
you make me smile.

I knew you were special
from the very start.
I cannot express
the way you melt my heart...

I love you, Carter Price Watts...

We took Carter to Peter Piper's Pizza...his favorite...for a little family celebration tonight! I love these four little guys!

Ryan and I wishing we had the energy the boys do at the end of a long day!
Sweet little boys,,,
Big brother helping Carter "spend" his tickets...They have no idea how lucky they are to have each other...One day. =)

Carter in a nutshell! So silly!
T in his staple Under Armour gear! He had just come from soccer practice. =)
Austin...who officially becomes a teenager on Sunday, as he is constantly reminding us!

Carter...God has only great plans ahead for you! You are precious inside and out, and I am proud to be your mother! Happy Birthday...I love you!

Weekend Recap!

I love weekends like this one! It was low key, relaxing and all about hanging out together. The weather was beautiful with slightly cooler temperatures hinting to the approching seasonal change. I can't wait!

We're dog sitting for some good friends of ours while they're in Florida, so Ryan and I soaked up some sun around their pool all day Saturday. Between the music and the little mini beach our friends have around one whole side of their pool, it was reminiscent of our vacation just 2 weeks ago! When we brought their dogs back to our house, the craziness began! We're talking 2 big black labs plus our 2 big dogs...the boys are so excited to have some extra "friends" for a week and a half. =)

Tommy...He's terrified of our doggie door! He'll go out but won't come back through!

Sasha and our dog ShelbyOur Lu Lu =)
We decided to stay in Saturday night and watch the Cowboy game, so Ryan went to Market Street and returned with lobster, steak and fresh asparagus for the grill...Yum!!! Is it just me, or is there something so sexy about a man cooking on the grill? =)

Better than anything we could have eaten at a restaurant!

On Sunday before my boys came home, we went shopping for some "school clothes" for me and some presents for little Carter's birthday which is tomorrow! I still cannot believe he's going to be 5. Another busy week is here, and I am looking forward to all that it will bring!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!

Random Fun!!

The following pictures perfectly illustrate the thrill experienced in our house having 4 boys. I cannot imagine not having a big (compared to today's family sizes) family because the happiness all 5...include Ryan...boys bring me is immeasurable.

What do you even say about this besides: Good times!

Do you remember when you learned how to do a handstand? What I would give to have this kind of freedom again!


Future black mail picture...Love it! =)

So Preston's teacher happens to be a good friend of mine again, and I love her too! She is the cutest thing, and obviously Preston feels the same! He made this for her tonight, and Ryan helped him come up with some adjectives for an acrostic poem that perfectly describe Mrs. Gunn...He has the sweetest little heart, and as a teacher, things like this homemade card are what make our jobs so worth it...
I leave you with this picture...Preston has tried many times to imitate Ryan's hair...which I think is so cute because when kids do that kind of thing it's because they look up to that person...Here he is trying to replicate the Soladay "do"...so cute! No, that isn't a cigarette in his mouth; it's a lollipop! Trysten kept trying new hair styles, but he said this one was his favorite...only at home, bud!
HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

It's Hot!

Are you aware how hot it is has been at 12:35 PM every day this week while Mr. Knoerr and I have stood watch over the playground at recess duty!? Just in case you don't, it's about 100 degrees...I'm ready...I admit it. As much as I LOVE summer, I am ready for college football weather, a scarecrow and pumpkins on the front porch and a fall wreath on the door. Can I get an AMEN, sista!?

LOOKING FORWARD TO FALL!!!

Back to School!

I really do love the beginning of a new school year. It's a chance to get back into a schedule and make a fresh start by changing routines that didn't necessarily work the previous year and continuing the tried and true ones. In our house, the change will revolve around rearranging when homework and playtime take place once the boys are home. Especially since all 4 boys are each playing a sport requiring at least one practice during the week!


A huge change taking place this school year is Carter starting kindergarten! It was a hard morning for me as I walked my last little guy to his class, said good-bye and watched him leave to go hang his backpack up on the hook labeled with his name. It took me a minute to turn around and walk away, and when I did, I felt overwhelmingly sad because I know my tender days with the boys are dwindling right before my eyes.

Based on the picture below, I think it's safe to say the first day of kindergarten wore Carter out! Precious little boy...

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!

Excited and Exhausted

I have been so incredibly busy with getting my classroom ready, lesson plans written, paperwork completed and staff development attended that I have hardly had a chance to sit down and breath. Although it has been a lot of work, I thrive on the excitement of a new school year! Tomorrow night is Meet the Teacher, and I can't wait to meet my new group of 5th graders! They are so much fun! A few pics of my classroom:

"Dream" is our part of our school motto.

My team is doing a movie theme this year, so we bought these cute popcorn boxes and put a pencil, a star and real popcorn in them...tomorrow it will have the popcorn...at each students desk. The popcorn is in a Ziploc bag that says,'Don't forget to bring a healthy snack to school."

I think they turned out really cute!

My small group table where I do guided reading and writing conferences with my students.
I love having a big window in my classroom.
My bulletin board outside my room. Keeping with the movie theme, each teacher on my team will pick a boy and a girl student to be the "stars' of the month, and their pictures will be displayed in the frames. The recipients will be chosen not just for academic achievements but for exhibiting good character as well which is just as important!

Right outside my door!

I'm trying something new this year. Once assignments are graded, I will put them in the slot of the correct student, and they will be responsible for collecting their graded work to take home every Thursday.

My new lamp! I love having them in my classroom. =)
I decided to keep the Twilight saga, that I read this summer and LOVED, not for my kids to read but to illustrate my love of reading which I continuously strive to pass on to my students.

HERE'S TO THE SCHOOL YEAR
2009-2010!!!!!

Unbelievable...

One word...UNBELIEVABLE...That's what our trip was...We laid in the sun, laughed til it hurt and danced to "our" song under the stars on the beach...It was perfect!

Beautiful Riviera Maya...

The resort...awesome! No swans this time...only rabbits!
I think we needed one more pillow!

On the boat after our snorkeling trip. I haven't been snorkeling since my senior year in high school, and it kind of freaked me out at first because the fish are literally swimming with you! Ryan and I saw countless fish, turtles, stingrays and barracuda. It was incredible to see them in their natural surroundings.
After the trip, they took us to a small private beach to hang out and enjoy the view...

Kicking back =)

Love this picture...and this one...

At dinner on the first night. Every night after dinner, we grabbed a bottle of wine, our ipod and little portable speakers, a couple of towels and headed to the beach to sit under the stars for hours...so romantic...=)

Ryan being goofy..."Say hello to my little friend."
So happy!
These birds were awesome. They just sat there and allowed people to take pics.

These guys were ALL over the resort, and they were HUGE!!!

Waiting on the van to pick us up on the last morning...so sad!Ryan wrote this in the sand and didn't tell me...He's so sweet like that...a true romantic.

Ryan,

Thank you so much for making this trip happen for us. I will never forget the memories we created. A few come to mind...the first night on the beach, the 2 white guys dancing at the snack bar, the song "Make love and listen to the music" that they played over and over and over every night in the "circle" (lol!), finding our own little spot on the beach away from the crowd, the "mullet man", the "bottles" of wine, the crazy lady from Holland, the mosquitos, the snorkeling trip when you swam underneath me and scared me to death, the adults only pool AKA "The Library", the bees, the shooting stars, the ENTIRE bottle of tequila that spilled in our suitcase on our flight home, the endless romantic moments, the laughs....I will never forget them!

I love you so much!

Alli

Tomorrow...

Tomorrow is the day...We will board our flight on American Airlines and will land in paradise just a few short hours later! Ryan and I have been talking about our getaway for a month now, and the day has finally arrived...the sun, the sand, the fruity drinks with little pink umbrellas floating alongside the salty rim, romantic dinners and late night strolls on the beach...Heavenly...

This is awaiting our arrival...

and this...

And who doesn't love swans configured from hotel towels greeting you after a long day on the beach?!

ADIOS AMIGOS!!!