Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

Lots o' changes going on in the Soladay family...good ones, exciting ones. The first big change is that I have officially resigned as a full-time teacher for next school year. I am stepping down from the incredible world of empowering little minds. It's a very strange feeling because for so long, part of my identity has been "teacher". I still plan on substitute teaching a few days a week, but I'd like to focus more on my curtain/bedding making business. I am little nervous about the move, but Ryan continues to assure me that change is good!

“Growth means change, and change involves risk, stepping from the known to the unknown.”

Happy Monday!

It was really hard getting up at the crack of dawn today after 10 days of bliss. Spring break is over....TAKS testing is 2 short weeks away.  I needed a quiet ride to work/school this morning to prepare myself for 52 fifth graders...Preston wanted to talk trivia about cars with the fastest acceleration. Have you ever wanted one of those limo windows that roll up and down separating the front and the back seat? I did. This morning.

Happy Monday!

Weekend Recap!

Weekend, oh glorious weekend...

Where did you go?

How quickly you're gone.

How you do it, I'll never know!

We attended a wedding on Friday

of a couple so precious and in love

We visited with close friends

and our own wedding, we reminisced of.

Saturday was spent relaxing

and spending family time together

Then a father-son outing

in the cold and snowy weather.

Sunday morning Ryan cooked breakfast

and the kids played out in the snow

We prepared for a busy week ahead

full of school, sports, homework, you know!

Spring break is over

time to go back to school

but what a great time we had

It really was super cool!

Ryan and I went to a wedding of a guy at his office named Steve. He and his new wife, Mary, are such a sweet couple.  It was fun to see some of our really good friends:

Kristin, Kelly and I

I am so happy to be standing next to this man in this picture....I'm going to get sappy for a minute, so if it bothers you, TYA...if not, stick around, my friends! When you go to a wedding, you can't help but reflect on your own, and this wedding was no exception.  When they read 1 Corinthians 13:4...Love is patient, love is kind...you know the one...Ryan squeezed my hand and we smiled at each other, remembering it being read at our wedding. I remember Ryan texting me the entire scripture early in our relationship...He so had me at that moment!  It has special meaning to us because it describes to the "t" the way we want our marriage to be...patient, kind, not envious or boastful, truthful, honest, not easily angered...and we work to make sure it really is. We're not perfect, but we're perfect for each other.  Damn it's good, and how handsome is this man in his suit!

 

On Saturday, Trysten called Ryan on the way home from Houston with his mom, and asked if he would take him out to eat....Ryan JUMPED at the chance for some father-son time, so these 2 handsome guys below, went to Dave & Buster for some male bonding and then to see The Lightening Thief. They had a great time...I love seeing them together.

On Sunday, we woke up to massive amounts of snow, so the boys went outside to play!

Ryan and Trysten made an igloo!

Carter came back inside, and I found him with all of his books at the bottom of the stairs...I love this little guy.

I hope your weekend was just as great!

Here's to the beginning of a new week!!

Adventure Time!

Where do I begin with the story of 

our "adventure" at Fossil Rim Wildlife Park

with the Coco crew? Can you say, "crazy-fun"!!?

Preston, Carter and I arrived in Glen Rose about 30 minutes before Coco and her precious cargo which worked out perfectly because that's about how long it took to just wait in line to buy tickets to enter the park.  Right about the time the boys and I made it to the front of the line, I turned and there was Coco with the coolest kid ever sportin' a popped collar and a smile that will surely get him lots of trouble with the ladies later on down the road...total miniature Matthew McConaughey...and the sweetest little blonde that has absolutely captured my Carter's heart...I have pictures to proove this allegation. 

After forking over 5 grand, we all piled in Coco's SUV and took off into the wildlife.  I think we saw about 15 animals total, including 1 extremely testy ostrich, which Coco's husband later accused her of punching after it snapped at Preston's finger.  Scared us to death, but all was well. It was good times, people, and as if it couldn't get any better, we decided to take our own wild animals well behaved children to a cute little mexican restaurant for a bite to eat out on the patio, a rita for the moms and a some more girl talk.  Let's just say that taking four children to eat after they had been couped up in a car for 3 hours has its drawbacks. I have pictures to proove this too.

Now, for some pictures of las festivas!

Within 5 minutes of meeting, Carter had already claimed "Daisey Mayes", as he kept calling her, as his girl!

How cute is this!

Coco and Tessie Mayes! I have to say, I am major impressed with Coco's driving skills. At any given moment during the 3 hour tour through vacant fields fields of animals, she had not 1 but 2 children climbing over her head and into her lap, and she never flinched. I think at one point, we had all four kids in the driver's and passenger's seats with us. 

Uh...excuse us. I think these animals are a lot smarter than we think. I firmly believe they block the road just to get back at all the kids pelting them with food. Wouldn't you!?

Preston trying to name the 15 animals we saw...which didn't include ANY giraffes...I think they hid them from us.

How can this cute little thing not make you smile?! Notice the silver sharpie across her cheek? Ya, that happened in the car during "our adventure".

Carter's picture taking skills:

It's gettin' crazy!

Maybe we should call it a day before they kick us out!

Saying goodbye!

So sweet...

Did you guys not hear us say, "No playing in the parking lot!!!??"

What a day!!!

This was so much fun, and it definitely won't be our last playdate!

Change of Plans!

Yesterday, I mentioned taking my little guys to the Ft. Worth Zoo...plans have shifted a bit, and this is where we're headed instead:

Yes, you are correct. It really is Fossil Rim Wildlife Park in Glen Rose, Texas! I haven't been anywhere like this since the International Wildlife Park back in the 80's! The boys are super excited, and I cannot wait to finally meet Coco and her precious Tessie Mayes and Bram, AKA "The Braminator"! We are hopping in our SUVs and headed out for some good old fashion fun! Should be a blast...lots of pictures to come!

Happy Thursday!!

Let the Fun Begin!

In just a few short hours, my little men will return! They had a great time with their dad in San Antonio staying at the Hyatt Hill Country.  Such an awesome resort for families.  I have been several times with the boys in the past, and it's an excellent venue for letting kids be kids, i.e. a lazy river, beach front pool, making smores at sunset, movies on the lawn at night with the family while relaxing on massive quilts, bike riding, crafts. You name it, they have it!

The next few days are packed with fun! It all begins with Preston's baseball game tonight.  Their coach is having all the boys wear green shirts in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Love it! The onset of baseball season also means the baseball crew is together again! Always good times.

"The Teenager" is going to Six Flags with a close friend tomorrow while I take the little guys to the Ft. Worth Zoo...I told them over the phone last night, and Preston and Carter can't wait to buy a pressed penny at the zoo to add to their Penny Passports! Thanks, Casey for the recommendation!
Let the fun begin!

Happy Wednesday!

Missing My Boys...

My boys have been gone since Friday, and I'm really missing the little guys...Their dad has been kind to send me some pictures of all the fun being had! 

I'm glad they're having such a great time!

Seeing their faces makes me smile...

Weekend Recap!

Weekend, oh glorious weekend...

Where did you go?

How quickly you're gone.
How you do it, I'll never know!

We kicked off our alone time

by clebrating in style

We ate sushi at Naan

where we sat on "our sofa" all the while.

We shopped all day Saturday

and bought our first piece of art!

Ate a romantic dinner at Jaspers

You just continue to melt my heart!

We had margaritas at Gloria's

sat out on the patio for a bit

Enjoyed the beautiful weather

and each other's company, I must admit!

Sunday brought relaxation

and time spent just hanging out

We hung up our new painting

One of our best weekends, there's no doubt!

The best part about it

is our alone time isn't done

We still have 2 more days

to have a little fun!

Ryan and I have been searching for a piece of art to go above our fireplace for some time now, and we came across this painting at a new antique shop we disccovered and fell in love with it as soon as we saw it.  It really is beautiful, and the colors look amazing in our family room.  Ryan hung it up yesterday, and after a few tries, he was able to get it just right!  It wasn't easy people.  We felt like such grown ups after we bought it. Ha ha! I kept saying, "Ryan, we bought our first piece of art. We're real adults!"

It was a big purchase for us, and we're pretty excited about it!

Happy Monday!!!

Friday!!

It.is.Friday.

Spring.break.starts.now.

My children are going out of town with their father and Trysten with his mother.  What does this mean, you ask?  Thanks for asking.  I'll tell you:

Alone.time.with.my.favorite.man.

We haven't completely decided what we're going to do as of yet.  Should we take off to Shreveport and try out Ryan's new found love of playing craps?  We're toying with the idea.  I do know there will be shopping, romantic dinners, lunches on patios, meeting for happy hour after hubby gets off work, mani and pedis, some live music here and there.

I am kicking off the official commencement of spring break with some of my fellow teacher peeps following the ringing of the 3:00 bell today, with a little happy hour celebration of our own.  It's always a good time when a group of teachers get together...especially this group!

Our students are wound like yo-yos, which means we are ready for a change of scenery!  Did I mention that today my students will be watching THE 5th grade video?  You know the one I mean...My Changing Body...Good times. 

Have a great Friday and an even better spring break!!!

Etc.

It's been a busy week here in the Soladay household as usual...baseball practice, homework, projects, Open House, Maverick game, etc., so here's a post full of random happenings and meaningless thoughts.

Last night, Ryan arranged for some male bonding time with "The Teenager" via a Dallas Mavericks game.  Hello 13 game winning streak!  I sent Ryan with the camera, and this is the result:

Can you say great seats!

I love these 2 guys...

Game time!

This is where the pictures get interesting....

Okay...

Really?

I guess "the boys" enjoyed the scenery!  I'm glad they had such a great time.  Ryan truly is an awesome stepdad, and Austin ate up every moment!

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Here is another one of Carter's masterpiece's I pulled out of his backpack recently. I don't know why, but it makes me smile...and laugh. Sweet boy! Check out my hair:

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Since Ryan was gone last night, I did something I rarely do, and after doing so, I remembered why...I had set up 3 episodes...including the reunion show...of The Real Housewives of Orange County on the DVR, and once the boys were in bed, I watched all three commercial free.  Here are the thoughts I walked away with:

Tamra and Simon-

Ummm...wingnut and jerko

My favorite line was: "I do not control my wife. But if I didn't control her, just think what she'd be like!" 

Okay...Am I the only one who thinks that made no sense whatsoever?

Here's another one: "We have a perfect marriage. If your marriage is 51% good and 49% bad then you're perfect."

Gee, that sounds "perfect" to me.  I also loved how incredibly rude and disrespectful Simon was to Tamra in the limo, curses at her, and then tried to simply apologize and say I love you, so that they could make it through the party.  It was like watching a train wreck.

Vicki and Don-

They were the least annoying couple.  Strange, but the least annoying.  I can handle them.

Gretchen and Slade-

Wow! She is a hot little number...Slade...not so much. He makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit.  Last time I watched this show, Gretchen was with the old guy, so I was surprised to find out he had died, and she had already moved on.

Lynne and Whatever Her Husband's Name is:

Let's see...they can't manage their money to the point that they lose their home, they live WAY beyond their means, and Lynne's husband hides all of this from her because he doesn't want to "hurt" her.  Their 2 teenage daughters are trashy mouthed, spoiled brats that show up highly intoxicated to the end of summer party.  Classy.

Alexis and Her Sugar Daddy:

Is she his slave? Does she realize how stupid he makes her look, and where the heck are the kids?  Are they ever with the kids?  I would love to see a picture of Alexis before she had her lips done. They are GINORMOUS.  Just sayin'.

The Women as a Whole:

Catty. Deceitful. Mean. Self-absorbed.

They are awful to each other which has always been one of the main reasons I haven't watched it regularly.  So much negativity.  I am sure they are great people inside, but wow...the pressure to keep up their appearances must be exhausting.  Sure makes me appreciate my simple existence, my kids, my family, and my hubby.

That's all I have! Have a fabulous day!
Happy Thursday!