Fifth Anniversary Trip to Cozumel!

Ryan and I celebrated our 5th anniversary in beautiful Cozumel

and had such a wonderful time!

The resort where we stayed wasn't very crowded as this time of year is Mexico's slow season,

so it felt very private.

Perfect!

On the way to our resort,

we saw the exact cruiseship we stayed on for our spring break

family vacation almost 2 years ago:

Ryan and I quickly settled into our room and hit the beach!

The view was beautiful,

and we had a huge jacuzzi on the balcony to take it all in at night.

Me likey, likey!

People kept asking if we were honeymooners. =)

They had a place on the beach

where you could purchase a piece of pottery to paint,

and they would fire/glaze it overnight and bring it back the next morning.

Right up my alley.

I initially chose a skull for Mexico's

Dia de los Muertos

and spent a lot of time on it:

And somehow they ruined it when trying to fire it.

I opted for a plate the second go round.

I love that we'll always have it to remember our trip.

We bought several pieces of handmade pottery,

but this one is speacial because I made it there.

They had nightly activities at a little bar on the beach,

and we took advantage of all the fun!

The sunset on the night of our actual anniversary was beautiful.

We could see it perfectly while eating dinner:

 I love this man so dearly...

The weather was perfect for our last day there:

Ryan played some water volleyball,

while I read Fifty Shades of Grey for the second time.

What?

It's a good book.

Our last night

Ryan,

Thank you for another incredibly romantic vacation together.

I love that we can have so much fun together in so many ways.

You continue to make me feel blessed, proud, and head-over-heels in love.

I am so proud to be Mrs. Soladay.

I've always heard that the first 5 years of marriage are the hardest.

If that's so, then you and I have a lifetime of bliss ahead of us.

I love you,

Your Wife



Pretty Cool!

Check out whose pumpkin topiary

is on the

Pillsbury website today!

Pretty Cool, huh!?

Annnnnnnd Back!

Hello out there!

I haven't posted since the first week of school,

and here we are already over a month in!

So much has happened since then,

but here are 3 quick highlights.

* We recently celebrated Carter's 8th birthday

and "The Teenager's" 16th.

I cannot believe Austin is 16 years old.

Sixteen.

Like smack dab in the middle of driver's ed 16.

It's scary.

He will actually be getting his driving permit this week.

I am a nervous wreck.

I am so not ready for the next chapter in his life,

but I can say one thing.

Austin is in a very good place right now.

He's working hard at school,

being responsible, and having a great attitude...most of the time. =)

I do soooo love that kid.

Perhaps we are turning a corner...

* I love my job!

I have never been more excited to go to work.

The kids are awesome,

and we're doing a lot of fun projects.

We just finished a project known as

Pinwheels For Peace.

All students in grades K-4 made pinwheels in art,

and we displayed them outside at school and spelled out the word

PEACE

on International Day of Peace

Friday, September 21st.

It was really cool.

We've moved onto some fall projects now.

Each grade level has their own one:

I have collected a lot of artwork from my sweet students.

I display them on my cabinets,

so they know how much I love them.

A precious little first grade girl

made this for me recently.

Melt my heart.

* Four days from now,

my sweet hubby and I are leaving for

Cozumel!

Sun.

Sand.

My husband.

Doesn't get any better!

Can't wait!!

That's all I have time for now!

We're headed to Carol's for dinner with the boys.

Have a great week, my friends!



Back to School 2012!

Hello, friends!

I have been MIA for a bit due to prepping for the new school year,

and I have NEVER been more excited to go back to work!

I am venturing into a new adventure in my teaching career as an ART teacher!!

My classroom is completely out of this world.

I have so much space, and the view out of my ginormous windows is beautiful!

Every single time I walk into the room,

I have to pinch myself.

I feel so blessed to have found a career that doesn't feel like a job.

With that being said, I must thank my parents

for instilling in me the strong value of an education.

Despite the fact that I had a newborn baby,

I was determined to finish college and earn my degree.

That degree has enabled me to find my dream "job".

Thank you,

Mama and Daddy!

 

On that note, checkout my new art studio

where all kinds of fun will take place with

the 700+ little artists at my school...including my own son, Carter!

 Here's a quick look at my huge windows!

 Can you see the "word" ART on top of my bookshelf?

 My desk area.

 

Look at all my storage!

 I painted this dresser with chalkboard paint and used 8 different colorful knobs for the drawers.

 This room makes me happy!

 Welcome!

 One of the posters I made last year.

 I love all the brand spankin' new supplies!

 The ART letters I made over the summer

 The "chandelier" I made =)

The bulletin board outside my room

"Art is everywhere!"

The ART letters are made from cardboard.

 

I love this.

My principal asked me to decorate on of the display cases at the front of the school.

This is what I came up with:

 The Starry Night

Van Gogh's Cafe

I love this quote.

 

I cannot wait to see what this year holds!

Carter is so excited that I will be at school with him again this year.

I love that kid.

Here's to a great school year, friends!!

We now have a sophomore in high school...WHAT??!!...a 6th grader, 5th grader and 3rd grader.

Where does time go!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!



Hello From Lake Hamilton!

Hello from beautiful Lake Hamilton!

Ryan and our 3 little guys packed up the car on Sunday and headed out for the lake

while Austin stayed behind with me because he didn't want me to drive by myself

 as I had a 3 day art staff development to attend. 

They were just a tad excited.

Can you tell?

 The dogs had their own spot in the backseat.

 As soon as they arrived, the fun began!

 I was so proud of Ryan for taking pictures while I wasn't there.

I've trained him well.

 What is it about the boys wanting to cover themselves with clay?

They did the same thing last year.

Boys.

Gotta love 'em!

 On Wednesday, Ryan got together with a family we're friends with from Prosper,

and the kids had a blast together.

 Raleigh and Carter

 They brought their dog, Junebug, along for the ride.

Normal dogs like the water.

Ours are terrified.

I'm convinced they're not real dogs.

 The whole crew...minus Preston.

He's not a huge fan of picture taking.

 Austin and I packed up on Wednesday and waited for my

SIL to drop off my niece, Ashlynn,

who was going with us.

I adore her.

We arrived in Hot Springs late Wednesday night, and the boys were so excited to see their cousin.

The good times continued into Thursday.

 The Teenager couldn't wait to get into the tube!

 See all the beer cans at Carter's feet?

He collected all of them from the bottom of the lake at a sandbar.

He's saving the planet one beer can at a time.

That's my boy.

 Typical Trysten.

Love him!

 Do you know how much food it takes to feed 5 kids every day?!

A lot.

 Brothers...

 My favorite captain.

 Carter and I

I'm seeing braces in his future. =)

 And I leave you with a quick video as we're about go out on the boat for the rest of the day.

It's about a family tradition we have here at Lake Hamilton.

See, there's a dam at one part of the lake where the water

comes in from the very bottom of Lake Ouachita on the other side.

You can imagine how incredibly cold the water is.

It's so crystal clear that you can see straight to the bottom,

and it begs you to jump in.

In fact, when Ryan took us there for the first time,

The Teenager and I jumped in

only to immediately climb the ladder to get out.

It is so cold that it literally takes your breath away.

This time it was Ashlynn's turn.

Poor Ash.

She was such a good sport!

Have a great weekend!!