Monday, August 31, 2009

Weekend Wrap-Up...

My weekend in pictures (and a few words)...

This weekend Tamara and I traveled down to Little Rock to spend the weekend with Becky. We had a great time, lots of laughs, did some shopping, ate lots of good food, and even learned some new dance moves! Ha!


Tamara, Kristen and Becky eating lunch at ZaZa's. (Soooo good!!)

Eating gelato. Yummy!!!


Becky, Tamara and Me ready to go out on the town. :)


Me, Tam and Becks

Being silly!


Eating (again!)...this time at McAlisters.





Besties.


Oops...that pic is a little off-center. :)


So pretty.

Dinner at Canon Grill.






Becky and Jared. What a cute couple!


Relaxin!
We had soooo much fun this weekend! The time flew by way too quickly.
I heart my girls!

Friday, August 28, 2009

I'm Looking Forward To...

This weekend Tamara and I are headed to Little Rock to visit Becky for the weekend. I am SOOO excited to see Becky and to have a girls weekend! Let the fun begin!!

Sara, Becky and Christy
Christy and Tamara

Becky and Mallory
Here's the plan, man:
Friday night: We're going to go out somewhere nice to hang out, talk, and have some fun!
Saturday morning: Going for a run in preparation for our 10k on Labor Day.
Saturday afternoon: Lunch with sweet, sweet Kristen.
Saturday night: Becky and Tamara will school me in the kitchen. :) Yum...I'm so lucky to have friends who cook so well (because I sure can't!)
Sunday morning: Church and brunch
And of course...lots of talking and laughing together at all times!
Sounds like a perfect weekend to me.
Oh, and don't worry...I'll have my camera ready to catch the action!! ;)

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Our Current Obsessions...

Just a few of the things our family is obsessed with lately:

1. Curious George

Where Elyse goes, George goes. End of story.


2. Boat Ball


Think water polo, but in kayaks. Ouch. Sounds painful to me. But Ryan loves it.



3. Basketball Shoes
Jordans, Lebrons, Nikes, Adidas, high tops, low tops, red, blue, white, gray, black.... Someone in our family really likes basketball shoes. (Hint: He's growing taller and taller by the second)



4. Trail Mix
Sweet. Salty. Awesomeness.
Mmmmm....It's all I think about. Day. And. Night. It's really starting to interfere with my life.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

What?!?!

So...I was perusing the J.Crew website for dresses when I spotted one I thought was cute. I click on the image to enlarge it and What?!?! What in the world has this girl got on her feet???


Ankle booties with socks. That. Is. Just. Not. Right.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

My Life in Song...

My friend Beth @ Somethin' to Talk About tagged me to play this game. It looks like fun, so here I go...

Here are the rules:

1. Choose ONE singer/band.
2. Answer all the questions below using song titles by that artist.

The artist I choose is Taylor Swift. (I know, I know.... you're thinking I'm way too old to like Taylor Swift. And you're probably right. But too bad. I like her anyway.)



1. Are you male or female? Honey Baby

2. Describe yourself: Live For The Little Things

3. How do you feel about yourself? Phenomenal

4. Describe where you currently live: The Outside

5. If you could go anywhere, where would you go? Brand New World

6. Your best friend is: A Perfectly Good Heart

7. Your favorite color is: Dark Blue Tennessee

8. You know that: Someone Loves You

9. What's the weather like? Come In With The Rain

10. If your life was a TV show, what would it be called? This is Really Happening

11. What is life to you? Too Beautiful

12. What is the best advice you have to give? Should've Said No

13. If you could change your name what would it be? Angelina

I tag...

Alicia @ It Ain't Easy Being Cheesy

Amy @ The Hickman's

Avie @ The Hardin Family

Sam @ Travel With Sam

Monday, August 24, 2009

7 on 7 Football...

This year Payton played 7 on 7 at the Boys and Girls Club. Here are some pictures from his season...

(Hint...Payton is the one with tape on his right wrist.)

Warming up before a game.

Elyse was ready for a day of watching Bubby play football!


Playing defense. He got several interceptions today!


Keep your eyes on the ball!


Goofing off on the sidelines with Noah and Kennedy.


In the huddle.


Ready to run!

Several hours later...and Elyse was not enjoying the games quite as much. :)



Payton really enjoyed playing 7 on 7 this year. Hopefully he learned a lot and is ready to play tackle now!


Payton and his bestest, bestest friend in the whole entire universe...Spencer.


Stay tuned for more football season pictures. Practice starts this week!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Too funny...

I have no idea where this actually started, but I think it's too funny (and too true) not to share with you...


Random thoughts from people 25-35 years old..

-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?

-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

-That's enough, Nickelback.

-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?

-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards
or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

-There is a great need for sarcasm font.

-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it.

-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

-How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.

- A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

- LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

- I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."

-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

- Bad decisions make good stories

-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....

-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

-When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...

- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

-It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

-My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

-It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

-The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

The Things They Say...


Well...school is off to a great start this year. Payton is really enjoying middle school. Especially the food. Apparently it is SO much better than what they serve in elementary school. In fact, that's pretty much the only thing I can get him to tell me about his day. It's like playing a game of 20 questions with him to find out the tiniest tidbit of information about his day...until I ask the magic question.

"What did you have for lunch?"

Then I'm guaranteed to get at least 5 sentences describing his meal. The pizza. The lasagna. The way it's cooked just right...not crunchy around the edges like at his old school. (Barf!) The ice cream. The canned juices. The Gatorade. Mmmmm.... At least the boy knows what he likes.

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My class is so, so, so, so cute this year! I have lots of kids that just make me smile every time I see them. They are just so darned adorable! Here are some of my favorite conversations from the first few days of school:

Boy 1: (Telling the whole class about his summer) "This summer my family went to Maine to visit my cousins. They're from Japan and this was the first time I got to see them. Also my other cousins invited us to come to Asia to visit them sometime."

Boy 2: (With an amazed expression on his face) "Wooooowwww...you must have A LOT of culture in you!"


My intern and I looked at each other and just wanted to burst out laughing. It was so cute the way he said it.

Next up...

Boy 1: "Mrs. A, I needed a band-aid earlier. But DON'T WORRY I took care of it all by myself. I just licked the blood off." (Shows intern the blood smear on his arm)


Kids...you gotta' love em!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

A New Year Begins...

Tomorrow is the big day. Payton will officially be a 6th grader. In middle school. It really does seem like just yesterday he was starting kindergarten. I remember that first day so well. I remember exactly what he was wearing. His little lunchbox. His backpack. His missing teeth. Although he looks a lot different now, I still have that same feeling I did back then. My baby is growing up and that's hard for me to swallow.

At least I have another week before Elly starts back to her daycare. Maybe it will be a tiny bit easier to not have them both marking milestones on the same day.

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I know I've been a horrible blogger lately. These past two weeks have been crazy as I've been preparing my classroom (and my mind) for another school year. Hopefully, as things slow down a bit over the next few weeks, I can get more blogging done.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Totally Rad...


Few words can describe the awesomeness that was 80s night at Bunco.

But I can think of a few:

Totally Rad


Rachael, Mallory and Tamara

Like, radical!

Me and Tamara

Tubular!

Amy was rockin' those leg warmers.
Ok...can't really think of any 80s words. Oh well, we had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs!

Me, Amanda, Tamara, Rachael and Mallory

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Sooo Cute...

I ordered Elyse a new bow holder from Etsy a few weeks ago. It finally arrived and I am so happy with the way it turned out! It's adorable!


Gosh, for a girl who refuses to wear bows, she sure does have a lot of them!
If you're interested in this cute bow holder you can find it here on etsy.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

That's My Girl...

I always give Ryan a hard time when he goes more than a day or two without shaving. Although I like the way it looks, I do not like the way it feels at all! It hurts my face and leaves it all red. So this weekend when Ryan came home from his camping trip he was sporting some scruff. Elyse was laying in bed with him reading books when she reached up and touched his face with her hand.

"Yucky face, Daddy!"

That's my girl!


Monday, August 10, 2009

Getting Back Into The Swing of Things...

Summer is winding down. I've been working in my classroom and attending in-services this past week. Tomorrow marks my first official day back to work. I'm excited to get to hang out with my 2nd grade team (although we've been together so much this summer, it doesn't really seem as if we ever left each other). We have so much fun together and I love working with this group.

Haley, Ashley, Jennifer and Me
Ashley, Me, Jennifer and Tammy


Payton's school starts in a week and a half. He's looking forward to going to middle school. And having a locker. And having gym class. And having good food at lunch. And getting to ride the bus. And probably not having his mom in the same building anymore. Ha! I guess it does sound pretty exciting. Makes his mama a little teary though.

Mason, Colin, Payton, McKenzie, Kaleb and Caleb

Elyse's school starts back up in two weeks. She has been talking about her teachers and her friends all summer long. A few days ago we were driving in the car and out of the blue she said, "Mommy, go see Carol at school?" Carol is her teacher who she loves SO much! I know she will be excited to see her again! It will be interesting this year because she will be one of the "big kids" now...
Silly girl playing on the climber at school.Elyse and her girlfriends.
She has had so much fun the past few weeks going to Tamara's house. Every morning she just walks right in and makes herself at home. She has not even cried once when I left. I think that's a record for Little Miss Elly.


I hate to see the summer come to an end, but I am excited about starting a new school year. And even more excited about seeing how Payton and Elyse grow and change this year.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Playing Dress Up...

Addye helped the two little ladies, Elyse and Kynzie, get all dressed up yesterday. She helped them change into their beautiful dresses and to accessorize their outfits. Don't they look lovely? Little Miss Addye just may grown up to be a stylist someday!

I'm especially diggin' the santa hat with another hat on top of it. Very snazzy!

Monday, August 3, 2009

A Day At The Lake With The Girls...

Sweet, sweet Haley invited us girlies out to her family's lake house this weekend. It was so nice to be able to relax and enjoy our last day of summer...because today it was back to work for all us teachers.


Jennifer and I enjoying the water.
The weather was beautiful! We couldn't have asked for a better day.

Ashley, Mary and Jennifer as we were getting ready to go out on the boat.

Ashley and Haley enjoying the sun.
Haley was a crazy driver and we had a blast tubing! There were a couple times I thought I was going to go flying out. So much fun!

Now it's back to work for us. I can't believe the summer is over, but it sure was fun while it lasted!