Professional Development

On Wednesday, we had our art professional development day with all the elementary art teachers. Guess where we got to go? To see the Chihuly exhibit at the Dallas Arboretum! Yes, HEB rocks! And for those of you wondering how that applies to elementary art....we spent the 2nd half of the day doing a session on how to fuse glass using our kiln. And yes, we can actually do this with our kids. Such an exciting day!

Here's the glass fusion part.....

Awesome way to start out the year!

BUSY!

The best word to describe my past 2 weeks has been BUSY. Last Wed., Russell went to Chicago for a conference for work (got back on Friday), so my first 2 days of back to school (we started back on Thurs.), were me flying solo. Let me just say, I don't fly solo well. 

Russell really spoils me by pitching in so much to help with Sophia. Of course, why shouldn't he? I mean, it is being a dad. But I do know moms who don't get the same support, so I feel extra lucky that Russell helps so much (and knows my mood swings so he can anticipate when I need his help without asking). SO, when he goes out of town, he is sorely missed. But it also makes me appreciate him, so maybe it's a good thing? I jokingly referred to his conference as his mini-vacation. And Sophia caught on, so she started referring to his conference as "dad's vacation". 

Needless to say, all Russell brought back from his vacation was this lousy t-shirt (haha!). Just kidding. He brought back other stuff too. I really liked the CUTE periodic table shirt he got at a science museum while there (see, he was on vacation).

And as you can imagine, Sophia was SUPER happy to have her daddy home and loved the shirt!

And of course Sophia prepared her hair with extra hair accessories to go with her CUTE shirt.

Later in the weekend, Sophia helped Russell put together some shelving units we bought at IKEA for my new art room.

Sophia is pretty handy with tools. Definitely gets that from Russell. Unless it's a glue gun or a staple gun, I'm out. But I can work a mean sewing machine. So there! :)

So just to let you know, the next couple of weeks might be sparse with posts. But once I get back into the groove, I'll start posting again.

Nothing Much to Blog About

In case you're wondering about my lack of posts lately, I just haven't had that much to blog about. I've just been trying to finish up odds and ends around the house since my school year starts tomorrow. I've been working in my room, a bunch, so that I could at least have it organized and focus on lesson planning and prep. I've also been organizing and cleaning our house from top to bottom, so at least we start the school year off on a good note. Sorry, no pics of that.

But on Saturday, we did get a visit from Uncle Brice and Aunt Cynthia. They're teachers too and wanted a visit before they start back as well.

Sophia couldn't wait for Aunt Cynthia to get there to work puzzles. 

 And then today, I sewed a new apron for my art room. New year, new school, new apron.

And that's pretty much it. 

Nana's 60th Birthday

Wow! This week has been so busy! I've been working in my classroom, I've been adding items to my Etsy Shop, and I had new student registration at my school. So I'm finally getting around to posting pics of Nana's birthday. She turned 60 this past Sunday.

And we really wanted to make it a special day for her because she is so special. We made her wear these Turning 60 accessories. The glasses are a 6-0, in case you can't tell from the pic

My dad filmed us saying sweet things about Nana and we were watching it here (the boys are ready for the pool). My dad also gave a speech in person about what Nana means to him. Wish I'd thought to take a pic of that.

All in all, I think it was a fun day, full of surprises, good food, and family. 

We hope Nana knows how special she is to all of us! If she didn't before, she should know by now. Happy birthday Nana!

Last Field Trip of the Summer

Our last field trip of the summer was to Main Event and then to the Bedford Library for story time.

Sophia and I had never been to Main Event before. So we didn't know what to expect. I figured it would be loaded with kids and super loud. But it was empty (9 am)! 

The kids bowled first (Sophia's first time....we're not that into bowling. They lost me at wearing other people's shoes.).

They had these cool ramps to help the kids.

Sophia had a blast!

She also enjoyed the library visit. I see more visits in our future.

Sophia loves being read too and loves to pretend read. 

The Drink Stand

Last weekend, my sister Robin hosted a garage sale at her house. Originally, Sophia was supposed to go to school that Fri. (the 1st day of the sale) but once she heard her cousins and other friends were going to be there, she demanded to take part.

The kids had a drink stand set up with bottles of water and canned drinks (Robin and Heather put that together), and let me tell you, those kids sold a TON of drinks. The hot weather helped.

Sophia loved helping hold the sign. 

I don't think Sophia got her cut of the profits. LOL! 

We're Gonna Need A Bigger Stone

When we first started our stepping stone tradition with Sophia (for her 1st birthday), we were able to fit both of her feet on the stone.

For her 2nd birthday, we were able to fit just one (comfortably).

And this year, we think we may need a bigger stone for her 5th birthday. She's currently wearing a size 11-11.5 shoe.

Sophia enjoyed picking out the glass and laying it on the stone.

This tradition started for her first birthday and it seems like every year since then, we get a little later and later on making her stone. This year, we made it July 29th. Better late than never.