Back to Work....

I have always loved the "back to school" feel there is everywhere in August.  Freshly sharpened pencils, new notebooks, dressing up in new school clothes, etc.  Now that I'm a counselor, I don't have as much fun decorating a classroom but I do add/change a few little things around my office.  Believe it or not, the picture of the owl pen holder is my favorite new addition.  Who knew $2.50 at the dollar spot at Target could make a person cheer up almost every day.  I guess owls remind me of Rylee (since her nursery is decorated in them).  And it is just too cute.  The crown pen is from Disney World when Evan and I went 2 years ago.  I think it looks like the owl is wearing the fluffy crown. haha!  This summer I was somewhat of a pinterest addict.  I saw all of these wonderful quotes and couldn't help but use them in my office.  So to start the year I have a "Be Inspired" board in my office.  I hope students will be able to add their own quotes or words of advice throughout the first half of the school year.  My "Be the good" sign is a nice addition that Tiffany Kurtz helped me with.  (she cuts vinyl and does a great job!)  My A&M themed "Mrs. Russell" sign is something I made for my classroom 3 years ago after I got married but forgot about and then found in a box this summer.  Gotta love using stuff you already have right?  Anyway, these little updates to my office have made coming back to work a little easier.





Rylee's First Beach Trip

I love summer!!!  I am blessed to work in education which provides me 2 glorious months of summer vacation.  I decided that it would be fun to take Rylee to the beach for the first time.  Evan agreed and off we went!  We drove to Houston to stay with our friends Jared and Lydia.  We got to spend some quality time with them which is always fun.  On Saturday we drove to Galveston.  While it is not one of the nicest beaches, it holds alot of fond memories for me.  We set up our spot on East Beach.  Rylee didn't know what  to think of the water and muddy sand at first.  She actually started to cry to be more accurate.  We tried to get her to like it and she didn't seem to want to try (if you didn't already know, Rylee is pretty stubborn).  So we took her back to our spot to see if she would take a nap.  No go.  We changed her swim diaper and let her play in the dry sand for a little bit.  She liked that.  Then we went to wash her off before leaving and she LOVED IT.  She would cry if we picked her up.  So we stayed longer and had more fun.  I always love going to the beach but the sand can be a pain.  I think next time we go we need to have a hotel room on the beach ;)  Anyway, it was a nice last summer trip.  I am really going to miss spending all day with my baby girl.