College Signing Day

This semester, I have had the privilege of interning with the counselor at a local charter school, Cameron College Prep. It is a LEAD Charter School, which is a type of charter school founded in Nashville that puts a special emphasis on attending college. It has been exciting, over the past few months, to see how enthusiastic these 5th, 6th, and 7th graders are about attending college. This experience, in countless different ways, has reminded me why I want to spend my career in education.

Yesterday, a very special and encouraging event took place. It was college signing day. The first LEAD Charter School is graduating their first ever senior class. Each and every one of them was accepted and will be attending college this fall. This is extremely exciting, especially when you consider the backgrounds and obstacles these students have overcome.

In order to commemorate this occasion, there was a big "Signing Day" ceremony where all the students from all five LEAD schools gathered to watch the 44 seniors announce where they would be attending, as well as sign a paper promising to do everything in their power to graduate from college. And who was the keynote speaker to give advice and congratulate these students? President Bill Clinton.

I have my differences with some of former President Clinton's choices, but I do appreciate his dedication to education both during his presidency and afterwards. He continues to pursue ways to better the education system and improve opportunities for students all across America. He provided the students with a lot of good advice, but the phrase that stuck with me was, "Keep learning, keep growing, keep giving." And that is wonderful advice, President Clinton.

It was an amazing day and I loved the excitement and energy in the room. It was moving to think about where my precious students will be in 5, 6 to 7 years…and hoping that they will be preparing for college.

I was honored to take part in this thrilling celebration.

xoxo

Schools Out for the Summer….

Kind of. I actually just have a 10 day break before my Maymester class starts, but this semester (where my classes were pretttttty tedious) is done! And I can take a break from studying. Especially after my days have been consumed by this lately...

Cheers to the summer!

xoxo

Surprise!

As promised, here are the details of Ali and Jonny's surprise arrival at the beach this past weekend.

It all started on Wednesday night when my mom stopped by my house to drop something off. We were talking about the fun Easter weekend ahead, and I started complaining that Ali and Jonny weren't coming. After trying to defend that San Francisco is far and its hard for them to come for long weekends, my mom gave up and told me to call her and ask. So I left Ali a pathetic voicemail saying I'd found reasonably priced flights [for the next day!] and begging them to come. Then I left my phone and went for a walk.

I come home to missed calls, texts, voicemails…the plans were underway! In just minutes, their flights were booked and the plans for surprising the rest of the family were in the works. In typical Carroll fashion, we were all arriving at the beach on different days at different times in different forms of transportation. Usually thats annoying, but this time it was so fun because it allowed us to surprise everyone individually!

The best surprise, however, came on Saturday morning when we picked my mom up from the airport. She had a wedding Friday night so she flew down, and Peter, Brielle and I picked her up. Little did she know, there were hitch hikers and a surprise in store right down the highway.

It was hilarious and wonderful…evoking all sorts of emotions. Here are a few pictures that provide a better visual.

 

It was a lovely surprise that made for a fun-filled weekend with the whole family under one roof. Thanks for making the trek, Ali and Jonny!

xoxo

Easter Beach Vaca

I love the beach anytime, but Easter is usually the perfect time to visit. It is just warm enough, but not too crowded. 

This year, Ali and Jonny surprised us making the family complete. (Stay tuned for the hilarious details of the surprise!)

It was even more than complete, with Jamie and Peter both bringing their girlfriends to meet the fam and see the beauty of St. Teresa beach.

And even more complete when you add in Muir, Aunt Mary, Uncle Ricky, the pups, and my all-time favorite cat, Murray.

It was a wonderful weekend full of delicious seafood, family games and stories, walks on the beach, and plenty of naps. Here are a few pictures that provide a glimpse of the fun we had…

 

 

 

Way too soon, it was time to say goodbye and head back to reality. We all wished the vacation could have been extended!

As sad as I was to say goodbye and come back to reality, it did make me very thankful for my loving family, a risen God, and a beautiful vacation spot to have. 

xoxo

Beach Bound

Tomorrow, I will be laying in this bed. And chances are pretty high that Pup will be in it with me.

Enjoying this view.

Excited is an understatement.

Happy Easter Weekend.

xoxo

Make My Day

I hate the expression "A Happy" as a little, pick-me-up, fun, surprise gift….but I adore the idea of it! And last night, after a long day of work, studying, babysitting, house work, class, wedding shower, dinner with friends….I finally returned home a little before 10pm. I was completely and utterly exhausted. I chatted with the roomies for a bit before heading to my room to crash. And there was the cutest little gift tied with a bow and a card, sitting on my bed!

I had secretly wanted this adorable sign with my favorite, made by Eden Flora, when I saw it on Instagram the other day.

Camille had previously e-mailed Eden asking her to make a cute sign with my favorite quote (and the name of this blog!) to thank me because I had helped her take her car to and from the shop last week, which seriously was not a big deal at all. And just to give me a little gift just because :)

And, to make this even more exciting, it fit perfectly in the last open spot on my gallery wall. So, now, my little desk corner area is finally complete!

Thank you, Camille! I love it and that was so thoughtful!

xoxo

Church Signs

My longtime, hilarious friend Grace and I have a habit of texting each other when we see bizarre or funny church signs. And with Nashville being "the Buckle of the Bible Belt", we have plenty. I am pretty sure this started when, on a family camping trip years ago, Ali saw one that said, "There's no high like the most high!" In all honestly, I hope these entice some people to come to church. I really do. But for me, they are just funny. I thought I'd share a few for your entertainment.

Sorry for the low quality, driving picture. It says "Happy Hour, where drinks of the living water are free!"

Which one is your favorite?! And have you seen any favorite, funny church signs?

xoxo

Day Party Festivities

With the Nashville weather finally feeling like the glorious springtime we have all been waiting for, the ladies at The Grut had been tossing around the idea of having a day party.  

We have a massive backyard and we often complain that we wish our friends did more big group events. So, come Friday afternoon, I decided to just pull the trigger and have the day party on Saturday. After sending some texts, making some calls, and doing a little convincing to cancel alternative plans, our backyard was decorated with lights, sprinkled with games, and supplied with snacks and drinks. 

Twenty four hours later and it was full of friends, too!

 

  

It was so fun to have friends from all different facets of life meeting and hanging out together. We told people to come around 2 and the party didn't really get going til around 3:30, so there was a window of social anxiety time, but overall it was a wonderful afternoon that carried over into the evening and night!

  

Apparently, the boy dress code was blue shirts, sunglasses, and grey-ish shorts. These four certainly got the memo.

All in all, the day was a smashing success and it made me extremely thankful for nashville, fun friends, and springtime festivities.

xoxo