For the love of the game

The last 2 weeks have been a blur! My blogging is slipping through the cracks!

Eric is back to work full-time and gearing up for the 2008-09 Liberty Football Season. I'm officially back to football "widow-hood!" I have to admit that this "go around" is not as easy for me as it has been in the past. Now that Gage is growing into a small boy and becoming more active, it's harder to get things done and I realize how precious our time with Eric really is. High school coaches spend more time in the field house than they do in their own homes and a coaches' wife serves as the backbone for the family. It takes a deep love for kids and football to put in the exhausting hours of a high school coach and a very supportive woman to accept the responsibility of holding down the fort at home! Some days I really do have to pray hard for strength and patience to get me through it! The reward is knowing that your husband is shaping and molding young boys to become exceptional men and that somehow you are making a difference in this world.

My husband is an incredible role model and such a hard-working man. He has a love for the game of football that is indescribable, but most importantly a heart for making a difference in kid's lives. When I get frustrated or tired of the sacrifices we make, I find comfort in knowing that it's more than a game of winning or losing.

In lieu of the upcoming Liberty Redhawk Season we have been practicing with Gage and he has mastered throwing his arms up in the air for a touchdown! I'm sad to report that I haven't taken a picture of this yet, but will do that soon! In the meantime, I am posting a picture of Eric and Gage from last season. Wow - how time flies! Gage was 1 month old in this picture! We will be celebrating his 1st Birthday in 2 weeks!

Go Redhawks - let's kick some butt this year! Love you honey!

A Recap

Here are a few pictures from some of our events the past two weeks. We have been keeping busy and enjoying our summer! Eric has one more week of play time and then it's back to work! We are going to miss having him home! He has been such a good "Mr. Mom!"

Gage celebrated his first 4th of July with good food, family, friends, and LOTS of fireworks! He had a few "jumpy" moments, but overall did great and enjoyed the show!

We celebrated our nephew, Max, 6th Birthday! Happy Birthday Max! We love you!

Max LOVED his Nacho Libre mask that we bought in Mexico!

Gage had his first Lil' Entree with mac-n-cheese and green beans with carrots. It was a huge hit and mommy took him straight to the bath tub when it was all gone! Mac-n-cheese was "two thumbs up" and "Oh" so good! Gage has also discovered that Tupperware is very fun!

We went to Blue Fish with Gabe and Laura (our Sushi Guru's) so Eric could try some new Sushi. It was a nice date for Mommy to dress Gage up in his little linen outfit. He looked so handsome! He had a good time pretending to drink some Saki.

This weekend we went to a Ranger's game (also with Gabe and Laura) and had a great time. Eric put on his rally cap in the 8th inning, but it wasn't much help. The Rangers lost, but we still had a fun time! Thank you Grammy and Grampy for watching Gage while we were out on our fun date!

We hope your summer has been as fulfilling as ours! It really is a time for fun, family, and good friends! We thank the Lord for each and every day!

The Notorious K.I.D.

Joely Reese Bowers

My beautiful baby niece has arrived! My sister and brother-in-law are doing great - just trying to adjust to their new Mommy and Daddy schedule! We love you Joely - now tell your mom to start that blog! I need daily pictures!

Vacation #2 - Mexico!

So, here it is - the pictures from our fabulous Mexico trip! Eric and I left Gage with the grandparents for 4 nights/5 days and traveled with our good friends, Julie and Ryan, to the Riviera Maya. We had such a good time! We are definitely future travel buddies as we are all very laid back and didn't depend on a set "itinerary." The one day we did have an "itin" it fell thru thanks to that "darn Miguel!" He stood us up with the car rental for our Tulum "adventure." Apparently, Tulum has the prettiest beaches in Mexico. We will check it out next year when we make the trip for Julie and Ryan's wedding!


It was hard to leave Gage and travel out of the country, but Eric and I really enjoyed having each other's full attention. I think a couples vacation is in store every year! Making a call from Mexico is almost impossible! I just received the phone bill for a 4 minute call - $47.00! Ridiculous! Thanks to our wonderful parents for taking care of Gage. We knew he was in good hands and he was definitely spoiled with lots of love!

We stayed at the Occidental Grand Flamenco XCaret. The resort was very nice, but we were misled to believe that it was beach front and that REALLY wasn't the case. It had a man-made beach/lagoon with a very rocky entrance to the ocean. We only spent half a day at the lagoon and decided that we had to sit on a REAL beach if we were in Mexico. So, we headed to Mamitas Beach Club in Playa almost every day to swim, lay out, and enjoy some cold drinks. The beach was absolutely beautiful and the sight seeing was...well...priceless. We also met a few locals at the beach that gave us some insight on what to do in town.

We took a Catamaran out with a local, Luis, and he took us to his "pool." He took us out in the ocean to show us the different shades of blue and let us swim in the most beautiful water! We had so much fun that we went back the next day and took the Catamaran out on a snorkeling adventure. It was a good time, but I forgot how exhausting snorkeling can be! I also acquired a nice sun burn!

We also made a couple of trips to the "New 5th Avenue." It is a trendy strip of shops, cafes, restaurants, and bars. We hit up the DQ for some ice cream while we were there as we got tired of eating the same hotel food every day! DQ has never tasted so good! One night, we ate at a nice restaurant called Divino's and then hit up the "Blue Parrot" as Luis said it was the best bar in town and raved about the fire show. It was a fun night and the fire show was AMAZING!!!

We also made a trip to the XCARET Ecological Park. We floated in a very chilly river thru a cave, went to the aquarium, saw the biggest turtles, said "hi' to the dolphins, snorkeled, laid on the beach, and probably walked about 10 miles! I have never walked so much in my life as I did on this trip! It did make me feel much better after consuming the greasy chips and guacamole (Yummy!!!)

Thanks to Julie and Ryan for making this trip so much fun! We can't wait for the next one. Some great memories to take away...

"It takes two"
"Boomcha Boomcha Boomcha"
"Chilly Willy's"
"That darn Miguel!"

But my best recollection of our beach adventures...

Beach chair - $2.00
Mango Margarita - $6.00
Men playing beach soccer in Speedo's -Priceless...

And to all the gals at work, we sipped many of these for you! We really did think about you!

Vacation #1 - Table Rock Lake

I know I mentioned I would try to blog during the Table Rock Lake trip, but it just didn't happen. In fact, it hasn't happened in a while! I have so much to blog about!

I had so much fun in Table Rock with my family. It was our first family trip with Gage. We spent 7 days at Table Rock Lake in a cabin with a VERY CLOSE lake front view. The water has been up this season at Table Rock (the highest in it's history) and it was not far from our front porch. It was so beautiful! My Mom''s side of the family also joined us for this trip and it was so good to spend time with extended family. It was especially fun to introduce Gage to his second Cousin, Colin. Colin is 2 months younger than Gage. By the end of the trip they were very intrigued with one another and picking up on each other's "tricks." It was fun to see them interact with one another. And Colin is just so cute! We miss playing with him. We laughed pretty hard when we set this picture up. Colin's onesie says "He did it!" with an arrow pointing toward Gage who's onesie says "I Poo!" It was probably one of those "you had to be there moments," but we sure did laugh hard.

I had a great time visiting with my Cousins and catching up. I wish we could see each other more often. My Cousin Jill and I enjoyed sharing baby stories and other "girl talk" during long walks each night with the babies. We are both still trying to shed a few baby pounds and were each other's motivation for sticking to some kind of a workout. She also brought her Wii Fitness and that was a lot of fun!

I had SO much fun water skiing, jet skiing, and swimming. I was a little worried that I might not make it up water skiing since it had been over 2 years, but the "magic" was still there! I'm convinced that one day I will live on a lake and water ski every day! I absolutely love it!

Gage had so much fun on vacation. He had many adventures! We took him on a slow ride on the jet ski and he loved it. He was saying "Ooh Ooh Ooh!" the entire ride. (Don't worry we didn't take him outside of the cove and we were in idle the entire ride!) He also went on many boat rides. At first he was a little scared of the boat, but once he warmed up to the sound of the engine, he was enjoying the ride or falling asleep! He didn't care too much for his life jacket or "buzz light year" outfit. (One of his swimsuits had built in flotation devices - the picture below explains our dub of "buzz light year.") He loved splashing in the water and sitting in his inner tube, but he wasn't so sure about the blow up air mattress with Mommy and Daddy.

Of course, Grammy and Grampy spoiled Gage with lots of love and treats. Gage enjoyed dinner time with Grammy since she shared her plate with him. And well, Grampy was being silly with the beer can - - again, no worries - he didn't consume any of it! Grammy also taught Gage how to wave "hi" and "bye!" It is the cutest thing! He waves his little arm back and forth as fast as he can.

Thanks Mom and Dad for a WONDERFUL vacation. We can't wait for next year! It was tough to come back from such a wonderful trip, but Eric and I knew we had a short work week and a fun trip ahead of us - Mexico! I'll post pictures from that trip soon!