Happy New Year!

Year In Pictures New Year's Card

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Finally a post (from Hawaii)!

Almost one year later and I am finally making a post to this blog! Needless to say, our lives are busy and it takes a trip to Hawaii to find the time to catch up! I'm going to do my best to go back and add some posts with pictures from this past year. It has been a life-changing year for us (for a few reasons), but we are doing well and enjoying every moment we have together as a family.

Gage is growing up so fast and keeping us on our toes. He is such a fun-loving, caring, smart and charismatic little boy. I can't believe he will be three years old in August! He is looking forward to his third birthday because he thinks he will have so many more privileges, like chewing gum or having a Dr. Pepper. He asks, "When I'm three, I can have gum?" or "I can have Dr. Pepper when I'm three, right Mommy?" He finished his first year of "school" in May. It was a rocky start in August with a few weeks of tears as I dropped him off, but he finally adjusted and absolutely loved his bible school. I am amazed at how much he learned throughout the year and couldn't have asked for better teachers. I think they loved Gage just as much as he loved them! Gage is ready to go back to school, but I'm afraid he is going to be sad when he doesn't have Ms. Amy, Courtney, and Jessica for teachers! I am so thankful for Gage and have cherished all of the special memories and commentary that he brings! He makes my heart skip a beat with joy every day!

Eric continues to be the best husband and Daddy in this world! I really am a lucky gal and thank the Lord for him every day. I enjoy watching him interact with Gage. They love each other so much and their mannerisms are so alike it is scary! This past year, Eric was promoted to Defensive Coordinator for the Frisco Liberty Redhawks. They had a GREAT season and went three rounds deep into the playoffs. It was such an exciting season! Our parents even got involved this year to cheer the Redhawks on along with many more fans. Although football season for a Coaches family is very exhausting, we look forward to it each year! We are hoping that the Redhawks can excel even further this year...it's right around the corner! Eric has a couple more weeks off for the summer and then it's back to the field house!

I am keeping very busy with work and motherhood! I left my previous employer of 4 years in February as Senior Wellness Coordinator for a new opportunity as Account Director for Viverae, Inc., a health management company based out of Dallas. It is the best career decision I have made and I know that I have found my career "home." It has been such a breath of fresh air and is so nice to work for a company that truly practices what they preach and VALUE their employees. We are a group of professionals that work very hard, but we also have a lot of fun! I love that it is required of us to work out in our fitness center three days a week and to participate in 2-minute fitness drills throughout the day. This is just one of the many things that we do to take care of each other and our health. The sacrifice of working from home with my last employer and now driving into Dallas (1 hour commute) with Viverae has been WELL worth it. Eric and I are hoping that we can move to Dallas in the very near future so that I can be closer to work. We found a great neighborhood that will put us exactly halfway to each of our work locations. Now we have to mentally prepare to put our house on the market and we aren't quite ready for that yet!

We try to spend as much time as we can with our family and friends and have had some really great times over this past year. Unfortunately, we have experienced some challenges with Eric's parents who are in the middle of a divorce right now. They have been married for 38 years. It has been a really hard time for all of us. Eric's mom is living with us now so that has ALSO been quite an adjustment! We are taking it day by day and know that God wouldn't put anything before us that we can't overcome. Keep Eric and his family in your prayers as they go through this trying time.

I'll work on some previous posts in the next couple of weeks so check back on a complete update. For now, I will leave you with this spectacular view from our vacation beach house! Aloha!

Big Birthday Weekend!

Gage turned 2 years old on August 14th. We threw a big Birthday bash on Saturday to celebrate with our friends and family! Birthdays are special to us and we enjoy putting together a day of extreme fun for Gage and his friends (and for the adults!) This year we had a bounce house and a pinata. I think the kiddo's had a blast!

We are so thankful for this handsome little fellow that has brought so much joy to our life. It's hard to imagine life before his arrival on earth! Thank you to our friends and family for celebrating this day with us and for your unconditional love and support over the years! Enjoy the pictures of our fun-filled day!

We had a football themed party and gave out eye black to each kiddo that wanted to wear it!
Even Grandma enjoyed the bounce house! Gage's lil' "girlfriend" - Ava! Gage and Miss Cassidy! Lining up for the pinata! He's not quite sure about this, but he had some nice "whacks!" Mai - taking her swing! Michael - what a cutie! And they swarmed like bee's! Gage didn't know what to do! But, he did enjoy the candy! Abrielle - being silly! Time to open presents - LOTS of presents! And time to eat the cake!
Happy 2nd Birthday Gage! We love you so much and look forward to many more!

El Jefe

In addition to coaching and teaching 100 hours per week, my husband and his good buddy have started their own brewing business - El Jefe Breweries, inspired by an old "wise"man. (Sorry Mark - you aren't that old!) I'm hoping it takes off...I have no problem marketing a tasty beer...this could be my lottery! (Ha!) Check out their website at http://eljefebrewery.blogspot.com/.

This was their first batch...I'm not a beer drinker so I'm not the best judge of taste, but I hear it tastes pretty good.

Gage helped put the labels on the bottles. Don't worry - no El Jefe for the little one! He has about 19 more years to wait!

My lil' Superman

Working out with Mommy! Show me your muscles! He looks so tough with that eye "back" (i.e. eye black!)

My little Superman. Doesn't he melt your heart?

July is flying by!

Time is just flying by! We have been trying to get the most out of our short summer since Eric will be back in full swing with football season soon (with his new position as the Defensive Coordinator!) Here are some pictures of our July adventures!

We had so much fun at the Celina Balloon Festival! I highly recommend it! We plan to make this a yearly tradition. The day started with some carnival food, shopping, and watching some local talent (Gage especially liked the tap dancers and ended up stealing the show.) Then we watched the hot air balloons gear up for their take off. The night ended with a great fireworks show!

We also took some time off of work in July for a family vacation. We decided to spend a week at the lake house and had a nice, relaxing time. We enjoyed water skiing, tubing, jet skiing, going to the park, and good times with our family and friends. We also celebrated my niece's 1st Birthday. I can't believe she is 1 already! Time really does fly!

Rocking Chair - Yea!

So much FUN in June!

We have really enjoyed our summer so far. It's always nice to have Eric home more and to spend time together. June went by fast, but we had a lot of FUN!

My family from Kansas came to visit for a long weekend and we took them to the Dallas Aquarium. It was SO much fun and the kids really enjoyed it. I highly recommend it! As you can see, the parents enjoyed it too!

We have also really enjoyed spending time at my parents' lake house. It is such a relaxing place to retreat. We have had a blast tubing, waterskiing, swimming, cooking out, and spending time with family and friends on the weekends. Thanks Mom and Dad for a great time! We look forward to many more memories!

Our friend, Laura, invited us out to ride her horse, Blaze, and Gage had a blast! I thought the horse would scare him, but he didn't even flinch! He did not want to get off the horse! Maybe we have a future Cowboy! Mommy and Daddy got to ride Blaze too, although Mommy gets a little anxious around horses! Thanks Laura for a fun day with Blaze!

Our good friends, the Z's, welcomed their new baby boy, Parker, in June. Big sisters, Mai and Ava, came over to play so their Mommy could spend some quality time with her new little man. We had a "dance party" and it was pure entertainment for me! The video below is a little long, but well worth the time - I especially like my husband's moves!

We hope you have enjoyed your summer so far! Stay cool!