Take a good look

Take a good look at that guy on the left. He is pretty amazing, he's my husband! He is an amazing coach too. I just need to brag on him a minute before he knows I'm doing this. Last week, Eric was hired as a varsity assistant coach. In other words, he's moving up and will be coaching varsity football at a 5A school (the best 5A school in our town in my opinion) at the young age of 30. I'm soooo proud of him. He will also be teaching biology and will be an administrative assistant next year. Life sure is changing, but I'm sooo proud of him!

Celebrating Brandon and Liza

This past weekend we went to Dalhart to celebrate Brandon and Liza's upcoming wedding with a wedding shower. Chris, Megan and Terry all prepared dinner that was yummy and then the couple opened their presents. My girls, as always, were super helpful!;) The shower had a great turn out and they received some great gifts. Mali decided to make party favors for each guest and colored a picture for everyone there. She received a lot of compliments on how well mannered, how verbal she was, and just how cute she was. We have to agree. We were encouraged by a few ex-kindergarten teachers that she was definitely ready to start kindergarten. We also got to spend some time with Kisha and Josh while they were in Dalhart for a wedding. It was a great family weekend!

Lubbock or Leave it

We also got to visit our friends the Dallas Family. Mali had a great time going to the movie with them while I took Eleri to the appointment, playing and playing, playing the Wii, swimming, jumping on the trampoline, and eating pizza at Dions. Tim and Beth made hamburgers for us all and had the Williams family over and Angie, Jackson and Lauren over. I was so excited to meet Lauren for the first time, although I didn't get any pictures!:( She is a cute, little girl. We all swam together and enjoyed just hanging out. The girls and I stayed the night and headed back early to get home.
As much as I love my friends that live in Lubbock, every time I go back to Lubbock I'm pretty thankful we don't live there anymore. Our home and neighborhood here is so much nicer and as crazy as it sounds, Amarillo is just a little prettier. I drove by our old house trying to kill some time and it made me very glad to be where we are now. Every time we go back to Lubbock I'm so amazed at what new things are being built. It really is growing.

Heart update

Eleri had her annual cardiac appointment on Wednesday. It was so much easier this time around. She didn't even try to pull of the leads (I have NO idea how to spell that but that's how it sounds, its probably an acronym or something). Eleri loved seeing Dr. Flippin's dogs Bella (a standard poodle with pink bows and pink toes) and Pinky (a breed that I can't spell, with pink hair). Dr. Flippin said that Eleri still had some pulmonary stenosis and that she would only pseudo-outgrow it. I was really hoping that she would be 100% healed and fine, but I'm really not sure that will happen based on Dr. Flippin's comment of pseudo outgrowing it. At any rate, her pulmonary stenosis and murmur have not gotten worse which is wonderful wonderful news! I'm thankful for the outcome and that it was a positive appointment. The only repercussion seems to be that Eleri has to take antibiotics before going to the dentist.

Double the fun

Our girls nights have become Double the Fun!!! Eleri will now sit and watch the movie with us. She is so excited about popcorn and signs/says it until she gets some. Friday night, she cuddled up next to Mali with her bowl of popcorn. Sunday night we watched an IMAX movie about sea life. The entire movie she kept saying "uh oh, uh oh." I'm not sure why, but it made for a less than relaxing viewing. It was fun anyway though!:)

Father's Day 2010

This Father's day did not turn out nearly as good as I anticipated it as I thought of all the things we could do to love on Eric. We had been out of town the past two weekends and will be out of town the next two weekends so we decided to just stay here. Eric played golf with friends on Friday and then again with his dad on Saturday. Sunday, Mali and I made Eric eggs over easy for breakfast but in all honesty I don't think they were very good. Eric politely said "they were a little runny"! He was thankful and appreciative but they just didn't turn out right. After his breakfast and church, I went and picked up Rosa's for his Father's Day lunch. It was a really hot afternoon and the girls napped and Eric watched the US open on TV. Eric requested cereal for dinner which was a pretty easy fix so we ate cereal and then finished the night with the Under the Sea IMAX movie. The first picture is the girls with their daddy on Father's day and the bottom picture is of Mali waiting up for her daddy. She drew him a picture and put on her most beautiful dress up clothes dress. It was sooo sweet. I also asked Mali to tell me what she loves about her daddy. Here is her list:
He takes care of me
He tells me silly things to do you (to me, Brie)
I like watching him play with Eleri
He teaches me how to play baseball and soccer-he used to
He lets me listen to iPods with him
He lets me go on trips with him and takes me to the theatre sometimes
He comes in my room and sees what i did
He helps me do stuff I can't do (I LOVED that one!)
Sometimes he gets to talk with me about the bad things I do
Having slumber parties
He takes me camping, fishing, to the house together, to the cabin together, swimming with me, jump and jive, and the zoo sometimes
He eats snacks with me
When we play with Eleri on his stomach
Training Aspen, Shank and Scotty with him
He's my favorite guy
When we talk together

She had quite the list. Its easy to see that he is the King of her World.

When the zoo is free

When the zoo is free its worth going. Unfortunately, the previously free Amarillo Zoo has now started charging. Fortunately, Mondays are free. So I took both the girls to the zoo and met one of Mali's preschool friends, Allie, at the zoo with her three siblings. Both the girls had fun. They loved the herpetarium (the new addition worthy of the cost I assume) and the giant turtles that were out eating grass and slowly moving along. Eleri would point and laugh. Eleri also loved holding Allie's hand and Mali loved running around with all the kids. Mali got to see the peacocks running around too which is her absolute favorite part of the zoo. It was fun, but we were all hot and tired when we were done. I guess its a good thing we don't have a bigger zoo.

T-ball Wrap up

Mali has finished her t-ball season. It is amazing how differently the kids played at the end of the season compared to that first game. The last two games, Mali was able to play pitcher for at least an inning each time. She did wonderful!!! We were so proud of her. She fielded the ball and threw it home nearly every time. Minus a few dog pile fights with her teammates over the ball. We were so proud of her and hope that she might just continue playing pitcher just like her Daddy! We were all a little relieved that t-ball was over for the year, and we are looking forward to an even better season next year.

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Fun Friday

Today we had a fun friday with Eric off. We had to first get blood work for our health insurance, but then had a very cultural experience at the Amigos (United geared towards Spanish food and speakers). After that we took Shank to MediPark and had a picnic. Eric had fun working with Shank and letting him play. The girls had fun watching and feeding the ducks.

Beauty of Creation

Saturday night as I was reading outside, a storm starting rolling in. I could hear the thunder in the distance and the sky was several different amazing hues. Then we spotted a rainbow from in front of the cabin with the other end at the top of Spanish Peaks. It was beautiful. Brandon, Liza and I tried to get pictures, but couldn't really capture the beauty of creation.

Then and Now

This was when Mali was about 18 months old and taken around the same time. It was Memorial Day Weekend. Can you believe how she's changed? I'm not sure what that goofy smile thing is she has going on!

Girls Trip

This past weekend, the weather forecast was reading more like Arizona than the Panhandle of Texas. Eric was playing golf in the midst of the sweltering temperatures and suggested that the girls and I drive to the cabin by ourselves to get a little relaxation and exploration out of the way. I came up with a million reasons not to go (I have a severe lack of spontaneity and an overdose of practicality and reason). I had decided that we were staying. Eric headed off to Dalhart early Friday morning, and the girls and I met one of Mali's good friends that had moved to Missouri and was back visiting to play for a few hours. When we were leaving, Mali started crying and telling how she wanted to go to the cabin. Within an hour we were packed and ready to go. During the 70 mile drive to Dalhart, I questioned my decision another million times but then decided that this was the decision I made and I was going to make it the "right" decision. In my haste, and my deep desire that the girls take long steady naps during our journey (as we all had been getting up at 6am for a week), I did not pack the DVD player. This made the trip even more fun. We tried playing the alphabet game and got to letter "D", made Eleri laugh, sang silly songs, and just enjoyed the scenery. At one point, Mali questioned our path, and I realized that she is usually staring at a movie and not the beautiful landscape we pass on the way to the cabin. We stopped to pick some wild iris before we meandered towards the cabin, even letting Mali steer with me as we drove on the dirt road. Friday, we enjoyed dinner on the porch and a little exploration. The girls and I hiked down by the resort and threw rocks. After bath and bed, I got to start my new Charles Martin book, "The Mountain Between Us". Being able to read this book at the cabin made it even more fun to read since the book was set in the mountains. Later that night, Brandon and Liza came up. Saturday morning, the girls and I and Liza took a little hike. I had not even thought to bring my sling and so I put Eleri in the jogging stroller. I'm thankful that it held its on and was a very good off- roading stroller. We had to cross a river, which was flowing pretty steady. Liza took Eleri and I carried the stroller. I also carried Mali over the river. The trail had fallen trees and more muddy water to cross through. It was an adventure, more than I had anticipated, but really fun anyway. We saw beaver dams and trees that beaver had gnawed through to carry to make their dams. At the very end of the hike, we came across some bones. I skull, jaw bone and two vertebrae. Mali was so excited. She did cry wanting to take them home and ended up with one vertebrae. Eric thinks that it probably came from an elk. Brandon and Liza had wedding stuff to take care of that afternoon, so the girls and I relaxed in the hammocks. While Eleri took a great nap, I read even more of my book and Mali played with Lincoln Logs and Legos outside. Then Mali and I built a fort out of fallen tree limbs and laid them up against a large pine tree that had room underneath for us to sit. We sat and played underneath there until Eleri woke. Liza made Mali a pretty flower necklace that she was so proud of. That night after dinner, the girls had their chocolate fix with s'mores. Uncle Brandon wasn't too thrilled at what the chocolate would do to their energy level, but I think they acted pretty good. Sunday morning we went on our last morning hike. It was beautiful, but my ankles were sore and I was tired of always walking back UP those hills! We headed home and had a great trip home. Both girls took pretty good naps and we sang and played again.

Lack of humbleness

Okay, so this is one about me...and it does show a lack of humbleness. But, I'm excited and just want to share my excitement. This is my third article to be published with Lifeway; one in their magazine geared towards parents of young children and then two for the Living with Teenagers magazine. But, this is my first to have listed on the title page. It was exciting to open it up and find my name on the inside cover! So, if you want to read it, pick up Living with Teenagers at your local baptist church!;)

Gomez Girls Got Talent

I have SOOOO much to blog about: t-ball games, girly cuteness, and our girls trip to the Cabin but for now and for probably a week this will have to whet your appetite for more of the Gomez Girls. Pay special attention to Eleri's dance moves

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Getting Hitched

My baby brother is getting married in just about a month! They mailed out the invitations the other day and I just had to share because I LOVE them. I think they fit Brandon and Liza's personality perfectly and of course the venue. I'm super excited about them getting married in my favorite place in the whole world...Cuchara, CO. I got to spend some time with Liza yesterday doing some wedding shopping. It was fun to hang out with her in spite of Mali's first meltdown over wanting a stuffed animal in Dillard's, Mali's subsequent meltdown after running into a clothes rack, and Eleri dumping her whole container of milk all over her stroller during Liza's final dress fitting. We did find the flower girl dresses and I learned how to bustle Liza's dress despite all the added crazyness! Liza was so patient and loving to the girls (a must for our family) and it just made me love her even more, that and her pesto chicken pasta!:) Liza is going to be a beautiful bride! crazy