alive and well.

I am a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad blogger.  Forgive me?

Our gymnastics season ended last Thursday night after the regional meet and since then I have had not one reason not to blog, other than the fact I have been enjoying leaving school before the sun is down and playing catch up to all the tasks I let go due to the strenous season schedule. For example...thank you cards from the wedding.  These little beauties have been going out in batches, and the last batch...well, it went out quite some time ago.  My sincere apologies.

So, my girls finished 3rd at our district meet, which qualified them to continue on to regionals.  Here is a picture of my babies high schoolers after districts! 

They truly are THE best team a coach could ask for, and I could not feel more blessed after finishing my first year as a Varsity coach.  They are such an amazing group of girls, with huge hearts and great personalities. 

Such a fun season...I was sad it ended Thursday, but their region is THE toughest in the state and only the top 3 qualify.  They ended up placing 9th out of the 19 teams there, so I was pleased with their effort and overall improvement on the season.  I am already looking forward to next season.....after I finish recovering from this one :)

In other news, Gerad and I have a new little darling in our household.  We picked her up the Saturday after we got home from our honeymoon and she couldn't be more precious...

This is Ella, our tiny teacup maltese....and she is every bit as beautiful as the picture shows.  We have had her for over a month though, and still can't figure out some of her odd habits....nor can she figure out this whole potty training thing.  We want her to pee...where?  On a potty pad or outside?! Anyways....we are working on that.  And as you can tell, Kinsler (our male cat) and her get along beautifully.....

But seriously....he is PRETTY good with her considering most of the time she is nibbling biting on his ears or tail.  Also, I am not sure who of you guys have pets with tearing problems....but if so, and you haven't tried Angel Eyes....go buy a bottle IMMEDIATELY.  This. stuff. is. phenomenal.
This next picture was literally taken RIGHT after her first grooming appointment....(yes, I am going there with before and after pictures)

This picture, the after, was taken tonight...just now.  Please excuse the no bow/crazy/"I just got done playing hard with daddy" hair.  But it was also taken after 2 and a half weeks on Angel Eyes and over a week since her last bath....

And now...you too can be a believer!  They have Angel Eyes for cats and dogs....and while it's a little on the pricey side, it's totally worth it to keep that beautiful white face tear-stained free!  My mom recently started my her older maltese, Chloe, on it and she has had the same amazing results.  And this is after 5 years of trying different tear stain removal products with no such luck.  Anyways, I will wrap up this marketing campaign blog on that note.