Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend...

It's baseball season.

(And my ovaries are exploding with pics like these)

And you guys... this one is especially sweet.  All three big boys of da house are on ONE team this year... Boys ages 6-8 machine pitch.  EEK!

Oh it gets better....

Ryno is the coach!  And the team is called "The Hooks".  Like, hello?  Someone pinch me!  This is all too good to be true.  It's literally the stuff my dreams are made of.

I snuggle on the sidelines with Booner in our parkas and blankets because with spring sports inevitably comes the blizzards and gale force winds.  And when I say, "I snuggle I really mean Booner wanders over to me when he needs his hands warmed up or a snack" but still...

It consumes our week nights, and my laundry piles double with the influx of small baseball pants and long socks and I DON'T EVEN CARE!  It's just soooo good.

This rhythm of our family is the only one for me.  We like it big.  We like it in triple or quadruple.  And we like to do it together.  Our activity kind of melts into who we are.  The fact that we can ALL share this as teammates, coaches and cheer squad?  Not to overstate it, (because that's what I do) but it's one of those extraordinary experiences that will glue our family more tightly together this spring and catapult us into summer and I LOVE it.

Is it annoying that a tiny thing such as spring baseball with all my big dudes brings me extreme happiness?  Too bad... I am talking EXTREME. 

These are the days, guys.  No joke.

And GOOOOOOO Hooks!!!

Gardner Boys do Baja...

While we were in San Diego we visited all the parks San Diego has to offer.

Phew!

The boys are at the age where they bound up the trails and jump from one spot to the next - so conquering parks with lots of cool things to see that requires a lot of walking is A-OK.

So long as there are plenty of snacks and lines don't get too long.  :)

We loved the San Diego Zoo and especially the air tram that took us zipping over the treetops and provided a bird's eye view of the ginormous park.

There is lots of shade and lots of photo stops and plenty of places to refill your bottomless Diet Coke mug if you're into that kind of thing.  (I'm soooo into that kind of thing).

The new baby hippo was easily one of the favorite things on all of our lists.  

Soooo sweet!  Though I am eternally nervous that the little lamb isn't getting enough air since she just huddles down low under water near her mama the bulk of each day.

I would say that Sea World was one of the boys' best days too.  There is a nice blend of rides, exhibits, shows and hands on opportunities.  Their little attention spans are just flitting from one thing to the next and it is awesome.

That moment when grinning Boone met grinning Flipper.

Oh my heart!

In full disclosure the rides are almost all "get wet" rides - so RyGar put on his rain jacket and went with the big dudes.  I very nobly stayed behind to watch sleeping Booner in the stroller.  I'm a giver like that.  :)

And we'll end this post with the U.S.S. Midway.  Some gent who once served aboard the ship in the Navy saw us with all our wee dudes waiting for Grandma & Grandpa and he popped over to entertain the troops for a bit.  He told the boys, "There isn't a single knob, button or dial on this ship that you can't touch.  So I need you to get in there and get to work, soldiers."

Well - that was all they needed... Operation "No Knob Left Behind" commenced.

We were victorious with flawless execution, FYI.

I hope the boys will remember schlepping around together with snacks in hand and faces alight with new experiences and amazing sights.  I know in my bones that vacationing together does good for all our souls.  We come home from time away feeling more connected and strong and on the course we should be.  And that's the thing I loved most about our time in Baja... or anywhere.  Time with these dudes of mine whom I adore... even after nine hours in the car together.  :)

San Diego...

I recently read a quote that said, 

"Travel is the only thing you can spend money on and come out richer."  

Call me a believer.

We spent spring break with our favorite fellas in San Diego.  Our trip was spurned because we wanted to visit Ryan's parents in Tijuana on their mission before they wrapped up.  And let's just all give two thumbs up all the way around for every little part of this trip.  

First things first.  I love watching my little land-locked dudes in the ocean.  I don't know how they got to be so brave in the face of waves of salt water pounding in on them or how they got to be so hardy tackling the cold pacific waters sans wetsuits.... but I could watch them out there for hours.  

Which is useful because that is where they be... for hours.  :)

Boone loves the sand.  Like LOVES the sand.  He burrows his noggin in and plows little furrows with his forehead down and his butt in the air.  It's a beast to clean up, but he is happy as he digs his way across the beach.  He occasionally stops to admire his handiwork in the form of little intersecting trails and grins happily over at us.

As crazy as this sounds... I also love cramming everyone into tight quarters and living out of bags on top of each other for a week.  There are no distractions by way of schedules or friends and you all just have to be silly and patient with one another.

And east pizza the size of all your faces combined.  :)

And I absolutely, totally love watching moments like this happen.  After a year of absence while Grandma & Grandpa have been serving their mission... the reunion was sweet.

 We even got to take a trip south of the border to visit the beautiful temple and grounds AND:

A.  Get me an emergency root canal & some killer antibiotics

B.  Gain ponchos, tacos & perspective

C.  Make untimely comments about the smell of certain things, and Donald Trump's "wall"

:)

I feel so filled up from our week away together, the laundry piles don't seem quite so daunting.

More to come...