We Play...

I keep thinking about our family blog.

And how neglected it's been.

It's probably sad.

It probably wonders where we've been.

But then I look at our family calendar that is riddled with game times and practice times and events upon events and I remember that some of the "balls" have to fall.

Blog posting has been the only one that made sense to drop, unfortunately.

But I'm not giving up!

Scouts Honor.

Some baseball pics and few words to enjoy and document this frenzy of spring sports that we've been fully immersed in:

Ace has been playing machine pitch baseball for the Cubs.  He has the tiniest heiny, the cutest little team and mad skills.  They are undefeated and we wish we could get a few more wins under our belt, but the rain has kept us all off the fields and little dude is getting antsy.  He likes to win.

Kaelster played Bantam basketball this winter and spring.  He has improved so much it's amazing.  He still goes to skills training which will wrap this month, but little man is dedicated and puts in the work and we're so proud of him.  He is a hustler and will work any other 3rd grader out there under the table.  Mark my words.

Daximus has been working overtime with the Utah Grays.  He has a wicked arm and is a cool cucumber at the plate.  He has grown so much with his little team of new buddies and it has been fun to watch them play together.  He plays third and center mostly, but has spent a little time on the mound.  We're still right smack dab in the middle of it and it's a treat to watch.  

Kaelster has been ballin' with the boys of the Real Athlete Academy.  He is peaking at just the right time, as we near the end of spring season and again, he is so much fun to watch.  His enthusiasm for the game is contagious and we have loved watching him build his array of skills throughout the season.  

Boone's is THE ball park kid and he makes friends and gets dirty at every single game he attends - which is approximately 13 per week.  :) 

Somewhere amidst all the baseball and basketball we have three amazing soccer players but this post has already reached the max number of images so I'll have to cram that in another day.  Rest assured, "Orange Tiger Sharks", "Spicy Mustard" and "The Kimodo Dragons" have all had a great season thanks to a Gardner Guy each.

Man we love this crew of ballers and these days of chasing them from field to field.

Dax is NINE...

Well, well, well what do we have here?

Daximus turned NINE on us.  I guess I'll have to purchase the freeze ray gun after all.

It's the only answer.

Our May Day boy got his long awaited "mountain bike" and Daddy-o went all out.  I think Dax was in a happy catatonic state when he saw his birthday spoils.

Please note the new bike helmet.  BAM.  Safety, kids.

And like a good sport our little dude played along and posed with his birthday sign early that morning before school.  Man he has a great smile.

The brother's all gave him thoughtful gifts with morning hugs which is my favorite thing in the universe.

And right after school we swooped up lucky number seven and headed to the ball field.

 Where he had great hits and epic fielding and got a big fat DUB on his birthday.

Nothin' better.

Except for maybe an over frosted cake.  Mmmmmmmm

Everybody sang to May Day's best birthday boy and then we dug in.

Here are nine things we love about Dax Man.

 1.  He is wicked smart and cerebral 

2.  He is super athletic 

3.  He is friendly and kind 

4.  He is thoughtful and notices everything and everyone around him 

5.  He has a stubborn streak that makes an appearance infrequently - that's from his papa :)

6.  He is a voracious reader

7.  He is driven but likes to set and achieve goals on his own terms

8.  He loves rice with soy sauce but he would eat fries and cheeseburger daily

9.  He is super artistic

Happy Ninth Birthday to one cool cat.  We love you, bud and can't wait to see what you do with your wild and precious life.  It's gonna be epic.

Booner the Bear...

It's high time we give a shout out to everyone's favorite three-year-old.

Boone is the world's cutest mischievous dude who is full of sunshine and spunk.  He is the single most affectionate little human I've ever known and he lives for making others smile and talking the ear off of anyone who shows the slightest bit of interest in what he has to say.

Boone makes lifelike emoji faces all day every day and has eyelashes that grown women would kill for.  He loves music and games and playing with friends and basically being the life of the party.

He loves to get into character.  He is frequently a:

girl-a (gorilla)

tiger

Captain Underpants

or

Black Pant-er

Boone swears he is big and has huge muscles and doesn't need naps.

The evidence every day at 4:30 when I'm running someone here or there proves otherwise.

He is REAL popular with the ladies and when he wants to turn on the charm he can be a great gentleman, sharing toys and escorting young ladies to nursery.

SWOON

One of my favorite things is the way he "tucks his boys" into bed going dutifully from room to room to hug and kiss after he repeats a scripture verse word for word like Dad's little parrot.  I adore the way he is wired to rise and shine and bid them all a good day from the garage each morning too.  His little hand waves and he yells out, "BYE BYE!  HAVE A GREAT DAY!  LOVE YOU!"

Even when there isn't a bro around to play with, Boone will find a buddy.  He absolutely loves drive up windows because he can roll his window down and speak his peace to whomever we may have business with. 

He'll always be the sweet babe of the family.  And I like to think of him as the heavenly little sleeper shown below - but he's growing up on us and turns out the littlest dude of the fam may be tiny in stature but giant in personality and we love getting to know him.

Dream on, my boy.

XOXO

Easter Egg-Heads...

I have always loved Easter.

It's indisputable that Easter Candy is far superior.

There are blossoms.

And colors.

And the reason we celebrate.

It's easily one of my top three favorite holidays.

Plus boys in pastel colors looking long and lean and dapper - that's pretty great too.

We really hadn't talked to Boone about what Easter is and what happens and why we celebrate.  He woke up not expecting a single thing out of the ordinary and BAM an entire basket full of goodness.  He quickly got his wits about him and said, "Wait!  Is it my birf-day?"  "Did Santa come here?"

He leads a good life.  :)

The other boys were thrilled too.  Mostly for baseball cards.

That bunny really knows what he's doing.

 We colored eggs - INDOORS!  This is basically against everything that makes logical sense in a human brain and yet here is the proof.

 I still get a little sweaty just looking at this.

They took it pretty dang seriously and we had big plans to roll them down a hill - but the grass was so long at our park that we decided to have batting practice with them instead.  Wanna know how to get dudes to improve their hitting stats?  Throw boiled eggs at 'em.  BAM.

I truly am grateful for my fellers.  Every one of them.  Life is so good and the plan of happiness is greater than any of us deserve.  

I hope these boys of ours always remember they are loved beyond measure and there is nothing they can do that will change that.