Take me Out to the Ballpark!

 

It's officially Spring, even though the weather isn't cooperating, and at our home that means BASEBALL! 

 

I absolutely LOVE this time of year.  As I sit here and type I've sneezed approximately 100 times already this morning and my nose is running profusely despite the Sudafed I took an hour ago.  So, you would think I'd be run down or becoming a hermit to avoid the pollen and mountain cedar in the air. However, I have baseball games to attend.  This year I have my own two little super stars to watch on the field. 

 

Gone are the days of the 3 second delay between catching the ball and knowing what to do with it.  Gone are the days where they play in the dirt as a fly ball literally flies right past them.  Gone are the days where we strike out when we are hitting off a tee.  Brooks and Bosten have officially become little "Ballers" so to speak and are quite the little baseball players.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love to brag on my kids, and I do see them through a Mother's eyes no matter what they do.  However, truly from an unbiased look at them, they are quite good little ball players. They are just a joy to watch and I absolutely love every minute of it and can't get enough of it. 

 

This weekend they had a two day tournament in Coppell with their Elite 8u team, The Crushers!

We spent the entire weekend driving back and forth from Coppell, an hour for us Country Folk, and eating from the concession stand anything and everything that sounded good.  We braved freezing temperatures and strong winds.  And can I just say, I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! 

 

I would happily do it again today if it weren't for that darn thing called school.  I love watching my boys and all of their friends get better and better each week and play hard 6 different games this week. 

 

I'm  sure that sounds like a lot, but for me and my family, we just can't get enough.  We love it!  Brooks is the Catcher for the Crushers and does a great job of being ready and taking people down at home just as they think they've got the run.  Bam, they hit a wall aka Brooks, and their out.  Bosten plays First Base and consistently makes the plays game after game after game. He is truly a thinker and in the game of baseball, his forward thinking serves him very well.  When I watch him, I feel like I'm watching someone truly live out their gifts and it is just an amazing feeling as his Mom. 

 

Both boys can and do hit the baseball pretty consistently.  They show up for their team each and every game and I am truly proud of their efforts.  I cannot wait for the years to come of watching this in this great sport.

 

I'd like to also note, that we are VERY intentional about not putting pressure on them to play baseball, even though we love the sport.  Their love has been a very natural progression and that makes it even more special to watch. I can't wait to see what they do with their talent in the years to come. 

 

 

 

Bosten, getting ready to rip it. 

 

Brooks, right after he mowed someone down at home plate to make a crucial out. 

 

 

Both boys after their tournament, and a 3rd place finish out of 11 teams!  Go Crushers!  We were thrilled with this given the level of competition. 

 

Their fan club!  These girls braved the cold to watch the boys play this weekend and were super supportive fans. 

 

 

We also made a little time for fun this weekend around the tournament.  We took the kids bowling on Friday night with some good friends of ours.  They had a great time and each got to bring a friend along. 

 

 

Mackenzie and P! 

 

 The Three Amigos!  These three are truly the best of friends.  We sure do love our Grant!



 

We also got to enjoy some time with our family celebrating Easter with Ryan and Lisa and the Cousins while they were in town from Kansas City.  I truly miss seeing them more often and was very grateful for the wonderful dinner that Cheryl put on so that we could all celebrate Easter together a little bit early.  It was  great evening of Cousin fun!

We had a wonderful weekend as a family and woke up Monday morning feeling like we needed another weekend to recover from this weekend, but I wouldn't have it any other way. 

 

-B-



For the Love of So Cal!

 Dustin and I had the joy of celebrating our 10 year wedding Anniversary in my favorite place, Southern California, this month.   Dustin had only been for work a few times and had never toured the area like I grew up doing.  I wanted so badly to show him that side of me and why I love it there so much.  I just knew he would love it too, and boy did he!

 

I think if family weren't our absolute number one most important thing in our lives, we would move there in a heartbeat.  WE LOVED IT!   I'm pretty sure most of my family would try to follow us out there if there was a reason to go, but if not, we would just miss them all way too much. 

 

So, why is So. California our favorite place on earth?  Well besides the beaches and beautiful year round weather, its just the laid back attitude and love of the outdoors and fitness and all things natural.  Dustin loves the dog love and how everyone seems to have a Golden Retriever, the best dogs on the planet.  I think if Dustin could walk his dogs on the beach every day for the rest of his life, he would be content. 

 

I just love the active lifestyle and the chill vibe that goes along with life there.  Everything is so casual and surprisingly not pretentious.  I feel relaxed and at home when I'm there. 

 

Unfortunately our weather wasn't great that weekend.  We started the Friday off by going to the hotel and checking out our room and then eating the most delicious pizza every in the lobby.  I drank a glass of wine and ate this amazing pizza and talked with my honey, and all was right with the world. 

 

After this, we went up and got ready for dinner.  I desperately wanted Dustin to see Coronado and to fall in love with that island the way that I had a few years ago.  Unfortunately, it was cold and rainy and just not a great day or night for dinner overlooking the water.  We cancelled our reservation and ended up eating at a cute and yummy little tapas restaurant right in the middle of town.  Since it was pouring rain, we went to see a movie after dinner.  It wasn't really what I dreamed of traveling all the way to California to do, see a movie, but it was a cute and quaint little theatre and we didn't have kids to quiet down, and we ate popcorn and held hands and had a great time. 

 

Saturday, we woke up and had the most amazing breakfast buffet at our hotel.  They had absolutely everything you could imagine to eat.  I had so much fun trying new stuff because I love food adventures.  I ate more that weekend than I had in a long time. We left our hotel and took a drive up the PCH towards Huntington Beach to meet up with Dustin's work friend and her Husband for lunch. 

 

We had a great day with Hillary and Rob.  They took us on a nice bike ride into town and we ate at a great little restaurant and drank wine and watched beach volleyball.  After lunch, we went riding for a bit longer and then said our good bye's. Dustin and I walked the Huntington Pier together and watched the surfers do their thing.  Then we went to a few gift shops to buy the kids some souvenirs. 

 

Next, we drove up the coast back towards San Diego stopping at every little beach town along the way for a new experience.  We accidentally drove our car right onto a fairy at one point in Newport and took a little ride across the ocean a bit to Balboa while still in our car.  That was fun and random, but worked out wonderfully.  Then we ate appetizers and drank margaritas overlooking the most beautiful view in Laguna Beach. 

 

The next morning, we got up and headed out to La Jolla, another one of my favorite places.  We walked the streets full of incredible art galleries and made our way down the steep streets to the public park where the seal beach is.  We walked down on the beach and observed hundreds of seals on the beach just resting from the high tides caused by the weather.  It was so fascinating.  Dustin loved this part, as I knew his animal loving heart would.  We walked around the whole park enjoying the view of the cliffs, the seals, and Torrey Pines golf course in the distance.  We had a great morning, and the sun was finally shining, and we longed for just one more day.

 

However, we missed our babies and had checked all of our to do's off of our check list and headed home that afternoon around 2pm.  It was a wonderful trip and we truly enjoyed taking a little time to celebrate our marriage and all that we have accomplished together in the past 10 years of marriage. Our greatest achievement is obviously our 3 beautiful and perfect children.  In addition to that I am lucky enough to be married to my very best friend and a man that I can truly be myself around and who will support me through anything at all. I will do the same for him and I am his biggest fan.  We work hard at our marriage and the reward is so incredibly worth it.  I feel safe with Dustin and like I have a true partner in my life that will be there in all the highs and all the lows to share in all of it with me.  I love that man.  Happy 10 years to my sweet Dustin Dwinell!