hello spring.

hello spring. hello sunshine, peonies and ranunculus (my favorites), saltwater sandals, bike rides, pastel nails, farmers markets, strawberries, flowers the boys pick for me in the yard, chalk art, picnics, baseball, evening walks, racing monster trucks in handmade chalk tracks, umbrellas, my birthday (wink, wink). spring is truly my favorite season and as I get older I appreciate the simple pleasures it brings even more. the first part of our year has been a whirlwind, in a good way. lots of fun memories have been made, lots of new experiences and trips taken but now aaron and I are ready for a little shift in gears. 

we had plans for a getaway for spring break that we recently postponed for a few reasons but mainly because we want rest. we came home from baseball a couple weekends ago and said no to a few pending plans for rest. it was so awesome. we grabbed books and a blanket to throw on the grass in the backyard and the breeze felt so heavenly as the warm sun was shining. the boys made chalk tracks, played catch with aaron, we made all meals at home the rest of the weekend, watched movies together at night. it really made me think that more time needs to be scheduled for times like this. I am a planner, always have been. I thrive in knowing what is coming next and struggle a bit when new plans arise at the last minute. that being said, I'm over it. I want to enjoy and relax more with the boys. plan more non specific down time. and within the past couple of weeks, I've done just that and it feels so refreshing. 

I love that spring can also be a reminder to start fresh. we think new years but spring gives us a second chance to examine your year thus far and make changes, spring clean your life. if it doesn't nourish your soul, get rid of it. clean up our diet. clean up our fitness schedules, priorities, clean up our clutter- not just in our houses but also in our mind. find simplicity again. 

my little knight in shining armor lunch date one day. back to our old ways and finding ourselves indulging in wood ranch more often again. the kids still enjoy chick fila but honestly we are pretty sick of it. the wood ranch chicken salad is a healthy option for lunch and since aaron and I are back to clean eating again, we are finding ourselves here more than miguels which used to be our go-to when we are out and about. and the passion ice tea is my obsession. its right up there with cheesecakes. 

dylan visited the book fair during school hours and naturally I forgot to give him money, so when mj said she was going to chapel to visit dylan I asked her to give alaina money for him to spend. when he got in the car he couldn't wait to pull out the gifts that he had picked out for each one of us. little easers for aaron and ayden, then a little emoji necklace for me. I seriously loved his thoughtfulness. 

a random bookstore trip with the kids one day. dylan had been asking for a chapter harry potter book for a while now and we finally had a free day to have him go pick one out. they both ended up with a few books that day and I even found a couple for myself as well along with a fun floral water bottle for pilates. I love that we have ben going to the same bookstore since they were babies. I started taking dylan to story time here even when he was too young to even understand what was going on just because I loved getting out, grabbing a jamba and our weekly trip to the bookstore routine. I went through a period when I didn't enjoy going as much because they stocked the kids section with a bunch of toys and it made them uninterested in the books. now that they are older it has been better though, they know I will not be purchasing toys there for them (mean mom status haha). dylan has been struggling with confidence in reading since christmas break so I've been trying to make it a point to go as often as possible to build that back up. It's harder to make time for it now but lately we've been dong much better. this day we were looking for a robot book for ayden but they only had books for older children so we put an order in for 'if you are a robot and you know it' and they actually just called yesterday to tell me it was in, so we will be picking that up today after school.;) 

bookstore essentials. hot cocoa and blondie m&m treats. plain ol' water for me (insert sad face) haha. 

the s'well bottle company is one of my favorites not only because of the cute designs and its nice to not always lug a huge water bottle around, but also because for each bottle purchased, they plant a tree. I'm obsessed with companies that do good for the environment or help others in some way. my current favorite sunglasses brand, diff eyewear, also contributes by donating a pair of reading glasses to someone in need for each pair of sunglasses sold as well. love that. 

thank you's and birthday card love for my best friend alaina last week. a late birthday present because we were out of town on her actual birthday but also found little ways to surprise her with a few more little gifts throughout the week to make up for it.;) 

and dinner one night. dylan has a new love for shrimp, so I am trying to capitalize on that new found healthy choice and plan a shrimp dish meal each week. 

the first spring art work of the year. aydens excitement to show me what he has created and accomplished at school never gets old. he literally can not even get in his seat until "he" has opened his backpack and pulled everything out of it. 

and jana alyra is back in the cd player this week. the sweetest voices come from the backseat when I put this music on. 

saltwater love. seriously saltwaters and spring just go hand in hand to me. jessica brought this new rose gold color to my attention and I fell in love. It is my newest pair to add to my rainbow of colors collection. 

and dylan please that we both have fun colored sunglasses, therefore a photo was in order. here are one of my favorite pairs of the diff eyewear sunglasses I own. I seriously want all the bella line frame and lens colors. 

ayden so proud of his knight gear this day. he vowed to wear it the entire day. 

aaron reading to the boys at night always means so much to me that he takes this time with them and makes my heart happy especially when I know he is exhausted and so not feeling it as the boys trample all over him while doing so. 

in the dugout with twelve wild boys is always as adventure haha. I love snapping pictures of them and mass texting them to the parents. the second one all the parents were so thankful for and loved. I know I would love it too as a parent not being able to capture all the behind the scenes silliness and cute moments in the dugout. 

all of our buckets and pennants we bring to each and every game. I was hoping to not get stuck with this particular duty because lets be honest, time management and just remembering to bring things I need in general is not my strongest qualities. last week I totally only had 8 pennants in the car with me and left the rest at home in the garage. whoops. hung them up anyways and hoped nobody else noticed haha. 

dylans animal presentation for class, which he chose the southwest african lion. naturally we procrastinated due to busy schedules, a camping trip and well, us being us. he had all four of his facts memorized but when given the report to read in front of everyone he didn't know which one was where so it threw him off a bit. we came up with an idea at the last minute to find an old halloween costume of a lion that dylan had worn when he was younger and have ayden dress up in it to be his model. turned out ayden wanted no part of it, not even when bribed with a donut. oh well haha.