two years of amazing...

yes, amazing. 

you, samiyah have amazed, entertained, and charmed your way into my heart since the moment i first heard your sweet cry. i held your tininess against my soul, which, i'm sure, clung to some kind of familiarity from a long ago memory of another, more heavenly place.

you are strong.

you are fearless.

you are sweet.

you are tender.

you are wild.

you are carefree.

you are joyful.

you are funny.

you are fierce.

how could i have imagined a tiny little thing like you, with so many spectacular qualities?

you twirl in fluffy tutus, grinning from ear to ear, and the happiness radiates from you to all directions - it is contagious. i can't help but allow my smiles to escape, even when two seconds ago, i thought my patience had expired.

you create art wherever you go, determined to leave your mark on this world. you prefer sharpies over anything else, perhaps because of their "permanent" quality. you make your presence known and it is impossible not to acknowledge your tugs, screeches, and sweet hellos.

you love "cuh-cakes."

you love condiments more than the actual food.

you love to sneak out and make a break for freedom.

you love to roll around in the dirt.

your sweet songs of alphabets and rainbows fill my heart and leave my bucket replenished for the next day. your fierce hugs may make mosiah cry - but i'll bet he's going to cherish them just as much as the rest of the family does, someday when he's older and it doesn't feel so much like a headlock any more.

you know how you break into dance, twirling, and shoulder shimmying? don't ever stop. keep dancing. always dance.

you bite, and scratch, and hit, and scream. i know these are temporary communications of a two year old mimzy. i know you will outgrow this someday. just promise me that you'll never outgrow your tenderness towards your siblings whenever they are hurting. i just can't put into words how wonderful watching you comfort each of them, makes me feel.

always remember that you are a daughter of God. you are special and destined for great things - i know, because great waves were meant to make a big splash. there will be people along the way, critical and envious of your gifts and talents. don't ever let them put out your fire. as your mother, i am trying my very best to tame and direct this flame of yours - because someday you will need this raging fire. someday, you will do something great with it. 

you are precious and most exhausting. i wouldn't have it any other way.

it's been a most incredible two years. too fast for my liking, but that's the way it goes with happy things like you. happy birthday samiyah. we love you. forever.

when the cat's away, the mice will play

while the boys were off doing manly things, like sparking up fires from flint, and making tin foil dinners, the girls and i:

painted our nails pink,

pretended we were royalty,

...mermaid royalty,

taking turns kissing a handsome little prince,

and at the end of it all, putting our feet up, smothering our faces with mud and cucumbers, and calling it a day.

Camping BRF

while mimzy, makayah, and i had a "girlies night" of makeup, facials, dancing, and chick flicks, the boys (well, except mo - he stayed with me, obviously), went camping in Black River Falls.

the countryside is breathtaking!

they went on hikes and went fishing in the nearby lake/river.

sam even took the "big boy" lens out to get some spectacular photos.

they had tinfoil dinners and tinfoil breakfast meals.

isaiah had so much fun hanging out with his dad. i think he needed some one-on-one time with this move. they got to talk and bond, and do boy stuff.

that hammock is sure coming in handy.

birthday week for mimzy

in our house, we don't just celebrate birthDAYS. we celebrate birthday weeks. 

today we kicked off the start of mimzy's birthday week with a little bit of pudding.

she thought it was fabulous.

and since it is her birthday week, she got to play games.

mosiah can't wait for his birthday week, so he can snatch that phone away for himself.

he still has a ways to go.

happy birthday week, mimzy!

cheeseheads

i've only ever been a BYU football fan, apparently since the age of 1. there are photos of my dad and i watching BYU football games together when i was a baby.

i've never cared for any other teams - most especially NFL teams, that is, until we moved to Wisconsin.

there's just something about living in this state that conjures up a sense of loyalty to the green bay packers. maybe it's the sea of green and yellow on game days at the grocery stores, the banks, the schools, the hospitals, everywhere...

there's no mistaking, after 3.5 years of living in this beautiful state, we've become cheeseheads ourselves.

i don't think there's a cuter cheesehead than this:

born and raised in wisconsin...

my sassy pants cheesehead...

tough guys...

go pack, go!

sundays in autumn

sundays are for family time.

like painting fingernails with my girls.

and taking long naps after a busy morning of nursery.

sundays are also perfect for making muffins.

sundays in the backyard are perfect for wisconsin autumns. 

i love this gorgeous little lady of mine.

i couldn't help myself.

since mosiah is still too little to run and play with everyone else, i packed him in his stroller and he thought that was just fine.

mimzy, recharging her batteries in the warm sunshine.

frolicking in rain boots.

football with daddy. i love that isaiah loves sports stuff, and that daddy loves doing sports stuff with his offspring.

i pulled isaiah away from his football for a second to grab his photo. i asked him about his day, what he liked most...playing catch with dad.

free spirit. there's no pinning this one down. i am constantly reminded of the song from the sound of music...you know the one.

and this guy is just happy being outside with his family.

baking and sunday go hand in hand. after muffins, we made homemade cheeze-its. they were pretty tasty.

backyards are the best. so are sundays, sunshine, and all my bear cubs - that includes sam. ;)