an epic day of incredible fun

we woke up at 5am. well, i did at least. we packed almost everything last night with the exception of a few things. i gathered up some snacks, dressed, and began packing babies in the car. sam carried in the older ones, and we were on our way at 5:30am.

doing this particular 5k became a huge item on our summer bucket list. i've always wanted to do this, and when i found out that the entire family could run the course, we just had to sign up.

the forecast called for scattered showers, and when we parked the car, the rain came down in spurts.

we picked up our swag bags (i always get so nervous, worrying about things like, "what if there was a glitch and not all our names are registered?").

but things went pretty quickly, and soon, we were throwing on our shirts, headbands, tattoos, running bibs, and double lacing our shoes.

the air was cool and the music was blasting.

we were so pumped!

it took us a good 30 minutes to reach the starting line. we danced and jumped and sang our lungs out as we waited our turn.

however, i noticed a very quiet makayah. i asked her what was wrong.

she said she was worried and was scared about running through fire.

i quickly reassured her that this was NOT the tough mudder race that sam and i had raced through 2 years ago. i told her this race just had colors and music, no scary stuff.

once the race began and we saw the winding course and the people laughing and the music still blaring, makayah eased up and she loved it.

we ran through reds, yellows, oranges, blues, and we were given color packets of our own to use at the finish line. isaiah had a little mishap while trying to open his up.

the kids did an amazing job running the course. 

this is actually their second 5k. their first was the oneida 5k in green bay.

we spotted some of our friends from black river falls, and one of our neighbors.

even the baby got in on some of the color action.

at the end of the course we were given bottles of water and the best energy bars i've ever had.

these kids are amazing.

sam and i are so proud of them!

the babies did so well, and the jogging stroller was a beast! i'm so glad we had it with us.

we made it!

we were directed towards the post color run concert. it was incredible.

we danced, we sang, we shouted out cheers, and lost ourselves in the celebration cloud of colors.

it was so fun to let loose and bust out our moves and do our happy dances.

after we had exhausted ourselves with post-race excitement, we finally cleaned up, and headed out to brunch with our good friend, cassandra, from law school.

we ate at cafe sunroom in downtown madison.

food never tasted so good.

and cassandra, it is always a pleasure being in your company. thank you for helping me contain my children. ;) next time, we will hit up the farmer's market. our visit was just too short.

after running a few errands, we caught up with our other madison friends.

we've kind of began this summer tradition of bbq-ing, boating, and swimming in the lake near governor's dodge over the past years. however, because of the bad weather, 

we decided on the next best thing...

ice cream.

we had to catch them before they left for the entire summer.

they are great people.

we love you guys!

our visit to madison was so short. we usually try to meet up with everyone, and don't get going until around 8pm. today, we left at 2pm. we were exhausted and barely made it home with our eyes open.

we came home, ordered mexican food, and went to bed early.

today, my cup runneth over.

days like these make me so grateful for my family and all the wonderful memories we share and have yet to create.

i love these guys.

a fun friday outing

i was hoping to just lump all our week's activities into one post, but it seems too many things happen within each day to do that...at least for this week.

some days, we don't plan anything at all.

we wake up, and play dress up and run around the yard in the morning sunshine.

we kinda just loll about, hanging out on the patio, until it's time to have our fun friday pizza and movie.

and unexpectedly, the thunder rolls in.

loud, cracking thunder that shakes the house.

it's hot and humid outside.

the wind is whipping the trees back and forth.

the skies go black.

there's a flash of light and immediate crack of thunder.

the kids and i jumped up and ran downstairs to hide from the scary weather.

we could pretend that all was well in the basement, while still eating our pizza and watching our movie...

abandoning the living room.

we weren't expecting sam back early, but he came home, and when he did the skies cleared, the rain stopped, and all was eerily well.

weird.

and sam being sam, packed up the family and fishing supplies, and we all headed out for a spontaneous fun friday outing.

mosiah was even into the whole fishing thing.

mimzy was intrigued by the bait.

and isaiah helped with the tackle box stuff.

our luck was winning out and no kids fell into the lake.

we didn't want to push our luck, so as soon as the slightest ripple escaped samiyah's rain boot, i gathered the kids and we went on a treat run, leaving the boys to keep trying for a bite.

we went to the local store and found these gems...

my travel-back-in-time candy.

i missed the best sour face ever by a nanosecond.

we got plenty of nibbles, but no fish. 

this was sam's last cast of the night.

skunked.

the night ended with baths and braids.

i was hoping to get everyone to bed earlier - especially myself since tomorrow is the big day.

oh well. let's hope we make it.

the end.

a little too ambitious

sometimes i forget simple things like sidewalk chalk drawings.

it's so easy to do, and the weather was so nice out today.

this is exactly why i have a list of things to do...because my brain is just too tired on days like this that it's impossible to think of anything creative.

duh, mom.

we made shadow drawings of ourselves and then drew in the faces. it was pretty fun.

makayah took this one step further and created rock art for her chalk self.

mo couldn't stand still long enough for us to trace his shadow.

he would just laugh and run in circles.

when the kids tired of chalk, the frisbee took over. see? easy!

and yet, i think i'm gonna have to write this activity down as well.

just when things are going so smoothly, and we are having so much fun, i have to go and do something like promise the kids a baking activity.

poke my eye out.

i don't know about your kids, but my kids LOVE baking.

they love baking with a ferocious kind of love.

the kind where a panic sets in, and they fear not having enough turns at measuring and dumping in ingredients.

this fear and panic takes the form of whining and crying, and shouting, and screeching.

"MY TURN!!!"

"I WANTED TO MEASURE THE VANILLA!!"

don't worry, you will - we're doubling the recipe.

"I WANT TO LICK THE BEATERS!"

no one is licking the beaters, there's raw egg in the batter."

"AWW, C'MON!"

and then there's this guy, stealing ingredients...

and eating them.

*cringe*

oh my gosh.

i always have this glistening idea of calm and peace and laughing and sharing.

that does not happen when we bake.

sigh.

it's a good thing we're making cookies, because after this chaos, i will need sugar - stat.

isaiah, however, is a great helper when no one else is around.

thank you, isaiah.

you did a fabulous job on the cookies.

now, i think i need to go find a closet and stuff my mouth full of these things.

tangent...

since our on and off weaning, mosiah has taken to putting his hand up my shirt, and sucking his thumb. he likes the softness of my tummy and i'm okay with that. :)

on a bad note..

i had a freak accident with the trash can this morning as i rolled it out for trash pick-up day.

i sliced it pretty good. there are some bruises waiting to surface.

i'm hoping it heals up before this weekend's 5k race.

this was sam's day:

his favorite lemonade for work.

he says he's given up coke.

he tie-dyed a free shirt he got from work.

he really loves dyeing things.

he went to the shooting range with his friend.

one of the nice ladies who always feeds my husband at work.

the end.

lovely days with lovely babes

she's been doing this lately. sneaking into my room around 3am. i don't mind. i love cuddling with her. she's like a warm teddy bear. but it's such a gamble whether i get back to sleep right away or not.
i still love her.



wednesday morning. isaiah's first baseball game.
i brought the big boy out. sam and the grandparents really want to be here to watch the kids in all their activities, but since they can't, i am trying to take as many pictures and videos to keep them involved.
we miss them and wish they were here with us, too.



i was too busy with the big camera that i really didn't bother with my camera phone...but i did manage to take one for texting purposes.
i love watching isaiah. when he isn't catching or hitting the ball, he is dancing out in the field.
i love him.



makayah was my helper again.
thank goodness for my little mama.
i love her.



when all the excitement of ball games subsided, i cuddled up with my baby and read him a book.
he sat there nestled in my arms, holding his lovey, and smiling his toothy smile.
i love him.



i hate taking selfies, but i always wished i had more pictures of me and my mom. i usually had lots of pictures of me and my dad - because my mom was taking the picture. ;)
so, this is for mosiah, so he knows i read with him.



sometimes it's hard being a baby.
this is where mosiah hangs out when the big kids are jumping big jumps on the trampoline.



and then it's time for tumblebugs.
i can't tell whether mimzy is ready for this class.
sometimes she follows direction, and other times she races around the gym, with me following close behind. age appropriate behavior for a two year old...what was i thinking trying to get her to do gymnastics?



but she LOVES it.

and that's all that matters.