The Most Special New Year's

This year I did something I have been dreaming of for 7 years...

We watched family home movies.

And not just any home movies. Ones that I have spent days and days creating.

I took our whole 2014 and edited small clips into monthly videos with music.

By the end, we were all wishing there were 20 more.

Patrick and I were both crying...especially since we ended by watching our Ranch vacation.

There really aren't words to describe the magic I felt in my heart as I watched my whole world on the big screen...it left me awestruck of just how perfect my life really is.

And next year, I hope to have not only 2015 chronicled in family movies, but 2008 as well.

It may not be much, but to me, this represents a gigantic part of the legacy I want to leave for my family...a compilation of all our memories, traditions, and small and simple moments.

Magic Snow.

Snow has this magical aura about it--especially when it comes down in the first snowfall.

It was a wonderful day--crazy and beautiful (you can read about it here)...

There were snow angels and snow balls and licking snow off white mittens...

But the best part of all was being out there in the middle of the magic with my three little best friends.

I felt so alive in that frigid snowfall and so full of a childlike wonder that I too often misplace.

Maybe that's why (after calendaring all of our Christmas traditions, advents, trips, and parties), I wrote at the top of my calendar: *Lots of SNOW PLAY!!

It's time this little mother made room for the spontaneous and delightful magic of her own backyard winter wonderland...with her very own enchanting elves.

Not the End. Many more days like this will follow...

At the Ranch. {Day 4}

We had a social tour on Thursday morning with one of our hosts. He got his old pick-up truck working and we all piled in to tour the whole perimeter of the ranch. It was about 4 miles around the property, and while we would have loved to walk around the fun trails, it just wasn't feasible this year with the littles. So we felt pretty blessed to get our own personal tour!

The river was breathtaking. I wanted to sit all day and ponder. Maybe next year...

But alas, we had to leave so we could go on another treasure hunt. This one involved finding Captain Crane's lost treasure around the island, painting it, and taking it home with us for safe keeping...

{This is Tate and his gold dubloon...which he called, "double-oons"}

Upon returning, we attempted to make a smoothie and accidentally made a scrumptious tropical mango peach ice cream. It was to die for!

After dinner we made rafts out of sticks from our treasure hunt--complete with sails and everything. We took them down to Big Creek and let them go...

I have to admit, it was really bittersweet letting those little rafts go...it was like I was releasing the memories of my children at their special ages on this magical vacation and and letting them float away.  It was an ending to something I never wanted to end....

That night as we all sat around the table for our last dinner together, I cried and cried.

Tea Party Girl's Night.

A few Saturdays ago the boys headed down to Provo for the BYU Basketball game and as for me and Maylie?  Well, we decided to have our very first Girl's Night.

It began with a pretend tea party with all of her favorite dolls (Baby Mama, Sugar Baby, Hello Kitty, etc.)  I think Maylie was in heaven pouring pretend refreshments for her guests and giving them cute little wooden sugar cookies....and she didn't even know what was in store for her next...

For little did Maylie know that we were going to have a real tea party of our very own.

We made cutout cookies...

got dressed in pretty dresses (she picked hers {it's her Sunday slip})...

and tried a brand-new hairstyle....

Then we began getting ready for our Mommy and Maylie Tea Party.

 She was pretty excited.

Afterwards we painted our toe nails and we painted Maylie's fingernails for the very first time!  She was thrilled as you will soon see in the pictures below.

We danced around for a little while and then ended a sweet, special, perfect little night with a girly movie that we never get to watch with a houseful of boys. :)  It was Tinkerbell and it was the cutest movie I have seen in such a long time.

This night was magical.  I never wanted it to end.  Watching Maylie light up and glow during the movie warmed my heart so much.  I was instantly transported back to my childhood carefree days of sweet little princess and fairy movies, tea parties, hair-dos, painted pink nails, and twirly white dresses.

And I'm sitting here crying as I listen to "Never Grow Up" as I write these words.  Oh Miss Maylie Grace my sweet baby girl, "Please try to never grow up..."

But today is not the day when you will grow up and move away...that day is still so far distant.  Which makes me so completely glad.  Glad that our tea party days are just beginning and glad that I still get to cuddle and snuggle you a thousand more times.  And I commit to you my princess that I will give you many more such magical nights and special Mommy-Maylie days.  Because you are mine, and I am yours forever.

Love you Maylie girl.