finding joy in the journey

Here's what we've been up to:

Mikayla started Kindergarten...Yeah! She has been waiting for SO long, it seems. Her first day was anything but dull: Her teacher put her on the wrong bus home! So, there I am, at the bus stop with my camera at eye level waiting for her to come off the bus...and waiting...and waiting. No Mikayla. Luckily, Kale was with me so he drove around to the other stops while I was on the phone with the bus dispatch. We soon found our little girl---the last kid on another bus in the neighborhood. I was worried that she would be upset, but nope. She couldn't have cared less-- She simply made friends with the bus driver. That's my girl.

Oh--You may have noticed that she has a broken arm. Yup. She fell off her scooter one night and broke her elbow. Poor thing! She was a trooper, though, and only had to wear the cast for 5 weeks. (I'm SOOO glad that's over.)

October 4th was Mikayla's 6th birthday. She decided (with some parental persuasion) to have a hawaiin-themed party this year. It was such a blast! The kids made lei's and learned a hula dance (thanks, Shea!) that they performed for all the adults. They were very serious about their dance moves. Check out this video:

After opening presents, we played some games and had cake and ice cream. My dad helped bake the cake and my mom helped decorate....cute, huh? (and easy, too).

I am so lucky to have such a sweet little girl to call my own. Here are some of the things that I love about her:

She does silly things to make Aubrey laugh when she gets hurt.

She is kind and loving to her friends. The other day she told me that "it is ok to laugh when someone makes a mistake ONLY if they are laughing too...otherwise it is NOT ok because it will make them feel bad."

She is fun to be around--Her giggle is so genuine and infectious.

She sleeps in until 9:00am!!!

She loves to learn. Today she came home from school with her new homework folder for the week and she sat right down to the kitchen table and got to work on it!

She includes her little sister in playtime with her friends. Aubrey gets to be the little sister when they play house.

She loves to sing and she has an adorable little voice. Here's a video of her singing I Am a Child of God when she was barely 2 years old:

We are so lucky to have her! Has anyone figured out how to make time stand still?? Because I'm afraid she is going to grow up in the blink of an eye. It's already happening too fast. I love you Mikayla!