Mother's Day

Mother's day was nice. It was a beautiful day outside, no wind and the sun was shining. After church we got together with my parents, Charyn, Mike, Jackson, and Zander and my Grandparents. We all pitched in and made something for dinner. My mom made salmon and baked potatoes, Charyn made a salad, Sharon made rolls, and I made dessert. It made it really easy to have a nice dinner, when the work is divided. We enjoyed each others company and great food. Matt and I got my mom a big hanging flower basket. It was really pretty and she was excited to have something by her from door. In the evening we went and delivered a flower basket to his mom, who wasn't home. We were bummed that we didn't get to see her and wish her a happy mother's day. We went out to Matt's uncle Keith's house where the Keller family was and wished Kerry a Happy Mother's Day. We hung out out there for a few hours and then came home. It was a great day full of family and wonderful women that I am lucky enough to call my moms!! I am super lucky to have 3 moms!! My mom, who is one of my very best friends and such a wonderful example to me. I am so grateful that we are close and that we get so see each other almost every day. She does so much for Matt and me and the kids. She is always willing to babysit and spoils my kids rotten. She is a wonderful grandma and it shows how much she loves each one of her grandkids. She is such a wonderful mother and person and I hope that I can be like her one day. Matt's mom Linda is also such a wonderful Mother. She is always giving to others and doing whatever she can to help her kids out. She is always more thatn willing to watch the kids and loves to play with them. Kerry is also a great mother and friend to me. I am really lucky that we get along so well and that we have fun together. She is always doing so much for Matt and I and the kids and loves to spoil the kids as well. My kids love to visit her house to play in her yard or on the swing, or to play her IPAD. She is super talented and puts forth a ton of effort in everything she does. She is a great example to me of a wonderful mother, friend, aunt, and sister. I am so glad that we have such a close family and get together often. Family means everything to me and I am so glad that my family is so close and that every body gets along. I thought that was normal when I was growing up, but as I have gotten older, I have realized that I am truly lucky to have that be the case. I think I have the best families in the world. Happy Mother's Day to all my wonderful mothers and my wonderful friends that are mothers as well!!

Scrapping Weekend

I am so excited that I get to go on a girls weekend this weekend to go scrap booking with my mom and sister. We will be gone for the entire weekend and Matt is watching the kids. It will be the first time he has been with all the kids by himself for the long. I sure hope it goes alright. I am sure the house will be a wreck when I get home, but that will be okay, as long as he survives. This is something that I look forward to and enjoy doing so much. It is like a little break from being a referee, chauffer, cook, maid, and mom for a few days. It also makes Matt appreciate me a little more that he usually does. I have been preparing for the last month to go, getting all my supplies together and putting together ideas for pictures and layouts, hoping that I will be able to get a lot done. I have over 300 pictues that I need to scrapbook into something and I would love to get a big chunk of that done. I am not sure I will ever be caught up, but I sure enjoy trying. The kids always love to spend time with their dad and to have him spoil them even more than usual. They also love it when I return home and they get to see the new pages I have done of them and they get to add them to their books. My scrap books are my most prized possesions, besides my kids. They hold so many wonderful, and pricelss memories. I am so glad that I have the time and ablility to make these books for my family. Wish me luck and great success, I will let you know how much I get done!!

I am packed and ready to go. I have about 9 totes with all my scrabook supplies and I wil have one small suitcase. Matt rolls his eye when he sees all that I take with me. I have to be prepared. You should see the sububan when it is full to the brim with all the supplies of three or four of us. It is packed so full, we usually have to take out the back seats to have enough room!!

Easy Bake Oven

Paige got this Easy Bake Oven for Christmas and we have tried it out a few times. It is a little time consuming for such a small amount of product, but she loves it. The other day while Parker was at school and Paxten was napping we decided to make chocolate chip cookies. Paige mixed the dough and then formed them into balls. She them put them on the cooking tray and pressed them flat. After letting the oven warm for 20 minutes, we baked the cookies for 9 minutes, cooled for 10 and then she was able to enjoy her treat. I think she shared 1 with Paxten and gave me one to try, and she ate the rest. The cookies were so small that I think all 12 were equal to the size of 1 chocolate chip cookie I normally bake. It was a fun time that we were able to spend together one on one. She loves to bake just like me and love to help me in the kitchen whenever she can.
 

My Mother's Daughter

I am so my mother's daughter that it has become quite comical. People tell me all the time that I look like my mom and that I am very similar to her and share some of her attributes and personality characteristics. I think that is a great compliment because I love my mom and the person that she is. So if I can be just a little bit like her that makes me happy. We often have each other over for dinner when we are making something that is a big recipe or to help each other out on busy days. We also often make the same things within a matter of a few days of each other without knowing that the other has made the same thing. It has become pretty funny and happens a lot. Today for instance I called to see if she and my dad wanted to come over and have minestrone soup. Before I told her what I was making I heard her chopping in the backgrouns so I knew she had started their dinner already. I asked her what she was making....she said Minestrone soup!!!! What are the odds of that??? we were both making Minestrone soup, on the same day!! We both laughed and now we are both trying to come up with friends to share it with. It is a big recipe and I know my family won't want to be eating it for the next week. So today I am definitely my Mother's Daughter!!

Surprise Mom

This year marked my wonderful mother's 50th birthday. Do you think I could let that day just slip by like any other birthday?? NO WAY!! My sister and I have been thinking about what we were going to do for about a year. We kind of kept it in the back of our mind and then all of the sudden it was getting closer. We narrowed down what we wanted to do and the date, time, and place. I got the invitations made and in the mail and we decided what we were going to eat. I put Charyn in charge of dessert and I handled the main dish. We decided to do a baked potato bar with all the toppings, that way I could do a lot ahead of time and have it ready to go in the crockpot. Mom's favorit dessert is Lemon Meringue pie, and no matter how many time I try to make it, something doesn't quite taste right. So we decided to order from a bakery so we wouldn't be disappointed. The hardest part of the whole party was keeping it a secret!! I see my mom almost every day and talk to her about that often too. It was so hard not to mention what I was working on like I uaually so with every other project I am working on. It was also hard to work around her schedule to plan that party without telling her why she couldn't do this, or got to that. Our good friend Sheri was in on it with us and arranged to go to "dinner" with mom. She was going to pick her up and then mention she left something behind and would have to go back to her house, where the party was going to be. Well the day finally arrived last Thursday (the 23rd), her birthday is the 26th, but the week was really chaotic and that day seemed to work the best, even more of a surprise when it isn't on the actual day. I counted down the hours and was really not stressing out too much. Until about 2 hours before, then it seemed like everything needed to be done and time was running out. We all pulled together and guest started arriving and before we knew it, it was time yell surprise!!! It turned out great!! She had NO IDEA!! We managed to pull it off and it was a great success. Good food, good friends, good times!!!

I just want to mention how much I love my mom and how wonderful I think she is. This was just a small opportunity I had to do something special for her in appreciation for all that she has done for me over the years. I am so lucky that we live so close to each other and that we have a great relationship. She is one of my best friends and such a wonderful example to me and my kids. They are truly lucky to live close to their grandparents. I hope that we can always be close by them. I love my mom and I wish her the best in the years to come. Happy 50th Mom!!!