{Happy 50th Birthday Mom!}

My mom in Hawaii on her honeymoon June 1979

So my beautiful mom turned 50 yesterday! You'd never guess it looking at her! I told her I'm going to have to start going to Ross and Fry's with her so I can mooch off her senior discount!! Hee Hee. Those that know my mom know what an amazing person and mother she is. I love her beyond words, and wanted to express some of my feelings on why she is such a fabulous mother to me and my 4 little sisters. For her birthday I made her a movie with 800 pictures I scanned from her old albums and our baby books. It was so fun going through old pictures and now I have copies of them. So here are some fun ones :o).

My mom is the most unselfish person you will meet. Cody and I are always saying that! She always thinks of others, and is always doing things for other people. She will call me at just the right moment when I need her, she is so in tune to the spirit! She knows when I am faking it, when I say things are fine but really I'm close to tears because my boys are being naughty! She builds me up, tells me I'm doing a good job and then is always offering to take them to her house so I can get a break and run errands!

My mom is so good at sewing. Growing up she sewed so many of our clothes, including swimsuits! She made my sisters prom dresses, graduation dresses, everything! Here's a picture of my sister Melissa and I in some dresses she made.

Birthdays were always a BIG deal at our house. This is a picture of my sister Melissa on her birthday. My mom did balloons, hung signs all over the house, etc! We didn't have a lot of money but she made the day so special! She let us pick the meals, gave us a special plate, made us cool cakes, and did so many other special things!

My mom was so on top of thinking of fun and cheap (free!) things we could do that we would enjoy. We had picnics at the special spot (a grassy hill by our house), went to the park lots, swimming, hiking, etc. During the summer she would get out a calender and each week we picked a them. Then we would think of something to do each day for that theme. Like for cooking week each day that week we would learn to cook something new, or make an apron, or something else fun having to do with that theme. She was so involved with us, I never remember her just sitting around watching Oprah! Check out those bangs baby! (I'm meaning my mom's....but speaking of bangs we always give her a hard time for cutting our bangs back so far!! Half our hair was cut into bangs!)

My boys are the only grandkids so far (hint hint Melissa!) and my mom is the sweetest grandma to them! They think she is so fun! She takes them to parks, tells them stories, lets them bake with her, and listens to their crazy stories!

When Rhett was born my mom came and stayed a week and 1/2 with me. It was when 9/11 happened and my hormones plus that just threw me for a loop. I was a crying mess and with a broken tailbone couldn't walk very good, and she did everything for me. She bought Rhett this pea pod costume and even though Halloween wasn't for another 2 months we had to dress him in it!

This is my mom feeding Rhett.

Again with Rhett

Well trust me I could go on and on - but I just wanted to share some fun things about my mom. I hope I look like her at 50!! Love you Mom!!

_____________________________________________________

Now for some random things!

Have you listened to the new song I put on by Joshie boy? (Josh Groban.....love him!). I love that new song Awake!

Are you wanting a good, cheap dinner? Cody found this on slickdeals today. Pizza Hut has pasta now and you can get Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken and Breadsticks for only $6.99. We had it for dinner tonight and it was good! The kids loved it also. Click here.

I got this shirt at Target thanks to the Easter gift card my mom sent and it's super cute. Get one, we'll match!

Rhett came home sooo excited with a flyer for a Mother/Son dance. It's not for a couple weeks, it should be fun!

Ethan of course said some funny things. (1) He came up to me and said "Mom! How come my middle name is pants?" I said "Ethan, your middle name's not pants. It's Gene (his grandpa's name)." "Yeah Mom, but Jeans are Pants!" Ethan said. (2) Ethan came home from church on Sunday upset at me. "Mom! How come you didn't teach me about Flamingos?" I heard later from his sub-teachers wife Ashley that Ethan had answered a question about animals wrong. He thought the Flamingo was an Ostrich because it had it's head in the water. He is so desperate to know all the answers in Primary! When we read scriptures at night he wants to know if what we learned will be on "The Test" in primary!

Kade is talking lots, he keeps us running! More! More! He says, he wants to eat all day long. He loves playing rough with Ethan. He loves when Rhett comes home from school, "Hett! Hett!" he says when Rhett's dropped off and he runs to him to give him a big hug. Well that's the latest around here! Hope everyone's doing good!

XOXO

Brooke