Mother's Day

On Father's Day I wrote a little something about my dad, so I figured that in honor of Mother's Day, I'd write a little bit about the mothers in my life!

This is my sister Charisse. She doesn't realize it, but she's a super mom. She has two energetic little girls, ages 4 and 2. Her husband works all day and goes to school at night so she has long hours of being a single mom. She doesn't see it as anything too special, but she is the craftiest person I know. She makes costumes, night gowns and dresses for her girls which they absolutely love. She is transitioning into being a working mom pretty soon, and I know that she will be able to handle any trials that come along with this decision. Her experiences have made me realize that being a mother is tough, but if I can be half the mom she is I'll be happy with myself!

My sister Caitlyn is an amateur mom ;). Her baby girl is only about 7 months old. I've been close to Cait my entire life and it has been so cool to be able to watch her become a mother. I can remember following her around when we were younger and always trying to be like her. I am so grateful for all of the decisions she has made in her life because they have set such a great example to me being just younger than her. Because we live so close, I've been able to learn a little bit with her as she's been figuring out how to take on this new role as a mother. She has incredible patience and she always impresses me with how capable she is and how quickly she has learned. She is raising the cutest little girl and I can't wait to watch her and learn from her as she continues to grow as a mom!

This is my mother-in-law Christine. Believe it or not, she has had ten kids, ages 24 to 2. She has a son who just graduated from college and a daughter who is still in nursery. Seven boys and three girls. This woman does so much behind the scenes it amazes me. Every time we're up at their house, dinner somehow appears along with a dessert. Food magically appears in their pantry, clothes somehow get washed, and Gracie's diaper magically gets changed. She does so much that goes unnoticed with out a single complaint. She really is the glue that holds that wild house together. She is an amazing example to me and I am so grateful for her raising my husband right!

And finally, my mom!! With all of the kids in my family, you can pretty much place their personality as either being my dads or my moms, and I totally have my mom's. Like my mom, I walk around my house singing. Unlike her though, I'm not actually musically talented. This is a picture of my mom holding me in the hospital when I was born. Sometimes I forget that she literally raised me and took care of me for 18 years. She is the one who taught me right from wrong and good from bad. Her dedication to her callings at church always amazes me and she is an incredible teacher. I can still remember her going back to school when I was younger to get her degree. I was too young and clueless at the time, but now I realize how difficult and time consuming this must have been for a mother of five kids. I am so grateful for her raising me right and for her good example to me and my siblings. Love you mama!

Anniversary

Danny and I had our first anniversary a couple of weeks ago (4/23). I didn't so much care what we did, as long as we had the day together work-free. So, I took off work and we got to spend the entire day together going on random adventures. We went on a walk through a canyon, checked out the new City Creek Mall, ate at the Cheesecake Factory, stopped at the Up House, and my favorite-went to see some horses!

We also had a mini getaway to Midway (a big thanks to Danny's parents!). I love going out to Midway because for some reason you just don't feel like you're in Utah it looks so different!

 While we were walking around, we even spotted this little guy!...

Yes, this is a moose, and yes, this is all the way zoomed in on my computer and the picture was taken at 200mm, but you better believe I was excited!!

Happy Anniversary to us!

Graduation Festivities

Graduation weekend was busy busy! Danny and I walked together with the Marriott School on Friday, April 20th. The ceremony was pretty long (guessing around 800 graduates), and as always, my name was butchered (even though I spelled the entire thing out phonetically for them), but I'm glad we walked! It definitely gives you a feeling of accomplishment. Because the weather was so nice, we did a BBQ right after the ceremony at a park with our families. From Wednesday to Sunday, we managed to eat out at Applebees, Zupa's, Pat's BBQ, and the Original Pancake House. Impressive, I know. The rest of the weekend was filled with more family, playing with my brother's new puppy Oliver, playing with my niece Chloe, the Spoken Word, Temple Square, work, tennis, and rugby.