Happy Mother's Day!

I think I like Mother's Day better than my birthday. It's so nice to have a day to feel extra appreciated and loved for my biggest job in this life. As moms we always feel guilty about things, put a lot of pressure on ourselves, and constantly wonder if we're doing a good job - at least I do. Even though my family does make me feel appreciated year-round, there are always things I hear on Mother's Day from them that mean even more and make me feel like, "Okay, I am a good mom." I need that. It kind of reboots me and makes me want to be an even better mom.

I started celebrating Mother's Day early the week before by surprising my mom with her Mother's Day gift, a special lunch at The Grand America Hotel with Brayden. We had so much fun getting dressed up and doing something really girly together!

Brayden took this picture - she was messing around, but I kinda like the effect! :)

Enjoying the desserts!

On Mother's Day, my family did a great job of spoiling me! I came downstairs in the morning to all this fun stuff.....

There were some things the kids did on Mother's Day that stood out to me and made me laugh. Some of my highlights of the day came from what Ashton wrote on a paper he did at school to give me that answered questions about me. Most he was so wrong about, but I loved it, it made me laugh! One thing he said was that my favorite place to shop is Walmart - I do shop there, but it's definitely not my favorite place to be! Ha ha! He also said that I am the best cook, and that the best thing I cook is noodle pasta. You know the Farmhouse brand from a box? Yeah, that's the pasta he was referring to. It's funny to see how he thinks, even if there are a few things I need to teach him about me! My favorite thing he wrote was what he said he loved most about me - that I'm really funny. Most people probably don't think of me as really funny, but it's probably because my humor is more on a 2-10 year old level! :) I love that my kids get me and that I can make them laugh, because they make me laugh every day too! Oh, and I almost forgot - I also loved the fact that Ashton wrote randomly at the bottom of the paper, "I'm the D.J. yo!" Ah, I love this son of mine!

Another thing I thought was funny that day, the kids gave me these jars where they wrote on strips of paper nice things about me and also tickets of things they will do for me that they had made with my parents one day when they were with them. When I was reading the tickets out loud on Mother's Day, I asked Brayden if she was actually going to do for me what she wrote, and she said, "Yeah, but it was really hard for me to write that!" I think it's because she knows I will hold her to it!

One more thing that made me laugh, Ashton was being extra sweet (I guess you could call it sucking up) to me all day on Mother's Day, and out of the blue he said to me, "You're a smokin' hot mama!" Without any hesitation Brayden said, "Ashton, you're creepy."

I love my kids! I seriously live for moments like those when they make me laugh, which I get to experience everyday! I honestly don't remember what life was like before I had them around to entertain me!

Later that day, Mike made me the BEST dinner ever! He grilled the best steak, seriously, the best homemade steak I have ever had! Along with grilled corn on the cob, baked potatoes, and some fun old fashioned cherry cream sodas! After dinner, we brought dessert over to my parents' house so I could spend time with my mom, and then the next night we went to Mike's parents' house to say Happy Mother's Day and spend time with his mom and nana. I feel so lucky to have had all of these amazing mom influences in my life - my own amazing mom and grandmothers, and after I was married I was lucky to gain another amazing mom and grandmother. I love them all so much, and they are all such great examples to me in different ways. I love that I can take different pieces from each of them and apply them to my life and who I am as a mom, wife, and person.

I couldn't ask for a better job than being a mom to these two! I love these kids of mine!!!

Brayden's Dance Recital

Last Friday was Brayden's 4th annual dance recital with Bonnie's Dance School. I can't believe it's been that long! Brayden was thinking about quitting after this year, but she changed her mind after realizing how much she'd miss it. I'm so glad because I think it has been really good for her, helping bring her out of her shell. And she really looks forward to the recitals, and so do we!

I think Brayden's favorite part is getting all dolled up! It's fun for me too! This was her all ready before leaving for the recital!

Backstage.....after 4 years of dancing together, this will be Brayden's last year dancing with her friend Avi since they are moving! So sad! And this was the first and last year for Avi's little sister Emri! They all looked so cute!!

The Program.....the whole recital was Disney themed!

On stage! The place was packed and even as early as we were getting there we were still towards the back, so my pics weren't the greatest! Somehow this pic focused on Brayden and blurred everyone else.....I guess that works!

Brayden was so lucky to have both sets of her grandparents there and her Uncle Cameron and Aunt Aubrey. Cameron and Aubrey were so sweet to give her these pretty pink flowers, the other ones were from us, and Bonnie who runs the studio gave all of the dancers little notepads and cute ballerina necklaces. Brayden is always on cloud nine after her recitals. She did so great, and has come such a long way. We are so proud of her! I'm so glad she decided not to quit and we still have more dancing ahead of us!