To My Mom:

Mom, I didn't send you a card. 

I did this on purpose. 

I know it sounds cruel, but I have been thinking the last week (since Mother's Day is coming up) how GRATEFUL I am for you and the truly wonderful person that you are.

I thought I'd introduce everyone else to you since you are one of my favorite people.

Here it goes:

Many of you fellow bloggers know my mom pretty well already.......Well enough to know that she is one of the sweetest, kindest, genuine, funniest people ever. 

She almost always has a smile on her face (a beautiful one too!) . She'd probably kill me if I told you how old she is, but let me just say that she hides her age VERY well.

Everytime I see this picture, it cracks me up! I always start singing in my head the song, "Taking care of business!......" because my mom is always taking care of business.  This woman is a busy bee and she puts her heart and soul into everything she does. She raised us kids mostly on her own and somehow she managed to be a faithful temple-goer, visiting teacher, and a strong active member of the LDS church all at the same time. 

My mom is known for taking some amazingly funny photos.  This one is funny, but you should see the other ones I have hidden in my folders. She'd kill me for that too. My mom has such a great sense of humor. We love to quote movies in our family, but my mom always quotes them wrong. 

Do we like to make fun of her for it? 

The answer is yes.

This is one of my favorite pictures. Why?

Because this is when my brother (the youngest in the family) was ordained an Elder. My mom has had the opportunity to see all of her 5 children go through the temple. 

Her hard work has paid off!

My mom is known to her grandkids as "Nana". She is one of the best Nana's in the world. She holds a special place in her heart for each of her 8 grandchildren.

(Mom & Braddock October 2006)

(Mom with Jack & Henry April 2007)

I just want my mom to know how deeply grateful I am for her.  I think she can look back on her life as she has raised her kids and know it only to be a SUCCESS. I've never known her to NOT depend on her Heavenly Father for guidance and direction in her life. She has always stayed true to the faith, and for that, I feel so grateful to the Lord for placing me in her home.

I love you mom, and hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day! Thanks for being the 

best mom ever!

Small Country Livin' & Vegas?

I think you might be jealous if I told you that my in-laws live on a farm and we only live 10 minutes away from their place.

Why, you ask?

Because it is a wonderland for a kid!

Everyday, Braddock talks about going to this farm and playing with the tractors, riding with grandpa on the BIG tractor, feeding the cows, and seeing the horsies. He cannot get enough of the life on the farm.

Two Sundays ago, after we ate a home-cooked delicious meal at Jim's parents home, we went outside to the beautiful 70 degree sunshine weather, and jumped on the back of an old farm truck while Jim gave us a tour of the place.

It was HEAVEN.
(Braddock with his cousin Katelynn)

Yes, all you see is manure in the background, but believe me, this is not what they were excited about. There were cows behind that fence!

Out yonder, there's a big sandbox for the kids to play in, so I sat Emma in it and she too was in HEAVEN.

Thank you to Grandma & Grandpa Partridge for providing the Fun & Free entertainment!
We love you!

So let me explain to you the whole Vegas thing.

Two Saturdays ago, Jim and I found out that his Dad (who lives in Arizona) was in Vegas for work and he wanted us to meet him there to give us their "old" leather couches. To them, their old, but to us......it's like Christmas! You'll see what I am talking about when we complete our downstairs family room and I take pictures of them. They look brand spankin' new! Anyhow, we had about 30 minutes to get our stuff together and jett out!

We left at 8 o'clock at night.

Good thing these kids were in a good mood!
Emma made this cheese face because...................

She has to do everything her brother does.

Braddock & Emma did amazing the ride there.

(Except for the fact that Emma hates anything strapped to her and would cry due to several unsuccessful attempts of removing her car seat straps.)

For the most part though, they slept.

We arrived at two in the morning, slept at the house Jim's dad was staying in, and we (meaning our family of four) shared a small full size bed.

That was interesting.

(that's all I'll say about that)
The next morning, we let the kids run & crawl (yes, Emma is still NOT walking) around this mansion.

The two were fascinated by what was outside this window.

And Emma was fascinated by what was inside this can.

It probably would have cost me my life if I had taken it away from her.

Oh well, we're on vacation.

And then the can was empty and this was her face the rest of the time.
A bit discouraged?

Look at those dirty hands!

Proof that all she does is crawl.

So we got our couches and headed back at 11 AM on Sunday.

We went through the Vegas strip, where I felt completely defiled.

Seriously, I'm not a fan.

I wanted to be back on the farm.

SO, we headed back to our HOME and now we have couches!!!!

Which cannot be used right now.

Lame.

Also, I really need to start taking pictures of Jim and I.