Thursday, May 8, 2008

Our Mom!

In 2004 (WHOA has it really been that long?) I took several photos of Mom in our backyard. It's been a few years, but she looks just as purty! Love those first two. There's a photo of 3 generations, and if Megan had jumped in, it would have been 4. The last photo is probably not Mom's favorite because she's prego, but look how cute we all are together! Even Jeff made it in that photo (sort of) !





Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Memories of Mom - Happy Birthday to the Greatest Mom Ever!

Mom, to commemorate your birthday, we wanted to share with you a few of our favorite memories of you.

Megan's Memories

* I remember when we lived in Utah and it was Hilary's birthday. Mom gave me a present too (a swimsuit) so I wouldn't feel jealous that Hilary was getting all the presents.


*When I was in 6th grade I went to this Saturday math competition. It was horrible and I didn't feel like I knew the right answers to any of the problems. I felt awful. To cheer me up, Mom took me on a shopping spree at Marshalls.


*Mom always makes me feel better when I'm sick. Even though she can't be here to rub my forehead or my back, I still call her when I'm not feeling well.


*I live three time zones ahead of Mom, but she'll still talk to me when I call her in the morning and wake her up wayyyy early.

* My first Valentine's Day in New York I had no money for groceries and no Valentine. Mom ordered tons of groceries for me, including Godiva chocolate ice cream with chocolate hearts. It was so nice and it made me feel really good.

* When I was 8 or 9, Mom took me to a conference with her in Pacifica. We stayed in a hotel on the beach, ate cioppino and painted matching t-shirts with a rose stencil.

* Mom taught all of us to love the outdoors. When we were little she took us to Yosemite without Dad. We biked all around the park (Mom got Jeffy to quickly learn how to ride a bike so the trip would work). It rained a lot of the time we were there, but Mom was determined for us to all have a fun time while we were there, so we did. And she brought my favorite snack with us: apples and peanut butter.

* Mom (and Dad) always dance after movies while the music is playing and the credits are rolling. Sometimes when I see a movie, I realize that I've been dancing along to the credits too.

* Mom always cries in movies -- and now I do too.

* In the 5th grade Mom helped me to make friends at my new school by letting me have a HUGE slumber party! It was really nice.

* Mom used to chase after us with a spoon (like when I was in high school). She'd never catch us to spank us, and I don't think she wanted to. We'd all end up laughing because it was so funny.

* Mom encouraged me to get my ears pierced when I was 8. It was really exciting. (It also might have been because I got a very short haircut--without her permission--and she didn't want me to look like a boy.) :)

* When I was in high school Mom would sometimes unexpectedly pull me out of water polo or swim practice to go to the orthodontist, so I'd be sitting there in the waiting room in my swimsuit and towel. I'm glad she was so good at taking care of me.

* Mom's email address is "Waterbaby" because she really loves the water. She taught me to love the water too. When we go white water rafting Mom would sit on the edge of the boat because she wanted to be part of all the action.

Hilary's Memories (I know they're already on her blog, but I wanted to include them here too.)

Mother's Day is always really close to my mom's birthday, so she always gets a double-dose of celebrating. Or everything gets piled into one thing...like this :)
My mom's the best. I wanted to share some fun memories of my mom. Some may be too inside-joke-ish, but oh well.

* When I was younger, I had a sleepover with a bunch of girls. Of course we were 12 or something and couldn't drive, so guess who volunteered. My mom :) She was so funny how she was excited to be our getaway van. She made sure we all had enough toilet paper, and when we were done, we all jumped in through the sliding door and sped off!

* At my little brother's 8th (?) birthday party, all the little boys were trying to burp, and when Jeff told them his mom could do it on purpose, they all chanted, "Burp on purpose! Burp on purpose!" And then she did :)

* My mom dances with her fingers in the air and shakes her hair around. Megan and Jeff know what I'm talkin' bout.

* I remember almost crying because I wanted short shorts and my mom just wouldn't let me. I'm glad we had rules like that. Even though my sister will say I got to break more than she did. Looking back, short shorts weren't even as cute as the long ones are now!

* My mom let me dye my hair bright red in the 5th grade for Halloween, because I was a she-devil that year. Afterwards we decided I looked pretty cute, and she let me dye my hair years after that. Now it's almost 100% natural, but it took a long time! And man, was I cool in the 5th grade.

* One time I was really upset about something, (not sure if it was the sandwich throwing incident or something else) but my mom took me to see Practical Magic at the local theater. It was just us, and made me feel better.

* This sounds really lame of me, but it happened okay? When I was in 4th grade I missed the old elementary school that I used to attend, and my mom called them up to see if I could go to class there for just one day and sit with my friend Stephanie. How nice is that?

* My mom cheers a certain way that you can always pick out: "WOOhoo! Go Hilary!"

* The Barbie and Dinosaur/Stop in the Name of Love Song.

* Once in a while I'd go with her to work, and the big therapy room with the huge swings and big rubber balls for the handicapped kids were the best.

* I was the first girl in the 5th grade to shave my legs. Thanks, mom :)

* She taught me one of the most valuable things in life: How to pluck and shape my eye brows.

* Dress shopping was always fun. My mom always made me feel like I looked good.

* I used to feel bad when I'd get teased for being so short, and my mom always tried to remind me that I was just petite, and that was the way to be! Took me a while to understand what petite meant, and I'm glad I never tried using that as a comeback, but it made me feel better.

* I learned to like most foods, thanks to my mom. I've always been glad she was a good cook and didn't feed us junk.

* If she'd make me a school lunch, I'd find a bite taken out of my sandwich. She said it was a "love-bite". Thief ;)

My mom is beautiful and self-less. When other women in the ward would gossip, I'd never hear her say anything bad about anyone. This is silly, but I think if Jesus had a job, he would be a physical therapist. Like my mom. Hehe. Whenever I'm a butt-munch, she loves me anyway, and never yells at me or puts me down. She'll do anything for you. She's not perfect, but that's what keeps things interesting and makes her more likable. Love you, Mom!