Happy Birthday, Mom!

I stayed up way too late last night watching part of Season1 of Downton Abbey.  Autumn woke up at 7:00 this morning, and we decided to tackle cleaning her room.  I had done some loads of laundry and we didn’t have time during the week to put them away.  So, today was the day!  Autumn had taken all the pillows & stuffed animals off her bed and was hiding underneath the whole mess.

It took us 2 hours, b/c we went through a bunch of her clothes and cleaned out clothes that are too small or that she never wears.  We were both ready for a break, and I started laughing so hard when Autumn flopped down all the floor and said we did good work.

We went over to Mom & Dad’s house had breakfast.  I felt bad, b/c today is Mom’s birthday and she made all the breakfast.  But, she already had it done by the time we got there.  We ate breakfast together and then went swimming.  I took care of the kids for a while so she could float around and not have to have them pulling on her and hanging onto her.  After we got done, we got out the Johnson’s Baby shampoo and shampooed everyone’s hair and rinsed off w/ the hose.  I LOVE this picture of Mom w/ her grandkids.

Mom bought one of those green shrinking hose they show on TV, b/c she wanted to try it.  I’m happy to report that it’s as cool as what they show on TV.  Obviously, it doesn’t shrink back to the original size, but it expands super fast and shrinks super fast, too.  It’s light and easy to wrap up and put it away.  After we rinsed off, Mom & I were talking about how the kids had probably never run through the sprinklers before!  So, we played “London bridge is falling down” w/ them and they had the time of their lives running under the bridge I made out of the water.

Mom wanted Chipotle for her birthday lunch, so Dad brought some home on his way home from work.  After we ate, Mom took Andrew and went to the airport to get Lexie & Jon.  We’re glad to have them back & they even brought gifts!  This Jackson sized sombrero is too cute!  His facial expressions were cracking us up.

We had to try it on Emma, b/c she is a Chihuahua after all!  She was looking at us like, “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you.”  But she looked so cute!

Mom wanted Nick to keep this goatee he started while in Japan for her birthday.  He was so excited for today to be over so he could shave it off.  For dinner Mom & I made eggrolls, fried rice, and sweet & sour sauce to celebrate her & Lexie’s birthdays (Lexie’s is tomorrow).  It’s a lot of work, but we have a system down that makes it run smoothly.  After we ate and I did the dishes, it was late so Autumn & I came home and I got her to bed.

We are so thankful EVERY.SINGLE.DAY for Mom.  Everything she does is full of love.  She’s incredible, fabulous, wonderful, talented, beautiful, spiritual, and we’re beyond blessed to have her in our lives.  I can’t believe that she’s 57, b/c I don’t think she looks it at all.  She’s so vibrant and fun and full of life.  I’m glad that we got to celebrate HER today!!!