Happy B-Day to Mi Madre!

I'm following suit after my big sisters and giving my awesome mom a birthday blog shout out. Instead of attempting to match my sisters eloquent use of words and Shakespearean way of blogging, I've included just a few of my favorite pics of mom, and some far-from-poetic words.


Mom and Landon - Norway

Mom and Dad - Yosemite


Mom and the girls - New York City

Mom and I - Scotland

Is my mom the ultimate world traveler or what?! I chose these pictures because it's one of the sides of my mom I love the most, her adventurous side. These pics cover about 2% of all her world travels. She spoils all her kids (as you can see) and is the best travel partner. She was so fun to be with in Scotland. It was one of the best trips I'll ever have in my life and I'll never forget the amazing time we had together there.

When I'm in Mexico, I think instead of dwelling on all the things I'll be missing so much about mom (her cooking, her big huge smile, her love for everyone around her, etc), I think I'll try and think of things I love about my mom that make me laugh. For instance...

*She is obsessed with Propel flavored water, and she will only drink the peach flavor

*She's even more obsessed with France, Paris, French people and French restaurants, but unlike Landon and dad and I, she hates escargot

*She hates steamed mussels even more, and dad always orders them at any seafood restaurant we go to. She always gets the dirtiest look on her face as he eats them, and he gets ticked

*She gets cold so friggin easy. If the temperature is 60 degrees outside and a little windy, mom will wear thermals, a down jacket, a beanie and a scarf while Landon and dad and I make fun of her in our jeans and t-shirts

*She wants to remodel everything in our house so bad that when we nearly flooded a few weeks ago, she was praying for the water to get in the house so she could get new carpet and a couch

*If she presses a wrong button on her ipod, ipod player, computer, camera or cell phone and it does something out of the ordinary, she'll never admit that it was something that she did. She'll just blame it on the state-of-the-art software that controls it

*When I come downstairs in the morning and she's on the treadmill and I say good morning, she yells back, "Good Morning!!!!" like, hella loud, because shes listening to her ipod and has her headphones on :)

It's these funny little memories and times that I'll miss the most. There's no way to describe the impact my mom has had on my life. Her testimony has strengthened mine in ways far greater than she understands. She's the best example to me in every way. She's also my best friend, and I love hanging out with her. She is simply the best mom I could ever ask for. I hope I marry somebody just like her some day. Thanks for everything you've done for me these past 19 years mom. I love the crap out of you...and Happy Birthday!