Mother's Day 2019

Mother's Day

You all know how much I love Mother's Day! There is nothing wrong with a day for our children and spouses to say THANK YOU for all that we do! This one was extra spectacular as they were making sure that there wasn't a repeat of last year's Mother's Day. Remember that one? You can read about it HERE. The fiasco? The one that they didn't do anything...well they actually did later in the day...but there were words and tears. Remember that? Well they did and they all went out this year to make it...dare I say it...the very best one that I have ever had thus far!!

I awoke in the morning to my sweet family, breakfast in bed, gifts, and NO WARD COUNCIL!! Happy Mother's Day to me. Delightful!

I am not a breakfast person and I especially am not a savory breakfast person but I will eat french pastries and cake in the morning! ;) The fam got me two of my favorite petit fours...one chocolate and one raspberry almond... and a slice of my very favorite princess cake which is a marzipan and raspberry confection from the bakery I love. So good!!

I got sweet cards, a beautiful hanging basket, a new peony bush, a new hydrangea bush, and a gift card for a pedicure. Bryn gave me a painting that she made, many pictures, a cute card, and all kinds of coupons. Speaking of... I need to redeem all of the ones that Kameron has given me on previous Mother's Days before he leaves home!! Has anyone seen that episode of The Goldbergs where Beverly cashes in on all of the Mother's Day coupons that she has received over the years? So hilarious!!

But the biggest gift was having all of our family at church together!! That was really the highlight of my day. Reilly came to church with us, Kameron blessed the sacrament, Ailey spoke, and Bryn sang with the Activity Day girls. Then both Reilly and Ailey came with me to Relief Society for a special Mother's Day program. It was the BEST!

After church we came home to *attempt* to take some Mother's Day photos. You should see our MANY outtakes. Sheesh. It was A LOT harder than you would think with this crew! Trying to get everyone to smile and everyone with their darn sensitive eyes. Do other people have this problem or is it just my kids? They can barely look in the merest direction of the sun and their eyes start watering and they have to squint because it *hurts their eyes*.

I kind of love this unexpected foot shot that I found on my phone... LOL

After church we hung out with Reilly for awhile and then she had to leave and the rest of us went on a bike ride. That is my very favorite thing to do on Mother's Day AND not cook one meal. Tyler and Kam had gotten the bikes all tuned up and air in all the tires the day before so we we were ready to roll! While we were loading up the bikes my Mom stopped by with a Mother's Day card for me. She had met Stacey and Jordin and their families at the Davenport for brunch. It was nice to see my own mom on Mother's Day because I didn't think that I would. I had already given her the card and gift that I had for her.

The 80s called and they want Kam for a John Hughes movie. LOL.

We biked a new trail this time which was a lot of fun and one that we definitely want to bike again. It was so pretty along the Spokane River with all the blossoms and lilacs blooming. (We all wore helmets. This was pre-ride.) We saw turtles, marmots, and rabbits!

We stopped for dinner at one of my favorite places for teriyaki (Yay, for not cooking!) and then on our way home Kam wanted us to go check out this new trailhead that he had found and hiked with his friends. So after our delightfully LONG bike ride (it is nice not having little kids anymore) we hiked a new trail just as the sun was beginning to set. It was so pretty!!

It was such a pretty night to be out in the woods!

After that we came home for dessert...mochi! My favorite. It was a WONDERFUL Mother's Day! I am so grateful for the amazing kids who call me Mom...each one unique and fantastic in their own way...and also for their incredible father!!

Kam's Senior Prom

Prom!

Kameron had Senior Prom the same weekend as Easter. It was crazy! He went with his girlfriend Abbey and they had such a fun time! They triple dated with Kam's best friend, Jonathan, and his girlfriend, Paige, and with another one of Kam's bestfriends, Caleb, and their friend Ellie. All of these kids with the exception of Paige are in the trumpet section of Wind Ensemble. Ellie is the daughter of their beloved band teacher too! LOL.

It was fun to experience Kam getting ready for Prom. Different from watching Reilly get ready which was an all day event with hair, nails, make-up etc. but it was still fun to watch and document. While doing so I had a huge lump in my throat. I was happy because this is an exciting milestone and life event and sad that my little boy has grown up so fast and will be graduating in a few weeks.

The last part of kids senior year is really heart tugging for moms! I just look at Kam and see the man that he will be. I am so proud of who he is and yet sometimes I desperately miss the little boy that he used to be...full of crazy laughter, tormenting his sisters, and running around like a maniac. It is bittersweet.

Kam was dressed and ready about a half hour before he actually had to leave to go pick up Abbey. So I got to snap pictures of him unaware. Pro-tip for you younger moms: silence your phone, make it look like you are scrolling through Instagram, and secretly be snapping away! (Or not so secretly!)

All of the parents and families met at Jonathan's house. He lives out in the country on this really cool farm. It is a pretty place to take pictures. It was fun to celebrate these great kids that we have watched grow up together! Reilly and Hunter came too and all of the families were having as much fun as the kids!!

The most challenging part of the night...trying to put on the boutonniere!! Why are they so hard?!?!

Success!!

Kam picked out and ordered Abbey's corsage all by himself. I saw the notes that the florist took when Kam called and it was hilarious and specific... "Classy".  Ha ha!  He did a great job and it turned out really pretty!

The boys picked up their dates and brought them out to the farm. Paige's mom is a photographer and she took a bunch of pictures. Most of the ones that I will post are pictures that we took although I have added a few of hers. It was fun to have all of the parents and siblings there celebrating this great group of kids who have been such good friends for so many years!

Jonathan and Paige, Caleb and Ellie, Kam and Abbey

Wind Ensemble's AMAZING trumpet section!! LOL.

The band kids with their beloved Mr. B...their band teacher and Ellie's dad.

Also, Susie and Nick (Jonathan's parents) love to host things at the farm so they talked to the boys and they decided to have dinner and to do many of their activities there. The boys had quite the long and detailed itinerary. It was hilarious. The parents and families were all invited to stay for drinks and appetizers. It was a lot of fun! After all the parents finally left.... the party got started. I love all of these pictures!

Here is a snippet the *infamous* itinerary texted out by Jonathan...LOL:

The kids all had a spectacular time! And there was even one BIG SURPRISE...

Jonathan and Paige were shocked to be crowned Prom King and Queen!!

Kameron and Abbey had a fantastic time and Kam got home around 3:45 am and collapsed into bed...only to have to get up a few hours later because it was...EASTER!! :)

I love this picture and caption that Nick posted on FB of the three boys a few days ago:

Don't Blink 

(Pictured: Nick, Ellie, Jonathan, Kam, and part of Caleb)

Don't Blink is right!