I walked into the kitchen a few days ago to find Annie hiding in the pantry with a pile of fruitsnack bags at her feet.  As  I peaked over her shoulder I noticed her trying to stuff the whole box of fruit snack bags down her shirt by the handful.  Mind you this was a Costco box of 80 bags.  Unfortunately, her shirt wasn’t tucked in and it all just kept dumping onto the floor at her feet.  After awhile I noticed her peeking down her shirt trying to figure out where they all went.  At least this closes the door on a few unwanted career options for the future.

I was pondering on moms this last weekend, which I’m guessing is no suprise.  I got to thinking how grateful I am for mine.  I know I spent several years(ok, maybe more than several) of my childhood specifically trying to push buttons to see if I could get her to lose her cool, but it never really happened…at least that I could tell.  Mom, I offer my sincerest appologies for being such a STINKER!

Mom, thanks for:

Teaching me to read

Letting me build forts in the backyard

Sewing me fun dresses and costumes

Buying and sharing lemonade and popcicles by the 100s with all of my friends

Making me breakfast everyday that I was under your roof

Making me stay in piano lessons long after the stars in my eyes faded

Driving me everywhere I needed to go

Coming to performances

Consoling me everytime I thought my world was coming to an end

Giving me a hug when I crashed the car instead of yelling about how irresponsible I had been

Editing papers at midnight the night before they were due

Pushing me to try harder and expecting me to be better

Finding the gospel so I could grow up in a strong home

Sealing our family with Dad so we could be forever

Thank you for leading me, guiding me and walking beside me.

Thanks you for teaching me all that I must do to live with Him someday!

I love you, Mom!!

Boy did Disneyland leave lasting effects on the family.  Hudson managed to lose a tooth while we were there.  We are blaming it on his sucker.  He didn’t even realize he lost it.  He was eating a red sucker so it was quite the disguise for a recently lost tooth.  Since we couldn’t find it around the little bistro table where he lost it, I told him I refused to look further and we would just write the tooth-fairy a letter.  We believe it took a trip down south, via his throat, stomach, etc.  You get the idea.

Although I am so excited for Hudson in his new loss, I hurt a little bit as a parent realizing that he won’t be this little forever.  Don’t worry, I’m not getting teary-eyed over a tooth.  It is just another of those little stepping stones I was warned about.  The ones that are so gradual and sneaky that in 20 years from now, I will step back and say, “Where did the time go?”  I swear he just lost his first tooth.  Hopefully, I can just be here every minute of it and remember to enjoy it.

Yes, I am officially 29.  I know it’s not old, but I did realize that it is the last year of my 20s and I am a little bit sad to see them go.  I have some good memories in the last decade.  Okay, that was just painful to say it like that.  I definitely don’t have any desire to be 21 again, but mid-20s brough fun memories.  I’m wondering if subconsiously I chose Disneyland for my birthday because I was trying to get in touch with my inner youth.  On second thought, it was probably just the fact that I got a free ticket because it was my birthday.  Either way, my birthday was so fun and amazing.  I think it’s all in the company you keep. 

Since we went midweek in the off season it was an easy, no hassel day.  We had high 70s low 80s weather and just a little bit of cloud cover mixed with a sultry breeze. ..my kind of day.  I went with my good friend Amber and her kidlets(The kids even sang to me in the car, what a fun memory).  The kids got to ride all the rides they wanted to multiple times and even some they didn’t(I dragged Hudson onto Splash Mountain twice.).  We did cut Whinnie the Pooh off at 3 rounds though.  

We went straight from opening to closing with not a single melt down.  It was kind of fun to enter and leave with the crowd.  There is nothing like a mom’s bag ‘o tricks to help that process(You would laugh at the size of the bag I brought).  Yes, Amber managed to prevent a 4 person melt down in line.  Never underestimate the power of a Skittle.

(I apologize for my picture quality.  I didn’t want to lug around the normal camera so I had to use my phone and the lense was smudged with my fingerprints.)

After we rolled into home around 10:30, Will had a cake waiting for me along with a new digital camera(Cake is my favorite part of birthdays).

This is one of the moments I want saved forever.  I could hear him talking in a very animated from the other room and just had to come and check it out!  There’s nothing sexier than a man who can read a good story!