Eat. PLay. Laugh. Love. My Mom

SLC airport (Zac wanted to hold the sign)

Mom came out the last week of March. Mom and I talk about her visits out here. It’s like cooking a big meal. It takes s time and patience, and once it is served, it is amazing and delicious- but gone so quickly. We look forward and plan and wait and count and then she got here and it passed so quickly. We did have a great time. We played, ate and spent time together. I miss her hugs already.

Wednesday we shopped at Winco after making a menu. We really did buy about everything that we wanted. Mom’s basket was fun food and treats; she is such a fun mom and grandma. We had Café Rio for lunch. That afternoon, we played and then had fried chicken for dinner. I had mutual. That night we introduced mom to Last Man Standing and the Big Bang.

Thursday we went to the map store in Lindon that is a mom and teacher’s heaven. Teaching tools, fun toys, educational tools and games. Lots of Melissa and Doug. Mom bought the kids bases for kickball/baseball and jump ropes. We made a healthier version of a Reuben for lunch and headed to school for mom to join Jenna’s class for a 30-45 min lesson on Indiana and the adventures of Flat Stanley.
 I didn’t watch. I took the little boys for a walk and playing at the park across the street from school. 

Mom said that it went well, and I know Jenna was happy to have her Maw come to her classroom. That afternoon we went to the park after a pit stop at ShopKo for outdoor toys, like balls and bats for the kids. 

At the park, mom pushed the kids on the swings and played soccer with Jenna and Zac. That was fun. I loved having my mom there at the park with us. 

That night we ran down to Provo for Peruvian food with Lissa’s crew. We had Lomo Saltallo. That isn’t spelled right, but if you could taste it, you wouldn’t care either. We played bananagrams after the kids were asleep.

Friday were ran some errands and then mom made delicious tortellini soup for lunch. That afternoon we played outside and time flew by. Mom and I had a vision of a play area in the back yard and got some inspiration from pinterest. 

We started to dig out a sandbox area, and when Steve got home, I drug him to Lowe’s for 300 lbs of sand! We made some progress on the sandbox, ate homemade pizza, watched Teen Titans with the kids, and then put them to bed.

Saturday the weather was predicted to be blustery. We opted to work on the sandbox, and then go to the pet store or something when the wind picked up instead of going to the Zoo. The weather turned out to be perfect and the wind never really came. 

We finished up the sandbox and mom bought sand toys for the kids for Easter. They loved the sandbox! All day we played outside, we also watched the UK game. Mom made stuffed shells for dinner. After dinner, we girls left for the mall. Jenna had her hair cut and fixed at the salon. She was so pretty. Then mom and I made an unforgettable memory when we had our eyebrows threaded- mom is hilarious. 

We came home and played bananagrams again, this time with Zac, not Steve.

 Sunday we chilled out in the morning as it wasn’t a church day with it being Conference weekend. The weather had turned colder. I cleaned up and mom cooked for the masses. We had Steve’s siblings and their spouses and kids over. That was fun. Mom made possibly the biggest meatball/meatloaf ever. 

 Monday is early out, and so I said to heck with it, and let the big kids stay home on Maw’s last day. By 10:30am we were headed to swim. That is a big deal for 2 women who hate their bodies in a swim suit. We all had fun though! Trev was mom’s swim buddy. I love the Lehi pool. I think the temp was 98 degrees.
 Getting dressed in the dressing room afterward was nothing short of craziness. 

That afternoon, the kids and I put on a puppet show for mom, then watched the video playback and laughed our heads off. (I will upload that here). Then we headed to Pizza Pie Cafe for our last hoorah. Zac earn a coupon for reading, and so he felt like he treated. That was fun. Flat Stanley came too. That night mom and I, as per tradition, went through all of our pictures and sent them to Walgreens in Madison, so she could have them shortly after she got home. She packed her things, maybe slept 3 hours and headed for SLC at 4am.

Just like that I was missing her sitting in the front seat of the van with me again. I am so grateful that she chooses to come out here on her break when I know she could use that time “off” doing a million other things. Thank you mom for making me and my kids a priority in your life. I love you, thank you for EVERYTHING!