Mothers day weekend

There are a few real perks to being a Mom.  

Staying up past the kid's bedtime watching M*A*S*H and eating chocolate.  Perk.

  

Telling your kids that "the only thing you want for Mother's Day is for them to all join you on a walk through a field of shooting starts" and they actually agree to do it.   Definite Perk.

Kinda played the ol' Mother's Day card perfectly, eh?  

Whatever gets them loaded into the van without complaint, that's what I say;)

It was an absolutely beautiful day!   

The sun was out and so were the shooting stars for that matter to.

We walked a short ways up the Red Rock road and I could not believe how stunning the ground looked all carpeted in vibrant green and purple.   Life after a wildfire is pretty darn pretty.   

While Sam barraged us with questions such as, "Why are we doing this again?" and "When can we go?" the rest of the kids happily walked along enjoying each others company and finding all sorts of fun along the way.  

This garter snake was one of their finds, though I wouldn't call it a fun one.  

Ew...Ew...EW!!!

We spent the rest of the evening down by Upper Waterton lake paddle boarding and soaking up the beauty of a perfectly calm spring evening.  

I'm pretty sure that I could paddle board forever and never grow tired of it.  

At one point Jessica and I took our boards right up to the shoreline on the west side of the lake to inspect the dozens of little waterfalls that we could hear cascading over the edge of the mountain.  The air was cool in the shadow, the water was trickling all around us, and the burnt floor of the mountain was COVERED in bright yellow glacier lilies.   It was stunning!!!

I breathed in deep (deep breathes of cool mossy air are the best) and thanked God right then and there for that beautiful moment. 

Sigh...Peace.

Perfect Mother's Day Gift!

Sunday morning, the kids made breakfast in bed, filled me up with gifts and cards made at school, and even agreed to take a photo or two with me before we headed off to church.  

Abby spoke in Sacrament meeting today and I was so touched by her Mother's Day message. 

She is a sweet soul, a deep thinker and has a tender heart in moments like this.  I love that about her!

Abby and I were both presented with our Young Women's Personal Progress medallions today.   

It felt so good to be finished and I loved that Abby and I got to finish and receive them together.  

After church we learned that Jewel, Ava, AND Mya all received theirs on the same day as well.  

What are the chances?

Of course we had to pose for a picture;)

We ate supper outside on the back patio while we listened to birds chirping and bees buzzing and then wrapped up the night by visiting Grandma Hardys grave together.  

What a special and wonderful woman she is and how grateful I am to know that my kids have three angel Grandparents looking after them!

If I could be half the Mom that Marilyn or my own Mother were - 

I would be a happy mamma indeed!!