Parker is home and my Mom's 60th

My brother is home after serving a 2 year mission in Mexico!! He flew in August 11th into Wenatchee, so the whole family took a day and drove over to pick him up from the airport. It was so good to embrace in a hug and see his cute face! He is such a huge example to me of an optimistic and loving soul. He was away from family and friends for 2 years and had some good and bad experiences, but through it all stayed strong, lived the gospel and served a faithful mission. I am so proud of him and happy he is home! He was able to meet both Charley and Bergen too. He is so good with kids and loved playing with them the rest of the week while we were home. Love you bud and so happy you are healthy and home.

My mom also celebrated her 60th birthday while we were all home. So, naturally, we threw a surprise party for her! It was so much fun to plan and she had no idea! This is HUGE if you know my mom. She loves to surprise people but usually finds out things pretty easy, so to be able to keep this all from her was a huge success. She was very surprised when she walked into the room where everyone was and it was priceless just to see her face!
I also made her a book of memories where I contacted all her friends and family members and asked them to write a few things/or memory of my mom. It was amazing how many people responded with the nicest things about her. I loved reading each one as they sent them in. I got about 120 people who wrote something to our dear mother. She really does have such a huge, selfless heart and the way people talked about her definitely reflects who she is as a person, beautiful inside and out.
For her surprise birthday we set up a little treasure hunt for her to go on. We woke her up at 6:30am by going into her room and singing Happy Birthday and giving her her first clue. It was to get dressed and go on a walk with a few good friends. After she got back from her walk, her grandkids sang her a few songs and then my dad took her on a drive. They had a few more clues to find when the last one sent them to her favorite breakfast place where she thought it would just be her and my dad getting breakfast. They went upstairs where there were about 30 people to sing Happy Birthday to her and have breakfast together! It was a perfect surprise birthday! I am glad everything turned out so well because she definitely deserves the best. We love our mama!

Love this pic of us!