Party Time!

Last week was insane. 

As was this weekend. 

But oh so fun!

Mikey's birthday was on Wednesday so we did some fun little things for that. I got him "25 gifts for 25 years" and had him find things around the house throughout the day and then a few things after work. It was fun and he was a good sport about me making him follow my instructions. We went to dinner at Tucano's and then went to get our shop on at City Creek and Gateway. Mikey got some running shoes and found some dress shoes at Ross on the way home. I love his birthday. He's such a sweet boy and it's fun to have a day dedicated to him for once. :)

The next day was my mom's birthday. My step dad Nick threw her a surprise party over the weekend. I'll talk more about that in the pics below. :)

Friday we went to the temple, a wedding reception, and had dinner with my Dad and Tara. They are always so nice to cook for us. I love my dad's cooking. That's for sure.

On Saturday, my sweet friends Makenna and Kortnie put together a little baby shower for the little guy. It was really fun and they did such a good job with the decorations and food and all the other things that go into throwing a shower. I am so grateful for friends like them. Here are a few pictures. We meant to take some with the belly displayed but somehow forgot. I've got to get a grip on this picture taking business. That will be my mid-year resolution.

I forgot to get pictures of the guests, but I did manage to get one of my work girlies after everyone else had already left. They are so cute. I feel so grateful to get to work with them, they've become some of my besties.

Then later that day we went to my mom's surprise birthday party! We all met at Buca Di Beppo and had some dinner. She was super surprised and had lots of friends come to wish her a happy birthday! 

They had a DELICIOUS coconut cake for her too. I could have eaten the whole thing it was so good.  

Then on Sunday we celebrated Mothers Day with our Mothers. All 4 of them. They are all so special to us in different ways but we are grateful for all of them. The day started with Mikey speaking in church. He did a really good job and focused his talk on how to make sure we express love to the women in our lives. (mostly directed toward the guys I guess) But it was really sweet and I loved listening. I love when he talks in church and I get to listen instead of talking with him and being so nervous haha. Then after that, we went and visited our step moms and brought them a little gift. We have some awesome step moms who teach us lots by their examples. We wrapped up the day by hosting a Mothers Day dinner at our house for my mom and Mike's mom. It was fun to give them a break from hosting and they had a good time relaxing. Through the weekend, I thought a lot about the things I learn from each of the "mothers" in our lives and I wanted to write down some of the things that I love about each of my mothers. 

Michelle (Mike's step mom): Michelle is the sweetest lady. She's so compassionate and cares about everyone's feelings and how everyone is doing so much. She is always there to listen and will always make sure each child and grandchild feels loved and cared for. Such a good example of a good, nurturing mother. 

Tara (my step mom): Tara is the most generous person I know. We rarely go over there without coming back with some sort of gift or something sent home with us. She's also so fun to talk to and we always have fun around her. She always invites us over for dinner just to be nice, and best of all she shares Addie with us. Another thing I love about her is that she really tries to always make us feel welcome and loved and she'll always tell us how much Addie loves us. She's a really good friend to us which is really unique to have in a step mom I think. We love being around her.

Dawna (Mike's Mom): Dawna is a little party animal. She is always up for anything and it's so fun. She makes herself and others feel comfortable in all situations which is a rare quality I think. (Mike has taken after her which I always admire about him.) She is ALWAYS willing to help with anything. No matter what it is. She also is always willing to rearrange her plans or whatever she has going to spend time with us, which makes us feel loved for sure. She is so energetic and talkative. I admire her energy a lot of the time. 

And last but not least...

My mom (Darlene): My mom is the most organized lady in the universe. She labels everything. She is really productive and she's the type of person that sets goals and reaches them. She's not your typical teary-eyed, hugs all around mom, but I love her the way she is. She's driven and she tries hard to make God a part of her life each day, which I think is really admirable. We are really different and maybe a little bit opposite in a lot of areas, but she teaches me strength where I am weak which is really important. She's really smart and is really good at making decisions which I can definitely improve on. One thing really unique about her is that she is really hard to offend. She doesn't think into things a whole lot (like most of us crazy women) and I usually don't have to worry about ever unintentionally offending her by the things I say or do. She's really low-drama and it's refreshing a lot of the time. She's also really straight-forward. She will tell you what she thinks without the filter. I've learned that if I want the truth on something I can ask her and she'll pretty much always deliver. She's a good lady. 

I love all my mothers and hope everyone else had a great Mother's Day as well! Here's to more birthdays this week!  Happy birthday to Bethany, Jenn, Mikey, my mom, and me! 5 birthdays in 10 days! Woo hoo!