Happy Birthday Mom

Today, my mom is 53, and as my dad would say, "Smokin' Hot." 

Favorite Foods: Salmon Fish & Chips, Eggplant Parmesan, Cafe Rio Pork Salad 

Favorite Desserts: Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling from Schmidts Bakery, Chocolate Lasagna from Olive Garden (discontinued, but if you order a birthday cake, you get a smaller version that tastes almost as fabulous)

Favorite Movies: Hook, O Brother Where Art Thou, Young Frankenstein, The Great Race

Favorite Vacation Spot: Hawaii

Favorite Childhood Memories: 

• One year, they saved their money in quart jars all Winter long (they cut a hole in the lid and taped the lid down so they couldn't open it) and went to Disneyland with that money.
• When she was 12 her Dad rented a boat and they went to Flaming Gorge.  This was the first time that she skied, and it has been a life-long passion ever since.
• She loved camping at Lake Powell.
• When she was really young, Aunt Helen always had breakfast on Christmas morning and it seemed like there were tons of people.
• They went to Escalante every Thanksgiving.  They would make their beds in the station wagon (Ah, the days before seatbelt laws), and they would leave around 3 in the morning.  She remembers waking up watching the sunrise from their station wagon beds.  One year, they ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere.  She remembers her dad walking around the corner and walking back about 20 minutes later.  I guess someone saw them on the side of the road, stopped, and they just happened to have a gas can full of gas in their car.  They gave it to her dad and it was enough to make it to the next gas station.  
• She remembers picnics at Aunt Vivian's house in the summer.
  

Favorite Places to Shop: Gardner Village (especially the quilt shop), bookstores

Favorite Thing in the World: Having her family over for Sunday Dinner.  Having her grandchildren run around the house and hear their happy screams and laughter.  (She assures me that one day I will cherish the chaos as well.)

Least Favorite Thing To Do:  Dishes and clean the baseboards

One Item on Her List of "Things To Do Before I Die": Sky Dive

Big Birthday Wish: A new bedroom set

If She Had a Million Dollars (with inflation, it's probably more like 5 Million): She would go to Lake Powell (on a decked-out houseboat) every summer and Hawaii every winter.  She said she would take us with her.  Thanks, Mom.  One day, I hope you win the lottery!  I can think of nothing I would like better than to spend the summer on a Utah beach and the winter on a Kauai beach - with you!

I sure do love you!  And my kids would erect a statue to you in the front yard if we would let them.  It would probably be pink (Macy's favorite color) with every child packed tightly on your lap.  You would most likely be reading them a story and sneaking them chocolate milk in baby bottles.  Happy Birthday!