Happy Mothers Day to me

So I'm really learning how amazing grace is.  Because I'm far from a perfect parent.  And when your child sends you a card that makes you feel like the coolest person, I'm going to post it!  Haha!  I've been waiting 20 years for this.

Pretty sure this list says more about Elise than it does about me.  She has a knack for thinking everything is funny.  It really is the greatest skill.

Here are some of my favorite times with you:

- when you rolled down the sand dunes on your face 

- when you did a backhandspring while you were pregnant.

- car talks 

- when you come sit on my bed even if it's the middle of the night and ask how my day was 

- looking at house designs and interior design stuff 

- going to the gym with you even if you would wake me up way too early sometimes

- when you would wake me up early so we could go sledding 

- when you fight people when we are shopping because theres no seats in the dressing rooms (Disclaimer, I was pregnant, lightheaded, and when I moved a chair five feet into a completely empty dressing room was told it was a fire hazard.  Um no.)

- how much you love doritos 

- how you know more about everyone in my grade than I do because you get all the details from their moms or you stalk them on Instagram 

- how nobody can keep up with you because you walk too fast 

- when you hid dads "mountain dude" shirt 

- how all my friends tell you everything about their lives because you're the cool mom and you know who everyone is. 

- when you told Monet you would ground her if she didn't tell you who she kissed 

- when you and dad played just dance 

- when you spontaneously sing and dance in the kitchen 

- karaoke with your sisters, 9 to 5 

- getting mad at dad for saying someone throws "like a girl"

- the fact that you go rockclimbing with us 

- when Miles threw up your smoothie back into his cup

- when you killed Miles's fish and then acted surprised when he told you when we were in the car on the way back from the mall

- our whole family running to get coffee ice cream at midnight in Hawaii 

- when you went off that rope swing in lake Powell.

- when we got stranded at Jeremy's trading post on the way to our lacrosse tournament. 

- getting frozen lemonade from Chick fil a 

- going to pick out flowers and you know what every single one is called 

- going sledding 

- hiking in Provo canyon and ending up 10 miles away from our car and dad had to come pick us up. 

- snorkeling with whales and eating fruit on that little boat

- playing extreme hide and go seek

- going to Tsunami

- waverunners in Tahiti! 

- talking after dates in the middle of the night 

- Christmas traditions! 

- prom dress shopping 

- watching movies on Sunday

- sitting on the tub every Sunday while you do your makeup after dad already left us

- when you try to make sure our conversations stay normal at dinner or in the car but it never worked because Miles 

- paddleboarding in Bora Bora!! 

- when we went to Universal Studios and you wanted me to stay longer with you because you love amusement parks so much. 

- when Miles called us in the car after he had split a tennis pole and couldn't walk

- when we were in the car another time and someone called you to tell you to look at Miles's Instagram and he had just eaten 3 ghost peppers. 

- getting our nails done and getting Aubergine 

- when you drive to St George in like 2 hours. 

Bella Elise!

I sent her this little tripod for Christmas.  She laughed about it, but hey I think it was inspired!  Who knew she'd be doing Zoom calls all day!  Very handy.

Who knew a person could learn so much from staying in a little apartment for 13 weeks?  I’m pretty proud of Elise all the adaptations she’s had to make recently in Italy.  She has had a great attitude and is completely devoted to her purpose there.  They’ve worked hard in their teaching!  Providing English classes via zoom, tuning into cooking classes and devotionals set up by her mission president and his wife Sorella Browning.  I’m so grateful for the support she’s had.  They have had some incredible devotionals and firesides via zoom.  She gave me a list of all the things they have learned to cook and I’m kinda excited for her to come home and teach us how to cook Italian food!  One of my favorite scriptures is about how Christ makes weak thinks become strong.  Weak isn’t a word that is ever use to describe Elise, but I can see how her mission has strengthened her and helped her develop talents she never focused on before!  I had to laugh when I saw her acting in a skit for a Facebook ad, singing (even whistling lol) for sacrament meeting and cooking!  Those are all things she didn’t really do before.  If you knew Elise growing up, she was extremely shy for many years around adults and strangers.  On her mission she has had to meet and talk to so many people and she said it was her biggest concern before leaving. But she says it has not been hard at all.

So glad she’s been able to have this experience!  In 3 months she’ll be home with us!  Which makes me feel super happy. 

Here is a list of the things she's been cooking:

Lasagna Bergamasca

Polpette (Meatballs)

Papa a la Huancaina

Wonton Soup

Cuore Di Mucca

Tuscan Gaudi (Spinach Gnocchi)

Cioccolata Calda

Albanian Bean Soup

Carbonara al a Presidente

Ragu Bolongese

Risotto Milanese

Cinnamon Rolls

Tiramisu

Gnocchi

Tortellini Tre Pi 

Thanksgiving Point Gardens

We loved the Tulip Festival and the Farm.  It was actually really great that they were requiring tickets and only a small amount of people per time slot.  So nice!  It was absolutely beautiful.  I love the Gardens and it feels therapeutic to be there!  We loved the farm too.  All my kids were dying over the baby goats.  I was dying over the poor pregnant mama goat who looked like she had at least quads.  Her belly was soooo huge.

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