10 Loves Friday- Mother Edition!

So it’s my mom’s birthday soon and we are going to Hawaii to celebrate. We are going to have such a fun time and I can’t wait!! In honor of her, I am going to dedicate my 10 Favorites Friday to her. Here are my top 10 favorite memories with my momma. :)

1.       My wedding! I got to spend a lot of time with her during the cruise and the reception and I loved every minute of it. If only I could convince her to move back to California!

2.       HS Graduation Mexico Cruise. My mom, Grandma (Auntie Bobo) and I went on a 3 day Mexican Riviera for the 4^th of July the year I graduated HS. It was so much fun dressing her up and convincing her to do a fashion shoot in the cabin window. If only she wouldn’t kill me for posting pictures!

3.       Jack in the Box Christmas! This is an old family tradition that we had as a joke. My uncle & aunt would come over for Christmas and we would all pile in the car and head over to Jack in the Crack. We were all obsessed with their tacos & my uncle didn’t have a JITB where he lived…so we had our yearly feast! About 30 tacos, and a little more weight in the mid-section later, we left. Oh how I miss those days!

4.       Country Christmas. This was only last month, but it was so much fun going to that concert with my mom! It was her first country concert and it was one I am sure the 3 of us won’t forget. It gave us a ton of inside jokes and lots of laughs.

5.       Her 40^th birthday in Calistoga. The tradition that is taking us to Hawaii in two weeks started with her 40^th birthday. I decided that I wanted to do something big for her since it was a big birthday & she never did anything nice for herself. She was always doing things for my sister and I, which left her either no time or money to treat herself. My dad helped me find a great spa in Calistoga and the two of us went for a mini weekend of pampering and good food. I will never forget her face when she sunk into the mud bath for the first time! Hopefully we can continue this tradition…I mean it does give me 10 years to save for things! :)

6.       Our Starbucks trips. We all know I love my Starbucks! Well my mom does too, but she never goes. The joke is every time she comes to Cali to visit we manage to squeeze in a Starbucks run. She never remembers what her drink is so I always have to remind her. Gotta love it!

7.       My 21^st birthday. We all know I am obsessed with the SF Giants because of my Grandpa Pete. So instead of going to a bar for my 21^st, the way most people do, we went to a Giants game! The big surprise was my name (along with my grandpa’s because we shared the same birthday) was on the jumbotron. It was the best birthday ever!

8.       The constant battle for my mom to wear makeup and get dressed up! This is probably one of my favorite things because she will wear makeup when I am around, but I know she forgets when I am not. One day she will remember on her own! :)

9.       2009 Halloween. I went to AZ to visit her right before Halloween and I had a blast. We went to Haunted house/maze festival and to Tombstone. Of course there was a ton of shopping thrown in there as well!

10.    Piano. I remember driving to Piano with my mom from somewhere and she got pulled over for speeding in our neighborhood. The piano teacher lived like 10 houses away from us and we were like 6 blocks from our house. She told me that it may take a while, so I should just walk there. I had to have agreed because the next thing I remember was being about half way there (walking) and my mom drove passed me smiling and waving! She got off with a warning (so it was fast) and didn’t stop to get me. Instead I walked the whole rest of the way mad at her. I laugh about it now because I still remember her face as she drove by and my reaction to it. :)

I am sure most of you have had the opportunity to meet my mom & I know if you have you are a better person for it. I am so lucky to have been blessed with her as my mom and I hope the next two weeks fly by for her. Hawaii here we come!!

Happy (early) 50^th Mommy!