70 Years of Memories

My mom turned 70 yesterday.

It was somewhat lost in the shuffle of a busy Thanksgiving Day.

We didn't forget her birthday (aka Sixteen Candles).

The plan to celebrate her milestone of 7 decades came tonight. My family and I have been arranging a birthday dinner for my mom for a weeks now. It was one of those "on-again", "off-again" kind of parties. Finally, last Sunday it was officially "on-again" so we set the guest list and made the final plans.

Everything went really well tonight. We went to the Mandarin in Bountiful and celebrated in style. My mom's cousins were there, her sister, and our whole clan came. We were a little worried about taking Big D out to a restaurant like the Mandarin, but somehow we managed to survive and the evening came off without any major issues. After dinner, it was back to my sister's house for a little pie and ice cream and then it was time for the presents.

We created a few little memories of my mom's 70 years to give to her for her birthday. For the past couple of weeks Jason, Alicia, and I have been assembling a fun book to give to our mom. It contained some great pictures of her life and it really turned out nice. Since, we had all the pictures together I also created a video of them as well. My mom usually doesn't want any fanfare about her, but this was a moment where we wanted to reflect on what a great life she's had so far.

Mom - I don't say it often enough, but I love you very much. You've always been there for me throughout my life with support and encouragement. Whether it was homework when I was a kid, or sharing your time and resources with me as an adult - I know I can count on you. Thanks for being such a great mom. Happy Birthday.