Part 2: A person to celebrate, my Mom

My beautiful mother turned 60 on June 23rd. I waited to do this post because her milestone birthday was the reason for our Hawaii trip.

Maybe this little montage is silly but I know she will read it and its my way of sending a little more birthday love and gratitude to the amazing woman I get to call my Mom.

There are so many pieces that make up my mom. She is a born care taker. She is the only person I want around when I am sick and the person I go to whenever I need advice. She is my rock. Growing up she was a fun but strict Mom. She was creative and always pushed me to work hard. She made learning fun, one of the first presents I can remember was a chemistry set. She never let me quit, if I signed up for it, I had to finish it. There were times I cursed her and she would say "that's fine you feel that way but I will always love you!"

To me she was and is the perfect Mom. 

She (and my Dad) nurtured my love for traveling.

The deep importance of family.

I have never heard my mother speak an ill word about her family or her "in-laws", she doesn't like the word "in-law" because we are all just family. My Grandma June is someone my mom always strives to be like. If my mom has a hero in this lifetime, it is Grandma June. My Grandpa Marv (her dad) is her strength, the person she learned her hard work from. If you ask her "these two went straight to heaven, no questions asked!"

Her love for God and family feed her philosophy of "being there in the moment and supporting your family no matter what" She thanks God every day for the moment she is in....

She has taught me about the patience and devotion of marriage.

I truly believe my Dad is her soul mate but she will be the first to tell you 38 years of marriage doesn't come easy. "The love part is easy. If you have respect for each other and the desire to see each other succeed, you can make it work! Prayer is never a bad thing either"

Those were her words of advice on my wedding day.

My Mom was born and raised in Lake Arrow Head, California. She is one of eight children, two girls and six boys. She is the second oldest. She grew up in a loving and deeply religious family. She is a rule follower, a straight A student, and was Cheer captain in high school. She went to UCLA as a pre-med student and as my dad describes her "she was a flower of innocence in a short skirt who had a drive to succeed stronger than anyone I have ever met."

She is the only girl my Dad ever brought home to meet his family.

In the early 70's my parents packed up there VW van and moved west to Colorado. They lived in a small cabin in Woodland Park. I am pretty sure my mom wore no bra and had flowers in hair...but she was in love and this rule following girl began to move out of her comfort zone.

My Dad suggested they become engineers and they applied and were accepted at the Colorado School of Mines. My Mom is a natural born nerd and I have heard her friends from Mines joke about her always running the curve. She finished her BS in Chemical engineering in 3.5 years and with a 4.00.

Ten years later, she finished her master's in Environmental Engineering while working full time and having two children. How did she do it all? She is a freak of nature:) and put sleep on a back burner. These are traits she did not pass on!

My mom is a HUGE animal lover, another thing she has passed on. I can not tell you how many animals we took in over the years or how she always convinced my dad that "dogs are meant to be inside animals and one more kitten wouldn't hurt."

She loves the outdoors and the Colorado Mountains, the place they still call home.

She is neat freak and one hell of a cook.

She brings a new meaning to the word "hard worker," in my professional years she has taught me so much technically and personally about being a woman in a male dominated business. She is kind and direct and her clients love her.

Some of our family friends (life long friends made at Mines) threw my mom a birthday bash this summer. These are people that I have known my whole life and who's children I have grown up with. It was so awesome to hear their stories and toasts to my Mom. To hear that their love and respect for her is so similar to mine. My mom is so humble and though it is hard for her to be the center of attention I know this dinner meant so much to her.

How cool is it that this woman who is my best friend is also the grandmother to my son? She is the person (along with Matt) who did not leave my side the entire time I labored and had a C-section with Mason.  And hopefully she will be right there again when we have another.

So when we asked her how she wanted to celebrate her 60th we were not surprised to hear she wanted to travel and celebrate with her kids and grand kids. No big celebration, no surprises, just simple....she really didn't want it to be about her but about us...but of course we were having none of that!

So us kids hired a personal chef for the evening!  

Who pampered us with amazing food and service.

The kids laughed and made S'mores well into the evening hours

And we dined on Mahi Mahi and pork tenderloin 

And at the end of the night my selfless mother let Mason blow out her candles....than we ate the most amazing upside down pineapple cake and drank champagne. We gazed at the stars late in the night and just "sat in the moment!"

Happy 60th Mom, We are so blessed to have you in our lives. There is no other that could be my mother:)

We love you!