Like Mother, Like Daughter

Well I have a pretty heavy heart right now, I'm fighting back the tears with all my might...because my closest friend just got on an airplane to go back home to St. George!...That's right, my mommy. The hardest thing about living in California is being SO far away from my mom. We are best friends and tell each other EVERYTHING. I believe with all my heart we were best friends in the pre-existence and this was Heavenly Father's way of keeping us together throughout eternity.

It all started Friday night when, at 8:30 P.M...we decided to go to Utah on a whim, for the weekend! So we threw our laundry into the trunk, packed a small bag, and in 15 minutes we were on our way. We stayed in Primm that night because the hotel was only 38 dollars, and they are pet friendly so we could take Figaro...he had his own bed because instead of giving us a King bed, they gave us two queens...idiots. oh well, Figaro appreciated it! So the next morning we got up at our usual time.... 5:50 A.M...because I work so early and our bodies are used to the early hour. We had gotten about 5 hours of sleep, but once you're awake, you're awake right? So we hopped in the car and finished out the drive. I LOVE to surprise people so my family of course had no idea we were coming! We walked in the front door to find Desi eating breakfast with her friend, and my mom digging through the freezer. Desi's eyes popped open big, but she didn't say anything, she let my mom be surprised herself! And yes...she was surprised. She couldn't believe we were standing right there! Lady and Inka flipped out when we walked in with Figaro so that was what alerted her to even look over. My dad eventually wandered out from cleaning the bathroom because of all the commotion and was just as surprised! I LOVE surprising people...like really I do. It's one of my favorite things! :)

So after a fun short weekend in St. George which was spent doing laundry and going shopping (I got 12 boxes of cereal and 6 boxes of oatmeal for 18 dollars...you people living in Utah don't know how good you have it...that would have cost 50 dollars here!!!) and going to Swiss Days where it was SO flippin hot. I honestly forget what dry heat feels like until I go back! That's one thing I don't miss! I got to see some old friends and enjoy seeing some aunts and cousins too! It was a real quick visit but I was missing my Lady so what was I supposed to do!?
Um this was the head on a stick that scared everyone about a hundred times all weekend.. it looked SO real!!! ha ha

Yeah don't worry...I may not like my husband kissing someone skinny as a stick, but since she IS a stick it's all good.

Lady got a hold of a piece of lettuce and went wild with it. Have I mentioned how much I love my dog???

Haha she saw Figaro's piece I gave him and would NOT accept that...so she eyeballed it and eventually stole it back! haha


Well Sunday rolled around and as we were planning what time to leave my mom said "Hey why don't I drive down with you and fly home later?" Long story short Lady wanted to come too, but my mom was the one who got to come! It was SO fun stopping at Primm for 20 minutes to shop and getting to Cali by 11:15 that night! I have such a great husband that just loves my mother and doesn't mind the visitors I have all the time!!!

So we enjoyed the week together, mostly shopping at my mom's favorite stores here at South Coast...H&M and Coldwater Creek. We also went to JC Penney and got some GREAT deals with their 70% off sale! My mom is SO good at finding a bargain! We went out for dinner on Monday to Souplantation..yum. Then we spent the evening just hanging out and watching TV. Sorta lame but whatever. Tuesday my mom came to my office and surprised me with a Blue Rasberry Icee...my new favorite treat. She got to meet all my bosses and co workers and got to see me in action! She was blown away at the stuff I have to do at work. I loved making her proud :) My boss even told her she'd done a great job raising me, and I know she was bursting with pride to have so many people admire her first born daughter :)


My mom took me grocery shopping and got us lots of good stuff at Henry's, a cute little market with really good prices on produce. I appreciated her so much, helping me come up with good dinners to make and getting my ideas going. After more shopping we got home and I found my apartment cleaned so SO nicely! My mom is a clean freak and as I've gotten older I've only come to appreciate how meticulous she is! I know my clutter drives her crazy, but she knows she can't change me haha.

We spent another night perched on the couch because I had bought 4 seasons of my current favorite show, REBA...so that was fun! My mom understood that since our days here start so early, we're burned out after dinner. I promised to have a fun night the next night though!!...


This is a Betsy/Kirsten funny moment we had...we were following this car for a while, and then through the McDonalds drive thru. They had such a HUGE dog in the backseat it looked like a werewolf! HAHA! So we were narrating for the dog saying things like "Did you guys get me anything? What'd you get? I got the nuggets...dang" hahaha my mom and I have the stupidest humor and you really have to know us to get us, but we have a great time :)


SOOO as promised I was able to have such a fun night last night with my mom, Ben and my boss, Chris! Chris found out my mom was in town and offered to take us on a harbor cruise in his Duffy Boat! It was SOOO much fun! He showed us around his house that he is fixing up, which is right in Newport Harbor, and then loaded us all in his boat and we cruised for about 2-3 hours!

This is Chris, driving the boat. Isn't he such a nice looking guy?

Ben and I on the boat

We really live in one of the greatest places...you can see why it's overcrowded. Who wouldn't wanna live by the ocean?

I captured a funny awkward moment as Chris got all chummy with Ben! We stopped at Blue Water, docked the boat and had happy hour appetizers! We got clams, calamari and burger sliders. We got it all for like 2o bucks, but if you eat there for dinner you'll end up spending about 120! Thanks Chris!

A bit blurry, but you get the idea...

As we were pulling away from the restaurant Chris pointed out all the jellyfish! OH MY GOSH!!!

My beautiful mother and me. I love her so dearly.

Ben keeping me warm...don't know why I wore my swimsuit. Oh well...

Chris cruising us around...what a great guy eh? We had a lot of fun last night and really loved the tour! We've seen everything from the street but never from the water like that!

Today was my mom's last day with me. She came into my office for the last hour then we thought of something to do to for our last hour before she had to leave...we were going to get frozen yogurt but saw the sign for a 12.99 pedicure! So we went in and pampered ourselves! It ended up being 26 dollars when all was said and done...haha five dolla more? hahaha but still worth it!

I managed to capture a quick picture of our toes as I dropped my mom off at the airport. We are such late people, my mom BARELY made her flight!!! She's landing in two minutes and I've been blogging the whole time she's been in the air!

Take a minute or two to appreciate your mother whether she is far or near...especially those of you who are lucky enough to live close to your moms! You don't realize how good you have it! I'm so grateful my mom gave me some good tips and advice while she was here, cleaned so nicely and left her sweet spirit in our home. I'm so lucky to have her in my life and to know we can be together forever as an eternal mother and daughter!!!