Wyoming (Nov+Dec) plus Grandma W's 60th Birthday Party!

We have been working hard to help my mom and dad with their house! They now have kitchen cabinets (and as of the time of writing this post they also have countertops, whoo!) but not a kitchen sink, a washer/dryer OR their new floors. All of that is coming soon though and there is a lot of work to do to get everything ready. Among other things, this trip we needed to repaint the whole living room area (plus the ceiling). The kids were great helpers and we got it done! These are probably the last pictures with this blue carpet in here - but I just have to say how happy this carpet makes me and how much I love it. I remember when my grandparents got this new carpet and how soft and amazing it was. The whole house is changing so much - which is a good thing, it's going to be such a good place for my parents to live - but also kind of crazy to see it look so completely different from what it was. 

Of course, no trip to Wyoming without a little bit of fun! My dad and I took the kids sledding on the back hill. These kids are so lucky that they have a grandpa who is willing (and excited about) letting them sled down the hill and then driving the ranger down to the bottom to pick them up again and again and again. 

This picture is the only picture I have from our visit in December. You can see the new floor (!) and the painted laundry room area. Austin is working to put the cover back on the dryers electrical outlet. (Funny story, we accidentally dropped one of the screws and it slid down next to the dryer exhaust pipe into the insulation. We tried SO hard to find it and get it out but to no avail. Austin did a great job helping replace all of the outlet covers in any room that needed replaced. Progress is being made! 

This also feels like the right place to add my mom's 60th Birthday Celebration.

My mom turned 60 on November 23, which just happened to be the day that we were planning to host our  annual Walker Thanksgiving. The only thing that she wanted for her birthday was for the whole family to go to the new movie "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever". We made plans to eat dinner at Melissas and then go to the movie, until we realized that it stopped showing in theaters on the 22nd. Long story short, we ended up meeting up a couple of weeks early so that we could go to the movie together instead of waiting for her birthday. That's probably more information than I needed to write here - but I just wanted to emphasize how much my mom wanted to do this and how fun it was to be at the movies with our whole family. 

My kids and I listened to the audiobook in the week leading up to the movie and finished it right as we were pulling into the parking lot. (I took an extra loop around the parking lot to get in the last minute, ha.) The storyline is so sweet and the movie was fun and funny. 



We love these people are are so happy to celebrate such a big birthday for my mom! 

I love this mother of mine and I am so incredibly grateful to have her in my life. She taught me how to be a good mother and is a wonderful grandmother. 

One thing I will always be grateful for are her kind words that echoed repeatedly through my teens and college years "You're the perfect size, you're beautiful, you are normal, you're just the way you should be." That sounds weird to write it out, but the end result from my moms consistent and loving reassurance was that I never felt like I was "fat", even if my friends wore smaller pant sizes. My confidence was steady and I felt comfortable in my body - always believing that your weight doesn't impact your worth. My mom gave me so much more than just that and I'm grateful for all of her love, all of her sacrifice, and for being my mother. 

Happy 60 years, Mom!