The ABC's of My MOM

I'm late in typing this post. Probably because it came to me late last night, and as always I get ideas in my head and half the time I don't complete them. But, I'll give it a whirl.

*DISCLAMIMER* This got really long! Read at your own risk.

The ABC's of Mom

Some letters may have a couple.

A is for Adventureland.
A fun family tradition. Every summer as kids mom and dad would plan a day at Adventureland. We'd usually drive down and get there when the park opened, although occasionally we'd spend the night at a hotel. They never let us eat in the park, but mom would ALWAYS pack a lunch in the cooler. We'd walk out and eat in a grassy area and have a little down time. One year our socks got soaked. so she hung them in a tree to dry! Mom couldn't ride much, but she always watched from a bench and was the designated purse holder.

B is for Birthdays
Mom always made birthdays special for us. We didn't always do big parties. Most were simple and at home with a few friends. One of my favorites was when she took my friends and I on a "penny walk" at night. All we did was take turns flipping a coin at each corner. Heads we went right. Tails we went left. So silly, but so fun!

C is for Cherry Hill and Caretaker

Mom spent countless hours at the Cherry Hill pool with us each summer. We'd swim and she'd lounge in a chair. She probably enjoyed the break from us now that I think about it! And she always had fruit snacks on hand for when we were "starving".

She is an amazing caretaker. Okay. I mean, she may not always enjoy it, but she really does a great job. She has taken care of Grandma so well after Grandpa died and then after her stroke. She's taken care of both of my sisters when they need her. And she's always there for  me. Hurt my back? She was here to help me with Daniel. Bed rest? Same.Plus she took Daniel to Iowa to care for him while I couldn't when I had to rest. Then she stayed for almost 2 weeks after James was born to help me.

D is for Driving Lessons, Dinner Bell and Dusseldorf

Lesson one. Don't take driving lessons from mom. We stressed each other out so bad. She let me drive in a trailer park and I didn't turn the wheel back and got us stuck in a snow bank. Some army guy pushed us out and then I got out and refused to drive with her again.

My mom legit bought a dinner bell and hung it outside the back door. When it was time to come in she rang the bell and we'd come a runnin'.

And Dusseldorf. Why Dusseldorf? Because one night we were really tired and watching House Hunters and the couple was buying a house there. For some reason the name Dusseldorf had us dying with laughter. Every time they said it we'd fall over laughing again!

E is for EWomen
Ah. What a fun trip to remember. It was a Christian women's conference that a few of us girls went to. We had so much fun eating out, reading a book on poop and meeting Karen Kingsbury. Mom snapped a picture and Karen struck a pose and said, "Oh! I have paparazzi!"

F is for Fall Fun
Need I say more? It's no secret that mom, Kendra and I have a HUGE love of Fall. We love all things fall. From pumpkin patches, to decorating, to candy corn. Oh, and lets not forget the time we made dad make us a bonfire and froze our butts off!

G is for Garth Brooks
Of course it is. :)  For years I said he would come back out of retirement and if he did she and I HAD to go! When he announced his return I may have called in sick to the Y so I could get tickets. I got tickets to the 2nd show in Chicago...and then ended up in the hospital with pregnancy complications. (Karma, right?) So....when he announced Omaha I of course decided a road trip was needed. I got us tickets...but to the late show. I mean, how late can late be? Well, it started at 11:30 and he played until 2:00am! We were so tired, but it was more than worth the memories.

H is for Hiking and HGTV
Mom planned lots of outdoor adventures for our family. A lot of weekends when it was warm we would go to a state park and hike the trails. We weren't like pro hikers or anything. We just enjoyed the walks. Mom always carried a backpack with a snack, water and dixie cups. I'm pretty certain Erica and I would be near death from starvation about a quarter of a mile into each hike.

Oh HGTV...you are forever our obsession. Any trip to Iowa wouldn't be complete without having a House Hunters marathon with mom and Kendra.

I is for Ice Cream
Dairy Queen to be specific. The best DQ trips were the ones where she'd take just me. A lot of times if I had a doctor appointment and she picked me up from school early, we'd stop at DQ on the way home. I'd always pray the car would turn in that direction. The best part was feeling special (because it was a secret. Even though I now realize she probably took Erica and Kendra out for special treats too). The other great part was getting to order whatever I wanted...which was almost always an Oreo or Reese's Pieces Blizzard. If dad came we could only get a cone or Dilly Bar.

J is for Janitor
Mom was the janitor at our church for several years growing up, which was awesome. Why? Because we'd go with her in the summer. Sometimes she'd make us help, but usually we'd have relay races in the gym, and have wheelchair races. She probably wanted to kill us because we were little heathens sometimes.

K is for Keokuk
Mom had a knack for planning interesting mini vacations, which we'd sometimes roll our eyes at, but dang they've made for some great memories. Like when we drove around looking for the "damn dam" or going on a tour of the Keokuk Lock and Dam. Yeah. We were the only ones on that tour and the guy seemed psyched that we were there and was super excited I had my camera. LOL! We were so bored, but it's so hilarious to think of now.

L is for Library
Mom ALWAYS took us to the Public Library. I can still smell it. Mmm. Anyway, the best times were in the summer when the reading program was going on. We got all kinds of great prizes. Plus, once a summer we'd go with our next door neighbor's and we'd all ride the city bus for an adventure. We'd eat the the downtown McDonalds and then walk to the library. So fun!

M is for Mimi
She's one of the best Mimi's around. She loves her grand kids...even through they drive her crazy sometimes too! She always has fun things planned for them to do or activities for everyone!

N is for Narveys
The worst little diner in the world. This isn't really mom specific because it was one of the only places open in the small town we were in in Wisconsin. We ate at this place, and there was one waitress...who I think was also the cook? Her name was Marie, but we've laughed for years because she pronounced it "Mooie" when she talked and asked if we wanted "flies" with our meals. Still pretty sure I ate a dog or something that night.

O is for the Orange Jello Salad Disaster of 2015
Long story short. Mom made her infamous orange Jello salad. It was on the top shelf of the fridge and wasn't set yet. I reached in for a slice of pizza, and somehow knocked the whole bowl down. Orange sticky liquid everywhere and the most pissed off mom you've ever seen. Thankfully we eventually laughed about it. Like when I yelled at her that I was washing the cheese! To this day they are still finding specks of orange around.

P is for Potholes
Because as you know, mom fell into one in St Louis thus beginning our day for you know where. The day that involved a bad race day for Kendra. Stitches for mom. Me passing out and hitting my head. And a tired 2 year old who was melting down.

Q is for Quality Time
Even with 3 kids, mom somehow found a way to have quality time with us. I loved when I'd get to go to the store with her alone. When we'd have a lunch date most Fridays at McDonald's my senior year of high school. And now when I go home to visit we always stay up late talking...well I usually keep her up. LOL! But I love those moments.

R is for Road Trips
Okay, I've covered some of those, but more there are more epic trips mom has taken us on. The Buffalo Farm will be one that will go down in Thatcher family history. She took us to a Buffalo Farm...and there were no buffalo. It was just this sketchy place that kept this big bear in a little cage.
Some great trips were to Florida, North Carolina and Michigan. Dad wasn't able to go to Michigan so we made it a girls trip which was a lot of fun...for the most part. Highlights were Cereal City and the sand dunes.
Last summer we road tripped to a dairy farm, which seems SO stupid. But we went with it to appease her. Yeah. It turned out to be super awesome. And thankfully there were cows. And kangaroos. Because kangaroos in Iowa seems perfectly normal.

S is for Simplicity
Mom taught us that not everything has to be big and fancy. She made things fun for us. We didn't have cable, but she'd take us to rent movies at Drug Town. We didn't have a giant swimming pool like some of our friends, but she'd fill our wading pool and let us run through the sprinkler for hours. She taught us to enjoy the little things in life.

T is for Tantrums
Yes, she dealt with plenty of those when we were growing up. I can think of 2 that took place in public. I generally wasn't like that, but both of these times I was passionate about getting the shoes I wanted. She wanted to murder me, I'm sure, but we got through it. She also dealt with my fits about foods I didn't like and plenty of other ridiculous things.

U is for Undercover
Is it not normal for a mom and daughter to buy disguises and follow someone around like stalkers? Oh...we bad. We sucked at it anyway. Plus what were we even thinking? I think all we bought were sunglasses. Like the person we followed wouldn't notice the BOAT of a car we used to have. Bahaha!

V is for Verses
Mom played a HUGE role in my relationship with God. She (and dad) took us to church and were always very involved. She worked in AWANA on Wednesday nights and helped me memorize my Bible Verses every week. For that I am so grateful.

W is for World Changers
Going on mission trips with your mom when you're in your early teens doesn't seem all that fun, but let me tell you, it was. Plus she was my voice of reason and the one I could vent to. The one who could help me escape for awhile if I needed to be alone. We traveled to Effingham, IL, Nashville TN and Youngstown, OH together...and lived to tell about it even though the town was run by the mafia.
PS..."MAKE A HOLE!"

X is for XMas.
Yeah. Kinda cheating there, but what else is there!? Mom made Christmas fun every year. Santa visits, tree decorating (after she got done cursing the lights she had to string up), Christmas music, looking at lights and so much more. Christmas was always special!

Y is for Youth Group
Kind of falls in with the mission trips, but having my mom as part of my youth group days was actually pretty great. I'm thankful that she set that example for  me.

Z is for Zoos
Because again...there's just not that many Z words. As a kid she had to practically DRAG me to the zoo because I said they were stupid. Now I LOVE going, and I've even got to go with her as an adult. Although, my 3 year old at the time was not overly pleasant that day. :)

Whew. I made it. She's the only one that will read this whole thing, but I'm glad I did it and I finished it!

I love you, Mom! Happy Mother's Day!