The subject is not very sharp leading you to think that the background was the more important aspect.... yet it is not in focus either. There is nothing that really stands out...
Center compostion of a subject doesnt work most of the time, might had cropped tighter on the left side, other than that the image is just ok for me............4
Perhaps a tighter crop, and moving the subject to one side or the other (Preferabley the left in this case) would help here. When taking photographs such as these, divide the shot into thirds, and place you subject on one of those lines....this is just a general rule of course, but it really works.
With a backyard like that I wouln't be bored ;-) Nice view! To improve the shot I would have cropped it to the right to offset your mom to the right as to show a bit more of the background yet still have her in the photo in one of the 3rd's lines. But still like it.
Beautiful place where to live!!! Congrats!!! :))
About the picture, light is too bright, maybe playing with the exposure would help. Also I would have used a different composition, using the rule of thirds would add dynamism to the picture. Good luck :) (6)