Salt Lake City Marathon

April 17Th was the Salt Lake City Marathon. I was super excited it for several reasons.

1-I was not running in it. I got to watch it.
2-My friend was running in it.
3-Mile 21 runs right by my Grandpa's house so all I had to do was walk to the end of the street and enjoy the fun!


Well I ended up running along part of the course (to help me train for my half marathon) but after I ran, I got to watch the marathon runners!! My neighbors set up an unofficial aid station at mile 21 so I was lucky enough to help them by handing out food and drinks to the runners. I was surprised at how many runners stopped to get something but my friend who ran it was telling me that it was the only aid station that had food. Crazy!! I won't lie, I was super grateful I was not running it myself. At mile 21, people don't look too fabulous and it brought back a lot of memories. :)

Here is my friend Jason and mile 21. He was so hungry that he stopped to talk to us while he ate.

While watching the finishers and all of the different looks on all of the their faces I couldn't help but think of my own marathon. I went back and read my blog post about it and I just have to apologize because I was so negative about my whole marathon. I still have mixed feelings about it but I am grateful I accomplished my goal of running a marathon! I sometimes think about running another one but it will be a long long long time from now. They are a lot of work. :) I do however, LOVE watching marathons. I was grateful I got the chance to watch the SLC marathon. I am so proud of all of those people!!! I couldn't help but cry as I watched the finishers! Yes I am a baby but I just love it!

On another note we got out our BBQ for the first time this year! We pulled out our little portable grill and grilled some steaks! They were fabulous!! I love Spring, even though it is snowing right now.

Dallas and Mindy

On April 9Th Brighton's brother got married! It was such a busy and crazy day that I did not take many pictures but after the whole party I did manage to get a couple. None of course of the couple or of family but of the car we got to decorate. Dallas, Brighton's brother, said we could decorate his car only and only if we were nice. So my sister in-law Christy and I spent all night blowing up balloons and putting up glow in the dark stars all of the car. We were so proud of ourselves until Dallas came out, said it looked great, and started popping all of the balloons! We just laughed and gave all the balloons to the little kids. We had fun.
In this first pictures you can see Dallas in the front seat popping all of the balloons.

I did manage to get one picture with the bride and my sister in-law, whom I decorated the car with, before Dallas popped all of the balloons.

Congratulations Dallas and Mindy!!

Grandpa Yates

My Grandpa Yates, whom we have the privilege of living with right now, turned 94yrs old on March 28Th. Can you believe it?? 94!!!
Every year for his birthday he likes to take everybody to Chuck-a-Rama. I am not sure when this yearly event started but it goes back long before I can remember. My grandpa mentioned this event for months leading up to his birthday because he loves seeing everyone and he loves being around them all. I didn't get very many group pictures this year but my favorite picture from the day is this one. Happy Birthday Grandpa!!!

Two of my Grandpa's brothers Don and Norman (turning 90 in June), my Grandpa, and his sister Belva.

Vegas

So for spring break and our anniversary we went to Vegas. It has changed A LOT from when I went there when I was younger but we still enjoyed it anyway. The pictures I have posted are not in sequential order but I don't have the energy to fix them. :)

These next pictures are of us at Hover Dam. That thing is HUGE. I didn't think I was going to be that impressed by it but I was wrong. I am amazed at the structure and even more amazed at how they built it. I could never get a really good picture of the Dam but I did get a great picture of the new bridge they are building for cars.

My sisters, dad, and Brighton.

Hoover Dam. Brighton and I.

We went out to eat at a restaurant for our anniversary and this was the desert they brought us.

Brighton and my dad (okay and me too) love to watch the show Pawn Stars. It is about a pawn shop that is located in Vegas. If you have not seen the show it is on the history channel and it is good. So we had to go visit the pawn shop. Since the shop was so popular there was a line to get into it and a bouncer, but it was well worth the wait. That place had some pretty cool stuff in it. The things I loved seeing the most were two super bowl rings that were on sale for $100,000. I have concluded the only people who would have sold their super bowl rings were crazy gambling people. They were awesome.

Proof we were there. My sister and I.

More proof we were there.

Proof that Brighton was there.

Our picture of the store sign while we were waiting in line.

The first night we were there my sister and I rode the New York New York roller coaster. It was crazy fun and I would recommend it to anybody. We also went to the Coca-Cola store and saw the bear.

And of course we went to the M&M factory.

We also saw Lion King, a Cirque de Soleil, and a fashion show. Unfortunately they would not allow cameras so I have no pictures but I would recommend them. One nice thing about Vegas is if they do something they do it well. The performances (minus the fashion show, that was just a small thing) were amazing. I would go back to Vegas just for those.

We had a fun time and I didn't want to come back but when I got back my daffodils had bloomed. Yay for spring!

Three years!

March 16Th was our 3 year anniversary! Brighton sent me flowers at work (I LOVE flowers) and we enjoyed a take out dinner from Pei Wei. Oh how the three years have flown!

Baby Mason

I got the chance to go visit my newest nephew, and the first nephew on my side of the family, Mason!!! My brother and sister in-law live in Nebraska so my mother and I flew out there to help out. We didn't get to stay very long (lame work) but I loved every minute of it and I even got to see the ginormous zoo again!
Here is a picture of Mason doing what most babies do. Sleeping!! He is so cute when he sleeps. And even though you can't see it very well in this photo, I love the outfit he is wearing. It is green and he looked so cute and cuddly in it!!

Here is a picture of their new family!!

Here is a picture of my Mom and now Grandma! I love this photo because Mason's leg is sticking out. Most of the time his legs were curled up but in this photo you can see his leg and see how skinny it was!

Here is a picture of my bother and Mason.

The day we left I got to help my mom give him a bath. For future reference, I am sorry Mason. I am a terrible bath giver.

Anyways, the first two days we were there Mason had his legs all curled up. But the very last day when we gave him a bath and his legs straightened out! He looked so much longer and he looked like he was already getting bigger! This photo is right after we gave him a bath. I LOVE this photo of him.

This is what Mason looks like now!! I am the luckiest Aunt in the world!

Spring!

March is here and I feel Spring in the air!! I am super excited for the new warmer weather and I am enjoying the rain! This month has already brought new surprises and much joy to this year! I was coming home after work one day and realized that my tulips and daffodils are blooming!!! This has been my first year planting them and I am so excited to see that I haven't killed them yet! I already love them so much!
Since my flowers are blooming I thought it would be fun to add a little bit of Spring to my house. My friend Amanda knows a lady who cuts wood and has a bunch of paint, so we went to her house and painted us a little bit of "Spring"! Besides the brightness the colors bring to our little place I love the sparkles on them. You can't really see them in the picture but they do have sparkles!

Tomorrow I am flying out to see my brand new Nephew. I am so excited to see the very first Nephew on my side of the family! Yay for March and all of the fun it has brought so far!