June

Here are our happenings for the month of June

My Birthday:
I had a good birthday. When Joe got home from work he took me to my favorite pizza place for dinner! It was soooo YUMMY!! We came home to have cake and Ice Cream with Gabe and open presents. Joe made me a very tasty ice cream cake. I think I almost ate it all myself. As for presents I got money from my parents and in laws:) Joe get me tickets to see Carrie Underwood at the Stadium of Fire!!! (which by the way was totally awesome!)
Anyways...we put Gabe to bed and then went to the movies. We went to one theatre to find out they shut down the theatre for all the crazy Twilight fans. Eclipse was coming out at midnight I think. Luckily, we were able to find a theatre that still played other shows. We watched Grown-ups. I thought it was cute and I had a good time. Thanks to Joe for a wonderful birthday.

Fathers Day:

I sure hope Joe had a good Father's Day. We love him very much and we are very grateful for how hard he works for our family!

M&M bow tie. Behind it is a collage picture of Gabe and Daddy. He also got some work clothes as well as a new set of scriptures.

Utah Valley Half Marathon:

On June 12 I finished my 3rd half-marathon. Thanks to Jenny (Joe's sister) for getting me to do it. I actually ran the race with my brother-in-law (Mike) and Jenny. Mike and I did the half and Jenny did the full. I really enjoyed running with family. I was able to knock 9 minutes off my time from the Country Music Half that I ran in April. Not nearly as fast as Mike and Jenny but I was happy with my results. I just hope that I can continue to improve. Thanks Mike and Jenny for running the race with me and way to go!! Also thank you to all my family that was there to support me at the end of the race! (Joe, Gabe, Dad Dean, Brandi, Gram, and Grandpa Marquiss)

Mike and I after the race. Jenny was doing the full so she came in a little after us so I wasn't able to get a picture with her.

A couple of my favorite supporters:)

Fun with the Camera

Gabe's favorite word: outside. Gabe's second favorite word: water or "wa-wa". You put those together this is what you get.

I love this last one!

Pictures

Here are a few pictures I have been meaning to post for a while. I know you would much rather see pictures than hear me rambling on. Most of them are from my trip to Tennessee, Mother's Day and around Joe's graduation when Bailey came to visit.

Graduation Day. One of his favorite toys.

Mowing with Daddy

This was on Mother's Day. He had planted a flower the day before at a nursery. This is him giving it to me.

Mother's Day present. I also got a yummy breakfast in bed. I can't find the picture of it though.

Picture with my little guy for Mother's Day

Goodbye kisses

These next two pictures make me laugh every time I see them. (Look at his face) He just wanted to wrestle with Bailey for some reason.

Getting Bailey... again... she seemed to enjoy it.

Oma and Gabe

Gabe loves "baby" Carter. What he doesn't realize is that he is still a baby too:)

BOO!

These next few pictures... Gabe would not stop saying "outside" I figured I would put him out in the rain so he wouldn't want to be outside. I was WRONG! He loved every minute of the rain. Look at that face!

Yes, he is trying to drink the water!

Run, Gabe. Run.

Marshmallows... he loves them!

Please

Will someone please tell me what is wrong with this picture!
(Yes, this was today.)

Joe's Birthday and Graduation

Joe's birthday was April 20th. I know this one pictures looks like we didn't do much but I promise it was a lot better than it looks. Joe had been talking a while about wanting to get out for a little but so he didn't have to worry about school. So... I surprised Joe 5 days early. Joe's parents were nice enough for watching Gabe. (THANK YOU!)I took him out to dinner and a movie. Then we stayed the night at a bed and breakfast. I thought he probably suspected something but he really had no idea:) We had never been to one before but we really enjoyed it. It was so nice to just sit and relax and not have Joe worry about his 30 + credits he was taking. The Sunday before his birthday we had a family party with the usual meal of hamburgers, milkshakes and nutty torte.

The day after Joe's Birthday I headed to Nashville for the race. I came back on the 28th. I was talking with Joe on the way home how I really wish he would walk for his graduation. He gave in! He checked on it the next day and was able to! It was good to see him walk. He deserved it! He worked so hard this past year. I know I always say how proud I am of him but I really am. Joe works so hard in everything he does! I really admire that about him. Here are some pictures of the big day and the supporters. Although after going through the pictures I noticed two of them were missing...BRANDI!!!!! (Our sister-in-law-Brandi and their daughter Bailey)

Happy 27th Birthday!

Way to go Joe!

Joe's Parents

Joe with his grandparents

Joe and I

Congrats KissDaddy and Gabe

Dean Boys

Country Music 1/2 Marathon

I went to Tennessee about 2 weeks ago to run the Country Music 1/2 Marathon for the 2nd time. This year it was my brother Nathan, his wife Charity, and me. The race went well! It went better than I could have planned for. The weather for the race was calling for thunderstorms and rain. I was praying so hard that we had neither. When we woke up it was drizzling a bit but when the race started it was so nice. There was no rain and the sun was out for a little bit. We lucked out during the race. The weather was nice and overcast and that was it. IT didn't start raining or storming till after we got into our car. Although it worked out for us, others were not so fortunate. I know a lot of marathoners were directed to do the 1/2 due to the weather.

I can say I felt 100% better than last year running than this year. The weather was not nearly as hot and dreadful as last year and I did a little better preparing for the race this year. I felt a ton better when I crossed that finish line. I even knocked 15 minutes off my time from last year! YEA!! AND no hospital visits this year:) I really enjoyed the race this year. I will have to thank Nathan and Charity for running it with me this year. I don't think I would be able to do it if y'all didn't do it with me! It wouldn't nearly have been as much fun. Thanks Charity for running with me the whole time! Can't wait till next year!
On a sad note, It has been so crazy to see that Nashville has been flooded so badly. I look at all those pictures and think I was just there running on those exact streets! Hope it gets better soon!!

Charity and I riding to the starting line. (not sure what I am doing with my arm? maybe pinning

on my number?)

Before raceIn front of the Parthenon.

Crazy amount of people running. It usually averages out to be about 30,000 plus. In line waiting to start.
Excited to have finished and feeling great! After the race! Way to go!!My Mom had these cups for us when we got home. Thanks Mom!!
Silly pose

Letter Factory

This is Gabe’s favorite movie to watch. It is the only show that I have seen him sit all the way through. It is so nice because if I am busy and trying to get things done like making dinner, I can usually just stick in Letter Factory and Gabe will sit and watch allowing me to finish. He also lets me know when he wants to watch it by bringing me the case. It’s one movie that I don’t really feel bad about letting him watch 2-3 times a day because it is educational. He has already learned some of the letter sounds. His favorite is “w.” Here are some pictures of Gabe watching Letter Factory that I thought were cute.