Dinner Club

Neil's brother Blake does a thing called Dinner Club each month with his friends from high school. Blake and Shannon were in charge of it this month, so they invited Neil and I to come hang out. They got their friend, Ryan, who is on the SWAT team, to teach us a few self defense moves. It was really fun- and Ryan was really good at this stuff!

Here's Neil taking a gun away from a bad guy (if the guy had the gun pointed at your back)

Shannon doing the same thing.
Blake and Ryan in a "home invasion" type settting.
Ryan wailing on Neil (don't worry- Neils flipped him over and got him back)
Me learning how to take the gun away if the gun is at my head, like in a hostage situation.
I got it!
After the first activity with Ryan, we made delicious Crepes (of which I have no pictures).

Then we played a new game on the pool table called UGLY. It's like the basketball game HORSE, where you are trying to get the person behind you out. But it's also mixed with the Ping Pong game Around the World.

Here's Neil, Tamra, Jason, and Heather.
Me (when I just got out!), tamra, and Shannon
Jason, Blake, Scott, Neil
It was a very fun night and we felt privileged to get invited to their elite dinner club! :)

True Love

They say TRUE LOVE doesn't have an ending. Since it's Valentines Day, I wanted to show some of my family members that are so important to me and how they met their TRUE LOVE.

This is a picture of my Mom's parents at their wedding, April 11, 1947. They met when my Grandma was working at Hill Air Force Base. She worked with some twins that were from Morgan, Utah and that is where my grandpa was from. One of the twins set them up and it's a good thing she did!

W. Dennis Nelson and Colleen Foxley

This is my Dad's mom and dad. My Grandma loved my Grandpa since she was in Kindergarten and he was in 2nd grade. They didn't ever actually meet and date until he had returned from the army when he was 21. He went to church and she was playing the organ, as soon as he saw her, he asked his friend to get him a date with her. They were married on June 4, 1946.

Robert Juel Christensen and Roselyn Tanner

This is my parents wedding, March 15th, 1974. My parents can't really remember the first time they met. They both just kind of knew each other because they lived near each other and they were in a sorority and fraternity up in Logan. I know my Dad dated my mom's sister, Pat before he dated my mom and my mom dated my dads friend, Big Kid.

John Juel Christensen and LeeAnn Nelson

This is Neil's Mom and Dad on their wedding day, September 21, 1973. Pat had just gotten home from his mission and he first met Dawn when he was picking up her roommate for a date. He asked her out twice but she said no because she thought her roommate liked him. Pat decided to asked her out 1 last time and she finally said yes.

Roger Patrick Johnson and Dawn Renee Hart

My oldest sister Berrie met her husband when her best friend invited her to a bar to hear his band play. This is their engagement picture in September 1995. They were married January 19, 1996.

Jill and Don were set up by Jill's best friend from high school. The best friend's husband played church basketball with Don and thought he be perfect for Jill. They were married April 18, 1998.

(Engagement Picture January 1998)

Shelley met Sean while living in Provo. Sean came over to Shelley's then-boyfriends house on Superbowl Sunday 1998 to rub it in that the Bronco's were winning. Shelley and that guy broke up and Sean scooped her up! Engagement picture taken March 1999. Shelley and Sean Young were married May 20, 1999.

John and Stefanie went to high school together, but they didn't really meet until they'd both been graduated for a year or two. They met at a friends house (that's as much information as I could get from my brother!) They were married June 21, 2002- the longest day of the year!

(Engagement Picture March 2002)

Neil and I met on December 31, 2003. I went to a New Years Eve party with a friend from Weber State and the party happened to be at Neil's house. As soon as I saw him, I wanted to be around him and get to know him better. Everything happened pretty fast and we got married just 13 1/2 months after meeting. Best. Decision. Ever.

(Engagement Pictures October 2004)

Happy Valentines Day!

Bowling for Stella

Last Thursday we went bowling with Neil's family for Stella's 35th birthday!

Here's my MAN- I'm pretty sure he won both games!

Here's Lewis and Christopher.

Dawn went and bought Cutesie Cakes (on my recommendation!)
Ava, Beck, and Stella blowing out the candles.
group shot
another random group pic
Blake is weird and likes to lift people.
Blake has some pretty sweet bowling moves!
Dawn and Lewis
Me; I wish one day I could break 100!
Ava
William, he only bowled this one turn- I really am not sure where he was the rest of the time!

February 5th also happens to be Brittney's birthday. She lives in Chicago now but she was in town the week before her birthday. We didn't know she was going to be here, so we just threw some candles on her favorite cookies instead of a cake.

Tay and Brittney with Lindsay, Ethan, and Alex.

Anniversary Weekend

Neil and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary on Friday so we spent the weekend staying at the Grand America Hotel and did a million fun things all weekend!
Friday night we went out to dinner at a delicious restaurant in Bountiful called Sego Lily. It is such a cute old place and all the food is so yummy!
Then we went to our luxurious hotel in Salt Lake. (We actually stayed here 5 years ago when we got married!)
In the lobby of the Grand. They have the most gorgeous flowers all over the hotel, they make everything look and smell incredible!
This is us in the courtyard of the hotel, out by the fountains.
We got unbelievable massages at the hotel. Seriously, probably the best massages we've ever had!
Saturday we ate at the Garden Cafe at the Grand America (super delish!) and then went up to the U of U to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. Since Paris last April, I've become a big fan of art museums and neither of us had ever been to the one in Utah!
I prefer the paintings and sculptures, Neil really liked this samurai gear.
Saturday night, we got a bite to eat and then we went and saw "The Importance of Being Earnest" at the Hale Centre Theatre.
We really had such a great weekend and were so spoiled and relaxed the whole time! It was so great to get to hang out all weekend without thinking about work or school or anything!!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Who knew clichés could be so true!?
5 years ago today, Neil and I got married and we've been having the time of our lives ever since!
We really were made for each other- even if we are complete opposites!

Who even knows what the next 5 will bring!?

Bonnie Jean Barlow Riley

One of my best friends from high school is getting ready to have a baby! Me, Breanne, and Whitney threw her a shower and were really hoping the baby wouldn't come early because we planned it pretty close to her due date!

Here's me and the mom-to-be, Bonnie. She looks soooo great!!
Me and Bean
Bonnie is seriously all baby belly- she didn't gain weight anywhere else.
I couldn't get over how cute she looks and all the cute things she was given!!
Thanks everyone for coming to celebrate BJ's baby boy!

This week, I've been able to hang out with some of my favorite girls.
Since Tuesday was a teacher-prep day, me, Kacey, and Nicole went out to lunch at Sill's Cafe. I introduced Nicole to Sill's last year and Kacey's wanted to go since we've been takling about it. I don't think she was disappointed at all. It was fun to see the New Sill's too.
Me, Kacey, Nicole (my best teaching friends!)
Last night, Missy had some free tickets to see a sneak preview of "When in Rome." Even though we had TERRIBLE seats, it was such a really cute show and I think you should see it!
Here's Jeanette, Missy, and me.

mmmm.... Cupcakes

So, I probably eat more junk food than anyone I know. I really like cookies, candy, cake and anything else that is super sweet and sugary. I don't think I've ever thought anything was "too rich" for my taste. I am a huge fan of cupcakes and there are 2 new cupcake stores close to my house that I have fallen in love with.
These cupcakes are from the store on Main Street in Layton called Cutesie Cakes. They are huge, adorable, and so good. They even make a Boston Cream Pie cupcake! (it's hard to find Boston Cream Pie these days and it's Neil's favorite).

Thank you Cutesie Cakes for putting us WELL over our daily Calorie goals again today!