Christmas Doin's and Go-in's

Hey everybody!...to all who we know and to all you guys that show up on our map thing on the bottom of our page that we don't know. Its all good, Lauren is all about blog-stalking, so just as long as you are the kind of stalkers that leave money under pillows and leave presents under trees, than go ahead and peer inside our windows from our lawn. So here goes...

This Christmas season has been a blast so far. Lets see... We scalped tickets to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, we saw the Temple Square lights, and no more that 12 minutes ago did we pull the E-brake in our car to do a 180 ice-slide in our neighborhood intersection on our newly fallen Christmas season snow. That last one was to spite the old lady who lives on the corner of our street that flips me off weekly for not stopping completely at the stop sign... in the intersection that sees 7 cars an hour. I do slow down and look both ways... the old lady must think I'm #1 is all.

So we went to the First Presidency Devotional and it was great as always. We didn't have tickets so my buddy Brady and I stood out front and yelled, "We need tickets for our wives!" and in seriously 4 seconds I was handed 2 tickets. Then we realized we lied and those two tickets were for us, and we needed two more for our dates, so we yelled again and this guy came up and gave us 14 more tickets! 16 tickets in 30 seconds! Not bad. So I yelled, "I've got 12 tickets!", obviously meaning to give away. Instead of thankful people I heard, "You can't be serious", and "How do you sleep at night"... to which I responded, "Mostly on my side and on my face". You see, I can't fall asleep on my back, weird huh, I always try...but nope. Then I yelled that the tickets were free and to quit bein weird, so we just gave the tickets to an Usher (not thee performing artist Usher, that'd be crazy though if he were there don't ya think?! I mean, what if he was investigating the Church and went to see the Prophet speak?! Awesome.), and we walked in.

It was the perfect meeting to help us feel the Christmas Spirit and President Monson and his counselors were amazing. Then, as we were leaving our killer seats at the bottom of the Conference Center, guess who is standing in front of us... Glenn Beck. I bet you guessed him, but I thought I'd say anyway. So I reached out my hand and said, "Hi Brother Beck!" and we chatted for a sec. Nice guy and great radio show...#3 in the U.S.!

K, so this post would be forever long if I tried to describe everything so maybe I'll just try pictures and a brief commentary...

- Here Lauren and I had floor seats with other friends at the "Delta Center" when BYU beat Utah State. As you can see in the picture, we lost our voices from screaming at the other fans and players. Tons of fun. And I'm positive that I've heard that if you swear at sporting events it doesn't count. I hope thats true.

- Here are the Temple Square lights...always classic. And freezing. And if you think these lights are impressive, look at this next picture!!!

I know right?!?! Can you say saaaawweeeet!!! Well you kinda have to be right in front of it, like right across the street from it, like live across the street from it and drive past it many times a day, and hear the scary Santa talk and wave as you or anything that moves goes by...to really get the granduer of this display of Christmas Joy. Yep, the North Pole inflates every year. But this next house....wow...

This house is seriously amazing. These pictures maybe get about half the trees they have lit. Seriously amassing. Laur and I were just driving around looking for lights to look at and I saw the tips of a few trees and so we turn the corner...and sha-blam. 5 acres of lights. Sorry Temple Square, you got beat. And I doubt these guys used free missionary labor to put up the lights...I'm guessing an army of otra personas if you know what I'm sayin...cause these were done so dang good that I doubt any missionary could do that. Anywho, go to 400 East and about 1350 North in Orem to see these suckers. They turn off around 10:30 though.

We built this. Now what ya'll... Thats right.

And finally........................

Lauren trying to catch The Christmas Spider! Its a tradition we have. Every family should have Christmas traditions. The End!

5 Things I Never Thought I'd Say

1. "I agree with Barack Obama."


Ok now wait... before any dis-owning, bitter faces (like the kind when you smell a raunchy fart), or verbal abuses toward me...don't hate, just listen. Believe me, I was more shocked than anyone the two seconds after I heard those words escape my lips. But here is the deal, its not that bad for this single, solitary case... he was talking about the College Football post-season and how the BCS doesn't work and that there needs to be at least an 8-team playoff to determine the champion. I was so shocked that this dude actually spoke the truth that I made that outburst I never thought I'd say. He was right, and we do need a playoff in College Football...cause its the sport with the best regular season and the absolute worst post-season. That's the only "Change" I'll support. I'm not spreadin the little wealth I've got and I'm keepin my guns. And I put my hand over my heart during the national anthem. I can't believe America elected this guy.


2. "I think I want some curtains for Christmas."

There was silence and a blank stare for a good 5 seconds after I said that sentence. The pure and absolute gayness of that sentence knocked me into a mini-coma where I was trying to determine if I really in-actuality said that curtains were a desire I had. But ya, I snapped out of it and its true, we need some. So gay or not it would add alot to the house. Plus I've got a hot wife so I'm not worried about gay stuff I might say... I might even start watching Bravo, or wear a turtle-neck. Or not. While on that subject we move to #3...

3. "California voters got it right."

Amazing. Freakin amazing. Its good to see there is still some rational people in that state that believe in good ol' man and wife families. I thought Cali was gunna burn if they voted "no", but I guess it did anyway which really is very sad, really. But at least they did the right thing for once and voted for something that celebrities didn't like. Now lets just see if the judges they voted for will uphold what the people wanted.

4. "My Mom and Dad are the biggest losers I know."

Haaaa. So anyone who knows that the Nelson Family is doing "The Biggest Loser" competition for the holidays knows that the before-mentioned comment is an enormous compliment. Plus its just kinda fun to say that comment in front of them and not get smacked, but rather have my parents feel great love for their thoughtful and kind son. And handsome. And smart. But ya, you guys are the best! My mom has lost over 30 pounds and my dad over 40! Thats pretty kick-A. Its good to be a loser. Especially the biggest one. (Thats a pre-loser picture above by the way.) They look so good! Keep it up!

5. "I love my Bidet!"

OK all you haters, before you make fun let me say...I don't care what you think, bidets are awesome. And if you don't know what the heck I'm even talkin about, its pronounced "buh-day" and its the device that sprays your butt after you do your business... and its cool, so if you don't have one, sorry, you're not that cool. But in case you wanna be cool, look up Biffy Bidets on-line and hook one up. They are cheap and a blast! pun pun pun. But really, lets say by some weird happenstance you get some poo on your arm...just imagine it. Now do you wipe it off with some toilet paper and call it good?! I hope not. So think about how much cleaner you'd feel with one of these bad boys. I love the Biffy, and Lauren is even converted...now thats proof it will change even the firmest minds to the contrary. Rest my case.

Alright... About that Honeymoon...

So the deal was Lauren would blog about the wedding and I'd blog about the honeymoon... and I figure 3 months late is better than never. It's crazy to think we've been married about 3 months already (and I know all you old married farts are rolling your eyes, but you know you were the same) and its been a blast everyday. The honeymoon we took to Cancun was definitely the way to start things out!

The long awaited Royal Palms

So the night of the wedding we stayed at this sweet resort in Scottsdale called The Royal Palms and its too bad we couldn't spend more time there cause it was amazing. You have an individual villa complete with courtyard and everything. It was sad we only spent a whole 8 hours there...They made a killing off us haaa, but all worth it considering it was for our wedding.

From there we took off from Phoenix to Cancun! The flight wasn't too bad and the only thing that went wrong was when I was playin with my wedding ring and flipped it back a few aisles. I found it. So we get to Meh-he-ko and it was seriously better than we even expected. The people were right there to pick us up and we got to the hotel in no time. We even had this flippin weird couple there that we could talk about...I mean talk to. Seriously the dude looked like Leonardo DiCaprio off of Catch Me If You Can and his girlfriend was a beast. You had to be there to really enjoy the sight of these guys...I'm not even tryin to be mean. It was all entertainment to us!

So our hotel was tight! It was the Sun Palace and it was all-inclusive... so from the moment we got there the eating began...and it never freakin stopped, I kid you not. They had 5 really good restaurants there, a 24-hour buffet, and 24-hour room service...ALL INCLUDED!!! Not to mention the fridge in your room all stocked with Mexican Coke, bottled water and even my favorite... Jose Cuervo, XX and Corona baby! OK so the 'hard stuff' we didn't touch. People couldn't believe we wouldn't drink there, they kept sayin, "You know it’s free right?!?" But so was the Mexican Coke and they kept that comin so we were happy. Lauren even got a little crazy and ordered a Banana Monkey cause she heard someone else order it haha. "Do you think it has alcohol?", she asked me. Um... Any drink that has a name will light you up... so she yelled "Virgin!" and I think the waiter must have thought she was havin a rough honeymoon cause she yelled that so loud around all the other honeymooners around the pool... but he got the drink right so maybe not. But for real, there was never a time when we were 'not full'. Right when we felt like we weren't sick from eating we ate some more... it was the best. And by the way, I'm still down 5 pounds from the wedding, yep. IAFA. I could drop another ten.

Snorkling like champs

The hotel was full of fun stuff to do. The beach had the softest white sand and the water was like a bath, so nice. You could see fish swimming past your feet, which made Lauren a little afraid and asked it they were sharks cause they were pretty big. A couple next to us heard her and the girl booked it to the shore. But no, not sharks, just baraccuda. We even saw big sea turtles swimmin around. After dinner, Lauren and I would go down on the beach and you would see big ol' momma sea turtles swim right up in front of you and waddle up the beach and start digging big holes to bury their eggs in. Then, the resort staff would dig up the eggs and when they’d hatch they’d let you carry the little turtles down to the shore and let the go in the ocean…only to be eventually eaten by the common predators of the Caribbean, or end up in soup at one of the hotel restaurants. Tasty little suckers!!!

We went on the coolest trips while we were down there. We first went to the Tulum ruin which was a Mayan city right on the beach. It was cool to think of the Lamanites and Nephites walking around and their daily lives. What wasn’t expected was some of the scandalous ladies on the beach there…with kids around! I bet they were French. But it was cool to see the architecture of everything and the iguanas crawling over everything. And oh man was it hot. We were dyin, but worth it. I mean how often do you get to visit these places. It was awesome.

The next day we went on a zip line trip where we got harnessed up and flew over “cenotes” (see-note-ays) which were limestone caves that had caved in and filled with water. I guess I could have said we flew over lakes but that doesn’t sound tropical nor expensive and exclusive…so cenotes they are. Actually the trip was free for all people staying at the resort so very inexpensive. All the excursions were free and included! But the zip lining was a blast, especially doin it upside-down while flying through the forest. My ab muscles got such a work-out that in the picture below it looks like my inflamed abs are really just a full gut from not stop eating at our hotel...but its not... I swear... and stop looking at it. Look at our gay helmets instead.

The next day we went to Chichen Itza and it was so dang cool. We read in Mormon and Moroni about the culture the Nephites and Lamanites, so when we got off the bus and checked out all the sights and temples it was so easy to see that that was where they lived. There was Mormon stuff everywhere in the design of the buildings. I even bought a Kishkumen obsidian dagger! And while we were there it was the only time it rained our whole trip! We had the best weather ever...and in the middle of hurricain season. But the rain came at a good time, it was getting hot and the rain came down like a full-blast shower. Drenched. That bus smelled amazing on the three hour ride home...especially from a couple rows back where Capitan BackHair was sitting.

The rest of the time in Cancun we spent on the beach drinkin virgin pina coladas and banana monkies, watching the Olympics screamin our faces off for Michael Phelps, cruisin around downtown Cancun, and we even went Parasailing on Saturday which was so dang fun. Its the coolest feeling being so high up there with just the two of us lookin out on everything and seeing the fish swimming beneath us.

The whole trip was better than we could’ve hoped for. We had a blast together, saw so many cool things, relaxed on amazing beaches in perfect weather, ate our weight in free food, and just had a great time. I think we spent a total of $50 the whole trip! And that was cause we went to Planet Holleywood downtown for lunch. The room was sweet and the hotel and beach were so nice. I know I didn't post any beach pictures...I was forbidden. Lauren shouldn't have worried cause she looks amazing in a swimsuit, but I guess at the same time it saved me from showing the results an "all-you-can-eat" resort had on my body too, so thanks hun. Although we were sad to come home it was kinda time, ya know. It was nice to have that time just to ourselves, but it was exciting to see family and friends again and start our life together. I think we need to do a honeymoon every year!...Well at least until little rugrats get in our way!

Tagged...

So Eliza tagged me with this Husband thing ha ha, I have never done this before and I hope Ryan doesn't get mad at any of my answers:)

Another Tag.... The Husband

1. Where did you meet your husband? Well I dont know if we actually met somewhere, but I went on a date with Jesse (Ryan's cousin) first and we found out that we were in the same ward and the next Sunday Ryan saw me at church and asked Jesse if he knew who I was and Ryan ended up asking me on a date that week. So I didn't meet him until he picked me up for our first date:)
2. How long did you date before you married? We dated for about a year and 5 months. There was a summer break in there where we didn't really date, but just kinda talked
3. How long have you been married? 2 months and 7 days ha ha
4. What does he do that surprises you? He takes seriously the longest showers EVER! Way longer than any girl I know
5. What is his favorite feature? I love his eyes, they are blue with pretty eyelashes... One time I put mascara on them to see what it would look like because they are blonde. Ha ha so so funny... Maybe I will put the picture up here sometime
6. What is his favorite quality? I love his personality. He always can make me laugh and is honestly the nicest, cutest, husband ever! He does so much for me.
7. Does he have a nickname for you? Um... I dont know, sometimes he calls me Laur-Dog
8. What is his favorite food? He loves lots of stuff like tacos, steak, the restaurant tempanyaki and really hot hotsauce:)
9. What is his favorite sport? He is really good at volleyball, tennis, and golf, but he also love basketball, football, and baseball. Ha so pretty much everything. Sunday afternoons full of football all day are so special...
10. When & where was your first kiss? Ha ha it was at my apartment my freshman year and we had been on a couple dates. It was so late and we were all trying to go to bed but he kept sitting there so my roomates went to bed and he kissed me.
11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? We love to go on vacations to vegas and Arizona, but pretty much anywhere too I guess. We also love making treats and hanging out with friends
12. Do you have any children? Nope. Not for a few more years
13. Does he have any hidden talents? ha ha oh man... he thinks he has an opera voice and should maybe be in musicals or something. SO funny.
14. How old is he? Just turned 27!
15. Who said I love you first? He did when he came down to Arizona over Christmas break. It was so fun!
16. What is his favorite music? Um... I guess everything pretty much.
17. What do you admire most about him? That he is such a hard worker and so so smart! If I have any questions about anything he pretty much knows it. Crazy. He is seriously awesome. He built our whole house and it is SO cute. He also is so amazing at talking to scary people for work and he just knows exactly what to say and how to say it. He also knows so much about the church and is such an amazing example to me in every way.
18. What is his favorite color? Blue
19. Will he read this? Oh for sure
20. Who do you tag? Um... Mom, Bree, Alexis, Chelsea

Random Stuff!

OK Ryan is supposed to blog about the auction and our honeymoon for real this time... we will see if it happens:) So it was Ryan's 27th birthday on Monday!! Holy smokes that's a lot of years to be alive! I guess not really, but it was fun! He has had about four different small birthday things over the last couple days. He opened presents in the morning, the afternoon, at dinner that night, then Jason brought over the yummiest ice cream cake for him, and some the next day. Seriously no one is going to be able to think of things to get him for Christmas. Well at least a fun big thing! With all the birthday treats and stuff I swear we eat one thing and then another one comes right before the other one is finished. Of course I eat 90% of them... Special. Anyway, our first couple months being married has been so much fun and I love it so much. Ryan is the BEST and I hope he had the best birthday ever! Love you Ry!!

My sister Shanni and her friend Clara also just got here today! It is so fun. We have tons of fun things planned for the few days that they are here. They are so cute, they flew here with just them two to come see us and Clara's sister Hannah. Mom, there will be pics up of everything everyday:)

So one thing I am really sad about is the cold starting to come... I had to break out all my sweatshirts and long sleeve shirts. YUCK. The winters seriously last forever here!! Ha we haven't written about anything in so long, but one funny thing that Ryan and I went to a few weeks ago was the national sheep dog championships! Ha ha so crazy/amazing. We were just driving to look at some homes in Midway and we were curious to see what it was. Come to find out it was a HUGE deal. People from all over the world were there and it was packed. It was amazing to see a dog run all the way up the whole mountain and bring like 18 sheep around the course on the mountain. I never knew it was such a big deal for people. It was definitely interesting!

Oh and we just got called to be the 14/15 year old Sunday school teachers in our ward! We are both really excited! Hopefully it will be a fun class. We meet in a ward building that was built in 1898!! So so old. I love it.

Here are a few random pics of all the stuff goin on...

Wedding Lo-Down

So this is my very first blog post thing hah and I am just figuring out how to do everything. Ryan and I decided it was about time post about our wedding even though it was over a month ago. It is awesome finally being married and getting all of the wedding plans and stuff over with. It is so much work and I am just happy that I can HELP with others now and not be the one getting married. I really did love it though. It was so fun having everyone come down to Mesa and be there with us. I hope that everyone was able to have fun. Thanks so much for all who helped with everything and brought stuff down for us! I also have so so many pictures that the photographer took of everyone there that I can get copies for you if you want, just let me know!

So the actual day of our wedding went pretty smooth I guess... well as good as it can go in a house full of girls. Ha ha we all cried for the first couple hours and I had to put frozen bags of vegtables on my eyes so they wouldn't be so puffy while my cousins did my hair. The ceremony was amazing and I loved seeing everyone there with us. It couldn't have been better. Luckily there was no opportunities for passing out this time... The day flew by and the reception turned out amazing. We were so nervous about the monsoons coming but there was not a drop of rain. All of the decorations and small things ended up coming together and it looked amazing thanks to all the help from all family. I couldn't have done it without them. Ha ha even down to the video on the wall that showed pictures of Eric instead of Ryan. We finally got done standing in line and left about twenty minutes later... No food or getting to really enjoy the reception. I don't recommend that at all. We left the next morning, bright and early to Cancun, wich ryan wants to write about for the next post... It was amazing! Anyway, even though this is a little late we just wanted to tell a little about it and tell everyone thanks for all the help and coming out of your way to support us. We love you!

Wedding Pictures!! Finally...