31 flavors and then some

Ryan turns 31 on the 31st of March.

I can go on and on about how much I love this guy. I was hoping that for the comments you will help me tell him a favorite memory or a reason you think he is great.

1. He is the world's greatest BYU fan.
2. He is ranked #2 at online Tetris in all of North Carolina.
3. Even with my toddler-like temper tantrums, he will ride my moods out and always stay calm, cool, and collected.
4. He is not materialistic and only asked for variety of soap, new razors, and contact solution for his birthday.
5. He is a connoisseur of good food and an excellent chef. I will never go hungry.

Some favorite memories.

My first time watching him karaoke. I never thought a white guy from Sandy, Utah would know all the words to M&M. He knows all the old school rapers and their songs. I was like "who is this guy," but it made me love him even more.

This is acutally not my memory, but hearing about it sure made me laugh. Renee, you can relive this one if you want. After a run and asking to borrow a shower, Ryan chased Renee around her L.A. apartment in his whitey tighties. Just when you think he is a pretty straight laced guy, he will do something like this that catches you off guard and has you rolling on the floor with laughter.

I got to travel to Fiji with Ryan and meet people from his mission. Everyone remembered him almost 10 years later. He was so adored that a lady named her son after him. She got teary because this was the first time her son, Ryan, would get to meet his namesake. It sure is something when you see others adore your husband so much that they want their son to grow up to be like him.

Happy Birthday RYAN!!!

Where Ryan spent his birthday 2 years ago. Taveuni, Fiji Islands

Our Neice Is On The Today Show.

Thanks you friends and family for voting for Elisabeth's recipe for the Jif Peanut Butter Sandwich contest. She is one of the top five finalists and won a $2,500 scholarship. The grand prize winner will be announced soon. She was just on the toaday show. She is the last one, and I think she was great and love her recipe.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

24 Hours in Washington DC

We took a quick trip on Friday night. Cheyney's sister, McKay, has been in town visiting and so we decided to use the weekend to go up to the capitol, which is about a four and a half hour trip from Raleigh. We left work a little early and made it up before eight. Our L.A. Litigator friends will be jealous that we got to meet up with our friend Dan Oakes, who is in law school at GW, for dinner in Georgetown. It was so nice to see Dan again. We haven't seen him since our wedding and he's still as cool as ever. Coast to Coast, LA to DC, Dan seems to know how to do it all.



After dinner we went to the Lincoln Memorial and later crashed at a Marriott near Arlington National Cemetery (thanks mom for the gift cards). The next day we got up early and went on a Segway tour. I totally recommend it. We covered about six miles in three hours and those segways are sure fun and easy. Both Cheyney and I managed to fling ourselves off it once, but only because we were goofing around. We got to pull around in front of the White House and see the motorcade of the President of Brazil.






The tour guide was cool and we finished the tour just as it started to rain. After lunch we went to the National Museum of American History. They have remodeled and we couldn't find the Sun Stone or Prince's guitar, but were able to see Dorothy's ruby slippers, US presidential items, First Lady gowns, and C3P0. Being a tourist was tiring and so we headed back to Raleigh after that.

We've been to DC multiple times and still haven't seen half of what we want to see. There are so many great museums we need to hit. We still have to go to the Zoo and maybe a baseball game. Also we want to tour the White House and the Capitol. So we'll be back, but were happy to spend a day up there with McKay and Dan.

Happy Birthday Hot Stuff!

Happy Anniversary

Ryan and I have been married for 2 years. It seems longer... in a good way. It is strange but I can hardly imagine my life without Ryan.

It is fun to come to a milestone and think back at how much we have grown. This takes us all the way back to the very beginning with Renee and Bethany as they were catalysts to us dating. Bethany invited Hubbel and Ryan over for her famous pancakes. She left us alone in the kitchen to wash the dishes. We hit it off and the very next day Ryan called me for a date. Renee invited us over to watch the Oscars and that was where Ryan and I held hand for the first time (sneakingly under a blanket).

Our wedding was a magical day. This is the one day out of the year I am allowed to relive it. It was such a blessing to be surrounded by such wonderful friends and family. Here is a video given to us by our dear friend Jamie.

sixes

I am copying Renee. This is the 6th picture in the 6th folder from my picture file. This was at Christy's baby shower. Now she is the proud mother of an adorable 4 month old baby boy, Gabe. I get to babysit this little delicious munchkin on Saturday while his mom makes up a snow day at work. Hooray for me!

My First SPAM encounter

by cheyney

Before I moved to Los Angeles, I assumed I had eaten all there was out there. I was shocked at how many different foods I had not tried. Eventhough I had traveled, I had spent most of my life in Bumbleville, Georgia or White Mormonland, Utah. I was quickly introduced to Dim Sum, Pho, shabu shabu, Middle Eastern, Thai, and vegan food. The only thing I really don't like to eat are tomatoes and types of vegan food (the ones that look and smell like dog food).

Ryan has a broad pallet too but doesn't eat beef or pork. When we go to people's homes that serve this meat, I feel like I need to over compensate and eat his share to not make them feel bad. For example, while in Fiji we ate with a family and they asked if I wanted any pork. I said sure and got a hunk of fat, skin and hair (no real meat) on my plate. That made me completely understand Ryan's adverse reaction to the meat after he had to eat that for 2 years on his mission.

This last weekend we visited some foreign friends who served us treats and one of their favorites.... a spam sandwich. Ryan gave his normal excuse but I did not want to be rude so I tried it. I felt like I was in a Monty Python skit. Spam spam spamity spam. All I have to say is it tastes exactly how it smells and smells exactly how it looks. Just look at it and you will never have to try it. Now I know the next time I will say, "Can I have the spam, spam, bacon, eggs and spam without the spam?"