It is not my fault.

It really isn't.  We both assumed that the invitation was for both of us.  So when we got there and there were only guys, I had to leave and kill time.  And the outlets were so close...the only thing that close really.  So it really isn't my fault that I had to spend time with stores having really great sales...and thus bought lots of stuff.  It just isn't!

At least this time I had a car and could make a get away.  Today was way better than the time in 7th grade where I showed up at the party (that I was invited to) a day early.  And of course I made my parents drive away before I rang the doorbell.  Then I had to lie and say I was just in the neighborhood and thought I would come by to tell Heather in person that I would be at her party tomorrow just to save face.  And after they showed me to the door I had to walk around to everyone's house I knew to try and hitch a ride home.  But no one was home and I eventually ended up at home- miles away from Heather's house.  But I didn't have keys...I didn't drive and my parents were the ones picking me up.  So I tried to fit in the tiny opening in the garage that was left open for our cat.  Of course I got stuck and had to back out.  Then I was forced to go to the nerdy kid's house the next neighborhood over and watch Charmed with her until my parents finally got home and checked the answering machine.  Because this was before everyone and their dog had a cell phone.  The worst part of this story is that I had to go to stupid Heather's party the next night and act like it was all cool.  (It is much nicer to type this story...when I tell it in person I usually  end up in tears because it was so traumatic and then laugh because it is in "hindsight" where everything painful seems funnier.)

So at least it wasn't that bad today.  But nevertheless, it was not my fault that I had to go shopping.  Just not my fault.

Happy Happy Birthday Nicholas Dear! Part One

WOO HOO!  Today Nicholas enters his late twenties...he is officially 26 and an old man now! :) (Okay, so I know that isn't old, but I like to give him a hard time about it.)  We began the celebration last night when my parents and I met him at Carinos for dinner.  It was very delicious.  Then we came back to our home and had cupcakes and opened the presents my parents had for him.  

He didn't want to open his presents early, but they are going out of town and so he wanted to open theirs while they could still be here.  He got a very nice polo (which he wore to work today), some athletic socks (our family is always encouraging running :) ), a cool lunchbox/bag made out of the stuff wetsuits are made of (no more brown paper bags!), a tool set (woohoo!  we finally have a hammer!), and a very chic apron that I can guarantee you will be seeing for years to come ;)

This morning I made cinnamon rolls (well, I bought the can and Nick popped it and then I put them in the oven) and played Nick some birthday songs off of the computer from the Children's Hymnbook.  I sent him out the door with some birthday cupcakes to take to his "friends" at work- yellow cake, chocolate frosting, and skittles on top...of course.   I went down to meet him for lunch today...and there are a few more surprises but you will have to wait until he discovers them!  I have to work this evening so I tried to make coming home to an empty house on his birthday a little more exciting.  Stay tuned!

(Before)

(During)

(After)

Here's to being 23!

The celebration for my birthday started Friday morning when my morning run with my mom ended at Sonic- we got a drink (I tried the new Mango Cool Breeze) and walked home.

Then my mom indulged me and did my Core Rhythms with me.  I had 

to practice because I was teaching my first class 

the next day.

After sweating again, I headed home to shower and get cleaned up.  Then I picked up my mom 

again and we went a got a  pedicure.  

After that we had some nachos at McAllisters and  rented a movie from Redbox.  I headed home to craft until Nicholas got home.

When Nick got home, we made a frozen pizza and watched "He's Just Not That Into You".  It was a cute enough movie.  Then we headed to bed early so I could get up to teach.

Saturday morning came and I was very nervous for my first class.  I had about a dozen people show up for the first class and although I wasn't perfect, I don't think anyone noticed.  Of course, they didn't know what to expect!  I think it was harder than most people were expecting, but it went well.

After coming home to Nicholas and some donuts, I took a nice hot bath.  I got ready and curled my hair for my birthday date that evening.

We went to PF Changs; I had never been there.  Nick had the Almond Cashew Chicken and I had the Pepper Steak- they were both delicious!  We finished off with Banana Spring Rolls which I have been hearing about for years from my sister Amy.

Then we headed downtown to the House of Blues.  Better Than Ezra, Nick's favorite band, was in Houston that night and we were excited to have tickets.  The opening acts were pretty decent and then BTE came on stage...it was a great concert.
They sang a good mix of stuff- slow and fast, old and new.  It was really fun and although I had to dodge a crazy dancer during most of the show, it couldn't have been a better night.
We got home around 1am, which made for a really early morning on Sunday.  We went to church and I took treats to my primary class to celebrate my birthday.  They were fairly well behaved and we memorized a whole scripture...not too bad!
We had dinner at my parents' home....meatballs, mashed potatoes & gravy, and creamed corn- my absolute favorite dinner!  Nick and I were exhausted so we headed home to take a nap before we continued the celebration.
My parents came over later in the evening and we had my birthday cake (a pistachio Next Best Thing To Robert Redford for any of you who know what that is!) and opened presents.  Nick had let me open one present earlier in the day...it was a grapefruit.  So I was very excited to find that one of my real presents that evening was some grapefruit spoons!  How easy they are to eat now!  I got lots of things that I have been wanting for awhile and a few surprises too.  It was a great birthday and I am excited to have another one next year!

National Running Day!

Today, June 3rd, is National Running Day!  So grab a buddy, stroller, ipod, or just your thoughts and head out for a jog if you haven't already today!  I went my normal 5 miles this morning with my mom.  I am getting spoiled having someone always willing to run with me!  It was really humid today, but not nearly as hot as it has been because the sun was hiding behind the clouds and there is a promise of rain later today.  We can hope!

Speaking of exercise, I will begin teaching Core Rhythms this Saturday morning!  Core Rhythms is an aerobics latin dance class aimed at giving you a 360* core workout without having to lay down and do a single crunch.  It is fun to do, however I am a little nervous about having to teach it!  Wish me luck!

If you would have told me 3 years ago that I would be an "aerobics instructor" I would have gotten a good workout from rolling on the floor laughing!  I spent most of my growing-up years avoiding sports and outdoor activities; "swimming" consisted only of reading a magazine in my swimming suit.  And the only exercise I got on Saturday mornings was walking downstairs to collect the donut holes my mom would bring me after her morning run!  

Well, the Christensen family had had enough of diets and baby weight and the like and decided to hold a health challenge to encourage all of us to be a little better.  We began in January of 2007 and agreed to do it all year long.  Each month had a different focus and different rules; we all tracked our progress on spreadsheets which we had to send in weekly to be scored.  We got points for things like eating fruits and veggies, drinking water, and doing various forms of exercise.  We lost points if we ate out too often, had too much soda, or had too many snacks during the day.  

I did not know that I was so competitive, but I guess the "Christensen Family Challenge" brought it out in me.  That, or I was just finally determined to do something with the body I was constantly uncomfortable with.  Either way, I began running in January of 2007.  I would walk to the indoor track at BYU and see if I could make a lap without walking (5 laps was a mile).  My roommate Katie started to come with me and we worked up to a whole mile without walking...we thought then that we were pretty much the most fit people ever.  And although her interest varied over the next few months, I kept at it.  I went in the mornings before class or at night after a long day at campus- usually traveling over snow and ice to do it.  But it slowly got easier and soon it was summer.  I went home to Texas and ran with my mom- something I had never done before in my life!  

Now since then my fitness routine has varied- I have taken breaks, hiked, biked, and gone to the gym- and now I am in a good routine of running a few days a week with my mom, going to the gym a few days alone, and doing a lot of dancing at the studio.  So when the studio wanted to start up this Core Rhythms class, it seemed natural to them that I would be the one to head it up...which is so funny to me!  While I enjoy it (or the results at least), I have never considered myself a pro in the fitness area.  I agreed to get certified and give it my all, but I am still nervous as this is such a different thing than anything I ever would have imagined myself doing.  I just hope that since I am changing my habits now, while I am  young, that eventually exercise will be something that I see as a natural part of my life!

The Happiest Vacation On Earth...and we have t-shirts to prove it!

We had a great family vacation to DisneyWorld.  Although most of you have probably already heard about our great time in Orlando, I decided to post my pictures as well.

Nicholas and I left Thursday evening and arrived in Orlando late that night; we rented a car and drove to the resort where everyone was waiting for us.  We got to sleep on a pull-out bed, which was far more comfortable than anyone was anticipating (either that or we were just really tired the whole time...which is also likely!)

The next morning we headed out bright and early to the park.  All 11 of us spent the day together- running from ride to ride and grabbing snacks here and there.  It was a fun day and we were all worn out by the end of the day.  We left just before the fireworks to head home.  

The next day we slept in a bit and then headed to the pool at the resort.  We swam awhile and then got cleaned up around lunchtime to head to the park again.  This time we were ready to hit our favorite rides one more time and do the few things we hadn't had time for the day before.  We sat on the curb a long time to save a great place for the electrical parade that evening and made sure we grabbed a souvinier pin before we left (Nicholas and I both collect pins).  We stayed for the fireworks show and had a great spot right at the base of the castle.  

The next morning we all packed up, ready to head home.  Isabelle, Amy, & Ben happened to be on our flight and so after eating Panera with the family we ventured to the airport.  We returned our rental car and checked in; Isabelle learned that her giant Mickey balloon would not be allowed on the plane and so, since we happened to have brought a large suitcase that was nowhere close to being full, we put her balloon in our checked bag.

The flight was fairly uneventful- I was exhausted and slept through most of the extra time at the gate fixing some part of the plane as well as our flight.  Once in Houston, we rushed Isabelle, Amy, & Ben to their next flight and then sought out to collect our bag and find the shuttle to the extended parking lot.  

It was a whole lot of fun and neither of us wanted to go to work on Monday...but we can still wear our t-shirts that Tara made us and dream about seeing Mickey someday again!

We realized at the end of day 2 that we hadn't taken a picture together...so here is one!
Being Mickey and Minnie at the gate...
Colleen & Max in Dumbo, with Amy, Belle, & Tara right behind them!

Belle tried out her driving skills...
Nicholas was exhausted...too much playing!
I insisted that Nicholas cut in front of some kids so I could take his picture trying to pull the sword out of the stone...he is a good sport. 
Of course I wouldn't pay for our picture on Splash Mountain, but I took a picture of the screen!  Chris, Max, & Colleen are in the front, Mom is behind them, and Nick and I are behind her...
Isabelle was crazy to get to be around Nick...he is such a good uncle!  Here they are on the beginning of Day 1- we had just parked...notice our rental car in the back there.

April in Review...

Take us out to the ballgame!  

Nicholas and I had other plans for a Friday night, however when my parents called and said they had come across some free Astros tickets and were heading to the game I hurried and called Nick and told him to not take the bus home.  We left right away and picked him up at the bus station downtown on our way to the ballpark.  It just poured on the way there (hence my wet-dog hair look) but we are lucky that the field is indoors.  

We enjoyed some peanuts and a hot dog while the Astros got beat by the...hmmm...I can't even remember who they played!  

It was great fun to do something different- plus our seats were pretty good!  Nick got to enjoy singing "Deep in the Heart of Texas" for the 7th inning stretch....a new experience for him!

The very next morning Nicholas and I headed downtown again- this time for a 5K sponsored by his company, Transwestern. 

We ended up running right by the ball field- the 

route began at the convention center, wound around the ballpark nextdoor, went over and overpass, and then turned around.  It was a fun run but really hot and humid.  

I had been training to run faster and I tried to keep up with Nick for the first mile or so.  After that he started to slip away, but I did my best to keep him within sight...until the last upward climb at about mile 2.5.  At that point I just wanted to keep up with the old man next to me!

I found Nick about 100 feet from the finish line....I figured he had finished and had walked back to cheer me on and so I ran as hard as I could across the finish line.  He trotted after me and then I learned that he had just emptied his stomach just before finishing- nuts!

The Houston heat is something that takes some getting used to and I have had my fair share of dizzy and nautious

moments!  Nicholas was very disappointed but I assured him that we will have many more opportunities!  

Even with the minor setback, we still both averaged an 8 minute 26 second average per mile and finished in just over 26 minutes!  That was a full 5 minutes faster than last August when I ran in the Salem 5K!  I ended up coming in 4th in my age category, which was a complete surprise to me

but is motivation to keep going!

The run, which was benefitting a special school for children, finished at the convention center.  One end of the building was opened up to us runners and families and had snacks and drinks, the all-important bathrooms, and multiple booths for children to play little games and win little prizes.  We made a quick stop by the Transwestern booth and picked up a punch-balloon before we headed home.

The next week Amy and Belle came over for a few days to play...we had fun going shopping and doing lots of playing.  Isabelle was anxious to go on her morning jog with us and we each took turns running with her.  One morning during my turn to jog with her we ran to see "Blacky" the horse.  She was insistent that we take some food to feed him and consented to an apple when we found that Grammie did not have any carrots.  We sprinkled cinnamon sugar over the apple slices and ate most of them on the way.  A horse, not Blacky (who is all brown by the way), came over to the fence and we did get to feed him a few apple slices...but I think Isabelle's favorite was getting to see all of the dogs on the trail and getting a drink in the outdoor drinking fountain!

It was so fun to have them over!  Isabelle is always crazy about Nick and it is nice for both of us when he makes an effort to get home in time to see her before bed!

Now we did go to Disneyworld, but I had to play catch up before I could blog about that...give me a few days to post pictures!  In the meantime, check out Amy or Colleen's blogs :)

BTE

Date: Saturday June 6, 2009
Venue: House of Blues Houston
Event: Better Than Ezra in concert

And we have 2 tickets :)

Happy Birthday to us!!!

I'm rather excited about this as I've been trying to see Better Than Ezra live for many years now, but things never quite worked out for me. They played several times at Park City while I went to school at BYU, but I was out of town that weekend, already had tickets for something else, etc, etc, etc.

So, when I saw a month ago that they were playing a free concert at The Canyons again, I was a little disappointed. But my fabulous wife got online and checked their tour schedule and found out that they'd be here in Houston June 6! Perfect for a celebration of 1 year being engaged, and both our June Birthdays!

The tickets came the other day in the mail.
We're going to BTE.
I'm excited.