So, Um, There's a Velociraptor at This Wedding

I've been to a lot of weddings, but never one that had a surprise guest from the Cretaceous Period.

Props to Rob and Larissa for creating a one-of-a-kind wedding experience for all of us.

It started out normal enough, with beautiful decorations, tasty food, and plenty of dancing.

And then a bunch of girls (cousins, maybe?) came running in, screaming and flailing their arms. Following close behind was a velociraptor. The theme to Jurassic Park accompanied the mayhem.

So entertaining, and the bride and groom were loving it. They took a whole bunch of pics, and more songs played for the velociraptor and us to dance to, including (of course) 'Walk the Dinosaur'.

Sadly, the velociraptor eventually had to leave-- I figure for its feeding time, since eating a wedding attendee would have been quite messy on the dance floor-- but we had all enjoyed the visit.

Some more pics from the evening:

Eve caught the bouquet

My sis looked smashing in her polka dot dress

Ran into the one and only Damian Dayton

My sis with the lovely new couple

Congratulations, Rob and Larissa! We will never forget your special (raptor-enhanced) night!

A Toast to the Barneys and to Eclairs

One of my really good DC friends got married a couple weekends ago, and last Saturday I got to see the couple at their Utah reception and congratulate them in person.

Shandi and Chris are adorable together, and it was fun to chat with them about being newlyweds. 

More DC friends (Becca, Christina, and Dave) also came, so it was kind of a mini-reunion.

If you know me, then you know I love eclairs.

Not like. Love.

Eclairs account for an embarrassingly high percentage of my happiness at wedding receptions.
Especially when I get there before the other friends and have to sit alone for a bit.

I'm perfectly fine sitting all alone at a table, as long as I have a couple eclairs to keep me company.
(But then I'm even happier when I have friends to converse with and tasty pastries to eat, too).

Congrats, Shandi and Chris! So excited for you guys and your new life together!

Graffiti Marriage Proposal

Sorry to get your hopes up with that subject, Mom, but this isn't my proposal.

Just a good one from the interwebs.

I don't know Jeff or Caitlin, but you have to admit, this is a very clever and cute way to propose.

Had I known, I'd have taken my parents, brother, and sis-in-law to New York's East Village (Avenue A & 2nd St, to be precise) last weekend to see the mural.

So go check it out, New York friends! And pick me up a sandwich from Katz' Deli while you're in the neighborhood.

HT: Natalie Hill [her twitter] [her blog]

While we're at it, here's another one. Guess I'm just feeling sappy right now.
The video pretty much speaks for itself, but here are some keywords to start tugging at your heart-strings: baseball game, military, surprise homecoming.

A SuDan-ese Wedding

Living in DC, I've been fortunate to re-unite with old friends, such as Su Chang. She and I went to high school together, which is longer ago than I'd care to mention...

Anyway, we've hung out here in the DC area, and I've gotten to know her better and also her fiance Dan. Well the day finally came, and they tied the knot in a beautiful little setting in Arlington, VA. The entire weekend was filled with friends and fun, so here are some pics along with snippets of info. It'd take far too long to do a detailed rundown of everything that happened.

Rehearsal Dinner

The rehearsal dinner was held at a Korean restaurant and included socializing; dinner buffet & in-table meat cooking;

traditional Korean wedding ceremonies, involving grandparents & relatives, as well as bride piggy-back rides; karaoke; and even a bar fight just for good measure.

Wedding Ceremony & Reception

Su's sister officiated the wedding, and she did a great job, even writing a very cute poem for the occasion. After the short, elegant ceremony, there was tons of dancing, toasts, delicious food,

more socializing, me awkwardly getting rejected when asking a girl to dance (3 times. ouch!), a fainting aunt,

and even rootbeer floats. Awesome.

Afterparty in Courthouse

Because Su and Dan have so many friends, not all of them could be accommodated at the wedding, so they had an afterparty at a place in Courthouse.

Roast Duck Brunch

Good times were had by all, and I'm so grateful I was able to spend such a memorable weekend with Su and Dan and so many other friends!

Bridals and Bowling

One of my college buddies, Aaron, married the beautiful and talented Camille, I was invited to attend the reception. Jack Frost and Mr. Winter joined forces to provide a whole lotta the white stuff, so it was an adventure just driving to the reception, but I think everyone that was able to make it had a great time and was happy to celebrate the occasion with them.We figured it out beforehand, but as luck would have it, Camille and Brea are in the same cohort in BYU's Masters of Public Health program, so Brea (and Alisha who is also in the picture above) were there. That's a very nice coincidence, isn't it? :)Celebrating Aaron's marriage with Camille was cool, because I met him pretty soon after I got back from my mission (yipes, let's not mention exactly how long ago that was) and we've been friends ever since. He's always been very friendly and welcoming to people, and seeing him find a gal like Camille is always a boost to me. Nice guys don't always have to finish last.I don't know how, but I always seem to run into the Jolleys at random places every couple years or so. Granted, it isn't a stretch that they'd be at Aaron and Camille's reception, since Aaron grew up in their ward. But still, I didn't expect it. Just like I didn't expect to see them a couple years ago while hiking. Great people, those Jolleys.Once we'd had enough of the wedding reception gourmet hot chocolate and cookies, we decided to put some of that sugar-fueled energy to good use at Fat Cats. There was a little bit of a wait due to a bowling league, so we played some table hockey and carnival games. Check out our sweet prizes!
Apparently, Brea is my good luck charm. Not sure what it was. Perhaps our singing "Empire State of Mind" or mini-dance parties or just joking and laughing together, but I was bowling like I never have before. By far, the 214 in my first game was the highest I've ever had (previous personal record was 185). Of course, my next games were not quite so fantastic. Brea, however, improved every game. She's got mad skills and made the whole evening very fun, and I can't wait to go out again.

Let's All Do the Horah!

So I'm woefully behind in my posts (try 2.5 months or so), but I for sure wanted to get this most recent fun down and then I'll work my way back through the months a little at a time. So you may have to either look back at old posts every so often or just subscribe and then it'll tell you when a new post is done.

My friends Meghan Hollingshaus and Dan Posner joined into the bonds of matrimony on Saturday, and their wedding reception was (as agreed upon by those in attendance) one of the most fun such occasions we had ever attended. The event was held in the North Bethesda Marriott, and the tables were all labeled with different baseball teams. I was at the Cubs table -- which was acceptable since they aren't in the same division as the Angels, Dodgers, or Braves -- with a bunch of our BYU friends.Their DJ introduced the wedding party as if it were the start of a ballgame, which was something I hadn't seen before, but it was good because it fit their fun personalities. To reduce the amount of glass banging done to demand that they kiss, Meghan and Dan agreed to kiss if the demanders would stand up and sing a song with the word "kiss" or "love" in the lyrics.After the salad course, their slide show, and the entree, it was time for their first dance. They looked great out there with Dan in his tux and Meghan absolutely beautiful in her dress. But that was only the beginning of the dancing. The main dance we did was the Horah, a Jewish traditional dance at weddings, where the couple is raised up while sitting on chairs and the rest of the people hold hands and dance in a circle around them. Clearly everyone had a grand time with it.Various other music styles were represented and we all danced for a good while until it was time for the cake cutting. My mother would have been proud, as they didn't do any cake-in-the-face smashing, but stuck to cute feeding-each-other. Then they did the bouquet (picked up by a 6-yr old flowergirl when two of my friends couldn't hold onto it) and garter (caught by a 6'6" groomsman).There was a little more dancing and then Meghan and Dan Posner were ready to head out and do whatever newlyweds do (probably play Scrabble or California Speed, right?). We all said some last goodbyes, got some more pictures, and then they took off. We cleaned up and talked about what a fun night it had been, and then we went upstairs to the girls' room and watched Michael Phelps win another gold medal in the Beijing Olympics. What a fantastic night it was! Le chaim, Meghan and Dan!

Brief Summer Recap #1

So I realize that by starting this blog recently, I've completely left out the previous 26 years+ of my life. Rather than go all the way back, which would result in a ridiculously long post, I'm just going to give a brief recap of this summer and go from there. These may not be in chronological order, but I'll try to be close.

BYU Graduation:

My summer started with graduating from Brigham Young University with my MAcc degree (Masters in Accountancy). It was a great program and I met a lot of amazing friends and faculty during my time at BYU. Certainly, I owe so much to my family for helping to reach this accomplishment and I thank them for all their support!

Florida 1/2 Ironman:

As a precursor to one of my long-term life goals, I participated in the Florida 1/2 Ironman. The race (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and 13.1 mile run) was challenging--particularly the run-- but I'm so glad that I did it. I finished in 6 hours 24 minutes, and I was very happy with my time, especially since I wasn't feeling so well before the race started.

Jesse & Emily Wedding Reception:

My cousin Emily got married and I was excited to be able to attend their reception at Red Butte Garden near the University of Utah. The reception was beautiful. It was fairly traditional, though they threw in some personal touches. One of those touches was a song by some of Emily's friends. It was full of inside jokes and, from the look on her face, Emily clearly loved it.

Ethan & Michole Wedding Reception:

I don't have any pictures, but my cousin Ethan also got married this summer and they looked extremely happy. Ethan has become quite the motorcyclist and they've apparently taken some long roadtrips on their Harley. Fun, fun, fun!

Santa Cruz/Oakland Trip:

To temporarily abate the hazards of Utah fever (a sister disease to cabin fever), I flew to Oakland to visit some friends.

Though it was a whirlwind trip, and I essentially only spent one day in California, it was great to stay in Santa Cruz at my friend AmberJo's and then spend the morning wandering around Monterey. While AmberJo and her friend had their hair done at a swanky salon, looked in some shops, saw some marine life under the pier, and watched scuba divers enter the water where my dad and I dove a few years ago. It was the standard, beautiful California weather!

After having lunch in Santa Cruz, we met up with my buddy Bret Baker and his fiance Whitney in Emeryville (near Oakland) at an international food court. So cool! Next time I'll definitely take a bigger appetite so I can better enjoy the savory delights of foreign cultures.