Christmas Devotional

In December we went to the Christmas Devotional with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!  It was so amazing. We went with Mel and Steve, Mark and Maddie, Mark's parents and sister and brother-in-law, and Skyler.    Here we are at PF Changs before the show- it was so delicious!  We finished with the Great Wall of Chocolate. ;)

The stage was really neat- I loved the decorations it was breathtaking, especially because we were sitting so close.  

Sam and I after the performance.  It was amazing!  This photo was taken from where we sitting!  That is how close we were.  We heard special guests baritone Nathan Gunn, and movie star Jane Seymor.  She was beautiful and told a lovely Christmas narrative that almost made me cry.  Nathan Gunn did a wonderful job too, and they even had dancers at one point!  It was spectacular.  We were so lucky to go.  

Trying out the new "ghosting" technique in Temple Square. It is where you try to walk as close as possible to the person in front of you without them noticing, and gets harder the more people you have. (yeah, we're that good.)

Silky smooth mooooves....

Sam and I outside of the Salt Lake Temple.  They had Christmas lights and dozens of nativity scenes from different countries I loved it!

Bridal Shower!

My Bridal Shower was so fun!  All the girls from my Neil side were in town for Thanksgiving, and so we had it at 1pm on Black Friday.  My Aunt Alexis was a wonderful hostess and we all gathered at her home.  Here I am with my sister Meggie!  It was such a fun girly time. :)

From left to right: cousin Carlee, sister AnnMarie, me, my mom, and cousin Makenzie.
The cake was absolutely delicious and topped with my favorite--Snickers bars!

We love making waffles on Sunday mornings.  From my Grandma. :)  There is a tradition among my sisters and I to make a silly hat for the bride.  Here I am in the one they made for me. :)

My sweet cousin Michelle was there, too.  It was such a treat to have us all gathered together, especially without the men, haha.  I don't remember that ever happening before!


Below I am with my Aunt Alexis and Aunt Janelle, and cousin Emily in the next picture.  They are so wonderful. :)

It was such a fun day, presents, cake, food and family!!!  Love you all :)))

Engagement Pictures!

Engagement Photo Session with Amy Olson!!!  It was so wonderful and FUN I loved it.  Amy was awesome and had so many ideas for poses and was very professional and fun to work with.  Matching outfits everybody! Enjoy. :)

This is the one we used for announcements.  Love it. 

Ohhh la la

I love those heels.  Very fun.  (Not so easy on rocks, etc, however haha.)

 One of my very very favorites. :))))

Only 16 days until Sam and I are married! :)

Engaged!! :)

Sam and I on the way to dinner!  Sam took me to dinner and then to the opera.  I am excited for the evening and having a great time already!

Sam sent me a surprise schedule on my Google Calendar:  Afternoon- Tori get ready for date with Sam.  4:15- leave for dinner.  It was so sweet and I utilized my time and felt beautiful.  Sam even matched me with his cute bowtie. :)

We listened to Sinatra in the car the whole way and Sam sang along.  Such a fun date already. :)

We went to dinner at Cucina Toscana in Salt Lake.  It was beyond delicious.  I was excited that we were going to a nice place but I still had no idea what was happening!

                             I was loving dinner it was so delicious!  After our main course, Sam and I talked about how happy we were and how we always wanted to be together.  Then Sam was standing up and getting the ring out of his pocket!  I started to cry and laugh at the same time as he knelt down on one knee by my side.  Needless to say..  I said yes!!

This is the first picture of us after we got engaged!  Sooooo happy. :)  And we had some amazing gelato. ;)
We saw Beethoven's Fidelio at Utah Opera and it was wonderful.  I was already so excited to see one opera, but then when we arrived, Sam surprised me with...Season tickets for the Utah Opera!!  I cannot wait to see all of them with my sweetheart. :) Many more opera dates to come!

We got back and shared the good news with some of our friends!  Sam's roommate Dan took these pictures for us. :)

Photos taken by Dan Carson

It was the perfect evening.  I have never been happier and now I am engaged to Samuel Ivan Olson!  He is so wonderful.

My new apartment (and the people in it :)

 I have clearly just experienced the Court Jester movie.  Inspiring?  Oh yes.

 

 Sunday afternoons are pretty fun.  Look at the awesome tree in my new apartment! It is my token decoration. It is really spacious and I'm loving it! :)