Chris and Lisa met back in 1994 while working at Emporium and quickly became friends. They shared many similar interests like snowboarding, skydiving, roller blading, camping, and fishing. After a year of close friendship they started dating and fell in love. But their blossoming love was overshadowed less than six months later with the tragic death of their closest friend Chris Darius in a skydiving accident.

Unequipped to cope with a loss of this magnitude they found it difficult to maintain the emotional intensity in their relationship. Both Chris and Lisa were numbed by their loss and they soon broke up searching for ways to grieve their loss.

Because they shared a common group of friends and wanted to remain close, they worked hard at maintaining their friendship after they broke off their romantic relationship. Unknown to them at the time they were learning the art of selfless love as friends.

Chris and Lisa remained friends for five years following their break up. Then in Autumn of 2000 they reunited as lovers and have been inseparable ever since. On July 19, 2001 while in Spain, Chris and Lisa climbed up in the highest tower of Castille de Loarre overlooking the sunflower and wheat covered Spanish countryside under a warm summer sun. Chris knelt down on one knee and asked for Lisa's hand in marriage. These two soulmates have been in each others hearts since 1994, 8 years before they married and they continue to discover the depths of their love every day.

Mister Monkey
Many people wondered why there was a stuffed monkey in Chris and Lisa's wedding ceremony? Mister Monkey, as he has come to be known, was given to Lisa by Chris in August of 1995 to take care of Lisa while Chris was visiting his brother in Idaho.

Mister Monkey came to symbolize the timeless connection between Chris and Lisa. When they reunited, Mister Monkey was pulled from a dark place in the back of a closet and life was breathed back into him. There are few places Mister Monkey doesn't go with them. He has many stamps in his passport from Europe and is an experienced camper.

Pictured on Right: (from left to right) Rhianna Yates, Tyus Burnam and Nghio Burnam