The Initial Honeymoon

As Russ and I both had to return to  work the week following the wedding, we took a very short honeymoon. We went to Northern Arizona and "played tourist" in Flagstaff, Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Snow Bowl, Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Parks. The only thing that would have improved this short trip would have been a warmer season. You'll note from the pictures that it was pretty cold wherever we went. But we had a great time!

Russ' Birthday - Snowboarding at Snow Bowl

With all the excitement of the wedding preparation and the chilling outdoor wedding, I was sick by the time we were on our honeymoon.  So I played "snow bunny" in the lodge while Russ enjoyed the slopes of Snow Bowl, north of Flagstaff.

 One way to ensure you receive a gift you'll like is to let the gift-giver know what would truly be appreciated.  Otherwise, I can honestly say I never would have picked up "Stick and Rudder" on my own as a gift for Russ.

Wedding Day 29 Jan 2005

We were married on 29 Jan 05 at the home of The Honorable Steve May, a friend of mine since childhood, in Paradise Valley AZ. Our simple back yard wedding was absolutely perfect, as far as the ceremony went. For 15 minutes the sun shone, the wind died down, and there was no rain. For the rest of the day, though, the weather just didn’t cooperate. But we appreciated all the friends and family who braved the sudden drop in temperature (42 degrees Farenheit), the tornado warnings, the rain and hail to help us celebrate our big day.

Buying the Wedding License

We went to the North Scottsdale courthouse to buy the marriage license.  As Russ paid for it, I can't remember what the current rate for a marriage license is.  But we didn't need to get blood tests for it.  One step closer to officially being married.

Snow Storm and Snow Fort

Once again, Newport News is full of surprises.  Look at all the snow from a single storm.

My next door neighbors had two dogs, Snow and Butch.  Snow wanted to come over and play. 

 Jack took a stroll to explore some more after saying hello to Snow.

 Russ and I took some time to play in the snow fort we built.

 Russ had to come out to make some room for Jack to explore the fort.

Christmas Day 2004

Since Russ' parents had come right before Christmas, they brought a bunch of Christmas gifts with them.  I had been completely dismayed to learn that we weren't going to open the presents last week when we were all together.  (That clearly outlined a huge difference between the Stoller and Roslewski clans.  My family would have opened the presents before Christmas when we were all together.)  I hadn't had this many presents to open on Christmas Day since I was a young child.
Jack felt left out sitting on the other side of the room and came and joined us when we were taking this photo.

 Jack showed us what a good helper he was with unwrapping presents.

 My favorite present of all was the set of uniform name tags that Russ ordered for me as an early wedding present.

Christmas Eve and Jack the Great Dane

Our friends Trisha Cundiff and Mike Raynoha were going out of town for the long Christmas weekend and needed someone to take care of Trisha's dog, Jack.  As I love dogs, I was more than ready to have Jack in my home (though I refused to have a dog that big sleeping in my bed like my late cocker spaniel Louie).

Trisha left some toys for Jack to play.  Sadly, the reindeer doll didn't last the long weekend.  But Jack sure enjoyed playing tug of war with Russ.

 Apparently Jack felt I was being left of of the action and came to play with me, too.