Busch Gardens Hairdo

Last year I "took a chance" and bought 2005 season passes for Russ and me.  (Considering we weren't even engaged yet when I bought the passes, you can tell I wasn't being my usual frugal self.)  But Busch Gardens was offering free entries for the remaining of the 2004 season for people who bought 2005 passes.  If nothing else, I figured I'd at least have a season pass to use for myself for 2005.  Plus Russ and I went to Busch Gardens and Water Country USA enough times in 2004 to make the season passes worthwhile.  Luckily, I'm still getting to enjoy the passes with Russ.
We didn't take many pictures, but I had to laugh when I saw Russ' new hairdo after after riding the Loch Ness Monster roller coaster.

Russ and Chad Flight Logs

I may have mentioned that Russ loves flying.  One of the things he loves to do after flying is making entries in his flight log.  The manual/written entry isn't sufficient.  He also needs to make a computer entry.  (That way he can sort by aircraft flown, destination of trip, etc.)
Although I "vowed" during our wedding ceremony to act excited about all things related to flight, this is sometimes a challenging promise.  Fortunately for me, Russ' best friend, Chad DeNaughel, is almost as geeky as Russ when it comes to this flight log tracking fascination.  I'd had to find out what all their laughing was about (because men don't giggle) and discovered they were just making entries in their flight logs after their flight down to Kitty Hawk, NC.

Wedding Gifts

Although we'd noted that the greatest present our friends and family could give us would be there presence at our wedding, many people still gave us presents.  Fortunately for us, several of our friends who came from Virginia brought extra suitcases so we could send gifts home with them.  Unfortunately, we hadn't unwrapped the gifts before we sent the gifts home.  And airline security unwrapped all the gifts, not keeping the cards or wrapping papers with the gifts.  We tried matching up the wrapping paper by size of the gifts, but that didn't always work.  So if you received a rather vague thank you note, you'll understand why.
One of the most creative gifts we received came from Russ' work section.  As Russ had proprosed to me on a Scrabble board, his co-workers made a very unique welcome sign, which we proudly display in the entry way of our home. 

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.