After the Wedding...

It's been a long time since I've last blogged, and I thought it was time to get back into it. There is so much to write about and update everyone on since Ben and I got married. So I will do my best to give a quick rundown of the the "going-on's".

December was a busy month, as most know since that was the month we got hitched. The wedding was so fun. I was not nervous at all. The ENTIRE day I was relaxed and just excited for this once in a lifetime experience. I felt beautiful, the church was decorated perfectly (a big thank you to Cheryl for that!), I was surrounded by the people who are so very important in my life and whom I love very much. It was amazing.

I remember the first thing I said after Ben and I had gone back down the aisle as man and wife. "Is that really it??? It happened so fast! I want to do it again!" Throughout the ceremony I kept thinking, Slow down. I want to remember and relish these precious moments because I don't intend on having them again.

The following day (Saturday), Ben and I went over to my parent's place where his family, and my family including some out of town relatives were all gathered for breakfast and the opening of wedding presents. It was a fun way to spend time with the new in-laws and a great way to send us off on our honeymoon.

After opening all the gifts and hugging everyone goodbye, Ben and I loaded up in his parents little Toyota. We were on our way to Disneyland!

The honeymoon was fun. It was a long drive in a little car but so fun and so many memories. We saw a lot of great places. Our first hotel we stayed at once we crossed over into California was a Holiday Inn (which we decided from then on, that was the staple hotel). Woke up the next morning to fire alarms and firemen knocking on everyone doors. Apparently Californians don't know how to toast English muffins. :o) That was a fun memory. We got to stay in a beautiful hotel RIGHT across the street from Disneyland. We walked there every day. We strolled around Downtown Disney which became one of my favorite places to go. We ate at amazing places. Ben and I rarely go out to eat at nice places around here, only for special occasions. So going out for every meal was a real treat!

We went to Knott's Berry Farm too. I think we became Disney snobs because we weren't very impressed with Knott's after spending 3 days in Disney. Then we went to SeaWorld, where I had never been to before so that was a great time and we got some great pictures. Next was San Diego Zoo. I love zoos so I was really looking forward to this. We took a bus tour around the park first, that way we knew where certain animals were and would be able to walk to them later and spend as much time as we wanted with them. Again, we got some amazing pictures of the animals. The animals at the San Diego Zoo are vastly different than the ones here in Portland. They were so full of spunk and just so much more active. Their enclosures were large and well-kept. It made me sad for our animals here. Of course it could be the weather that makes the San Diego animals more peppy. Sun tends to do that with anything.

On our drive back home we took 101. We wanted to see the coast and possibly stop into some of the coastal cities along the way. We actually ran into some patches of snow but nothing too bad. A herd of elk were also grazing along the road, which caused us to do a radical U-Turn in the middle of the road just so we could go back and get some good pictures.

Wwe also got to meet up with a few people while we were down around the Disney area. We hung out with Kayla (long time friend of us both, and the guest book attendant at our wedding), Holly and Billy (one of Ben's groomsmen), and Andy (Ben's brother). Went out to dinner, went to movies, and other things...it was great to include others and not be the typical exlusive honeymooners.

Over all, it was a great time. We laughed a lot, probably from the hours on end of sitting, driving, and lack of sleep, you name it...the combination made us loony.

Let me just say, Ben and I are good on roadtrips for a while. :o)