First Married Christmas

Our first Christmas as a married couple was spent in Boston with Leslie's parents and Leslie's sister and her husband, Brian.

Honeymoon in Italy

John & Leslie honeymooned in Italy for 2.5 weeks. The first week was spent in Rome (one of Leslie's favorite citys), the next week was spent sailing along the Amalfi Coast south of Naples on a small sailboat. They visited such picturesque places as the islands of Ischia & Capri & the beautiful cities of Positano, Sorrento, Amalfi, Ravello, Herculaneum & Pompeii, to name but a few. When the sailboat trip was over, they spent the last few days of their honeymoon shopping in Florence (where Leslie spend time taking art classes after graduating from college).

Mountain Elegant

After 4 years together, John & Leslie finally made it 'official' on September 11, 2004 in Aspen, CO. The fun-packed weekend kicked off on Thursday evening at The Cantina for margaritas. The next day was the spectacular rehearsal dinner at the Aspen Mountain Club on top of Aspen Mountain. Saturday brought unseasonably hot weather and a beautiful wedding at the Snowmass Chapel, conducted by the bride and groom's good friend, Patrick Shelby. The reception was held at the Hotel Jerome. The next morning everyone met for a farewell brunch, held in the garden at The Hotel Jerome.

It's Raining Men!

Johns' bachelor party was held in Lake Tahoe in August.

A Little Girl Time Is Good For the Soul....

Leslie's bridal shower was held in San Francisco and hosted by Amy Glass & April Baker. She opted not to do a full-blown bachelorette party (not her cup of tea)--instead, she chose to fly back to her college town, Fort Collins, CO and meet up for a fun weekend with her good friends, Tanya Anderson & Rachel Pace.

The Bakers Say "I Do"

April & Brian got married in beautiful Sunriver, OR in July, 2004. John was an usher and Leslie was Maid of Honor.

The Graduate

In May, John graduated (with honors!) from The University of Texas with his MBA! His graduation ended our fun-filled two years in beautiful Austin, Texas. We had a great time there, learned alot (John did) and met some great friends. Hook 'em!

India or Bust!

In March, John made a trip to India with a group of grad students in order to learn how business is conducted in India. He went to Bangalore, Bombay, Dehli & Goa--what an experience!

John 'Tri's' the Dog (among other things)

John started a Triathlon Club at UT called the 'GBATS' (if you have been to Austin, you will understand the bat reference). He did several races "Dirty Duathlon", "Dog Ridge" & 'The Muddy Buddy".

Engaged!

Leslie & John spent Christmas & New Year's Eve in Aspen with John's parents (Christmas Eve was spent in Beulah with the Olivers). John & his dad came down with a nasty hot tub sickness from the Oliver's new hot tub that made them very sick for the first few days of the trip. Then Leslie came down with Bronchitis. John wasn't able to pop the question until the very last day of their vacation. They waded through the deep snow in Paepke Park and he propsed in the gazebo!