...we are getting married on September 11, 2004. Because of the way we met, we decided to make it an event cache as well as a regular wedding for our non-caching friends. I met Nurse Dave online (in ClayJar's #geocache IRC channel) early in 2003. At first, our conversations were the usual back-and-forth and intermingled banter among all of the regular channel visitors.
Over time, Dave and I began to chat more, and this gradually led to phone calls and we realized that we had feelings for each other. The distance between us (I live in California and at that time he lived in Oregon) made things painful, difficult and frustrating...So, eventually I made plans to travel with my older son, Ricky, to visit Dave in Oregon over the Labor Day weekend.
As it turned out, Dave couldn't wait to meet me in person, and he made his first trip to visit us in mid-August. Things went great after the initial awkwardness...And, Dave got his first taste of California geocaching (can't say he was too crazy about it, but it did get his numbers up!). Ricky and I did visit Dave over the Labor Day weekend and a flurry of visits by him followed that.
Dave began making plans to move to California, and on one of his trips, he interviewed with the local children's hospital for a job somewhat similar to his position in Portland, and was instantly offered the job. He accepted and we started making plans for his arrival. I found a rental duplex where we could move in closer to the new year.
In December 2003, we all traveled with my mom to visit Disneyland, a belated birthday present for me. On the evening of our arrival, Dave surprised me with a beautifully decorated (by him) wooden box...And, what was inside? A gorgeous diamond ring! He asked me to marry him, and of course I accepted.
...at this point, it was getting difficult to wait even another minute, let alone hours! Dave moved into our new rental home near the end of December of 2003, after his trip being initially delayed by road closures due to snow (at this point, it was getting difficult to wait even another minute, let alone hours!). The boys and I were able to join him there in the spring, but in the meantime we set about getting the house set up and Dave settled into his job.
As for family life, the boys immediately took to Dave from the moment they met him, and his continued presence only served to make things better. Dave has become a steady, somewhat strict presence in their lives, giving the boys the stability and the father figure that they need. Ricky has cystic fibrosis, and Dave's experience as a pediatric nurse has soothed my worries on this and other medical fronts on many occasions. This is just a bonus, but it has really been nice.
As you may have heard, we are getting married on September 11, 2004. Because of the way we met, we decided to make it an event cache as well as a regular wedding for our non-caching friends. This sort of event required special permission. The wedding ceremony is going to be officiated by Dave's dad, who is a Methodist minister, and the reception is going to be a casual barbecue. We hope to see many of our caching (and #geocache) friends there!