Thank you

It is all over and we are very happy.

More pictures available at https://www.facebook.com/UnscriptedPhotography

Race info

We'll be running a 5k on Saturday morning and all are welcome to participate. It is the Race to the Shrine, which goes through the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. I believe that is the world's highest altitude zoo and it will provide a challenging course. The race info can be found at cmzoo.org. We are planning to have fun with it. Let me know if you plan on running so we can meet up and coordinate. The 5k starts at 8:15am. See you there!

Things to do in Denver when you're dead

I'm not a very good tour guide, but I'll do my best. The following things will actually be just fine if you aren't dead, too.

1. Go to Colorado Springs - That's where the wedding is actually happening. The title is a misnomer. I can't vouch for the film of the same name either. It might be terrible.
2. Garden of the Gods - Now we're talkin'. This should be on every person's list. You must find time to go there, even if it is just to drive around the loop. It is a great place to hike, a great place for a run, a great place to take pictures and it's beautiful.
3. Pikes Peak - You can see it from anywhere but the best view is from the top. You can drive Pikes Peak Highway, ride the cog railway or even hike (snow shoes, insanity required). If you can't make it to the top the lower parts at least offer stunning views of America's Mountain.
4. Manitou Springs - This quirky, touristy town nestled up against Pikes Peak is full of shopping and other fun things. You can drive through on your way to the Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings - a family-oriented center devoted to the local native american history.
5. The US Olympic Training center - Check their website for tour times. You might run into a future gold medalist.
6. US Air Force Academy - A famous cathedral and views up and down the front range
7. Woodland Park - Highway 24 west is the fastest way to get straight to the mountains - the ROCKY MOUNTAINS. You'll head first to Woodland park, which has awesome views of Pikes Peak. You can get some awesome biscuits and gravy at the Donut Mill. This is the first stop for anyone headed to the ski towns like Aspen or Vail.
8. My home - that's right, don't forget about the backyard barbecue on Saturday night. Try to send me a message to let me know if you are coming.

Send me a message if you want more info, especially if you plan to drive up Pikes Peak or go to the mountains. I can make some good suggestions.

This could be you!

Picture sharing

Everyone is going to want to take pictures and share them. I am going to make an album to collect all of those images. That album can be found here. If you are looking for an easy way to upload your photos (or videos) you can just email them to curtis.larimer.wedding@picasaweb.com. The subject line of the email will end up as the photo caption. If you are looking to upload a lot of pictures at once and you have a google account I will add you as a collaborator so you can go to Picasaweb and upload directly. Francisca and I will look forward to seeing all of the photos that you submit!

RSVPs

It's spring and with the conclusion of my semester our thoughts have finally turned completely towards the wedding. The anticipation has been growing for months. And finally the time has arrived ... for Kate and William. As for Fran and I, we still have to wait a few weeks. I was watching the royal wedding and dutifully taking notes. It looks like I may have forgotten about the police escort from the ceremony to the reception. Oh well, maybe that's just a British thing. Watching the royal wedding this morning reminded me that I haven't received the RSVP from the Beckhams yet. They have until May 1st, just like the rest of you.

A new video

Here is a video slideshow I threw together. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDmlCFuJTc0

More travel stories

On our trip to Brasília Fran and I made a side trip to Pirenópolis - a little town in the state of Goiás. It was fantastic. We stayed at a nice little pousada with a stream that crept along the back of the property. You can read about it here - http://curtislarimer.blogspot.com/2010/06/piri.html

Registry listings

I have updated the registry page of our wedding site with the places where we registered. Please feel free to take a look. We really appreciate it!

https://sites.google.com/site/franciscaandcurtis/registry-1

A little history

While we are busy making preparations for the wedding we also wanted to share some more of our story. You can follow the link below to read a post from the blog I was writing while I was in Brazil. It is about the trip that Francisca and I made to Brasília. Enjoy!

http://curtislarimer.blogspot.com/2010/06/brasilia-modern-capital.html

Please send your addresses

If you haven't done so yet please send me your address. You can send me an email or you can do so on the RSVP page.

An unexpected delivery

Fran got home from school yesterday and found her dress waiting for her at the front door. We had ordered it last Friday and got notice that it shipped on Monday. I was expecting that it would take about a week to arrive. But by coincidence it was being shipped from nearby Harrisburg, PA. Overnight shipping is pretty easy from that close. Fran tried it on before I got home and she says that with a little adjustment it will be perfect. I'm not sure how she managed to get the thing on and the zipper closed all by herself but she did it. Next thing we are working on is invitations. So if you  haven't sent me your address yet, now would be a good time.

Just like that we have a dress

Over the weekend Fran made a decision on the dress. Whew, that is one less thing to worry about. We even lucked out that it went on sale just before we bought it. So maybe a little indecision was actually a good thing. Won't see the dress until the big day but I have been assured that it will be beautiful (as if I had any doubts). We are also looking around for photographers in the Colorado Springs area. If you have any ideas let me know.

Indecision 2011

Yesterday was another dress day. At this point I am pretty far from the decision making, just where I want to be. Francisca is talking with her friends and her sister and coordinating with my mom and my sister to find a dress. I'm just the guy who finds the bus to get us to the store, then waits while the shopping and trying on happens. I'm not allowed to see the dress before the big day and that gives me a certain distance, which is OK. That said, I will be happy when the decision is final. It will be one less thing to worry about. Going to a bridal store is strange. Every woman speaks as though she is being constantly tickled - lot's of giggles and smiles. Every guy (the few, the brave) embraces a library voice that is quieter and more reserved than their actual library voices. Tomorrow is Fran's birthday and we are going to the symphony. I am hoping that we will have a dress picked out by then, too.

Thank you for responding

I have received a lot of nice messages after our announcement. Thank you! I think the best one was the one I got from Zach. I had mixed up the phone number and sent a message addressed to "Mike". No problem, he responded with a correction, a hearty congratulations and a "who's this?" at the end. So despite the fact that he got a message from an unknown number addressed to the wrong person that was asking for his email address he still said congratulations. We got it all sorted out. Thanks Zach.

Read our story

Our story has been updated and you can read it here. Francisca and I both had a lot of fun writing these. We each wrote them separately and didn't see the other person's version until we were both done. I hope you enjoy them. I am going to start translating Francisca's story to English and my story to Portuguese soon so you can come back and check that out later.

Announcement is out

Email "pre-invitations" have been sent. If you didn't get one yet it's probably because I don't have your email or at least your updated email. I wanted to get everyone on the this before I sent the announcement out but we just couldn't wait any longer. I'll be happy to hear from all of you.

Hotels have been reserved

We saved hotel rooms at the Clarion Hotel and the Quality Inn on Bijou St just west of I-25. They are right next to each other. You can see the info at our travel accommodation page.

Dress shopping

We found the bus, we found the store, now we need to find the dress. It's President's Day so Francisca has the day off of school. We decided to take the opportunity to schedule a dress shopping/fitting experience. She is there now while I am at the nearest Starbucks trying to get some work done. Thank goodness for free wi-fi.

Do they have free internet that also has something to make me worry less? At least I have the new Radiohead album to try to keep me calm.

Appointment for dress fitting is set

Tomorrow Francisca will be going out to Robinson to try on dresses. I'll be going along but I won't be going into the store with her. I don't want to break the tradition of not seeing the dress until the big day. So my responsibilities will be limited to navigating us there on the bus and then providing moral support from the nearest place with wi-fi.

The beginning

This will be the beginning of our wedding blog.

Stay tuned ...