As I'm sure most of you know, a lot has happened in our lives since last year…

The first excursion of 2007 was to visit my Radio City duet partner, Bob, at his beautiful country home in Pennsylvania in order to admire first-hand his stunning Christmas tree.  Besides looking at the tree, Bob and I put in some work on a surprise finale for a concert Bob was to play at Radio City later in the month: a Mary Poppins medley using both organ consoles, even though the concert-goers had only been expecting to see one console used that evening.  The actual performance was a huge success.  Rich watched the theater organ enthusiasts as one by one they noticed with astonishment that I had rolled out of the wall playing the house-right organ.

One of the saddest moments of our year came early when we had to say goodbye to Tyner's big sister, a sweet-natured shepherd-collie mix named Kayla.

The second biggest event of the year was the Engagement Weekend, which took place February 3 & 4.  If you don't know our engagement story yet, you can still read the edited version on our Wedding Site (click here), the previously unreleased unedited version by clicking here, or the very edited version that is currently being featured at brides.com!

Our first trip as an officially engaged couple was to upstate New York.  The first stop was a stay with Rich's friends, Bill & Kelly and their dog, Zoe.  Next I met my future in-laws, Ronald and Emmie Bishop, who also met at Radio City Music Hall, at the very same house-right organ console that I used to play in the Christmas show.  The last stop on the upstate trip was to spend a night at Puppi & Jordan's, my father's cousin and her husband, where we received a warm welcome, complete with a "Mazel Tov!" cake.

At the end of February Rich had to go to North Carolina to do some work on the organ at Wake Forest University, so Tyner and I went along for the ride.  It's a good thing, because while we were there, Rich and I went wedding dress shopping with my high school friend, Audrey, and found THE dress.  Another night, we went with my college friend Knikki and her husband, Damian, to The Melting Pot for fondue in Charlotte.

In March, we took a pleasure trip to Chicago to see Rich's friends M.J. & Chris.  M.J. took us sightseeing (while Chris Tyner-sat) and we got to see Oprah's Harpo Studios where M.J. works, Millennium Park, and the Hancock Observatory.  We also went to the Museum of Science and Industry where we saw the "Bodies" exhibition.  One evening we went out to dinner with Rich's friend, Jim Mornar, at Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse where we had the largest slice of chocolate cake any of us had ever seen.  Rich, Tyner & I took a side-trip to Urbana-Champaign so Rich could meet his future sister-in-law, Tracy, who is going to school at the University of Illinois there.  My two favorite discoveries in Chicago were Frango Mint Chocolates and Lush Cosmetics bath products, both of which were sold at the Macy's (the old Marshall Field's) in downtown Chicago.

For my birthday, my friends arranged for everyone to be part of a scavenger hunt in the American Museum of Natural History, followed by cake and ice cream back at their apartment.

In early April I took my last vacation as a single woman with my friend, Kim, to Cozumel, Mexico.  Besides doing a lot of SCUBA diving, we saw the ruins at Chichén Itzá, went horseback riding in the pouring rain, and rented scooters to get to church and ended up riding them around the entire island.

When I got back from Cozumel, I had to go to Boston for work, and this time it was Rich and Tyner who went along for the ride.  Our sightseeing expeditions took us to see the Aeolian-Skinner organ in the Mother Church of the Church of Christ, Scientist, the USS Constitution, the swan boats, and Cheers.  At the New England Aquarium, my favorite was the traveling jellyfish exhibit (no, they didn't all have little suitcases…), and Rich's favorites were the penguins.  After the aquarium, Rich got to meet some of my ATF coworkers over dinner at the Salty Dog in Faneuil Hall Market Place.

In mid-May we went to Hot Rods & Harleys 2007 – an annual car and motorcycle show in Rahway, New Jersey.  Rich's "Uncle Al" showed his 1932 Ford five-window coupe, and it won the prize for best of its year category.

Earlier in the spring, I had shared with Rich my love for flying dual-line stunt kites, and Rich took to the sport immediately.  So for Rich's birthday, we spent the weekend in Wildwood, New Jersey at the Wildwood International Kite Festival and East Coast Stunt Kite Championships where Rich enjoyed watching some real pros for the first time, as well as flying his own new stunt kite.  We also took a day trip to see the USS Battleship New Jersey which is docked in nearby Camden.

I kept busy by juggling work with being the musical director for a version of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" which was performed by a group of talented home-schooled kids from New York City through the New York Home Educators Alliance.  The play was interspersed with classic standards like George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm" and Cole Porter's "I Get A Kick Out Of You" which fit in better than one would ever expect.

In mid-June, we made another pilgrimage upstate to celebrate Rich's dad's birthday at the Lake Shore Railway Museum.  Right after getting home from that trip, we flew out to Utah where Rich met some of my friends who are like family to me, the Johnsons and the Conants.  I arranged for Richard Elliott, my former organ teacher who is now an organist at the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, to give Rich a behind-the-scenes tour of all the big organs on Temple Square, which Rich thoroughly enjoyed.  We attended the Mormon Miracle Pageant next to the Manti Temple, and took some fun engagement-style photos in Hobble Creek Canyon and at Cascade Springs.  We had dinner with Kim and Doug Conant at the Tree Room at Sundance, and spent a fun day at Snowbird where we rode the tram to the top of Hidden Peak in the Rocky Mountains, slid down the alpine slide, and zipped down the zip line.

At the end of June, my mom and I traveled to Syracuse to attend my cousin Audrey's wedding.  July was uneventful, unless you count planning a wedding… At the beginning of August, my friends in New York – Kim, Alena, Maria & Veronica – hosted my bridal shower.  The next week I spent a couple uneventful days up in Lake Placid for work.  Two weeks before the big day, I had bridal portraits taken, and the week before the big day, Kim Conant brought Sam and Abby, the older of the two ring bearers and the older of the two flower girls, for a New York adventure.  Sam and Abby got to see where I live and where Rich lived, they rode the Staten Island Ferry, went to the top of the Empire State Building, and met Tyner, Rich's dog.

The last two days before the wedding were packed with last-minute errands and details from welcome bags to manicures, and on September 1 Rich and I got married at the Park Savoy in Florham Park, New Jersey.  The ceremony was performed by my Stake President and Rich's friend, Brent Belnap, in an outdoor ceremony.  There was an indoor/outdoor cocktail hour with live piano music, and a four-hour indoor reception with dj Chuck Russo.

We left for our honeymoon on September 26^th.  We flew business class to Tahiti where we spent our first night on the island of Tahiti, and four nights each on the islands of Moorea and Bora Bora and on the atoll of Rangiroa.  What paradise!  Our accommodations in Moorea were the famed over-water bungalows, complete with glass panel in the floor through which we could view the fish in the water below.  On Bora Bora and Rangiroa we had lavish bungalows right on the beach.  We did much snorkeling and even some SCUBA diving.  I had memorable underwater encounters with spotted eagle rays, sea turtles, sharks, and even dolphins.  Together we had their first breakfast on Moorea delivered by outrigger canoe, watched Tahitian dancers, ate a typical Tahitian feast, took ATV and jeep tours, went on a sunset catamaran cruise, drove around in a Bugxter, went jet skiing, and visited a black pearl farm.  We had such an amazing time – I even cried on the plane home because I didn't want to leave.

No sooner than we got home, Radio City announced that auditions were again being held for organists for the Christmas show.  I, with much help from Bob, prepared my audition, but was disappointed to receive no response.  Rich asked around and found out that basically, due to politics, no additional organists were being hired this season after all.  I am disappointed, but am managing to fill up my spare time by helping Rich clean up and rearrange things in the apartment.  Earlier this month we put up our Christmas tree.  I am very excited about it, as it is a real tree, and it is the first time I have had a Christmas tree in my home.  I even made a ridiculously large homemade star for the top.

We hope you enjoyed our first holiday letter.  'Wishing you all the best in 2008!

Love,

Ronnie, Rich & Tyner