Brittney, right after getting ready:

Brittney and Dupree:

The bridesmaids (photo by Jason Tucker, the photographer):

Brittney and me (photo by Jason Tucker)–and don’t count on my hair ever being that fancy again!:

The ceremony:

The wedding party:

Joel, me, Mom and Dad:

1. Started the garden/seedlings (yes, we are still looking for a house, so the garden thing is a bit of an issue). I’ve planted spinach and pea seeds and started tomatoes and peppers inside.

2. Skiing/snowboarding. We’ve been a good bit this year since we got season passes, and we’ve had fun times with friends like the Potorffs, Thomases, Simmons, Clendenins.

3. Joel had jury duty again, but he got dismissed right away. That was a relief after the terrible case he was on in Nashville.

3. We finally had our “Boo-rito” party that we won from Chipotle on Halloween. We had our small group plus some visitors over and had about 20 people in our skinny house!

3. We had a short but fun visit with Joseph while he was in town.

3. We got to hang out with the Mortons! They were in town for a youth rally, and we were able to spend two fun evenings with them.

4. My cousin Brent had a conference in town and spent the weekend with us. We had a great time snowshoeing, hiking, etc.

1. I got a new job! I’m doing accounting at Save Our Youth, where Joel and I are mentors. It’s a great organization, and the job seems like a great fit for me, so I feel very blessed that the timing worked out perfectly.

2. We skied a lot before Christmas, and we’ve been a few times since then. I’ve improved this year, so it’s been more enjoyable. Oddly enough, we have been nearly a dozen times, and not a single day was just the two of us. We’ve had lots of skiing time with friends from in town and out of town (sadly few pictures–our camera died). Here is us with Kyle and Steph at Keystone.

3. We’ve had a few fun snowshoeing adventures. Here is a picture of Lewis and Vanessa eating lunch when we snowshoed near Loveland Ski Area. Following are pictures of us at Rocky Mountain National Park (we got a new camera!).

Joseph and Courtney with baby Noland:

Us with Noland:

Mom with Noland:

The Huffards:

Joel holding sleeping Noland in the sheep they received as a gift…I think it was called something like a Pillow Pal, and apparently they’re fancy?

Us in Huntsville at Monte Sano State Park with Joel’s parents (there wasn’t anyone to take a group shot):

Hiking with my parents at Radnor Lake:

We can’t wait for another visit!

Joel and I headed out after work on Thursday, so we had some time to kill before Kyle and Stephanie arrived on Friday. Joel wanted to drive up to the trailhead of Capitol Peak. He and his friend Jason were forced off of it due to weather several years ago, and Joel is determined to avenge his loss. He has decided that we will return here in August, backpack in some amount of miles that is farther than I would like to go, camp, and then summit the mountain. We shall see. Anyway, it is really beautiful at the trailhead. Capitol Peak is on the left:

Here’s a picture of more beautiful aspens on the drive to the trailhead:

Our friends arrived later that day, and we drove to the Maroon Bells area. They said it’s the most photographed spot in Colorado. I think I can see why. We also hiked up to Crater Lake for a closer view of the mountains.

Here’s a picture of what is, if you’re looking at the picture above, to the right of the Maroon Bells.

Beginning with our trip up Torrey’s Peak, we have had camera drama. This is with our 2003-model point-and-shoot, and we think it’s finally biting the dust. We’ve missed several memorable occasions now, so I think it’s about time for a new one. This camera apparently hates altitude in its old age. Luckily on this trip, Kyle and Stephanie had their camera to capture the sights. Here’s a pic Steph snapped of us making dinner.

Joel’s and Kyle’s faces were too funny to not post this one:

We had a much-needed face-washing session on Saturday morning…we had some nasty hair, but Joel had a particularly beautiful style.

Our final activity was a strenuous hike to Cathedral Lake. It was beautiful, but I was huffing and puffing big time (of course)!

We had some fun at Red Rocks…

…visited the big bear at the Denver Convention Center…

…and played on the frozen lake at City Park.

We had a wonderful weekend, and we can’t wait to meet their baby in a few months.

Due to the weather, we headed back to Denver the next day, stopping by Red Rocks on our way home. Thankfully it was much warmer than when Adam came! We can’t wait until their summer concert schedule comes out, because we’d love to catch a show there.

Sunday afternoon, we went to Mt Falcon Park in Morrison, CO to do a little hiking. The trail was icy here and there, but we had a good time.

It may not have been the best-timed weekend, but we were so glad to see the Fykes!

Oh, an update: Right before Christmas, I went on snowboarding day #2. It was rough. I wasn’t giving up yet, but I did have a bruised tailbone for around a month afterward. Joel decided we should both go back to skiing, and I happily agreed. I bought some cheap skis on Craigslist and some boots on ebay, and I am set. I would have been miserable at Steamboat if I attempted to snowboard. Joel is still snowboarding, so I haven’t figured out if he really thought he would go back to skiing when he made his suggestion, or if he was just trying to make me feel better… Either way, I am a content green-level skier. The main reason I wanted to snowboard anyway was because I hate walking in ski boots.

Lee, Gabe, and Joel on the slopes

Us at a mid-mountain overlook

Notice the helmets - we highly recommend them!

Slightly blurry view from the condo. Did I mention that Gabe and Nina have access to an amazingly located condo?? (yes, that is the main gondola right there)

Here are a few highlights (starting with a non-highlight) from our trip.

1. We ran into terrible weather on our trip home. What should have been an 18 hour trip plus stops turned into nearly 27 hours, including 2.5 of sleep stops. We won’t make that trip again in the winter!

2. We ate lunch on Christmas Eve at Baja Burrito. Due to their extremely long holiday closure, that was the only meal of our entire visit that they were open. Glad I called ahead. Long live pineapple salsa.

3. We spent a lovely Christmas Eve with my family, eating at Finezza and exchanging gifts. Christmas brunch with my extended family and a somewhat polite game of dirty Santa rounded out the festivities on Christmas day. I can’t number how many failures to take pictures this makes for us.

4. We went to Birmingham and had a couple of nice relaxing days with Joel’s parents. Although better than my family’s event, we only managed to take approximately one picture.

Susan opening her mp3 player

5. We spent most not-previously-committed breakfasts, lunches, and dinners catching up with friends. (Williamses, Harrises, Wrights, Mankins/Smiths/Huffards for Joseph’s birthday, Otts, Joel’s old coworkers, Duty, Baxters, Youngs, Brittney, and Brad. Phew!)

6. We saw even more friends at the nice potluck Duty hosted on New Years’ Eve. We were the old, boring, married people who weren’t feeling the next party (so stereotypical, right?), so we finished the night with a movie since some other plans didn’t work out.

7. A celebration with my mom’s side of the family on New Years’ Day, minus my traveling brother, was the final event.

Dad, Jennie, and Elizabeth about to open gifts

About to open my books from Grandmommy

Breanna, Chad, and Emily

8. We had great weather on the drive home and had a much needed, fun visit with the Mortons in Newton, KS.

The Mortons and us

We are really thankful that Joel got so much time off of work so we could make the trip!