Back in the Blogosphere

Not that we were ever out, really. Just dormant for about a year. And, I am a day late now. That is, Bethanie and I shook on posting on our blogs on Sunday, and it is Monday. So, in efforts to redeem myself for the lateness, I am going to give a catch up on the whole year! Which, just to preface, has been fantastic. So instead of really elaborating on that and making this blog infinitely long, I will just say that Nic and I are really settling into our happy newlywed life here in Utah, traveling a lot, and just enjoying each other :) Here is a little picture history of our year:

Christmas 2009 - Our first Christmas tree! We bought it all wrapped tight with string and just took a gamble on how it looked when it was unwrapped and puffed out--we were so lucky!

Then things got pretty busy with work and school, and there was not much to report until--Nic's graduation from BYU (following which, he accepted an offer of employment with Western Governors University as and Editor, where he still currently works)!

To celebrate his graduation (and end of another tax busy season), we went to Hawaii!! Just a few from the trip:

(at the Polynesian cultural center--I got a headress for dancing the hula :)

Luau!!

Hike to some beautiful waterfalls (we actually spied one of the cages they use in "Lost" in the rainforest where we hiked)

We had an amazing summer--after Hawaii followed a series of small weekend trips to visit our families, and friends, in various areas of the country (thank you, SkyWest):

NYC--We met up with my friend Michelle, who lives in Boston, to visit the city:

At a Yankee game!

At the top of the Rock

Time Square :)

Then, we visited several of our friends living in DC, for the 4th of July:

At my favorite part of the WWII memorial :) For some reason, we didn't take too many pictures here--we were just having too much fun with our friends!

Redwood Forest with Nic's fam:

Also during the summer, Nic ran the Ragnar Relay (12 man relay from Logan to Park City) with people from my work:

Once fall hit, work got busy again, but we still had time to squeeze in a couple trips:

Visiting Nic's brother's family in Nebraska. We went to this amazing Halloween village/pumpkin patch!

Then in November, we met up with some good friends of ours in London, where they were just wrapping up a business trip. I love that city...

Clearly, happy to be there, at the Tower of London. And so is Joey.

Haha, this picture makes me laugh. But, gives a nice view of the bridge in the background.

Westminster Abbey. And, I do realize that I looked like an old woman with the scarf wrapped around my head, but really--London in November? COLD!!

After November followed some amazing and relaxing holidays with our families. But, I don't think I got any pictures then, so I will bring this already lengthy post to a close. I am finally caught up!!

La Vie en rose

Next step after the wedding--the honeymoon! Nic and I were so lucky to be able to go to one of the most romantic cities in the world--Paris--for our honeymoon, and it was incredible. It was my first time in Europe and I fell in the love with the architecture, the little shops and markets, the pastries...so much. We were able to see and do several things while we were in the City of Light (as well as some much-needed relaxing after the wedding festivities), so the pictures posted here are just a taste of what we did. "La Vie en rose" is a popular French song meaning "life through rose-coloured glasses" and that is pretty much
how the whole week went...:) (by the way, there is a version of this song by Madeleine Peyroux that Nic and I love--very Billy Holiday-esque, if you like that type of thing). So, on to the pics--through rose-coloured glasses. Up top, my first time on European soil--in the Paris airport--so exciting! The picture on the left is mine and Nic's first night in the city--you can capture a bit of the architecture behind us, but a picture really just can't capture it...










Silly Nic...we liked to play the "standing on the median in the middle of the street" game and take pictures, so it looked like we were in speeding traffic (yes, there are many more of these pictures--I spared you).






Eating ham and cheese baguettes on the steps of the Paris Opera House (Palais Garnier) at night. Very cool; the people just hang out on the steps at night, and you get a great view of the buildings downtown and get to people watch. Also, I could eat bread and cheese my whole life if it always came from France.









The Louvre! This shot is inside in the entryway, next to the downward pointing inverse pyramid, one of several of the lovely glass pyramids around/in the Louvre. They are all so huge and amazing to look at.









At the tip-top of the Eiffel Tower--GORGEOUS view, but very windy! From the top, you are able to see the whole city and it is amazing at night--the lights of the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, boats on the Seine river...so great.








Nic is at the top too, although getting a better view than I was:) So cute..







Back to the Louvre--this is more of the inside, which blew me away. I knew there were amazing things inside the museum, but I didn't realize the architecture of the museum itself was going to be so grand--although, since it was a palace first, I guess that makes sense...






Outside the Louvre--another shot of the grand architecture, from the outside, and the largest pyramid, which also serves as the entryway.







In Montmartre, an area in the north of Paris where the Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) cathedral is. Another amazing and beautiful building and cathedral...










The view at the top of the Sacre Coeur--the hill is so high that you can see so much of the city from the top. More beauty.






A true moment of happiness--eating an amazing French pastry (pain au chocolat--a pastry with chocolate in the center, and powdered sugar and shaved almonds on the top) in front of the Arc de Triomphe--another beautiful architectural feat.

Me and Nic in front of the Arc de Triomphe--a better view.

Standing on the Champs Elysees--probably the most famous street in Paris, which has tons of great shopping, cafes, etc., not to mention beautifully layed out and lined with trees.

In front of the Notre Dame--doesn't Nic make such a cute Quasimodo? The Notre Dame may actually have been my favorite place to visit though. The Gothic architecture was beautiful, and we were there during Mass to hear an amazing choir in one of the most famous cathedrals in the world. Blew me away.

In short, we had an amazing time--great way to start our marriage:)

Catch up

Nine months later...here we are again! I guess it was silly of me to try to start a blog before the holidays and then tax busy season hit, but ah well. So, just a quick blurb about what we have been up to the last nine months and then I'll get to the more interesting parts--the pics.

Life is wonderful! Since I last posted, I got through another long busy season, Nic graduated with his bachelor's from BYU, and then we celebrated! We went to Hawaii for some much needed relaxing, and then back to Utah and the beginning of a busy summer. Between work and job hunting during the week (for Nic--I'm still happy at EY), we've been so lucky to travel here and there during the weekends to visit friends and family (courtesy of Sky West). So, that brings us to now. Currently, Nic is out running in the Ragnar Wasatch Back with my tax group (a two day, 188 mile relay with a 12 person team), so here I sit blogging. I so admire his exercise and running talents--they are just something I've never had:) But, I am going to try. I'm just not up for a 15 mile run anytime soon.

So now to the pics. We have a lot that I haven't shared yet, from the wedding, honeymoon, and our other various excursions, so I am not going to post them all at once. Also, I've lately discovered, through tips from friends, some online photo editing software that I'm having lots of fun experimenting with, so you get to be my guinea pigs and see what I come up with. This time I'll be posting some wedding photos, but there will be more to come.

The happy couple, just married!

We're in love:)

And we show it!

Woohoo!

Mostly I just had fun with this b/c it's like a movie poster.

In front of the lovely Nauvoo temple.

Hello World!

This is our first blog post as a newly married couple! Actually, our first blog post altogether (neither Nic or I were ever big bloggers). But, after several people asked us if we had a blog, we decided we better join the throngs and post updates on our life and adventures. Nic and I have both been loving married life, however, it has been an adjustment to realize that almost no decision anymore is your own...I say this as a transition to noting that, even in deciding upon the name of our blogspot, Nic and I had to make a compromise. Nic really wanted us to name it 'Barnette Tales...woo, ooh' (Does the familiar Duck Tales theme song ring a bell?). I told him that everyone might not get that, although I love his spirit and creativity (if there are any other Duck Tales fans out there that are in support, let us know--with enough encouragement, we could be persuaded to change--or at least we could watch old reruns together). Anyhow, we opted for something much more standard. We'll see how it goes. Well, we're excited to have another means to keep in better touch with our friends and family--look for more blogs and pictures posted soon. Happy Thanksgiving!