Winter Wonderland

So this post is kind of a catch-up because I just barely ran into these pictures, but thought they would still be fun to share. One day over Christmas Break (which seems like such a long time ago!), we went sledding. However, we now sled very differently than I did as a child. Instead of sledding down a hill and having to haul yourself and your sled back up we just use four wheelers. This eliminates pretty much all forms of physical exertion, adds a new element of wet and cold snow in the face, and is still really fun! We were there with lots of family (Hales, Duncans, and Hackings) and had lots of fun!

Halli had lots of fun with Brynlie sledding down a small hill and playing in the snow. We made lots of snow angels and even had a few snowball fights.

Mom and Lisa are usually right in on all of the action, but they stayed a little warmer and drier this time.

Tim, of course, is looking pretty stylish...

We had a lot more people on the sled, but about this time we figured out that we didn't put in the card for the camera so we were done taking pictures.

Christmas Break!

Yay! Christmas break is finally here! Nicole and I finished school around the 19th and so we had a few days to really get into the Christmas spirit. We also had the opportunity to attend a small ceremony for Paul Curtis. We were so happy for him and his wife. We have known Paul forever and it was way fun to see him making that step.
We had the opportunity to go to the First Presidency Devotional earlier in the month and we happened to make it to Ring Wild Bells (the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Program). It was amazing! We went back to Temple Square that Sunday night and took a few more pictures with the lights.

We left for home with our car packed completely full of gifts and everything we would need for almost two weeks! We spent Christmas Eve at Nicole's house and we had a blast! We had been cooking all day too and we had a great dinner with chicken cordon bleu. We opened our gifts there and then went to my house to spend the night. We got up at a decent time and lined up in the hallway to open our gifts! We all got some pretty amazing things. I must have been half asleep (and Nicole must have gotten a camera!) because she managed to get this picture of me on Christmas morning:

The day after Christmas is the traditional day for the Swain Family Christmas Party. We had it at the Technology College where Nicole's uncle works. We had fun playing games and exchanging presents and just catching up with everyone there.

We had a great Christmas and were very lucky with all of the gifts we received but especially lucky to be with our families and to talk to Braxton and Brian (both on missions). This last picture we actually took at Thanksgiving Point on the 2oth but I thought it was a nice one to finish out this Christmas post. "And to all a good night!"

Seven Month Catch-up

So I have been convinced to start blogging. Colb and I started this blog a while ago when we were dating, but have never done anything with it. A lot has happened in the last seven months so we decided to make a few posts to catch things up and then we will try to be better at keeping it updated.

Hales Family Christmas Party

December 13th was a very snowy Saturday in Salt Lake City but we all managed to brave the storm and travel to the Hales Family Christmas Party. We had a great time, the food was really good and we had a blast taking pictures (as you can tell). Here is a picture of the boys:


And two of the girls (the other one was dressed up as an angel for the nativity scene and was running around somewhere):


This is a picture of us with Nicole's Great-Grandma. She is still with it and she throws a great party!


This is Nicole in her "eskimo" vest. Isn't she the cutest thing ever! I am such a lucky guy!

Christmas Tree (And Cookie) Decorating!

Nicole and I are spending our first Christmas together this year! We got a tree and I literally smothered it in lights, over 1500 in all! Nicole's Grandma helped us out with decorations and they looked great!

We also decided to make some Christmas cookies to take to some of our neighbors. Nicole made some great looking cookies and everybody loved them! Needless to say that the cookies I decorated were left home for our own consumption...

Thanksgiving Break

We spent Thanksgiving at my house and we had a great time! Nicole and I were apparently exhausted after making dinner and had to have a little snooze on the sofa. We were eventually found out and someone managed to get a picture.

That weekend we took a trip to the south and cut down the family Christmas tree! As we were driving there (through a complete desert) my little brother, Slater, texted me and asked if I knew whether or not pine trees grew on the moon. We finally found one after a huge search and triumphantly carried it back to the truck.

Nicole's Birthday

Today was Nicole's Birthday! We went to the Dodo Restaurant and had our favorites (smoked turkey and honey ham) with a nice big slice of Tollhouse pie! We didn't take many good pictures but Nicole got some great new workout clothes and we had a great time together!

National Chemistry Week

Today was National Chemistry Week at the Salt Lake City Library. The American Chemical Society at Westminster volunteers every year to go to the library for a Saturday and do demonstrations for kids. Nicole and I spent the day there and we had a blast! (we also sharpened a lot of pencils!)

Regional Conference/One Month Anniversary

Today was a beautiful September day and we were having regional conference at the conference center! It was awesome and we got to hear from President Monson and Elder Uchtdorf as well as many others. We then took a few photo opportunities at Temple Square.

We then celebrated our one month anniversary by eating (some of) the top tier of our wedding cake! The lady who made our cake includes a fresh tier one year later so we ate the original while it was still somewhat fresh. I still owe Nicole for the whole "shove-the-cake-in-your-face" thing!

August 23, 2008 The Reception

We had the reception the weekend after the wedding. It was great to have only one reception and timing was perfect. I was amazed when we walked into the UBET building at how it had been transformed. Our colors were pink and brown and I loved it! Thanks to everyone who did so much to help! Colb and I both have brothers on missions (Brian and Braxton) so we really missed them, but we are happy they are there. As you can see below, the girls are a little out numbered!

Our Girls

Our Boys

August 16 - 21, 2008 The Honeymoon

Our honeymoon was the best ever! We had so much fun and we have really wanted to go back. Nicole did not know where we were going until we were on our way to the airport and I handed her a folder with all of the travel details in it. We flew into Portland on Saturday morning, picked up our car (they didn't have the car we had reserved because it had been in an accident so they gave us a Cadillac SRX for the same price!) and we drove to Cannon Beach, Oregon (near Haystack Rock shown below).

We spent several days there and also visited Astoria and Tillamook. We had a great time at the beach, the cheese factory, the morning market and we definitely had the best clam chowder at the Baked Alaskan in Astoria!

We had such a great time that we were a little sad to leave but we knew that there were many more exciting times for us ahead. We loved the honeymoon and we love Cannon Beach! And...

August 15, 2008 The Wedding

This day was definitely one of the best days of my life. We always hear that saying about marrying the right person, in the right place, at the right time. I think I really got it right! Being married to Colb in the Salt Lake Temple has been the best decision I ever made!

Colb shared something with me the other day from Truman G. Madsen's book called The Temple that I hadn't ever really thought about. It says, "When the question is raised, 'Why be married in the temple? Why not just elope?' we often say, 'Because only temple marriages are forever.' But that puts all the emphasis on extent and duration. It says nothing of the quality and power and intensity of love which can alone justify such duration. So let us rather say: 'Because only in the temple are you placed in covenant-harmony with divine power which will eventually so infuse and fuse your love that it will be worth perpetuating forever.'" I really like this thought and already agree with it after only being married for a short time.

Our sealing wasn't until 4:20 in the afternoon so it was a really relaxed day. I felt like I was walking on clouds all day long and couldn't keep the huge grin off my face. Even though it was August, the weather was perfect and it couldn't have been a better day. We had more pictures and then a dinner with our family and friends.

The day was absolutely perfect and the best part was that I was now sealed to my best friend! I am so happy and think married life is the best thing ever!

August 2, 2008 Vernal Temple

I went through the temple for my first time a couple weeks before we got married. We went to the Vernal Temple and it was so wonderful to be there with all of my family and soon-to-be family. Later that afternoon Katie and Bryn threw me a bridal shower.

July 29, 2008 Bridals

I seriously debated about whether I should have Bridals taken. I had no clue what I was going to do with so many pictures of myself. I was eventually talked into it and really enjoyed the day. It was such a wonderful, fun, girl day with my mom! Plus...how many times in your life do you get to put on a gorgeous dress and feel like a princess? I'd say it was definitely worth it. However, we do now have lots of pictures of me that we have no clue what to do with! (So now I'm letting you look at them...)

July 18, 2008 The Dress

As far as frills and worldly wedding details, the dress was the other item on my list. Mom had been really sick, but Grandma Shela brought her out and the three of us had a wonderful day shopping. Wedding dress shopping is definitely one of those things that every girl needs a chance to experience. It was kind of a hard decision, but I quickly fell in love with my dress. Of course it was almost the first (actually the second) I tried on, but you still have to try on at least half the store. I have to admit that I was a big fan of the veil too!

June 18, 2008 Engagement Pictures

Say cheese! Since we decided to get married on August 15 (2 month engagement), we had to get right on wedding plans. I was just so excited to be marrying Colby that I wasn't really into all of the TONS of wedding planning details. (Mom was wonderful and took care of most of that!) However, I did pick the two frills that were most important to me--the dress and the pictures.

We had to hurry with engagement pictures because we needed to start on announcements, and I was trying to schedule a time to get my wisdom teeth out (and not have chipmunk cheek pictures). It was a great day full of hot sun, big smiles, and kissing pictures. We were pros by the end of the day. Smile--Look--Kiss!

June 7, 2008 Colby's Birthday Surprise

So June 7th is my birthday and I was really excited for it. I was planning on taking Nicole four-wheeling in the mountains that morning and proposing (we had looked at rings a little bit in the previous weeks). I woke up that morning and it was pouring rain! I had to think fast so I called her dad and had him pick up the ring. Her mom then wrapped it and put it inside of her gift for me. I took Nicole to lunch and kept her just long enough that she called home to have her mom wrap her gift (which she had already done). Her family came over to my house for dinner and then I started opening gifts. I got some pretty cool stuff and some really nice cards. I opened Nicole's gift last and pulled out the shirt she had gotten for me. Then I pulled out a little wrapped box and the look on her face was priceless! She was so confused about where it had come from. I told her maybe her mom wrapped it up by accident and it wasn't really for me. I handed it to her, she opened it and then her face lit up. I knelt down, shaking quite a bit, and popped the question. It was such a great and memorable moment with both of our families there. And I will always remember what day we were engaged on, my birthday! (It's kind of hard to forget that date!)

One Sunday In May...

It's been awhile and a lot has happened since Valentine's Day. I thought I would post a picture and then I will make a post later that has a few more updates about what has been going on.

Valentine's Day

Yeah, so it's Valentine's today and I just surprised Nicole with a bunch of flowers. We are starting this blog and will hopefully keep it up to date as much as possible with pictures, video and other, um, stuff. Yeah. Nicole, would you like to add anything? Happy Valentine's Day everyone!