A New Year!

Well, the holidays were certainly a very busy time for us here in the Coles household.

Did I ever mentioned that I graduated....? BECAUSE I DID!!! Finally Ryan and I are both college graduates and I finally graduated from something :) I am sure our parents are so proud.

Well once the mayhem of finals was over, we began the joy of packing up our apartment because we decided to move over the break. It was nice though as we had a break from the madness when Ryan's dad came up for a quick visit to attend his niece's wedding! It was such a wonderful day. Jocelyn and Beau were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple like Ryan and I were and, funny enough, when we were directed to the sealing room, it was the same one that Ryan and I got married in! Definitely a bright spot in the day. Our first year of marriage has just flown by and it was nice to sit in the room and feel the same spirit that we felt that glorious day.

Well after the reception that night which was just lovely, we got back to the mode of packing and finally finished it all in time to leave for California for our Christmas vacation.

Christmas was a hoot for sure. We had a bout of sickness that rampaged the house and all sorts of fun. SO, once the colds and coughs were over, we were finally able to enjoy the joy of warm weather that is California. With temperatures in the 70's all week long, it was hard not to want to be outside. We had some great fun with the annual Christmas party that my in-laws throw every year with the family and it was neat to remember that last year on Christmas Eve, Ryan and I got engaged and announced it at the party! Definitely a good thing to remember around the holidays :)

Well Pam and I baked enough junk food to feed a third world country with all the eclairs and cookies that we made but they somehow disappeared thankfully and they were enjoyed by all.

I think this is the most adorable picture of Sucre ever.

Well it was finally Christmas morning and we had a lovely time opening presents with Roland who immediately fell in love with his HUGE X-Wing Fighter toy and Darth Vader costume (from my mother). Ryan got me some beautiful boots and clothes and I got him some tickets for us to go see a mixed martial arts fight in January! But then, we opened the package from my parents and, of course, they got us an iPad and Ryan a BEAUTIFUL Movado watch. Needless to say, we loved our Christmas presents. But we definitely missed seeing my family.

Well only a couple days after Christmas, it was time to head back to frozen Provo. Ryan and I had to move out of our apartment and we needed to get it done fast. Well we got it all done and loaded onto the Uhaul and waited for a few days before we got to move in. But finally, the day arrived and we got to unload and begin the terror of organizing a new place a day before you both have to start new jobs :) JOY. Because of this terror, you will not see pictures until it is presentable... Which might be this weekend if we are lucky, but highly doubtful.

Well, for New Year's Eve we were back here in Utah and decided to all go up to Salt Lake City for their big NYE party. It was so much fun! They had dances, bouncy houses, shows, food, light shows, improv shows and just tons of fun all over the city. We met up with some good friends of ours and went around the town to celebrate. Finally, at midnight, the fireworks went off and it definitely felt like a new year of fun lies before us. New jobs, new adventures, new travels and new plans. We are so excited to see what this year brings to us!

Which leads me into our next bit of news... Ryan is now working for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! He got an internship in the IT department of the Church and is a project manager for technology and cyber security projects. Because of the privacy policy, I don't know what he is doing or anything like that but I am sure that it is amazing and knowing that this is the way that things are going to move the work forward is a comforting feeling. I do know that the Church definitely has foresight and they are able to see a much broader scale than we do and that what Ryan is working on will help the rest of the world come to know Jesus Christ in one way or another and we are all so proud of him.

I began my job at Azteca Systems and am loving it. It was slow the first day of course but it is picking up and I am learning the material quickly. Next week is my first official training on the job and then at the end of the month I might even be able to teach a course all by myself! But Ryan and I are both so grateful that we are able to work right now and to be able to start saving and preparing for our family to grow (no this is not a pregnancy announcement).

Ryan is still studying for the GRE that he will take at the end of this month and then he finishes his application to grad school at BYU! So things are moving along just swimmingly. And I promise that 2012 will be a better year for pictures of what Ryan and I do. Usually we just never think of it but I am resolving to be better at it :) Thank you for your patience.

2011 was definitely a great year for Ryan and I and we just want to share what our favorite parts of it were:

1. Getting Married... Duh

2. Egypt... Hands down

3. Living in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan this summer and meeting so many amazing people that we will never forget.

4. Both of us graduating from Brigham Young University

5. Having job offers given to us

6. Being able to see family so much this year

7. Being part of our LDS Ward and being called as Ward Missionaries

8. Having Evan come home from his LDS mission to Kenya and Tanzania

9. Being part of the Arab Spring (though we hadn't planned on it.)

10. Seeing the world change in ways that no one thought possible

All in all, we believe that the world is an amazing place that holds wonderful opportunities to everyone. Ryan and I have been blessed to be able to travel and meet people who have helped shape our lives for the better. To our families and to our friends, we are grateful for all the love and support and we wish everyone and very Happy New Year!