Mariah and Nick Barker

Training for a century

2011-05-09T09:02:00.003-06:00

Mariah and I have been training for a century coming up in a couple weeks. It has required a lot of training and even some blood shed....

Yes I fell off my bike while training. With a scrapped up leg and bruised hip to show for the fall I am just glad it wasn't anything worse. With this training we haven't had much time for anything else the past few months. Just about any day that is semi decent weather we are training outside and if it isn't good weather we are at the gym.

Funny Infomercials

2011-02-02T12:07:00.002-07:00

I stumbled across some funny infomercials from theweakshop.com

Umbrella/Singing in the Rain

2010-12-08T13:48:00.004-07:00

Had to post this because it is one of the better mashup's I have heard. This also reminds me of all the good times my brother and I would watch his Gene Kelly movies.

Yet Again Cuz Mariah Loves Cats....

2010-11-29T17:43:00.000-07:00

Because Mariah Loves Cats Soooooo Much....

2010-11-17T11:06:00.007-07:00

My bromance

2010-10-20T08:59:00.003-06:00

Justin and his golf course...wouldn't he be one of the funnest friends to have? All he does is golf and he has his own course....When is he going to invite me to play golf with him...i might need to lower my handicap closer to his 6 so I don't look too bad.

Check out the video at.... click here

10/10/10

2010-10-11T14:13:00.005-06:00

Happy Birthday ME!

Wouldn't it of rocked if I turned 10 yesterday too. Number 10 overload. Glad I didn't and turned 26 instead! I celebrated my Platinum Birthday with my cute nephews, Caleb and Owen, and my family. Thank you for making this birthday truly a platinum one.

This is what we did over the 4th of July

2010-07-16T11:28:00.011-06:00

Played games at the cabin with Zane, Sue, Daja, me, Nick and Noel.

Hiked 12 miles to Big Sandy Lake

Went on a "leisure" tube ride on an "unflipable" tube. Five minutes into the ride we were all in the water. So much for leisure and unflipable.

What did you do?

Eclipse refresher

2010-06-28T12:28:00.003-06:00

For those of you who need a reminder of what Eclipse, the 3rd book in the Twilight saga, is about here is a basic rundown.

My famous little sister

2010-06-10T13:12:00.001-06:00

http://www.eldiablito.com/Perfiles/rebecca-beesley-is-the-bees-knees

102.51

2010-06-08T09:39:00.009-06:00

I finished! Can you believe I finished? Nick and I had a wonderful weekend in Logan participating in the Little Red Riding Hood Bicycle Ride. We went up with Nick’s parents, Bill and Colleen and Colleen’s sister Norma and her husband Danny. We drove up Friday after work and ate at the Bluebird Café and later went and registered the men to volunteer for the ride. They were all stationed at mile 24 so I knew I at least had to make it that far, but my intentions were to complete 100.
We started the race at 7:30AM and for the first 4 miles of the ride I was headed in the wrong direction. That’s what I get for following someone who didn’t know where they were going either. This didn’t bother me so much until the end of my ride when I was suppose to be done, but still had 4 more miles to go.

Bill, Colleen, Nick, me, Norma and Danny

The Super Hero Volunteers! Danny, Nick and Bill.

Mile 24 rest stop.

The ride was so beautiful! The first 24 miles were my favorite. I rode alongside beautiful farm land, rivers and streams. Little Red is a women’s only ride so Colleen, Norma and I all rode in the race, but not together. Because of being sidetracked I was about 20 minutes behind Colleen and Norma. I didn’t mind either; it was very peaceful and beautiful. Well, I made it mile 24 and got to see Nick in all his volunteer glory.
Fast forward to mile 70 and I hit my wall. It felt like my legs were jell-o and like my bum was sitting on barbwire. Saw Nick again at mile 75 and he warned me of a huge hill at mile 80. Hit the huge hill along with all the others I wasn’t warned about and around 4:15PM I rolled through the finish line at mile 102.51.

The Three Amigos! Colleen, Norma and me.

My stats:

Total miles: 102.51

Average speed: 13.1

Max speed: 31.6

Total biking time: 7 hours 47 minutes and 46 seconds

Start time: 7:30AM

Finish time: 4:15PM

Total time: 8 hours and 45 minutes

Project Red Dress

2010-06-07T09:46:00.009-06:00

My little sister Rebecca truly is extremely talented with a sewing machine. For the past four weeks she has been designing and making a dress for a competition called Project Red Dress. Project Red Dress supports the American Heart Association and Go Red for Women's mission to educate and empower women and those affected by heart disease. There were 12 contestants who had to complete a dress in 16 hours. Each dress was judged on its creativity, sewing/structure and runway appearance. The judging took place before and on the runway on Friday in downtown Seattle. I am so PROUD of her because the dress she designed and made WON! She also received the People’s Choice Award. Her fabulous prizes were $3,000 for winning Project Red Dress and $100 gift card as the winner of the People’s Choice Award. After the runway show she was also approached by many local magazine reporters who would like to do a story on her and her dress. Congratulation Rebecca! I know I’ve said this before, but I can’t wait until I get my own made-with-love dress designed and made by my famous little sister.

The Red Dress!

Rebecca walking the runway with her winning dress!

Photography by Jan Klier. Dress by Rebecca Beesley. Dress modeled by Briauna M. Graeber.

I heart Vernal

2010-05-18T08:45:00.011-06:00

It's where my mom grew up and is a place that will always be special in my heart!

I love Vernal...

For hotdog roast in the gully.

For cousins.

For celebrating Easter in May and dying Easter eggs even though I am probably too old.

For making/hiding Easter baskets and helping Nick find his for more than 20 minutes.

For rolling our Easters eggs down Chocolate Rock and getting them thrown back at me.

For finding candy in plastic eggs before the kiddos do.

For the beautiful farm and all the memories I have there.

Last but not least, for the 9 baby kitties that I wanted to bring home.

Confession: I have more pictures of cats on my phone than anything else. A distance second is my sister's baby boys!

Eat Mor Chikin

2010-04-30T09:45:00.007-06:00

We, yet again, attended another Chick-fil-A first 100 opening. For those of you who don’t know, Chick-fil-A gives away 52 free meals for the first 100 customer who check in the day before opening and sleeps overnight in the restaurant parking lot. Our first, first 100 opening was at Jordan Landing in November 2008 and we only have one coupon left from that opening, but now Nick and I are 105 free meals rich! I checked in at 51 and Nick was 67. It was well worth it and I didn’t even mind the snow, except for the fact that it’s the end of April and we are still getting snow. There were 16 of us total who attended and we’re already ready for the next opening. Eat Mor Chikin!

Nick and I with baby Caleb at the Chick-fil-A opening.

Playing Settlers of Catan. I don't even remember who won, but we later played Nurtz and Yatchzee and I won both those games. Willy, Brian, Nick, me, Sue and Mike (not pictured) eating dinner at the new West Valley Chick-fil-A.

Our cozy tent and out entire group at the first 100 opening with the Chick-Fil-A cow.

Killer Ride

2010-04-10T20:59:00.006-06:00

Today we went out on another ride for Mariah's training. We had a great time on this ride, until we headed back home!! The head wind was so strong. It tooks us at least 30 minutes longer to ride home then it did the first half. Needless to say we finally finished and were quite tired. We wanted to play tennis after our ride but it was not happening after this ride. Instead we ate an entire pizza by ourselves right when we got home (I had five pieces and Mariah had three). We must have been hungry because two hours after that we had dinner and ate lots again! Even though it was quite hard this time we really enjoy this hobby we have together and look forward to many great rides.

The following is the elevation of the route we went on. Gotta love big ol' hills!

Mariah's Training for a Century Ride

2010-04-03T23:45:00.007-06:00

Towards the latter end of last year Mariah and I got into cycling. We have really enjoyed having this hobby together. We love spending some of our free time out on the road in the great Utah scenery, whether it is around our home or down in St. George. Well, one thing led to another and now Mariah is training for a century ride (100 miles). Since it is much easier to train with a buddy I will be training with Mariah so that she can be ready for the Little Red Ridding Hood century ride that will take place in Logan in June. It is fun to be able to see the rides we go on so I figure I will post them on here so you can see them as well. This week we haven't had any good luck with the weather so we haven't been able to ride outside so I have decided to post our ride from last week.

Here is my workout summary of the ride we went on:

Hello Seattle

2010-03-25T11:14:00.021-06:00

Nick and I visited my talented little sister Becca who lives in Seattle and who should really try out for Project Runway. She is an amazing seamstress! Now getting her to make me a dress is like asking her to chew her own arm off. It’s impossible. One of these days I will own a Rebecca original.

Becca was a wonderful hostess and we saw all of Seattle. We went to Alki Beach, Pioneer Square, antique shopping and the waterfront. Best part of the day was eating half of Becca's clam chowder/sour dough bread bowl of goodness.

Went to Pike's Market the next day where I just had to donate to some cats in need. I promise it was for a good cause. Saw the first Starbuck's and taste tested at least 3 or 4 pieces of gum off of the already-been-chewed gum wall. Yummy!

My cute little sister at Pike's Market! Nick and I at the top of the Space Needle. FYI - It's a 45 second elevator ride to the top. Times that by 2 and you get 90 seconds for the ride up and down then divide the $17 we paid per person by 90 and it come out to equal about .19 cents per second per person. Now that is one expensive elevator ride. Beautiful outlook from the top and we had crystal clear skies and a perfect view of Mt. Rainer. It was actually beautiful weather our entire trip, which is rather odd for Seattle in the middle of March. No rain makes me a happy traveler.

Don't you love Becca's running man? Ha ha! At night we played Nurtz and for any of you that know Becca and know how crazy she can get you can imagine that it wasn’t very fun for Nick and I and the three games maximum we agreed to play. Instead we played a ton of Yathezz, Golf and Harry Potter (a game that does have an official name, we just don’t know what it is).

On Sunday Becca took us to the Fremont Market (I love/am a sucker for open markets), the Fremont Troll, Gas Works Park and to church. We met all her flings. Oolala! Let me tell you something… Becca is big deal in Seattle.

We love Becca and are so glad that she begged and pleaded with us to come up. It was well worth the trip.

Dear Exercise,

2010-03-16T09:54:00.011-06:00

It was so good to run into you the other day. It’s been what…7 years since I last saw you? I actually thought I would never see you again because of our falling out. I must admit, I wasn’t a big fan of you back in the day. It was actually my husband’s idea for me to get in contact with you (not because I needed to or anything). I was a little hesitant, but decided it was time to look past our differences and get better acquainted. I did see you at my yoga class and biking in St. George, but was too afraid to approach you and didn’t push myself to make the first move. Better late than never, right? It was good seeing you and we’ll have to run into each other again. Let’s not make it too often, let’s take this one step at a time.

Sincerely, Mariah

Enough said

2010-02-10T10:28:00.001-07:00

Right now

2010-01-27T10:07:00.006-07:00

I am loving:

• My Nick
• Biking
• My mom's emerald ring
• icanhascheezburger.com
• Yoga
• Modern Family
• Our vacation in March
• Yathzee
• Sweaters
• Exclamation points
• And my kitties

Just to name a few.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T11:03:00.009-07:00

Nick and I had a gingerbread making contest where we won...of course. Everyone else would beg to differ, but I don't. Nick recreated the "Holy War" and I constructed a helicopter.

Eating and building our gingerbread houses. Me and Nick with the winning results.

We celebrated Christmas at my dad's house with my favorite kitty Tigg, short for Tigger. I know, very original, but I was like 12 years old when I named him. Nick and I got lots of stuff in our stockings and had a wonderful time celebrating with my family and Nick's.

Me and Nick with all our Christmas loot.

I know this is way late, but we hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

Picture time!

2009-12-04T08:23:00.004-07:00

Nick and I had our family pictures taken with the Barker's by the wonderful Jeana Bird @ jeanabirdphotography-blog.com. Although this post is titled "Picture time" I do only have one picture to post. Ha! More to come soon.

The lovely couple! Ahwww

Pumpkin carving + costume party = A Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T11:54:00.036-07:00

Finally some new faces! I swear (and even commented on this last Halloween) that for three years running I had carved the same face. This year I came up with a classic scary face and a kitty. Yes… I carved both pumpkins and would have done two more, but considered that a little selfish. Nick painted his pumpkin (BORING) the day after I carved mine because he was way to busy doing homework and by homework he really meant watching the Jazz game. His pumpkin actually turned out way cuter than mine and mine was a kitty. Hard to beat I know.

Nick and I threw a Halloween Costume Party! Fondue + Friends = Freakishly Good Times! We made cheese and chocolate fondue and stuffed ourselves with yummy healthy food covered in very unhealthy cheese... Couldn’t ask for anything better! Nick dressed up as a soccer player and I dressed up and a princess who just drastically lost a lot of weight. I basically wore a huge hideous pink dress with netting and massive sleeves that I used to play dress-ups in. How it fit me when I was 10 is beyond me. Later that night I suggested we play Taboo. Why I suggested it I’m not quite sure as I secretly have a love/hate relationship with this game. I ended up hating the game because I'm awful at it and I’m blaming the game for that. Ha!

Back row: Leif, Nikki, Nick, me (Mariah), Lora, Jessica, Sam, Jennifer
Front row: Josh, Cohen, Brooke, Taren, Hailey, Josh, Tim, Parker, Kara

Adding this for your viewing enjoyment! I love cat humor!

The boys are in town

2009-10-22T12:17:00.009-06:00

Me and baby Caleb

My sister Sue had twins yesterday at 35 weeks. It was very unexpected as she wasn’t due till November 25th and for the fact that I saw her 8 hours before the babies came. I could have sworn I told her NOT to have the babies, but I guess I was talking to myself. We had been eating pizza, telling Mike to practice his umbilical cord cutting skills and researching how to turn the babies. At the time they were feet first and Sue wanted them to turn around. Instead she had a c-section where Mike, the new father, and a nurse fainted. Welcome to Parenthood!

Little baby Owen and Caleb were born around 9AM and are super cute and make the cutest little baby noises. I’m still totally terrified to hold them and it looks like I’m going to have to overcome my fear of babies sooner than later. Owen is 5lb 11oz and 19 inches long and Caleb is 4lb 10oz and 18 inches long. They are super cute and I can’t wait for Sue and Mike to hold them so I can view them from a distance. Ha! Just kidding!

Little baby Caleb

Little baby Owen

Canning was a disaster

2009-09-17T11:49:00.006-06:00

My sister Sue and I should have known better, but we attempted to bottle peaches the other day and it didn’t end well. I will admit that I was all gung-ho and innocent and Sue tried to warn me, but I just wouldn’t listen. So instead of just enjoying the peaches in desserts and ice cream we blanched them and peeled them and cut them and made a huge sticky mess of Sue’s kitchen. The result…sixteen unsealed bottles of peaches, which means Nick and I have a lot of peaches to eat within the next week. This will be the last time I will ever attempt to bottle peaches.

Here we are looking all innocent and excited.

Little did we know we still had four hours of canning left.

P.S. We turned the peaches upside down and salvaged all sixteen bottles. Now Nick and I won’t have to make ourselves sick off of peaches!

Proud to be...

2009-09-11T23:42:00.002-06:00

I am proud to be the son of a fireman! Today being 9/11 I have memories of that dreadful and crazy day. One thing I remember about that day is being proud to see such amazing people(namely fireman) help in a despereate time. I thought of my Dad and how he has done the same as a fireman. He had done some crazy things and been the one to help those in desperate times. He has done amazing things to help people he doesn't even know. He has put his life on hold and helped others, he has put is life on the line. So since its yet again the anniversary of that terrible day....today I would like to tell my dad thanks, thanks for always being that Hero to me that I have always been proud of. I have always loved telling everyone about you and how your a fireman and so tuff and brave. You have been a great dad, and fireman....and even more hero to me. I know you might not be a fireman anymore, but you will always be a fireman to me, the greatest fireman of all! I thank you again for being that awesome hero that you are.

How we spent our second anniversary...

2009-09-08T12:37:00.007-06:00

I forgot my camera, (Duh!) but this was taken with my phone that I later dropped in the lake. It was the perfect way to celebrate two years.

Barker Family Reunion!

2009-08-25T22:33:00.003-06:00

Enough said.

Gotta love Chic-fil-A

2009-04-24T16:12:00.005-06:00

I guess you could say this video sums up the life of me and Mariah for the past 6 months. Gotta love Chic-fil-A. If anyone ever wants to go...we just might buy you a meal ;)

http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=31989c8eea4c0225ce0f

Don't judge a book by its cover

2009-04-16T19:25:00.007-06:00

Life is like a box of chocolates....you never know what you're going to get.

Check the two links to see what I mean:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpMDoqQdZ50&annotation_id=annotation_524083&feature=iv

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA

Sewing Machine

2009-03-30T21:05:00.005-06:00

When I say sewing machine I’m referring to myself and not my actual sewing machine!

Are we ready?

2009-01-30T15:25:00.013-07:00

First “People” talked about our wedding......and now they’re asking if Nick and I are ready for a baby! What are the odds?

2009-01-23T16:49:00.003-07:00

Hilarious!

Girl's Night Out

2008-12-19T22:48:00.036-07:00

My friends and I have been traveling down to Temple Square to see the lights and dine at The Garden for more than 10 years. We have kept this tradition each and every year since the 7th grade. This is about the only time that we are all able to make time to get together. With the addition of husbands and babies, it is getting harder and harder. No matter what though, we all seem to make it to Girl's Night Out! This is the difference between now and then!

Brooke, Amber, Nikki, me, Jen, Lora, Jessica, Kara and Taren. (2008)

Nikki, TeriLyn, Julie, Brooke, Taren, Jen, Amber and Lora. (1998)

R.I.P.

2008-12-09T11:30:00.008-07:00

About two months ago Nick and I were the proud parents of a kitty named Agent Orange, a fish named Tarzan and two plants. All, of which, were given to us from different members of my family. I was only joking when I posted, “We’ll let you know which one dies first.” Apparently, I guess I wasn’t joking. On November 17 Tarzan died. Nick gave him a proper burial and blessed him as he was flushed away. Then, both of Nick’s plants died. We have yet to report on Agent Orange has he has gone missing…Just Kidding. Wouldn’t that be terrible, though?

Fireman Nick!

2008-11-18T10:03:00.007-07:00

For Halloween Nick dressed up as a fireman and portrayed the part perfectly. He honestly looked exactly like his dad did 10 years ago. His representation was so believable that at work he was nominated for the scariest costume. He didn’t win, but was a close second. I never thought I’d say this though, but I love his hair and beard! It’s very different from his normal appearance.

My sister Sue invited us over to carve pumpkins before Halloween and we all decided that we need some new pumpkin faces. I think we all carved the same faces as we did last year. Regardless, we had a great time and our pumpkins must have been some what scary because we didn’t get one trick-or-treater! BOO!

JT and Friends Benefit Concert

2008-10-24T21:28:00.011-06:00

A couple of years ago Nick and I went as JT (Justin Timberlake) and Britney Spears for Halloween. The next year, while Nick and I were living in New Zealand, JT started off his international tour in Auckland. With all these connections with JT it was only a matter of time before Nick found us a concert to attend. Lo and behold, JT was hosting a benefits concert at the Plant Hollywood in Viva Las Vegas in support of the Shriners Children Hospital this past weekend. A good cause and a chance to see JT live with all his friends…we couldn’t pass it up. We saw the Jonas Brothers, Leona Lewis, Boyz II Men (my favorite of the night), Rihanna, the lead singer of Maroon 5, Esme Denters, Will.I.Am, 50 Cent, Lionel Richie and the man himself, JT!

Does anyone see the resemblance? HA HA HA!

Summer is running away...continued

2008-10-07T22:07:00.011-06:00

7. Felix and Tarzan

About three weeks ago Nick and I became newly adoptive parents of an orange kitty named Felix, Nick calls him Agent Orange, and a fish named Tarzan. This is in addition to Tigger and Midnight, the two cats we already have. It all started when Felix followed Will and Heather home from Akagi Park and somehow became a permanent resident at our house. Felix used to be a Chloe though. This was before we realized that she was actually a he. Now almost every weekend we get a meowing wake up call way before we should be out of bed.

Tarzan came to us when Rebecca moved to Washington. She’s attending a fashion design institute and couldn't transport Tarzan the 12 hours it took her to drive to Seattle. Thus, whom else could she give it to? The only people that will adopt anything, better yet said, Nick and me. Now convincing them to be friends is a different story. Tigger and Midnight beat up on Felix every time we have them in the house. All the cats try and eat poor Tarzan and we're left to referee. I'd say Nick's new plants are the only ones that don't suffer. Never mind! I forgot that Felix jumps up and tries to eat off every leaf. This should be interesting! We'll let you know which one dies first… Just kidding.

6. Vernal Express

We could not go a summer without a visit to Vernal. Although we spent most of our time playing games and The Settlers of Catan, we did manage to have our annual hot dog roast in the gully.

5. The Settlers of Catan

Let me start out by saying that this game is so addictive. It was first introduced to us through Sue and Mike. Now, almost 20 played games later Nick and I have only won twice. That's together and not as individuals. The gruesome twosome, Rebecca and her boyfriend Dallin, have won every time we've played. Yet, despite all the disappointment that we endure, we continue to play. It's a weekly occurrence and if we had it our way, it'd be daily! I promise you that if you start you will not be able to stop! We even taught the Barker's and you guessed it, we didn't even win. The veterans, who've played it more than enough times, couldn't win.

Summer is running away

2008-09-02T09:45:00.000-06:00

It is very sad to say that summer is pretty much over for Mariah and I. With the start of fall semester already here it sure has put a damper on vacations for the next little bit. This summer has been great and we were able to do so much. I hope next summer is just as eventful.

Top 10 "good times" from July 20 to Sept 1

10. Golfing- summers are always full of golfing for me. Wether golfing at Murray golf course where my uncle is a golf pro, leaving work at four to go to River Oaks where my mom and aunt are frequent visitors (my mom even got even par there...and that is without mulligans!), or loving the summer heat in the beautiful St. George. Golf is always a smashing hit even if its not in the fairway.

9. Boating- We got to go boating more than once this summer and that is awesome. I have always loved being out on the lake because I used to go boating several times a year. Sadly while I was on my mission my dad sold the boat (I guess he'd rather go to St. George). Luckily I married into a great family that also has a passion for boating and most importantly they have a boat. Since they got a new boat this year and the cabin is finally finished with its major makeover we took some of my family up to the cabin. We spent a great deal out on the lake soaking up the waves and using all of our energy skiing and wakeboarding. Whatever we do next summer I hope it involves more boating!

8. St. George Lovin- When we have a free weekend we love to get away to St. George. Being away from our real lives is refreshing and we enjoyed our time this summer in St. George. We hung out at the pool, relaxed, shopped, watced movies, golfed at Entrada (a Johnny Miller course thats rated the number 2 golf course in Utah by Golf Digest, watched all the bunnies on the golf course(Mariah loved them the most), and we went biking in snow canyon. Since my parents new condo isn't far from snow canyon they got a biking pass there. It's great because we are allowed to take our bikes through without having to pay a fee every time we enter. Since Mariah has never done the bike ride up there we decided she needed to give it a try because it is some of the best scenery. For a first timer Mariah did great over the hills and even though she thought she was going to faint three times she only had to get off the bike once and rest. After the 15 mile bike ride was over we enjoyed more of the pool and relaxing that St. George has to offer. Mariah loved driving the golf cart!

To Be Continued...

Summer Rocks!

2008-07-14T21:51:00.010-06:00

I have always loved the summer. It’s the perfect time to truly have a blast and enjoy Mother Nature. July fourth was our first true summer celebration. The Outpost (the name to my father in laws cabin in Pindelle, Wyoming) hasn’t seen us for over 4 years and so it was time to finally get back to the cabin and enjoy its luxuries. We did so much, yet still not enough. I was thinking of doing a top 10 of my posts instead of explaining every little detail. So for this post here are the
Top 10 reasons Our July 4th Outpost Adventure Rocked

10- Getting outdoors away from work and the busy hustle and bustle of normal life was very relaxing. And look how beautiful it was. (This was our 8 mile hike to Miller Lake)

9- BBQ after BBQ. Isn’t it great when you get to go to more than one free BBQ in the same weekend? I love hotdogs!

8- It isn't every day you can throw rocks as an adult and not look retarded!

7- My farmer tan is slowly fading! I haven't been outside with the shirt off as often the past few years, but its been a great year to start shedding the clothes and this was another great push to my path to beating the farmer tan.

6- Although Mariah stole my fun this time, I can always remember being flag boy. It brings back childhood memories of Lake Powell and all of its goodness.

5- Pinedale Fireworks are good times. I love the Pinedale fireworks show it truly brought out the true fashion of the 4th. Gotta love the USA

4- Skiing has always been my water sport, although not going boating for over 4 years has put a dampener on the skills. I loved finally putting on that ski and getting out on the water. I LOVE SKIING!

3- Watching Mariah get so excited that we were actually going tubbing together (it has to be Mariah's favorite water sport). I'd go time and time again with her because I know it's one of her favorite things ever!

2- It's sad to say, but this trip was a first.....yes it was my first time four wheeling, and I loved every minute of it. I took just about every opportunity I could to get on and enjoy the ride. IT WAS AWESOME.

1- Spending Quality time with the fam. Quality time playing Settlers of Catan that is. It is one of the greatest games if your in the mood to get a little pushy, be a little frustrated, get a little loud, and be a little avengful. We spent hours and hours playing this game each night that we had little time for sleep.

Although sleep wasn't a priority on this trip, FUN WAS and for that reason alone Mariah and I are going to make it a priorty to have MORE FUN and get up to the cabin soon. GO OUTPOST!

Traveling Duo

2008-03-01T22:12:00.008-07:00

We have now turned into permanent travelers here in NZ. We finished the South Island after about a week and a half and moved on to the North Island where we are currently. It has been very different not having all the luxuries of home, but needless to say, we have loved every minute of the adventure. We have seen and done many memorable things and wouldn't trade this time in our lives for anything. These are just a few of the photos taken along our journey...

I HAVE BEEN TAGGED!

2008-01-29T15:48:00.000-07:00

Middle Name: Sean
S- St. George is one of my favorite pastimes when there is nothing to do on the weekend. Such great weather and my parents new condo is so relaxing.

E- Energetic is how I like my life to be. I dont like sitting and doing nothing. I like to be moving and doing things most of the time.

A- Apples seem to be one of the best fruits ever, although there are a lot of others that are close on the list...AKA PINEAPPLES!

N- Nicholas is my first name, New Zealand is where I currently living, Nerdy is what some people call me, Nice is what i hope to always be, Nasty are the BBQ's of New Zealand, No better restaurant than Cafe Rio, Neat are the electronics of today, and Never knew i had so many different thougts for the letter N.

1. Do you like cheese? Yes, but New Zealand has some interesting cheese, where is my good ol' American cheese?
2. Have you ever been arrested? No is that a good thing?
3. Have you ever shot a gun? Yes. Got my rifle marret badge, used shotguns to TRY and hit clay pigeons, but funny enough I have never shot any of my dads six or so guns.
4. Your favorite song? wow, I love music hard to choose, but at the moment my fav bands are One Republic, Jordan Sparks, Rascal Flatts..to name a few.
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Depends on why I am at the doctors
6. What do you think of when you eat hot dogs? Eww, thats the weirdest version of a hot dog. New Zealands way of hot dogs are putting a sausage on a piece of bread folding the bread and putting some weird tasting ketchup on it...dang I MISS AMERICAN FOOD!
7. What's your favorite Christmas song? hmm, there are so many good ones...at this moment I would say "so this is christmas"
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? nothing...the milk in my cereal is perfect
9. Can you do push ups? yes, how many though I have no idea.
10. Is your bathroom clean? Don't ask!!! We live with two other men....so Don't Ask!!
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? hmmm my wedding ring is special, but I really like my watch too.
12. Favorite Hobby? Music, and the Jazz, I hope to get season tickets in the near future if Mariah will let me :)
13. What are you listening to right now? Rascal Flatts "winner at a losing game"
14. What is the last thing you ate? Cereal
15. What one trait do you hate about yourself? My motivation, i have so many good things i want to do, but i just need more motivation to get me over that hump.
16. Middle Name? Sean
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? What type of house will one day have? When will i be back in the states? why do we need to wear retainers to keep our teeth in place, why cant they just stay where they are supposed to?
18. Name the last 3 things you have bought. Pizza, panini sandwhich, candy
19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink. Water, sprite, fruit drinks
20. Current worry right now? to many!
21. Current hate? strong word, but i would say I hate the feelings of being sad, or when those you love are sad...its just no fun.
22. Favorite place to be? right now i would say CAFE RIO, haven't been there for a long time and i would love to be able to go there.
23. How did you bring in the New Year? Dancing around, playing with sparklers, and looked at the starey starey New Zealand sky.
24. What is your quirkiest habit? the uncontrolable dancing and singing i sometimes do!
25. Name three people who will complete this and return? I’m not sure.
26. How many siblings do you have? 4 older brothers
27. Do you own slippers? no but i have been thinking of getting some sweet New Zealand Wool slippers
28. What shirt are you wearing? a brown Del Sol shirt(the last company i worked for)
29. What shampoo do you use? Herbal Essence.
30. Favorite colors? yellow or orange
31. Would you like to be a pirate? Yes, as long as I was as strikingly hot and sexy as Orlando Bloom (Mariah loves him)
32. What songs do you sing in the shower? any and every song that is stuck in my head
33.Favorite female name? hmm..besides Mariah I'm not too sure.
34. Favorite male name? Beau
35. What's in your pockets right now? nothing
36. Last thing that made you laugh? can't say!
37. Best bed sheets as a child? I LOVED MY SESAME STREET BED SHEETS, ALSO THE STAR WARS BEDSHEETS WERE AWESOME.
38. Worst injury you've ever had? I was playing basketball in California, I came down on my brothers foot, twisted my ankle really bad...the good thing was I had to use a wheelchair at disneyland...so we got to the front of every line!!!!
39. When's your birthday? May 30
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? well...two, but not really...the two tv's are in our roommates rooms so we can't watch them :( . we dont watch much tv anymore.
41. Who is your loudest friend? Brandon, only because he is probably my only friend! hahah
42. There is no 42
43. Does someone have a crush on you? you tell me.
44. Do you wish on shooting stars? do i wish...all the time...on shooting starts..i think not.
45.What is your favorite book ? Kite Runner, it was the last book i read and i though it was very good.
46.What is your favorite age? hmm...well anytime before marriage...only because it meant i could do whatever i wanted and i didnt have to pay for anything. although i wouldnt change being married to mariah for anything, she's the best!
47. What song do/did you want played at your wedding? well i did sing to mariah at our wedding, Garth Brooks
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? Not really sure, but i love...be still my soul!!!
.49. What were you doing at 12 am this morning? filling out this thing!
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? dont remember

2007 Highlights

2008-01-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

It is a little late, but Mariah has put together a Christmas letter of our 2007 highlights that I thought you would enjoy!

Mariah and Nick Barker
2007 Highlights

Nick and I got married on September 1, 2007: We finally tied the knot after six years of dating. We were married in the Salt Lake Temple surrounded by our family and friends. It was the most beautiful day and we are so excited to start our lives together.

I graduated from the University of Utah: Although I actually graduated in the fall of 2006 I still felt it was 2007 worthy. I received my Bachelor of Science Degree in Communication Technology and soon after started job hunting. I found work for a company called JRC Inc. as a sales assistant and enjoyed my employment there.

My sisters and I travel to Europe: For 10 days my sisters, Rebecca and Sue, and I travelled to London, Paris and Rome. We had a wonderful time and only fought occasional. We saw lots of famous sites; Stonehenge, Big Ben, the Tower of London, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Sistine Chapel, the Coliseum and so much more.

Nick proposes: I know you all know the outcome of Nick’s proposal, but it was a very big event in both our lives. He swept me off my feet with a perfect proposal. We had dinner at The Roof, followed by a walk around Temple Square. Later we watched a homemade movie with pictures and stories of our relationship. My heart started racing as Nick got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course I answered with a very excited “YES!”

We moved to New Zealand: Nick and I decide to move to New Zealand. We will be working and travelling throughout New Zealand during our stay here. We are currently working in Fox Glacier for Glacier Helicopters. We have already made many unforgettable memories and are excited for the many adventures that await us. We have travelled to Christchurch, Nelson and we’re spending Christmas in Queenstown.

We wish you the best in 2008 and anyone is welcome to visit us in New Zealand.

Very "First" New Years!

2008-01-05T16:35:00.000-07:00

HELLO 2008! This is going to be a fantastic year for Nick and I. We are starting new is so many different aspects. For one it’s a new year, two we’re in New Zealand and three we’re planning on moving to the north island of New Zealand in the near future. What a great way to start the New Year. By the way, Happy New Year!
We have been busy little working bees since Christmas, or so it has felt, for the past week. That didn’t stop us though, from being the first people to ring in the New Year. Nick and I were completing whether we should stay up to experience the New Year. Well, around 11:30 I was in bed ready for sleep and couldn’t be bothered to stay up just 30 more minutes to ring in the New Year. Of course I could be bothered though. Santana, a woman we work with and occasional look after her two children for, came and bothered me. She came knocking on our door and drug me out of bed for some sparkling cider and fireworks. We ran around the house with sparklers, lit firework, made toasts to the New Year and enjoyed the beautiful night sky. Seeing as we were one of the first people to experience the new year we thought we’d let you know it was well worth staying up for. We had a wonderful time with Santana and her two girls, Akasha and Jameelah, and started the New Year off with a bang. Many firsts for Nick and I and we are excited for the adventures ahead.

Happy New Years!

Christmas in Queenstown

2007-12-27T01:15:00.000-07:00

We are so grateful for the spirit of Christmas. This year has been quite different for Nick and I and we truly appreciate the love and cheer that we have felt. It has been a whirlwind week with Christmas parties, holiday hiking and then our Christmas vacation to Queenstown.
We had our work Christmas party, themed Pirate’s of the Caribbean. Nick dressed up as a HOT pirate and I put on a stick-on-mustache and called myself a pirate. Our efforts were in vain. Compared to our co-workers we weren’t dressed for the occasion. They had rented costumes, borrowed from theaters, bought wings and make-up and truly looked like pirates. Nick and I were just a boy and a girl that put on a bandanna and a fake mustache pretending to be pirates.
Towards the end of the night we were able to sit on “Santa’s” lap and receive a present. I use the word “Santa” lightly because “Santa” was more in fact a native bush man who was half naked, dressed in a grass skirt, bone earrings and necklace who had painted himself black. I sat on “Santa’s” lap and collected my present and was glad that this “Santa” couldn’t see me when I was sleeping or awake.
The next day we went on a 6 billion hour hike. Fine, I might be exaggerating a little, but not by much. We literally hiked for 6 hours through the mud to a seal colony. The hike was beautiful and took us through a mines tunnel, the mud, more mud and extremely steep stairs. When we finally arrive at the seal colony we couldn’t see any and it wasn’t until we started to leave that they finally decided to make an appearance. Did I mention though, that we hiked for 6 billion hours?
Nick and I decided to spend Christmas in Queenstown, which is considered to be the adventure capital of the world, and it truly is. It has jet boating, helicopter flights, bungee jumping and rafting. Basically whatever you consider adventurous, Queenstown has it. Our first adventure took us to the small branch that was held in a funeral home. We met the missionaries and watched the Christmas devotional given by the First Presidency. We left Fox Glacier around five in the morning to arrive in Queenstown by 9:30 to make it to church on time. I drove 95 percent of the way; the short distance Nick drove he was pulled over and given a ticket for going 118 km. Bad luck if you ask me considering I was speeding the entire time.
Our second adventure took us on a helicopter flight, a luge and gondola ride. Might I add that it was all FREE! We also went jet boating down the Shotover River. Holy cow, it was amazing. Our jet boat was within inches of the canyon walls, speeding over six inches of water and spinning 360 degrees. We had a blast and couldn’t believe the maneuverable of the jet boats, we were truly awestruck. Later we went bowling and I bowled my all time high, 105. Nick, in contrast, has no comment about his scores. That night as we went to bed we dreamed of Santa and hoped he would be able to find us on the other side of the world.
When we woke up we were pleasantly surprised to find that he had found us. Santa had paid for Nick speeding ticket, I received $30 and a pair of earrings and we both had a wonderful vacation in Queenstown. Nothing was open Christmas day so watched Christmas movies, feed the ducks and window shopped. We had a perfect Christmas and are so grateful for the holiday season. The next day we called our families to find them opening presents, went to the movie and drove back to Fox Glacier. Ticket free might I add. Meri Kirihimete!

Rain... rain go away!

2007-12-15T18:03:00.000-07:00

Wow, what an incredibly boring week. I spoke too soon is saying good weather was on its way for Fox Glacier. It has been raining for the past seven days straight, expect for yesterday. So basically for the past week we haven’t been able to do one activity. On rainy days, such as this entire week, Nick and I have been keeping ourselves occupied in many different fashions and the more rain we receive the more creative we become.
I usually check a book out from the Elementary school. It has a total of 30 adult books, half of which are John Grisham books. I plan on reading the entire adult library and have about 25 books left. Nick on the other hand researches basketball on the Internet, especially the Utah Jazz. He’ll read reviews, comments and anything and everything dealing with basketball. When the Jazz play he’ll listen to them live while I read, yet another John Grisham book. On creative days we’ll take walks in the rain, play card games for hours and shop at the local gift shops. We are so sick of being cooped up in our room that we’ll come up with any excuse to leave.
After this week, Nick swears he’s going to go on a fast from the Internet. I told him he’d never last if the Jazz were playing. So, instead he said he’d fast on a day the Jazz weren’t playing. I said I don’t mind going on a book fast, I could use a break from John Grisham. Currently I’m reading The Street Lawyer; not bad for my first John Grisham read. We’re just hoping that the raining subsides soon. We don’t know how much longer we can last; it’s so gloomy and grim.
Only nine days till Christmas! We’ve decided if the weather continues as it is, our Christmas won’t be much different from yours. Instead of snow though, it’ll be rain. Instead of snuggling by a fire, we’ll be snuggling by an electric heater. Not much of a difference at all. We’re excited for Christmas though and have been spreading good cheer everywhere. Merry Christmas and the Happiest New Year!
Yesterday, seeing as it wasn’t raining, we walked to the Fox Glacier. While we were there was saw huge ice chunks falling from the thermal face. It was amazing and sounded exactly like thunder. We also talked about our hobbies. Nick wants to be involved in photography and music, whereas I want to make jewerley. I’ve made jewerley before and absolutely loved it. Now I’m writing this down so when we actually get time for hobbies we’ll remember what they were. It was a lovely walk and showed us how out of shape we’ve become.
Anyway, a pretty uneventful week in which nothing really happened. We’re determined to have a more eventful week and we are keeping our fingers crossed for better weather.

Kayaking woes

2007-12-07T22:37:00.000-07:00

Another week passes as we become more and more like are kinfolk, the kiwis. We’ve picked up much slang, but are still unable to understand each other. No matter, we’ll just keep trying until New Zealand is in our blood and becomes our second home.
Working has become quite an adventure as well as drama central for the, might I add, male pilots. You thought females created drama? Wait till you get six pilots with different agendas and personalities, then that drama. Somehow Nick and I even became part of the drama seeing as we did everything wrong and needed being told, or so we thought. No matter, all is well down under and we’ve learned to steer clear of all pilots when they’re being dramatic, which happens to be more often than not. Not all is lost though for the pilots; we do have a few who love us bloody Americans. So everything is as good as gold.
After our stressful day of doing everything wrong or again, so we thought, we headed out to Okarito for a nice relaxing day of kayaking through the peaceful lagoons. Not so. It was a painful and beautiful experience. We had a two-man kayak and together paddled around the most stunning scenery and heard every bird call, but after about an hour we were tired. Next though, we had to paddle against the tide to some more stunning scenery, which was pretty much the same as before. Most of the time we felt more like we were moving backwards instead of forwards due to our paddling against the swift tide. After an hour or so we reached our next lagoon, which was probably only 100 meters further than the first lagoon we saw.
Our hands and arms were hurting so bad. Nick’s were more than mine seeing as I got tired faster so stopped paddling half the time. Maybe that’s why we were going so slowly? Nick didn’t know this though, as I was behind him. I steered the kayak as Nick navigated. Eventually he caught and made me switch places with him so he could make sure I was paddling my fair share.
After paddling around the lagoon and lunch we headed back to shore. We could hardly paddle for longer than 10 strokes and took more breaks than was needed. The whole trip was supposed to take us under four hours, not so for us. We’re surprised we made it back at all. Once we did I fell in the mud trying to pull Nick to shore. All he did was laugh and couldn’t stop. All in all it was a wonderful experience and another relationship lesson. If we hadn’t got along and worked together we would still be paddling against the current straight into a head wind, which almost happen. So what was supposed to be a nice relaxing kayak trip was actually a four and a half hour exhausting experience. We woke up the next day with everything being sore.
The weather is beginning to turn beautiful. Not as much rain and a lot more sunshine. It’s actually been hot a few times and with Christmas only being 17 days away it’s feeling more like summer than winter, which it actually is. Nick and I are counting down the days of Christmas with a homemade paper chain. We decorated it with stickers and Christmas drawings. Holidays aren’t big in New Zealand like they are in the states, which is sad but true. We did get to decorate the company Christmas tree though. I’ll eventually decorate our room with hand drawn pictures of Santa, a Christmas tree, reindeer and anything and everything else having to do with Christmas.

We are at the beautiful Pancake rocks. It was very cool.

Mariah resting after hours of kayaking. We are just about to have lunch before our kayaking journey back to our car.

Me doing all the work as Mariah takes pictures and watches for birds.

We haven't had a place all to ourselves lately, nor have we had such a big bed. As you can see Mariah loved it!

Us at the Pancake rocks again, look at that blue water!

Happy Days

2007-11-30T01:12:00.000-07:00

Mariah and I with our sweet New Zealand ride. It gets us from A to B and that's all we ask of it!

Ice climbing was a blast, we recommend you stay indoors though because its tough and very tiring.

We loved the wonderful weather in Nelson. We got to go on a catamaran and explore the Able Tasman National Park.

Three adventures down, still many to go.

Our first REAL vaction

2007-11-29T16:56:00.000-07:00

Wow! Nick and I had an amazing week. It did have some down points though, one to be exact, but first I’ll start with Thanksgiving. We were completely out of idea of what to cook, so our kiwi employees offered to host Thanksgiving dinner for us. What a bunch of slackers we are. Stephanie, our fellow employees cooked us chicken, vegetables, cheese and crackers, potatoes and mud pie. She invited over the pilots as well. So in exchange for her hospitably, we taught them the meaning of Thanksgiving and thanked Stephanie for hosting her first Thanksgiving dinner for us. Happy Thanksgiving!
Now the bad news, Nick got his hair cut. I was planning on cutting it, but Barry, a pilot, ended up doing it by accident. We borrowed Barry’s clippers, which only had a number 4, and I was just going to take a little off the top. Well, when Barry got a hold of the clippers he took Nick down to a 4. Tears were shed, but not by Nick. I love Nick’s curly hair, but I’m slowing liking his new look. It’s not bad, but it was just so different that I couldn’t hold back. Just a side note: I have never once cried over my hair and I find it highly amusing that I cried over Nick’s.
Since we have officially been in New Zealand for a month, we treated ourselves to a holiday. We took four days off and drove 6 hours to the sunshine capital of New Zealand, Nelson. It was a perfect vacation. We booked ourselves a hotel with a king size bed, a kitchenette and a jetted tube and both of us agreed it was the best thing we did in Nelson. We went shopping, walked around the town center and ate at a very bohemian restaurant. The next day we went on an all day catamaran, sailing in the Able Tasman National Park. Able Tasman was a Dutch explorer who first discovered New Zealand. Fortunately, he wasn’t able to claim the land because the Maori natives drove him out. A few years later Captain Cook, an English explorer arrived and claimed New Zealand. Anyway, it’s so beautiful there with golden beaches, lush greenery and aqua blue water. It was such a clear day and the weather was beautiful. That night we ordered pizza and enjoyed our television.
For the next day we made our own Maori bone carvings. The process was from start to finish. We drew out our design on paper, transferred that to bone, cut it out, sanded it smooth and added all finishing touches. It was fun to be able to handcraft a Maori necklace. Mine is a Maori fishhook, which symbolizes our journey through life and I added two carvings representing me and Nick. Nick made a teardrop, which symbolizes the power of emotion and he dyed his a tea color. Both are very unique and designed especially by us. Later we went to the beach, searched for seashell, walked along the coast and watched the sun set.
Sadly our holiday came to an end way too soon. We drove home taking the scenic route. We stopped off at anything that looked interesting. The only attraction the proved to be wroth it was the pancake rocks and blowholes. It’s exactly as if sounds, basically thin rocks stacked on top of each other to create a look of stacked pancakes. It was beautiful and although it took us an extra thirty minutes, even Nick finally agreed it was worth it. This week was perfect and much needed. It was nice to see the sun and get out of the rain. We relaxed, had a wonderful holiday and I eventually got over Nick’s hair.

Here we come New Zealand!!

2007-10-22T10:27:00.000-06:00

Wow, all of our wedding jitters are over with, and we are moving on to bigger and better things. We have loved spending the last few weeks with are families and friends. We are heading to New Zealand and we feel like we can't get everything done in time. We will do our best and hope that we have everything we need when we get there. We aren't to excited for the 20 hour flight ahead of us, but we will bear it as long as we can, but we are excited to see the beautiful land of New Zealand and can't wait to let everyone know how it is. We will try to update our blog frequently as we wont be able to talk much. We love you and will miss the good times. Remember to email us about any exciting news, and never forget that we are just a 20 hour plain ride away and we would love to see as many vistors that are up for it. So until a new year has come, Good Day to ya, and here we come NZ!!!!

What a wedding and honeymoon!

2007-09-11T17:35:00.000-06:00

Mariah and I are finally married!! What a great wedding we had. The day seemed to run so smoothly and everything seemed to fall into its proper place. We both looked dang sexy, or at least I had a beautiful bride to make me look so good.

We had such a wonderful time being with all of those whom we love. We are both glad we decided to start our day in the afternoon as Mariah had more time to read her books and I had more time to get my bags packed for the honeymoon and make sure I had everything ready for the wedding just hours away. None the less the wedding started at 3:00 at the Salt Lake Temple and was wonderful. We soaked up every minute of it.

After taking many pictures we headed to the Lion House for our dinner. We loved all that was said and all that went on during our dinner. Thanks for joining us on our fun filled day.

The day didn't end at the Lion House. We still had an awesome getaway from the Lion House on our own two feet. Yes, we walked to our hotel room and loved it. People on trax waved to us, and a cop even told us congratulations.

After the wedding day the real fun began. Mariah and I headed to San Diego to catch our five day cruise. It was awesome. We visited two ports. Our first port was Ensenada and our second port was Cabo San Lucas. No matter where we were we had a blast playing in the water, eating lots of food, relaxing and doing whatever we wanted. One thing Mariah didn't enjoy was getting sun burnt. She did all she could to keep her skin white and burnt free. Needless to say, we had an amazing time on the cruise and we loved every moment of it. We would totally suggest anyone who hasn't gone on a cruise to make plans for the future and don't forget to invite us along! After finishing the cruise we stayed a day in San Diego and enjoyed the day at Sea World. I have never seen Mariah so happy to see cats that knew how to do tricks. She loved it. She couldn't get enough of all the sea animals and their amazing tricks. Yes I loved Sea World too, it was so fun! The honeymoon rocked in all aspects and it went so well. This was only the beginning adventure of many to come. We loved this first vacation together so much that we can't wait for everything else left to come in our amazing life together. Remember, come back soon when we have more good times to talk about.

Wedding Love

2007-08-27T14:54:00.000-06:00

The time is coming much quicker than expected for the both of us. In less than a week we will be married. I must say we are both very excited for our special day, not to mention getting rid of most of our stress will be great. We haven't had time to relax and be with each other which is expected planning a wedding. None the less we are super happy to be married so soon and can't wait to start our lives together. We are going to have so many adventures ahead of us and we cant wait. We must say that we are grateful to our families for their love and support during this stressful and exciting time. Soon when we have more time we will try and put up pictures of our different adventures so come back soon!