Christmas Letter 2010

For pictures of Trash the Dress click here

Pictures of our race click here

Writing Christmas letters is hard. This is only the second one that I've composed and it's like being in high school all over again. Either you build up every high point of the year and seem like an insufferable bragger, or you do a monotone update of every detail and bore people. So much pressure...

On February 21 we celebrated our one-year anniversary. Our first year was amazing. The Vector trip in early March was to Costa Rica so we were excited to spend it at a beautiful resort. We had considered doing a “Trash the Dress” photo shoot since before we were married. Miriam sent tons of e-mails and eventually found an amazing photographer in our budget. The results were unbelievable photos that we will cherish forever.

Now for reality: Miriam got food poisoning on the flight to Costa Rica so she spent the first 4^1/2 days sick in bed. Don't worry, I was fine. My days were spent leisurely strolling around the resort, occasionally stopping by the gift shop to get her more Gatorade. Her days were considerably less fun. When it came time for the shoot, our photographer drove four hours to pick us up at the hotel. He barely spoke English but his assistant helped bridge the communication gap. Since we were driving to various locales to shoot, Miriam had to be in her dress the whole time. Seeing her climb into the back of a poorly maintained compact car in her beautiful dress was a sight. It was like a David's Bridal vomited in the back of a Geo Metro. We stopped at Subway for lunch which caused much excited conversation among the patrons.

We drove for more than two hours to the site, lightly reassuring ourselves that we were not, in fact, being abducted. As it turned out, our photographers did not kidnap us and instead we spent six hours shooting carefully choreographed shots, and we are so grateful to them. Rest assured, the dress was successfully cleaned and is now sitting in a closet. Not sure what to do with it, but it's comforting to know that it's there in case of an emergency.

This experience highlighted why my wife is amazing but insane. Amazing because she thought this out, set it up, and was willing to ride a bicycle and even crawl through barbed wire in her wedding dress. Insane because of this quote: “You know, thanks to the food poisoning my dress fits even better than on our wedding day!”

As always, our families are a huge part of our life. August we cruised Alaska with her parents, my mom, and my brother Chris. The trip was incredible, and such a blessing to spend that time with family. Larry and Paula were married in Alaska 35 years ago, so many memories were shared, and even more created. The Carter side is doing great, and I finally experienced a Smith Family Thanksgiving. I think there's 39 people in the photo. We also welcomed a new niece on her side and cousin on mine. Both beautiful baby girls.

We finished the year by participating in the White Rock Marathon. Miriam and I ran the half marathon, my brother Chris ran the full. You'll see a picture of us after a triumphant 13.1 miles.

Now for reality: Miriam trained hard and committed to the Half months ago. Because of ego and stupidity, I said, “Sure, how hard can it be?” For the record, that was a stupid question and I am a stupid man. The training schedule (what I did of it) was brutal and race day kicked off at 40^o. I don't know what sadist thought December was a good time to plan a marathon, but I hope they suffer from shinsplints for the rest of their life. The race was hard, but fun, till mile eight when my right knee decided it was done with this nonsense. I hobbled my way through the last 5 miles, Miriam patiently slowing down to finish with me. But finish we did, and I have a medal to prove it.

This shows why I'm also amazing but insane. Amazing because I'm open to doing challenging things I've never done before and seeing them through to the end. Insane because I have no sense of the preparation needed to do these challenging things my wife thinks of.

For more photos of our year, go to www.WorldofCarter.com. We hope 2010 has been an adventure for you, too. God Bless you and your families as you celebrate the season. I look forward to hearing your great stories from the year past.

Merry Christmas!

Brian and Miriam Carter