We just returned from our winter getaway and want to wish our family, friends and readers a very happy new year and best wishes for a great 2008!

2007 was an amazing year for Darren and I as the year began with our January engagement, the purchase of our new home in April, our wedding in August and both of us taking on new career challenges in the fall. The last 365 days have truly been a dream come true and we are so excited for our future together.

We rounded out the year with a trip to Vermont. As many of you know, we rented a condo on Bromley Mountain for several weekends this winter. Darren is an avid skier and loves the winter so we decided the mountains would be a perfect escape for a few days. Our drive to Vermont was very scenic so we stopped several times along the way for some picture taking (Darren has really taken to the new Nikon D80 camera that he got for Hanukkah). The winter backdrop with snow covered trees, houses and flowing streams made for some beautiful shots.

We started our five day stay in Vermont with a walk around Manchester, browsing in the many shops and outlets including: Escada, BCBG, J Crew, Banana Republic, Coach, Gap, etc… Manchester is a great small town, with inns and bed & breakfasts along with many restaurants from casual to fine dining. Manchester was a 15 minute drive from our condo so we spent a lot of time there – especially for our meals. One night we dined at Laney’s where we indulged in chicken and ribs. Huge portions and delicious barbecue cooking. We finished our dinner off with a homemade warm brownie sundae – not to be missed! Another evening we tried some home cooking at Zoey’s Double Hex. The menu had traditional home style dishes like meatloaf and chicken potpie. It was okay, nothing special. One afternoon, we also ventured into town and had a fantastic lunch at Sherrie’s Café, so good in fact we returned the next day.

Darren took in two days of great skiing and got right back in action on the slopes. I spent one day in ski school and the next resting my sore muscles. I’ll be back in ski school again in a couple of weeks building on the skills I’ve already learned. Ryan and Caroline joined us for a couple of days at the end of our stay and lucky for all of us there was an overnight snow storm that brought fresh powder to the mountains and perfect conditions for snowmobiling. The four of us went out for a 90-minute tour through the National Forestry, winding through hills and admiring the winter wonderland we were a part of. We all had an amazing time, although there were a few moments when Caroline and I were holding on for dear life.

The four of us ended 2007 with a night out in Stratton. We had an early dinner seating at Mulligan’s and then headed over to the main lodge for the Fire & Ice fireworks and New Year’s Party at Grizzly’s before heading back to our condo to watch the ball drop. It was a fantastic night celebrating with great friends and we hope to do it again next year.

For a recap of our year in pictures…. enjoy the slideshow.