Farewell

Lindsey has been bugging me to write a new blog post for a while now because we have some major changes coming up in our lives. She said, “Please write a blog about what is going on with us.” Well, here is my blog post. LOST has ended.

The last show that I watched with as much enthusiasm as LOST was Seinfeld. I was 14 when the final episode of Seinfeld aired, and I remember being teary eyed during the pre-show montage of the series with Green Day’s Good Riddance playing in the background. More than a decade later, another show has come to an end, again leaving me wanting more. It was a sad occasion watching the 270 minute finale event but one that was ultimately extremely satisfying.

For the past 6 years, LOST has been the best show on television, consistent in engrossing plot and superb acting. No, every week has not been perfect, but as a whole, the 6 seasons are nothing short of phenomenal. Ok, enough praise without explanation.

If I had been told that the finale would leave so many questions unanswered, I would have expected about a 90% chance of disappointment. However, it turns out that most of the questions did not need to be answered. In fact, even with how the show ended, the main question that had been asked from the beginning, “What exactly is the island,” remained debatable. From what I have read and heard since the airing, a mere 24 hours gone, my thoughts on the message that the ending was trying to convey have for the most part been confirmed. I’ll not go into any details for those who have yet to watch. Shame on you though if you fall into that category.

What the fans got was a LOST movie event to bring to a close the stories about the these wonderful characters. Because in the end, amid all the mysteries, subplots, love triangles and quantum physics, LOST was ever about the characters. People do not support a show the way LOST has been supported without becoming attached to the characters. Jack, Sawyer, Locke, Kate, Hurly, Sayid, Charlie (always was my favorite) Ben and everyone else became our friends. They became our enemies and our companions.

We loved them far more than we ever loved the show, so it is fitting that the writers found a way to bring back all the characters, even the ones we had already said goodbye to, without some laughable gimmick. For those of you that are television fans, you know what I mean here too. Many finales find some sort of ploy to bring back all the familiar faces whether it be small group reminiscing or some lame trial with everyone who has ever been on the show serving as witnesses. For those shows that were great, like Seinfeld, we forgive the ending because of the road that brought us there.

LOST requires no forgiveness, just our praise for 6 wonderful years of exceptional television right up until the final fade out. I will miss the show, and though I will watch it again in full with my wife my brother and probably any friend I ever make who has not seen the show including the children I will eventually have, nothing will ever be able to replace the moments each week of watching the latest episode, hoping for some answers. Thank you, LOST. That is all I can say. Thank you.

Slideshow

Eating pita chips and hummus on my day off. Enjoying playing with iphoto and imovie.

Here is a slideshow of Mom and Dad's wedding. Hope you enjoy! Love you both tons!

Jody & Nick's Wedding

The trip to San Diego was quick, but we were able to spend some great time with friends. Thursday was low key as we strolled around the Gaslamp district and enjoyed a yummy lunch/dinner with Brandi and Sherri. Friday we hit the town enjoying a delicious meal in Little Italy. Our mission was to eat at a restaurant called, Zagarella's, however, sadly it was closed. But the meal we did have was great. The four of us then traveled down to SeaPort Village and enjoyed a relaxing stroll. The weather was a perfect 70 degrees and the ocean air was incredibly calming. The evening ended with a fun rehearsal dinner in Old Town. Saturday we were joined by Carly and Brian. We piled in their rental car for a quick trip to Coronado island. The beach was beautiful, with gold flakes sparkling in the sand. It looked as though God had dropped a little glitter on Coronado. Then it was off to the wedding. Jody and Nick were married in the Sky Box on the fifteenth floor of a building overlooking PETCO park. It was a high class affair. Dancing, food, and conversation were thoroughly enjoyed.

Here are a few pics to enjoy!

A view from the top of our hotel!

Enjoying the rehearsal dinner.

Getting ready for a fun night.

Mr. & Mrs. Nick Olson

We had a wonderful time. It was a quick trip. I wish we could have stayed and enjoyed the beautiful city longer. Back to the books. I have only three weeks left of school!

Connor is Here!

We are so excited for Matt, Jenny, and Jack as they welcome a new addition to the family. We wish we could be there, but we send our love to the whole family. We are looking forward to a trip home to meet Connor in July.

Stats:
7 lbs 7 oz
19.75 in.

Happy Birthday, Lindsey!

Well, it has taken 2 months, but my wife has caught up to me. Lindsey turns 26 today. If I recall correctly, Lindsey made a comment recently about how this birthday is “no biggie.” She concluded that her birthdays now are only important by the decade: 30, 40, 50 and so on. However, 26 is a pretty unique number, enough so for me to elaborate further.

For instance, did you know that 26 is the only single number between a square and a cube? Yeah, I know, mind boggling. 25 is the square of 5 and 27 is the cube of 3. 26 sits right in between, by itself! No other numbers are with it in there. Pierre de Fermat proved that, according to Wikipedia. Also according to Wikipedia, 26 is the gematric number of the true name of god: YHWH. Again, impressive.

There is more, but the rest gets a little complex. I think the point is well made that 26 is no birthday at which to scoff. In addition, Lindsey’s birthday falls on April 10th, which is a notable day, thus making every birthday important. How is April 10th notable, you ask? Well, back in 1974, it was the day Penn and Teller met one another. I mean, that was big, right? It was also the day the U.S. patent system was formed in 1790. And way back in 837, it was the day Halley’s Comet approached to within 0.0334 AUs of Earth.

Oh, and I almost forgot, a number of celebrities share this special day of birth with my lovely wife. Who? Well, Mandy Moore and Haley Joel Osment for starters. How about Ken Griffey Sr. of Major League Baseball fame and John Madden, former coach in the NFL? Yes, they were born on April 10th. And this brings me to the cream of the birthday sharing crop, drum roll please . . . that’s right, Steven Seagal. Need I say more?

So, though it may not seem like it, today is a very important day for many reasons, but top on that list is that Lindsey was born. I may be very thankful for that event, but I am certainly not the only one. You are very loved, Lindsey, and not just by me. Happy Birthday.

Easter 2010

Well, still making our way through our first year as a married couple, our first Easter together was a trying one. No, we are not having matrimonial issues; however, sub-freezing temperatures do take their toll on even the best relationships. As most of you know, we have yet to vacate the Denver area, and may not as our immediate future is up in the air. Since our wedding last August, we have acquired, through gifts and our own purchases, a fair amount of camping gear but have not had the opportunity to put any of it to use. That changed on this Easter Eve.

We finally decided to just go. We have been having pretty good weather around town, a bit breezy, but decent temperatures, so we figured we may as well just pick a park and test out the gear. What we forgot to account for is the rapidly decreasing temperatures as one heads toward the Rocky Mountains. Yeah, we see the range every day, so we have no real excuse.

At any rate, we made the trip southwest to Mueller State Park. Let me preface this by stating that we plan to return to Mueller in a couple of months for a longer stay that will include hiking, lounging, eating, reading and so much more. We are thinking sometime in June will be appropriate. As for this visit, all was well after the 2 hour drive down through Colorado Springs, past the Garden of the Gods, and on toward the town of Divide. We checked in with the ranger and she gave us a map to our site. This is when things turned a bit sour. We pulled up to our site which had a great view of the mountains. Unfortunately, the entire site was under 6 inches of snow. Only the picnic table stood above the ice. Not to be dissuaded from our adventure, we toured some other sites and found one with a cleared tent pad. The switch was easily facilitated by the roving ranger so we began to set up camp. Then the wind started.

No joke, it took us 30 minutes to set up the tent only after emptying the car of everything heavy to weigh down the corners: snow chains, the emergency kit, the tire iron and so forth. At this point, Lindsey was frozen and ready to leave, but we decided to have a go at making dinner. Lindsey started the water boiling and I gathered wood for a fire. Despite the wind and rapidly dropping temperature, it was not half bad. The fire took a while to start because of the wind, but after I got a flame, the wind really helped fan the rest. The Mac N Cheese with Tuna tasted fine but was cold within a minute.

At this point, Lindsey bundled up in the tent while I tried to be strong and roast some marshmallows. I lasted another 5 minutes before I ended up under layers of clothing, blankets and a sleeping bag. We played Yahtzee for a bit, talked, drank wine, and ate Jelly Beans (not necessarily in that order). Eventually we fell asleep, only to wake up aching from the uncomfortably small sleeping pads. This cycle continued until morning when the wind had died, the temperature had risen from the teens back to the twenties. We scrambled some eggs and packed up by 7am. All in all, it was not terrible. We did survive at least. But it was certainly not what we expected. Enjoy the photos, and Happy Easter everyone.

Kayla's Visit

It was wonderful to have Kayla visit. She stayed Wednesday through Sunday. The day she flew in we ended up with a snow day and I was able to get the rest of the days off from work. It was a great second week of vacation. We did a bit of outlet shopping, a quick trip to Boulder, strolled downtown, and hiked around the Red Rocks. It was a fun few days and I look forward to her next visit.

Here are a few pics: