Friday, December 12, 2014

2014 Year in Review


Wow, what a year!
As I finish my thirtieth year, I look back and feel better about where I am than I ever have before.  If I could sum up this year with a phrase, it would be travel and change... Between work, camping, hunting, visiting family and friends I have been on the road more than I ever have in my life. I probably spent more money than I ever had in any year previous. I have a fiance, a new boss, new skills and dreams and have visited new places.  I learned a lot. I got better at keeping my word and serving others. It truly was a good year.

Here's the status of my U.S. Map:
  •  Red are states I have not yet visited
  • Light green are states I have visited but not yet collected a soil sample
  • Dark green are states I have visited and collected a soil sample

Firsts this year:
  • Asked Katie to marry me!  
  • Started collecting a soil sample from every state I visit
  • Visited the Redwood Forest on Easter Sunday
  • Camped on a cliff above the ocean
  •  Drove through a tree
  • Bought a second car
  • poured a concrete driveway
  • Visited two oceans and a great lake
  • Saw a Bengal NFL game in Cincinnati, OH
  • Saw the entire Hobbit trilogy at the movies (it took almost 10 hours) 


New Places:
  • San Diego Zoo
  • Hollywood CA and the La Brea Tar Pits
  •  Portland, OR
  •  Mt. St, Helens, Washington
  •  Cincinnati, OH
  • Pittsburgh, PA
  • West Virginia  
  • Charlottesville, VA
  • Walk on the beaches of the Pacific Ocean
  • Walk on the beaches of Lake Erie
  • Visited Dallas Texas and Dealey Plaza where JFK was assassinated
I gained a new niece and nephew along the way!



Great experiences
  • Camping in the Uintas
  • Visiting New Mexico
  • Seeing the Toadies live in Park City
  • Meeting with the missionaries and taking part in Katie's investigation of the Church
  • Seeing my first Bengals game with Katie, Nick, Ashley and Gabe
  • Taking Katie to the San Diego Zoo
  • Eating some amazing southern fried food in Atlanta
  •  Date night at Flemming's Steak House with Katie
  • Went on many walks an adventures with Katie, Doogan and Hazel
  • Traveling to Texas for Thanksgiving to visit Katie's family
  • Watching movies at home with my family and friends
  • Playing Dota and Counter Strikeand listening to everybody yelling across the basement
  • Having Friday morning breakfast with Katie, Gabe and Adrian
  • Camping and hunting near Monticello, in the San Rafael Swell and the Uinta Mountains
  • Walking barefoot on the beaches of California and Eerie, Pennsylvania



Not so great experiences

  • Scraping my new car on a parking garage pillar
  • Walking the Las Vegas strip
  • getting chewed out by my boss
  • falling off a ladder on a cabling job
  • working some seriously long hours at customer sites
  • spending some long hours fixing trucks and cars
  • Having a miserable and expensive let down taking the Starline Tour in Hollywood 

 Great movies this year (saw a lot of movies this year)
  • Captain America 2
  • Interstellar
  • Dracula - The Untold Story
  • X-Men Days of Future Past
  • Spiderman
  • Big Hero 6
  • The Hobbit - Battle of the Five Armies
  • Meet the Mormons
  • Hunger Games Catching Fire Part 1
  • Unbroken



In the news and broad events this year:
  • Roll-out of Obamacare
  • September - Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson Missouri - rioting and looting
  • Republicans gained control of congress
  •  Ice bucket challenges
  • Ebola 
  • Missing Malaysian Flight 370
  • Curved screen TVs and phones
  • Bluetooth fitness wristbands 

Also fun this year:

Mud bogging
Celestial burgers
Playing guitar
Shootin'
Christmas Devotional with the Elders
















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