Dream of a lifetime! My trip to the Masters!

I'm not sure when my obsession with the Masters started. It may have been during the 1997 Masters when Tiger Woods won his first Masters or Phil Mickelson's quest for his first major championship win which was finally realized in 2004. Many people ask me why the Masters...why not the US Open, PGA Championship or the Open? I think it is the fact that the same course is used every year and there is so much history on the hallowed grounds of Augusta National. The tournament has been played there since 1934 with so many amazing winners. Each year I watch the entire tournament and dream about what it would be like to walk the course and see all of the different holes and witness the presenting of the green jacket.

I've had an obsession with the Masters for a long time but my obsession with collecting Masters memorabilia started in 2001 with my first Masters flag. Now 8 years later I have many more flags and a whole shelf full of Masters books. And some of you may know of my "spreadsheet" in which I track all of my purchases and other things I wish I could buy. I used this spreadsheet to buy extra books and sell them for a profit on ebay. My ultimate goal for my memorabilia is to get as many of the Masters winners to sign my undated Masters flag.

Collecting Masters memorabilia and taking Thursday and Friday off of work so I can stay at home and watch the entire tournament are one thing but to attend the tournament is my dream and up until last weekend I was never sure it would ever happen. Last Sunday my wonderful wife took me on a "scavenger hunt" that she said was from Valentine's Day. I took her to Vancouver BC so she didn't have a chance to do this "scavenger hunt". Throughout the scavenger hunt on Sunday I had no idea where we were going and was having fun trying to figure out all of the clues. When I walked into my parents house thinking that I was getting the final clue I saw my mom and brother on the computer and didn't suspect what was about the happen. I turned the corner and saw all of my friends and family who had shown up for an early 30th birthday party (my birthday isn't until May 17). I was completely shocked and when I saw that it was a "Masters" birthday party I was even happier.....I still didn't know what Mandy was about to tell me. When she told me that we were going to the Masters I lost it.

My dream....the number one thing on my "Bucket List"....the place that covers our walls in our tv room. Ever since Mandy told me I haven't been able to sleep. I've been researching where to go and what to see each day. Mandy has limited my talking about the Masters to 10 minutes a day. I can't wait to go and am so thankful I have the most amazing wife. Mandy, thank you for giving me this amazing gift! You are the best wife ever!!!

Photography - My new obsession!

First off we haven't posted any new blogs lately and I would like to start up again. So here goes the first in a while. This last December my lovely wife bought me a new camera. I'm not sure entirely what got me so into photography, maybe it's the few pictures I took with my point and shoot where I thought to myself, "I should be a professional." I think meeting my friend John Keatley was also a reason I got into it because he does it for a living and his photos are amazing. Knowing it was a big purchase I had to research which one was going to be perfect. I didn't know a lick about photography terms like ISO, f stops, aperture, auto exposure bracketing. I spent hours researching which digital SLR I should get. Mandy can attest to my obsession with researching it. I borrowed books from the library on different cameras to try and figure out which was best. After a long time I finally decided on the Canon EOS XSi. It was going to be a Christmas present and so Mandy ordered it online. Unfortunately it came one day about two weeks before Christmas while Mandy was away. I answered the door and the UPS guy handed me a big box that said B&H video. Mandy knew I wouldn't be able to wait 2 weeks so she told me to open it early. Ever since that day I've taken about 4,500 photos. It's become my new hobby and I love to take my camera every where I go. I absolutely love it. Being a left brained person with little creativity this is my way to try and be creative. So without further ado, I'm posting a few of my favorite pictures. Also check out my flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32585671@N05/

Road Trip to New Jersey: Day 4

We went to South Bend on Saturday for the Notre Dame football game. It was there home opener for the year and it is hard to describe. It was absolutely amazing and Craig and I showed up around 10:30 in the morning and walked around the campus taking in the sights. We saw the gold dome and the Grotto and of course "Touchdown Jesus". The whole day was so much fun and it made it even better to have Notre Dame win in the 4th quarter. I'll let the pictures speak for our experience.

Road Trip to New Jersey: Day 3

Today was a tough day of driving. We knew that we were trying to get near South Bend, IN for the Notre Dame game on Saturday so we were going to have to drive 15 hours. We woke up right by Mt. Rushmore and were on the road by 7:30. We first had to stop by a crazy town in South Dakota called Wall which has Wall Drug. It is an odd city but has some fun things to take pictures with. I'm including pictures from our time at Wall Drug. Friday I only took pictures from Wall Drug. The rest of the day was pretty boring and when we got into Minnesota it rained the whole time. Not a hard rain just more of an annoying rain. We got into Wisconsin and it was about the same as Minnesota and then once we made it to Madison it stopped raining. I had never been to Wisconsin before and I have to say it was kind of a nice state. Once we got into Illinois the only thing we could think of was Chicago and it was very late so we drove right through and didn't even take any pictures. I will be back in Chicago next week for work. I will update the blog tomorrow with our pictures from Notre Dame. Since I'm doing these blog updates a day behind I can already tell you that Notre Dame was amazing!!!

Road Trip to New Jersey: Day 2

Well we had another successful day of driving. We started out at Craig's mom's house in Spokane and left around 4:45am. We knew that we were planning on going to Mount Rushmore by the end of the day which was going to be a tough task. The driving was pretty good except for Montana. I'm not sure I like Montana much and don't ever plan on visiting. I guess the only place I might go in Montana is Glacier up near the Canadian border.
I do have to mention that Craig and I had to stop for gas in Montana and we just happened to stop at what is called the "Testicle Festival." We were very dissapointed to find out that it occurs in mid September. We took a few pictures and were back on the road.









We finally made it to Mount Rushmore about 9pm and had the whole place to our self as the last tour had finished up. It was a very peaceful place and I had know idea what was going on back in Washington. While Craig and I were marveling at the awesome artwork of stone, my Grandpa Verne breathed his last breathe. I really feel that God placed Craig and I at Mount Rushmore at that very moment because the last time I was at Mount Rushmore was with my grandparents on a roadtrip with my brother. While admiring Mount Rushmore I couldn't help but think of our trip and all of the good memories. My grandfather was a wonderful man and I will miss him a lot! He is up in heaven and looking down on us with no more pain. I love you Grandpa!

Road Trip to New Jersey: Day 1

Well today Craig and I set forth on a cross country road trip to Princeton, NJ. In case you don't know Craig is my best friend and he is a very smart but nerdy Christian who loves to talk about things such as exegesis and Thiselton's book on Hermeneutics. He even brings his Greek bible to church because it's "fun" and gives him a challenge. I can barely understand what the bible is trying to say to me in English. He is going to be starting at Princeton Theological Seminary in a few weeks in September and will be getting his Masters in Divinity. He is amazingly smart and sometimes I am kind of jealous of the talents he has.

Craig loaded up everything in his Blazer and mounted his motorcycle on the back. I looked out at the car and was a little unsure that it would be able to withstand all of the weight in it. I was pleasantly surprise that we made it safely to Spokane for the first leg of our trip.

Craig has been an amazing friend to me and is even responsible for Mandy and I being married today as he is the one that introduced us that wonderful day at the Ascent conference. He has become another member in Mandy and my family and we have spent many nights with Craig BBQing and hanging out. I know I speak for Mandy in saying that we are both very sad to see him leave.

Craig leaving for Princeton is bittersweet. On one hand I know this is what God is calling for him and his life but on the other hand it sucks because I won't have my best friend around to come over for a beer or scary movie night.

I know it's a different kind of long distance relationship but I am entirely convinced that God can keep friendships strong. Mandy and I are a living testament to that as we spent the majority of our relationship away from each other.

Well it's 11pm and we are getting up tomorrow at 4:00am to start Day 2 which consists of us driving from Spokane (or as Craig always calls it: Spokanistan, Spokompton, Spovegas) to Mount Rushmore. Google tells us 13 or so hours but I guess we'll see how that turns out. I'm excited to see Mount Rushmore again but am most excited about Saturday.......the home opener of Notre Dame football. Craig and I will be there in South Bend and will publish another post with some more pictures.

Golf: Loving it amongst the frustrations

Mandy and I went out for a round of golf with our friends Bart and Brian at the Golf Club at Newcastle. It was a great day for golf but it was a little muggy. Golf is a sport that both Mandy and I love but we play two different games. Mandy plays golf and it doesn't matter what she shoots. She is just happy to be outside with friends and playing a sport she loves. I on the other hand play golf and expect to play well every time. When I don't I get frustrated and very negative. I get down on myself and have a tough time putting the last shot behind me and focusing on the next shot. I know this is a problem but it is something I've really been working on and trying to get better at. I have made great strides but still have a lot to figure out. I love spending time with my beautiful wife and friends and I love golf. It can be so frustrating but yet so rewarding. How do I have fun no matter what? How do I laugh off a flubbed chip or a hooked drive? Or a missed 2 foot putt for an eagle? I only pray that God would help me concur this problem of mine. I know I can't fix this on my own.