Highlights of 2014 Part 2

May

The month of May started out with a few different job offers and I had no clue which one I was going to take (this was a good problem to have, but it was also stressful trying to pick the right one). So May I did a lot thinking about what I was going to do with my life. 

To kick off the month though I had a good time going to Fathers n Sons with my father in law and my bro in law Luke. Then about a week later this awesome dude entered the world, my nephew Jed! 

On May 15 I graduate from ASU with my bachelors in Communication! It felt really good to be done with school (all thought I suspect that I still have some more school to go). We spent that day celebrating with family and eating at Grimaldi's pizza! 

I also made the switch from a PC to a Mac! And I love this baby! 

To celebrate graduation that weekend Taylor and I drove up to Vegas to hang out with our cousins Derek and Amanda at a condo about 20 minutes from the strip. We stayed there for a few days and only went down to the strip for a few hours. We spent most of the time relaxing, watching movies, swimming, paddle boarding, reading, eating delicious food, taking awesome selfies, and just hanging out. That is my kind of Vegas trip! 

About a week after that trip we got a call from mom telling us that my Grandma was really sick and they weren’t sure how much longer she would be around for. With very short notice a few of my family members and I packed up and drove up to see her one last time. She was in a lot of pain so we really didn’t get to see her for very long but they are moments I will always treasure. I wrote about some of the things we talked about here. She ended up passing away on May 30 at home with her family. My mom was there when she passed and she died without much pain. She is greatly missed, but she had suffered for many years with numerous health problems. 

One of my last chats with my Grandma. 

May we also got the best movies of the year X-Men Days of Future Past! 

June

To start off the month of June we traveled with my family up again to Utah for my Grandma’s funeral. We spent a few days there with family. While funerals are never a fun thing to go to I do always enjoy the unity that comes from being around family in those somber times. I also got to see a few cousins I hadn’t seen in a long time. 

When we got back to AZ I really had to start making a choice about what I was going to for work. The final two offers were between working for a cheese company selling cheese (I could of been a cheese salesman!) or working with my dad at a social media marketing company in Utah. When I have to make big decision like this, I stress about them so much (It's one of the few times in my life when I experience anxiety) and I spent weeks thinking and discussing what was the best option for us. After a lot of thought and prayer Taylor and I decided to take a job in Utah. For some reason we felt like this was what really needed to do. Looking back 6 months later I know we made the right choice. 

10 years ago this past June, my best friend Carl passed away. To celebrate the 10 year anniversary of his death we had a big party, Polynesian style, just the way he would have liked it! 

In June I finally put my obsession with movies to good use and started writing reviews over at Mormons at the Megaplex. Check us out, and like us on Facebook!

Mormons at the Megaplex

June also included a lot of Mario Kart! A lot of Mario Kart, the new Wii-U version and Mario Kart 7 on the 3DS. 

Since I was out of school I found myself with a little bit more time on my hands so I decided I would start reading more. I’ve never been a big reader and honestly I’ve always kind of struggled with it. I’m pretty sure I have mild dyslexia, and I have a hard time focusing when reading. I use always tell myself that I would never be a reader, but I’ve always secretly wanted to be a reader so I knew I had to at least try. And you know what, since June I have read 13 books! Now some of them I have listened to on audiobook, but still for me that is impressive. I think since I’ve been home from mission (Dec 2009) until June of 2014 I had only about 5 books. 

Some of my favorites that I read this year were: Leadership and Self Deception, The Anatomy of Peace (these are great to read together), Delivering Happiness, Outliers, Weakness is not Sin, 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, the Steve Jobs biography, The OZ Principle, Good to Great, Putting on the Armor of God, Outwitting the Devil and Mindsight. 

July

To kick off the month of July Taylor and I were on yet another road trip up to Utah! Seriously we should have just moved already. This time it was for my dads wedding and picking up Taylor’s brother, Jake, from his mission in Provo Utah. 

The first day of the trip was my dad's wedding, which was on the Fourth of July. All my siblings were there as well so we spent the evening getting some JDawgs hot dogs and watching fireworks from a median in the middle of the street. 

The next few days before picking up Jake we went River Rafting, Cave Swimming, hung out with friends, and of course ate delicious food. 

The next week we got to pick up my brother in Jake! The first time we saw him was actually in the Draper Temple. Anyone who has ever had someone close go on a mission, knows the sweet feeling of seeing them again after 2 years, and it was especially an unique experience to see him for the first time in the temple. We spent the next four days with him touring around his mission, meeting people he worked with, and listening to mission stories. It was such a fun time. 

When we got back to AZ it was crunch time for us and we spent the next few weeks pretty much packing and cleaning. In between all that though we did our best to spend as much time with all our family friends before we moved, and eat at our favorite place to eat. 

At the end up of the month we headed up to Snowflake AZ, with most of my family to celebrate the 24th of July with our good family friends the Christensen. 

August 

August started out with us on the road again up to Utah, but this time it was permeant! Having made that trip about 100 times it felt so surreal to drive up there and know that I wasn’t coming back to AZ for a while. Besides my mission this was my first time moving away from my home town. 

August was pretty much a big adjusting month for us. Starting a new job always has it’s ups and downs as you try to adjust, and so does trying to get the swing of things in our new neighborhood. The first few days up there Taylor and I were both so exhausted all the time. I'm not sure if we were adjusting to the elevation or what. We spent about the first 2 weeks there binge watching Scandal on Netflix because we were both always too tired to do anything else. (I watch a lot of wasteful TV, but this may be one of the most. Don't start because once you start you will never stop!) 

In August I also decided I was going to give up dessert and soda for a year. To be honest, I’m not really sure why I am doing it, but it’s really not that hard anymore and it feels really good to be a little more in control of my health and what I am eating. But I didn’t feel that way at first though. Along with no desserts and soda I started going to cross fit. I know a lot of people that think cross fit is bad your body, but I have absolutely loved it. As long as you have good form and know your limits its a great exercise. 

We had to start getting use to these guys hanging around our house. 

Highlights of 2014 Part 1

If I had one word to describe 2014, it would probably be change. Taylor and I both went through a lot of changes this past year. None of them were necessarily drastic changes, but we had a lot of little ones. 2014 wasn't as hard of a year as 2013 was, but there were still a lot difficulties that we encountered (such as health problems, financial struggles, family dramas, deep personnel battles, death, and a few others), but we also had a lot to celebrate and a lot to remember. All of the difficulties we experienced was well worth it, and I would go through it again for the moments of joy and happiness that were also felt during this last year.

So this post is to highlight just some of the many things that I hope to remember about 2014. It mostly highlights all the good, and some of the hard stuff.


January 

The New Year began with our traditional Olsen family hike: 

From there I started my final semester of my undergrad, trained for a half marathon (yikes), and watched one the best football games of my life (the NFC championship game)! Sure there were some bad calls and my team (the 49ers) lost but it was still one of the most entertaining games I’ve watched.

Some other highlights of January were: 

Disneyland!

Wow, my bald stop real shows in the picture, maybe I should just start shaving my head now??

One of the best times to go to Disneyland is in January! This time our good friends Justin and Anna Wagner joined us. We spent two days going through both California Adventure and Disneyland. Our favorite rides were Tower of Terror (well maybe more like Taylor’s favorite, we went on it like 10 times!), Star Tours (at least that was mine), Toy Story Mania, and Pirates of the Caribbean. And of course I had about 8 churros! It was so fun to spend time at Disneyland but we also enjoyed talking and making memories with our friends. 

Yeah were those people who take pictures of pictures

Hodgycakes Wedding

One the greatest human beings on the planet (Justin Hodkinson) finally got married in Bountiful, so we drove up through the snow to be there! Justin and Ana were engaged for two years, while they waited for visa so she could move from Australia. They deserved this wedding more than anyone! 

We also had a pretty sweet rental car for a good part of the month! 

February

This month included a lot of homework, a lot of running, some archery lessons, and some really awesome movies (Lone Survivor, 12 Years a Slave, and the Lego Movie) 

My training for my half marathon really started in amp up with some long runs. I was really nervous about these. I’ve always enjoyed exercising but running long distance was never really my thing. But I made it through and I actually started to find myself enjoying them! 

With starting my last semester I also took one of my favorite classes which was Deductive Logic and Leadership/Management Techniques (CON 294). In this class we talked about stuff like control and influence, natural laws, decision making, risk, leadership, and much more. It was probably the most beneficial class I took in my undergrad. I highly recommend it to any one who not only needs an easy elective class, but also wants to learn some super interesting stuff and a break from your normal college classes. 

My other classes this semester were Communication and Work Relationships, Communication Training/Development (this was actually a really fun class), Geography of Australia and Oceania, and Global Change. This last semester was pretty much about filling in my required electives so it ended up being a really fun semester. 

March

March was one of our more eventful months of the year. The first day of the month started out with the Phoenix Half Marathon. Man it was a killer! After training for 2 months (probably should of prepared longer) I thought I would be more prepared. After crossing the finish line I felt very accomplished, but I also remember thinking “Well I can cross that off my bucket list, don’t need to that again”. But now I found myself wanting to run again! I think I’m crazy. 

For spring break my whole family flew out to Kansas City for my brother Myke’s wedding. Kansas City is awesome! They have some seriously amazing food and there so much history there. While we were there we went and visited some of the LDS church historical sites. My favorite was Liberty jail. While a lot of terrible things happened there, there were also some amazing spiritual experiences that happened as well. They got married on a Friday and it was a very joyous day. 

My new nephew Mile's baptism! 

Liberty Jail 

Taylor and I volunteered to drive my sister in law Sara’s stuff to AZ and on the way home we learn some terrible news about Taylor’s cousin CJ. We found out that he had drowned in the canal behind his house. I wrote in more detail about this experience here.   

April

April was probably one the busiest months of the year for me. Along with having 15 credits of homework to work on I was also doing a ton of job interviewing since I would be graduating the month after. While I was stressed about job hunting, part of me actually enjoyed it. I liked meeting new people, learning about what there businesses do, and most of all this process really helped me learn a little bit more about myself. It was also fun being able to travel to a few different places. My favorite was traveling to San Francisco for a job interview at Apple. While I didn’t get the job I was able to at stay an amazing hotel, tour down town San Francisco, eat some amazing Fish n Chips, and go learn more about Apple’s business model and amazing recruiting process. 

Also in April, I got released from my church calling in the young mens. That was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. While those 12-13 old kids were rambunctious and wild at times, I also learn a lot from them and develop great relationships with them. 

On the 22nd Taylor and I celebrated our 3rd Anniversary! We went and stayed at the Claredon Hotel in Phoenix. Attached to the hotel is one of our favorite Mexican restaurants Gallo Blanco! We spent the next day swimming, shopping, and we experienced our first movie at the IPIC theater in Scottsdale. 

At the end of the month my brother Myke had his wedding reception in AZ, which meant all my cousins coming down to hang out for the weekend. And when my cousins come in town that means a lot of Mario Party, Carl's Jr, water park chaos, and ridiculously awful dance moves. 

Oh can’t forget that in April we also got the amazing Captain America: The Winter Solider movie!

Best Movies of 2014 and the Movies I Look Forward to Most in 2015

With 2014 coming to end and 2015 just beginning it's time to take a look at my favorite movies from 2014 and the ones I'm looking forward to most in 2015! Now keep in mind while I have seen a lot of movies this year (40 to be exact, not all in theaters though), I haven't seen all of movies that came out in 2014. Also, these may not be the most well done movies, or the most artist, but these are the movies that entertained me the most and stayed with me after seeing them. Now enough introductions, here they are!

What movies did you enjoy most this year?

(Also if you want to see my list from years previous here they are 2013 and 2012)

Best Movies of 2014

10. The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies

Directed by: Peter Jackson

Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian Mckellen, Richard Armtiage, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly

Released: December 17

While not quite as entertaining as Desolation of Smaug, the Battle of Five Armies was still a great addition to the Middle-Earth film series. This movie has everything one has come to expect from a Peter Jackson Middle-Earth film, incredible action sequences, beautiful cinematography, great drama, and an outstanding score from Howard. Many have debated that the Hobbit should have just been two films like the originally planned, and use to agree with that, but I will say that had a lot of fun with this series, and I am very sad that this is the last trip to Middle-Earth. It's not a perfect film, but it still is a whole lot of fun and a great lead into the the sensational Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

9. The Lego Movie

Directed by: Phil Lord and Chris Miller
Starring: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson 
Released: February 7

"Everything is awesome!" Everything in this movie was very awesome! I've now seen this movie twice and I feel like I didn't catch every joke in it. Never dragging or never slowing down this movie constantly entertains. It's not only fun, but it has a really great message about control, letting go, adding value to the world using our talents, and accepting who we are.

8. Meet the Mormons

Directed by: Blair Treu
Starring: Real life mormons! 
Released: October 10

Being Mormon my myself I might be a little biased but this was probably the most uplifting and inspiring movie I saw this year. Here's an excerpt from my review of it I did "This movie is a demonstration of how the human spirit to do good can still make a difference in the world... It shows that even the smallest acts of kindness and goodness can make a huge difference. It also helped me see the potential that I have to share and do good in the world." That explains perfectly why I love this movie. You can read the rest of my review here.

7. Lone Survivor

Directed by: Peter Berg
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster, Emile Hirsch
Released: December 25 (2013) 

(Technically this came out in 2013, but it didn't get a wide release till 2014) Based on the true story of the failed Navy Seal mission Operation Red Wings, Lone Survivor is one of the most inspiring and heartbreaking military films I've ever seen. It was the first movie of 2014 to get me to tear up. The performances are outstanding, and the direction makes you feel like you are there part of the action. This movie not only made me greatly appreciate all the men and women who serve my country, but it also gave me hope that even during times of terrible war people still can extend kindness and good will to others.

6. Dawn of the Planet of Apes

Directed by: Matt Reeves
Starring: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell
Released: July 11

Wow! That's how I felt when I walked out of this movie. Not only is this film an entertaining blockbuster, but it also has so much to say beyond just spectacle (which it has plenty of). I loved the commentary this movie has on war, the danger of misunderstandings and assumptions, the power of compassion, and the need to accept others who are different from us. The themes and messages are ones that I was not expecting from a blockbuster movie and I think we all need reminders of from time to time. I also need to give a shout out to the music, great mix of CGI and practical effects, and Andy Serkis incredible motion capture performance.

5. Captain America: The Winter Solider

Directed by: Anthony and Joe Russo
Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Robert Redford 
Released: April 4

Probably the best action movie of the year (and best of the Marvel Cinematic Universe), but it also delivers great thrills, performances, and game changing consequences to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This movie was so much fun, but also carries great depth. It works not only as an action movie but also as an effective thriller. I love the competing ideologies of freedom vs. control and security that clash between Captain America and Shield. I'm so excited to see them explore this theme more next year in Captain America: Civil War.

4. The Imitation Game

Directed by: Morten Tyldum
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kiera Knightly, Mathew Goode, Mark Strong
Released: November 28

While I was intrigue by the premises of this movie I did not expect to be so enthralled by the story of Alan Turing.  Riding on great direction, outstanding writing, excellent music and breakthrough performances (especially by Benedict Cumberbatch) this is one of the best films of the year! It is both triumphant and tragic, and is incredibly powerful. It has a simple message to seek to understand the people around us and the need to work with others. Check out my review here.

3. Guardians of the Galaxy

Directed by: James Gunn
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace 
Released: August 1 

I didn't know what to expect with this at first, but holy cow no other movie made me laugh, cry, and excite as much this movie did this year. This takes the cake for the funniest movie of 2014 (followed closely by the Lego Movie). While being hilarious, it also some incredibly touching moments. I love the obscurity of this movie and how different and bizarre all the main characters are. In one movie James Gunn introduced us to a whole new side of the Marvel Universe and made me feel like I knew who each of the main characters are.

2. Interstellar

Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Mathew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Bill Irwin
Released: November 5

This movie may not be perfect or even Christopher Nolan's best film, but no other movie this year challenged me or made feel like this movie did. I love that I didn't know exactly everything that had just happened, and that I had to think and piece together for myself what I thought happened. Most movies don't challenge and make their viewer really think about what they just watched, and I loved that this movie did, while also keeping a very human and emotional connection to it all. While some scenes do take some time to develop the emotional pay off was always worth it. I got a little choked up numerous times. Amazing concept, outstanding music, great emotion, fantastic acting, and incredibly thought provoking.

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past

Directed by: Bryan Singer
Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Micheal Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Ian Mckellen, Patrick Stewart
Released: May 23 

This was the most fun I had at the movies this year! I have seen this movie multiple times now and I still never get sick of it. It's smart, has new an innovative action scenes, thought provoking, funny, emotional, and exciting. All the ingredients for the best movie of the year. (I'm a huge X-Men fan, so I might be a little biased) The thing I loved most about this movie are relationships between the characters. The relationships makes the tension and action so much more meaningful, especially in the last 20 minutes were it turns into a conflict of survival and saving the soul of one of the main characters.




Honorable Mentions: Edge of Tomorrow, Big Hero 6, The Fault in Our Stars, Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 1

Movies I'm looking forward to most in 2015

10. In the Heart of the Sea

Directed by: Ron Howard

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy

Release Date: March 15

Ron Howard's new movie about a fresh take on the Moby Dick story actually looks really exciting!

9. Jurassic World

Directed by: Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jake Johnson, Judy Greer
Release Date: June 12

The world of Jurassic Park is back! That is enough to get me excited. Plus it has Chris Pratt riding a motorcycle with Dinosaurs.

8. Antman

Directed by: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline, Lilly, Corey Stoll
Release Date: July 17

While it's had a bit of a troubled production, I trust that Marvel will be to deliver another fun and exciting film. Plus, it looks like they are mixing up the formula again.

7. Inside Out

Directed by: Peter Docter
Starring: Amy Poehler, Lewis Black, Mindy Kailing, Bill Hader
Release Date: June 19

When I was a kid I use to always think there were little people inside in my brain controlling me, so I'm excited to see my theory finally come to life. Pixar always delivers the goods and this one looks like it will be able to deliver once again.

6. Chappie

Directed by: Neill Blomkamp
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Dev Patel, Sigourney Weaver
Release Date: March 6

There are a lot of robot movies and a lot of coming of age movies, but a movie about a robot coming of age, that's new. This looks like it's going to pack an emotional punch, and it's also got Hugh Jackman as the bad guy, and his Aussie accent!

5. Tomorrow Land

Directed by: Brad Bird
Starring: George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Hugh Laurie, Tim McGraw
Release Date: May 22

I don't really know what this movie is about, but it looks intriguing. But the real reason I'm excited is because this is the collaboration of Brad Bird (director or my two favorite Pixar movies Incredibles and Ratatouille) and Damon Lindelof (writer of the amazing TV show Lost).

4. Spectra (Bond 24)

Directed by: Sam Mendes
Starring: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Ralph Fiennes, Dave Bautista
Release Date: November 6

I thought Skyfall was one of the best Bond movies (if not the best), and this one has the same team back for it's sequel, and it also adds Christoph Waltz to the cast.

3. Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 2

Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Release Date: November 20

I loved Catching Fire and while I really like Mocking Jay Part 1, I felt that it was a lot of leading up to this movie, so I'm really excited to see how this series ends. No spoilers now though, I haven't read the books!

2. Avengers: Age of Ultron

Directed by: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johnasson, Jeremy Renner, James Spader
Release Date: May 1

Joss Whedon said in an interview that he looked to The Empire Strikes Back for inspiration for this film, but even if he didn't say that I would still be stoked out of my mind to see this!

1. Star Wars The Force Awakens

Directed by: JJ Abrams
Starring: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis
Release Date: December 18

And here we go, the movie that has been on my most wanted to see list since October 30 2012! While some are skeptical I am extremely excited for this. It's got a great director, John Williams is back for the music, a great looking cast, and a pretty awesome teaser trailer!

Thanks for reading! Now, what were some of your favorite movies of 2014? Which ones are you looking forward to seeing in 2015?