a little over a month later..

I'm so sorry people. We've seriously neglected this blog. We've been busy, but there's also been plenty of time for us to post... sigh. The good news is though: we still love each other and even more than ever! Yah! I'm gonna just post a lot of pictures and give some info regarding them to catch you all up to date.

We went to Merced three weekends ago for the Kepner's (Laura and Noah) wedding. It was very beautiful. The setting was a "country affair" and it was very fun. The ceremony/reception was held at a B&B in Merced. The whole thing was beautiful and everyone was so happy for the newlywed couple. On the way there I had a really powerful conversation/prayer with Erik Winter and Shannon. God really cleared up some big roadblocks between me and Him. There's still progess to be be made, but it's a beginning.

Two weekends ago, I organized an X-Men: The Last Stand movie watching event. I managed to get 18 people to come watch the movie together. It was extremely fun. I love being able to share things that really interest me with the people I love. If you've seen the movie, then you know that it had some really nice effects and that it was, overall, a good comic movie. One problem that Erik pointed out was that the climax almost unintentionally comes at the middle of the film. At the, the climax seems almost hollow because of what you've already seen, but comics are like this, so I'm okay with with it. The main problem I had with it was that they totally changed the Phoenix. Instead of a comsic force of power controlling Jean's body, it's just her alternate personality who is bent of destroying everything, a far cry from perhaps the greatest storyline the X-Men comic has ever displayed. The more I think about it, the more I'm bummed out about it. However, there a few cool things that almost make up for it. Keep you eye on Iceman (he becomes pretty "cool" if you get my meaning). Also, there's a seen at the end, after the credits, that is foreshadowed in the beginning of the movie. See if you can guess if you haven't seen it yet. I totally called what the seen would be. I'm so proud of my knowledge of X-Men.... yes! I'm a geek!

But I'm a semi-athletic geek! It was my 26th birthday this last Friday (the 2nd of June). Shannon surprised me with a party at Solid Rock Gym just south of Old Towne. It was seriously one of the best parties I've ever had, and the first party I've had being married. It was fun to see my friends exhibiting adventurous sides of their personalities that I did not know existed. We had a few competitions while we were there. The first was a relay race where two teams of three climbed up and down one person at a time. Josh, Peter and Noah Kalb won that one against Shannon, Ben Cuatt and myself. The second competition was a three-legged race wherein two legs of a 2-man team are tied together. The team to reach the top in the least amount of time wins. Shannon and I won by almost a half minute. Sweet! I think Terrence got a picture of us at the top, so I'll post it as soon as he sends it to me.

Since last we posted, Shannon and I have both finished school and are now only working. It's really nice to not have to worry about homework and papers. Sadly though, my work schedule is very erratic. I was cancelled today because there were more than enough CNA's signed up for the shift. This has happened about 7 or 8 times in the last two months. That comes to almost $1,000 that I could have made in those shifts. But it also would have meant less sanity and health because those 12-hour shifts really take it out of you! ~Michael