Vacay, Day 1

Day 1 of vacation is thankfully over! It was a day full of driving, stopping, driving, battling Denver rush hour (which I usually don't mind but we took the long way through downtown Denver) and finally watching my Mom spend two hours in the Eddie Bauer Outlet store. The best part of the day was the epic lightning storm we had last night. The news said there were over 9,000 strikes of lightning in the Denver Metro area within thirty minutes. It was insane. And Beautiful.

Today will be a another day of driving but it will be spent driving up into the mountains and past all the beautiful lakes and streams, past all the old mining towns, past all the meadows full of big elk and meece (moose). It is my favorite part of vacation. The sun roof will be down and the jackets will be on for the 50 degrees going up Berthoud Pass.

However, this morning I spent a little while setting up my new Google+ account. It looks pretty sweet and, while it may not overtake Facebook, it will make people get another account or at least think twice about tha 'Book. It reminds me of when I first got Facebook because not everyone was allowed to back then. It was strictly college kids who went to a college that paid for Facebook. It was such a cool thing back then! Now my 11-year-old cousins have it because they can lie about their age. Stupid but addicting. That is all for now. My next post will come while I am...in the mountains. And yes, I will add that to every post/activity/tweet I send in the next 5 days. Enjoy!

P.S. My favorite part of the mountains is opening bottles such as shampoo and contact solution after going up altitude changes. EXPLODE!

It's the Wonder of Nature

Tomorrow morning I leave for one of my favorite places that I have had the pleasure of visiting. Grand Lake, Colorado has played a huge part of my summertime memories as far back as I can remember. My father's side of the family, the Lane side, has a tradition of going almost every year at the end of July and renting cabins in the small tourist town. My grandparents used to manage the Lonesome Dove Cabins in town and so we started to vacation there as a family.

It is a very scenic spot, even though all of the trees are dying because of the beetle epidemic. The family memories of hiking up to Adam's Falls and the Big Meadow, driving Pontoon boats on the lake, fishing in the same spot and my father and grandfather did, spending hours on the bumper boats as a kid with all my cousins will always bring a smile to my face. That's why I have many framed pictures from different spots around the Lake and Mount Baldy. It's my happy place.

The last few years have given me chances to drive out by myself because of different things that have come up like Derek's wedding last year. It is a long drive, especially from Kansas City or with back problems but it gives me the best chance to just enjoy nature and enjoy thinking about my life. You get completely different views from the Flint Hills to the flat wheat fields, to the barren land of eastern Colorado and finally the gorgeous snow-capped mountains over Idaho Springs. It's quite a moving experience. Especially if you get the right mix of music playing in the background. One year I had John Williams and Explosions In The Sky going and last year I had a mix of Coldplay and Abandon Kansas. This year I am riding with my family but I can't wait for the moment we stop in Idaho Springs to get our jackets out of the trunk so we can roll down the windows and open the sun roof. The beauty of nature will then proceed to take my breath away.

Currently Listening To: Death In His Grave by John Mark McMillan

I am going to start learning our next setlist for SuperSonic in October. This is the first one I will give a good listen to.

26 and Counting

It has been another year of getting older, feeling older and yet acting and being young. Tonight was a good night with time spent swimming with Brock and Dane and having a country cruise with Brock talking about life and music. I had a bunch of thoughts the other night but I didn't write them down or anything as they seemed like passing thoughts. Brock asked me how it feels to get older and turn 26. It really doesn't feel any different but it does at the same time. It's a weird feeling really. I guess it has more to do with the fact that I'm 26, still in school and living at home. It's not exactly the place I thought I would be at in my life right now. I know growing up we all have these grand visions of success and happiness in our lives. The vision changes for different people but they all include being happy. And not living with our parents.

That last paragraph makes it sound like I am not happy. That is simply not the case. As I was telling Brock, I don't think that I have ever been happier. It took a few years to get back to my vision of happiness and success. If not for a few wayward steps I would not have met so many great people. Brock, Christy, Dane, Emily, Abby, and so many others I am sure I'm forgetting. I would not have re-discovered my love of music and playing music. If it weren't for meeting Brock and Dane I would not have picked up my bass guitar again. Just because of that I am thankful for coming back.

Where did you/do you envision yourself at the age of 26? It's probably not where you will end up but I truly hope that you are as happy as I am now. While there is always something to build on, always something to bitch about, always something that you can change, remember that it's the simple things that make life worth living.

Currently Listening To: See You Soon by Coldplay

Cause in a bulletproof vest, with the windows all closed

I'll be doing my best, and I'll see you soon

In a telescope lens, when all you want is friends

I'll see you soon

Tangled Up In....What?

Summertime is one in which there is plenty of downtime in my life. This summer there has been more of it because of my lack of job, although working for the parents does give me plenty to do. One theme that runs through every summer of mine, and for others I know this is also true, is love. Or in most cases lack thereof. It's something Brock and I talked at length about last summer while working and it was a way, albeit not the best way, to pass the time. Why is it that whenever summer rolls around there's always this feeling of wanting someone more than other seasons? Is it because it's wedding seasons? Because there's more time to go out and do fun things? Who knows but this summer is like all the rest. It has been a feeling I can get rid of quickly usually but because my best friend just got married and a few of my other close friends are set to be wed it is a feeling that comes around more often than not. That's why we have the phrase #FriskySummerLoving for twitter.

One song that really makes me wonder about love is Tangled Up In You by Aaron Lewis. It was played at Brett's wedding and I had a wonderful dance to it with a wonderful person. It is a song that I would love to dance to at my wedding but it really makes me think about what I am missing. I'm not stuck on an ex-girlfriend or missing one or anything like that. What I am tangled up in is that feeling of love. If you have never experienced that feeling of love or lust, of wanting to spend every minute with someone then you are truly missing out. It is one of the greatest feelings in the world. And that makes it harder to obtain and keep than most feelings. To some it's probably like a drug, always looking for that euphoria of being wanted and of being needed. I believe that deep down everyone wants to find love and I am no different. I would be so happy if I had someone that I loved. I am a hopeless romantic, sometimes to a fault. I believe in true happiness and one day I will find it.

Ramblings during a late night blog session. These are the things I think about late at night while everyone else is getting their sleep ready to embark on another meaningful day. Sometimes I feel inspired while others, like tonight, I just dwell on the things that I cannot control.

Re: Stacks by Bon Iver says it best: I keep throwing down two-hundred at a time, It's hard to find it when you knew it, When you're money's gone and you're drunk as hell.

It's hard to find love again once you knew it. Remember that.

Favorite Picture From the Weller's Wedding

The Wedding Band of Men and Women

The last four days have been some of the most fulfilling of my life and some of the most hard-working, non-stop days of my life. My best friend Brett just got married and the wedding and reception could not have been more beautiful or fun. The setting for the reception was a perfect, but slightly hot summer night on Hannah's homestead and the tent and decorations provided a perfect background. While it took tons of sweat, work and a little blood it was all worth it. Looking back at it I wouldn't change a thing. All of the problems we had, especially the tent ripping and needing to be replaced, made everything that much more memorable. Brett said it best when he said "No one will no how hard we worked to make this place look good." He's right but I think that is endearing to us. We will cherish the moments there more because of what we had to do. We appreciate the scenery a little more than everyone else. It will be one of those weekends where you don't remember everything right now but in a few weeks funny quotes, funny actions and fun times will slowly creep back into your thoughts and you'll randomly laugh or smile at those memories.

Friday night with all of the guys, and Sara, will go down as one of the best nights of my life. Starting at the Saloon and ending in the lodge living room and walking all the dirt roads in between, I will never forget singing in the middle of the country while it was storming all around us. We had talks that entrenched friendships and built more bonds that won't be broken. I met a few new friends and got to enjoy all my old ones as well. I will never forget that walk and those conversations.

Favorite Quote of the weekend: "I have to keep tying me lei shorter because when I go pee I keep tearing it.......(as I give a weird look) I guess I am an emotional pee-er." -Jana

Favorite Tweet of the weekend: @ianlane52: We had quite the celebration for @Brett_Weller tonight. Burned up the dance floor all night. My work here is done.

Favorite picture that I have (the only picture I have at the moment): Brock and Joe. The picture of Brett and Hannah kissing under the fireworks will always be my favorite one of the whole weekend.

Song of the weekend: Wagon Wheel or The Scientist

I tried to say Thank You as often as I could to the people who helped make this wedding possible. To Anna, Jana, Brock, Dane, Joe, Craig, Branden, Jake, Sara, and Anne Marie, THANK YOU again.

No Bueno

Hint: Never watch the movie "Taken" while you have a female friend in Europe. It will only make things worse. Trust me.