The Top 10 of 2019

Back by no particular demand, here is our year in a nutshell. Buckle up!

1.     Jackson Cache Olsen

March 9th, 2019 was bound to be a great day. At approximately 4pm, Jackson submitted his dissertation to his committee. At approximately 9pm, UNC beat Duke in another chapter of their storied college basketball rivalry. And at precisely 11:07pm that night, Jackson Cache came into the world and transformed our lives.

Jackson Cache, born in Durham on March 9th, 2019

Now at almost 10 months old, he is a joy to parent. He is a good sleeper, a voracious eater, an accomplished hiker, and an avid admirer of his big sister. Perhaps one of his most distinguishing characteristics is his quick smile and infectious giggle. He is a happy, loving baby, and we are grateful to count him among our family.

2.     Trust Me, I'm a Doctor

After 7 years of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears, Jackson graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with his doctorate in Educational Leadership. I cannot count how many nights he worked past midnight on his classwork or dissertation only to wake up before 5:00 and start his school day as a Principal. 

Both Cache and I were able to watch as he defended his dissertation research on teacher retention to his committee and were able to hear him be called “Doctor” for the first time. 

Jackson's dissertation defense.

His parents came to North Carolina to watch him walk across the stage and celebrate this monumental occasion. We spent a few days in Chapel Hill together eating great food, seeing UNC sites, and culminated our weekend by watching him accept his diploma and celebrate with his amazing advisor, Dr. Kathleen Brown. 

3.     What is Dead May Never Die

My amazing sister and her husband invited me to New York City for the premiere of the final season of Game of Thrones. Bryan was a co-executive producer for the show and had an extra ticket. It was an incredible experience at Radio City Music Hall. I got to walk the red carpet (literally) surrounded by throngs of fans, meet several stars at the fancy after-party, and spend time with two people I love and miss terribly: Jason Momoa and Peter Dinklage.

Just chillin' with Brienne of Tarth.

4.     Henderson Collegiate and the Pride of 2019

2019 was a big year for our school because after starting at HC as 4th graders 9 years ago, our first group of students graduated from high school. This was especially big for Jackson as he founded the high school in 2015 and just this year sent his first class off to college. We are a college prep charter school in an impoverished community, where 90% of our students are on track to be the first in their family to go to college. So to be able to see students fulfilling a part of our mission—to attend the college of their choice—was a really big deal. Our students are changing paradigms and challenging what's possible in our community, and people are noticing.

100% of our seniors earned their high school diploma, and 100% of them were accepted to a 4-year college or university. Collectively, this special group of 71 students earned over $3.6 million in scholarships, which is remarkable.

May 1st was Senior Signing Day, where all members of the graduating class stood in front of the school and community on a big stage to announce the college of their choice. It was a HUGE event, and talking about it won't do it justice. Take a look at the video link below to fully appreciate how special it was.

Senior Signing Day Highlight Video: https://vimeo.com/338259729

Jackson led graduation in June. But that is just the beginning of the journey. As soon as Jackson was done working on graduation, he immediately started working on persistence. As he trains his replacement as principal, he also spends a lot of his time helping the Pride of 2019 persist in college. This fall he visited over 20 different college campuses to meet with former students. In his role, he has the privilege of coaching and supporting them through bumps and challenges of college on the path toward college graduation.

Visiting one of our former students on her campus at Davidson College.

HCHS Commencement Highlight Video: https://vimeo.com/352502719

5.     Family Visits to NC

For years we’ve tried to convince our families to relocate to North Carolina, making our return out west unnecessary. It hasn’t worked, but we have been blessed to have several family members come and visit us during our 11 years here. In 2019, we were blessed to have the following visitors from the Britt and Olsen families:

• Matt Jameson, Celeste's brother in law, was the first to visit us this year. It was short but awesome (just like Matt himself!). He was even able to attend a Super Bowl Party with our Henderson Collegiate family.
• Cindy, Celeste’s mom, came out to help us with the arrival of Cache. She was there for us in the hospital, at the house, and was a huge source of comfort and strength throughout.
• Mandy and Bryan came out for a few days while Cache was a couple of weeks old. It was nice to spend quality time with them and for Valencia to get to know them one on one. 
• Herm and Norma, Jackson’s parents, visited North Carolina on three separate occasions this year, a new record! First, they visited shortly after Cache was born. Like Cindy, Norma was there to help us navigate the newborn world, and was especially helpful with Valencia. While out, we took a trip to the beach for Spring Break.
• Herm and Norma came out again a month later for Jackson’s graduation from UNC.
• While she didn’t make it all the way to NC, Celeste’s sister Ariel came to visit us while we were working at a conference in Colorado over the summer. This is the second time we’ve been able to arrange a reunion with Ariel in the Mile High City, and it was so great for Valencia and Cache to spend time with her!
• The final visit from Herm and Norma came on the weekend that Utah State happened to be playing Wake Forest in football. As is the tradition when any Olsen travels long distances to watch USU play in a sporting event, the Aggies lost (see Auburn 2011, Georgetown 2012, Ohio 2013, Wake Forest 2017, Wyoming 2018, Wake Forest 2019)
• The Utah State-Wake Forest game also brought Jackson’s Uncle Mike and Aunt Sherry out from Arizona, and his cousin Rob up from Florida. It was great having such a busy house for a few days!

6.     Valencia's Banner Year

This was a BIG year for Valencia. A few highlights include:

• In March, she became a big sister, and relishes the role. 
• In May, she graduated from Pre-K. 
• In June, she finished her 100th reading lesson prior to starting kindergarten. Celeste coached her through the program and we both have been so impressed by her eagerness to learn.
• In July, she hiked to 7,000 feet above sea level on the slopes of Mt. Rainier, then traversed 6 miles into the Hoh Rain Forest at Olympic National Park.
• In August, Valencia started Kindergarten and turned 5 years old! Somebody pinch me—this must be a dream!
• In October, she earned Principal’s List at the end of her first quarter of school. This is the highest academic honor given at her school.
• In November, she started playing basketball in a local church league, and she is taking the game seriously. She is very motivated to be a better dribbler, shooter, and overall good teammate.
• In December, Valencia learned how to ride a bike without training wheels. She has been crushing bike- and scooter-riding ever since Christmas.

7.     Epic Road Trip in the Pacific Northwest

The summer of 2019 brought with it one of our most epic family vacations ever. It included visits to Denver, Seattle and the idyllic Oregon Coast. We spent 2 days in Mount Rainier National Park, 3 days in Olympic National Park, and visited Multnomah Falls, a stunning double-decker waterfall outside of Portland. We completed what we consider our most challenging and rewarding hikes our family has ever undertaken: the Skyline Loop Trail. It is 6 miles through alpine terrain (and snow, even in July). Most hikers we saw on the trail were serious and looked baffled when they saw us with a 4-year old and an infant in tow. We were a bit naive about the whole thing and limped our way to the end, but it was AMAZING. Hiking through the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park came in a close second.

Skyline Loop Trail, Mount Rainier National Park

Valencia was the only kid on this trail. There weren't very many adults, either, but when one passed us, they were shocked that a little girl was brave and gritty enough to handle it. Valencia was too busy making snowballs to notice their compliments.

Multnomah Falls

Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park

Hiking deep into the Hoh Rain Forest at Olympic National Park

Hurricane Ridge at Olympic National Park

Studying for the Junior Ranger exam.

Earning her Junior Ranger Badge! The Park Ranger was cool enough to let her do it, even though she was 6 weeks shy of the minimum age.

Better than all the hiking and parks was the family reunions. The Olsen family gathered at Depoe Bay. All 7 siblings were present, along with the 24 cousins. We spent a week exploring tidal pools, visiting lighthouses, playing games, swimming, cousin sleepovers, and doing the fun stuff families do at reunions. Then we capped off the trip by doing a mini-reunion back in Seattle with Celeste’s grandparents & aunt and uncle (who live there) dad, sister, and her kids. We went to the famous Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, and the Seattle Great Wheel. It was amazing!

Cousins!

Learning to play tennis with Grandpa Mack

Cache meets Cleo in Auburn, Washington

Celeste's dad thinks he's pretty funny. His daughters agree.

On top of the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington

The Lollipop Gang - Valencia, Daisy, and Dixie

The Herm & Norma Olsen Family Reunion, 2019. It was the first time we had all been together in over 4 years.

8.     Autumn in Arizona

We spent our Fall Break this year in Arizona, where Celeste has 3 sisters living in the Phoenix area. It was 10 days of cousin sleepovers, fall festivals, swimming pools, marshmallow roasting, and enjoying the great outdoors. We visited Saguaro National Park and saw a live battle between a rattlesnake and a squirrel (they just flexed for a while before going their separate ways). We went out on the lake and wakeboarded and tubed. Every day was just one big party followed by another one.

Valencia got to spend tons of quality time with her amazing cousins, and even got stung by a scorpion. She was super brave about it (after the initial earth-shattering meltdown :) and now talks about the experience with pride. We can’t wait to live closer to family!

Saguaro National Park

9.     Christmas Break Bliss

This winter break has been blissful. We decided to stay in North Carolina so we could experience one last Christmas here before we move, and we’ve squeezed the Christmas orange pretty dry. Here are some highlights:

• We spent 2 days in Charlotte. We watched the Utah Jazz defeat the Charlotte Hornets, visited the Charlotte Christmas Village downtown, then capped off the trip by driving through a lights show that was set up on the actual Charlotte Motor Speedway. So our little Honda Fit got on the track, took the angled turns, and explored the infield with 80,000 empty seats as our audience, all with Christmas music and lights dancing around us in unison.
• Christmas traditions: gingerbread houses, candlelight Christmas Eve dinner, sibling gift exchange for Cache and Vali, homemade gift exchange for Celeste and Jackson, making goodies for Santa, crepes for breakfast on Christmas morning, A Muppet’s Christmas Carol and It’s A Wonderful Life.
• Valencia learned to ride a 2-wheeled bike! That was actually her gift to Celeste, and it was honestly magical. I experienced the thrill of being that dad running behind the kid as they take their first wobbly few pedals into the world of biking independence. Her first successful ride was on December 26^th, and pretty much every day since then she has ridden further and faster, gaining confidence with each outing. If you ask Celeste, she may say it was her favorite Christmas present of the year.
• We celebrated New Year’s Eve by going to the Natural History Museum in Raleigh, then went to the “First Night” festival the city puts on just outside the museum in the downtown area. A museum visit, hot chocolate, a street magician, cheap 2020 memorabilia, and a deep-fried Snickers bar—what more could a kid ask for?
• Even though it technically happened in 2020, we celebrated the New Year by taking a family hike at Eno River State Park. Valencia still gets giddy—seriously, giddy—when we make plans for a hike. That giddiness only increases when Merlin is invited to come, which this time, he was.

10.  The Olsen Family North Carolina Farewell Tour

Most of you know this by now, but we are officially moving back West at the end of the year. We have called North Carolina home for almost 11 years now, and saying goodbye will not be easy. To properly do it, we decided back in August to make a list of everything we wanted to do or experience before we moved from the Tar Heel State. Some things are for the first time, others are favorite records we want to play on repeat. The list is long, but here are a few things we crossed off it in 2019:

• See Mandolin Orange perform live
• Hike to Hanging Rock
• Hike to Pilot Mountain
• See Handel’s Messiah at Duke Chapel
• See a UNC football game
• See a UNC basketball game
• See an N.C. State football game
• Visit the Christmas Lights at Hill Ridge Farm
• Visit Charlotte

We have just more than 5 months left before we leave. It doesn't feel real to us yet. I’m sure it will in time, but until then, we are doing our best to enjoy each day, work our butts off for our students, and treasure the last few paragraphs of this epic chapter of our lives.

Other Notable Moments from the Year:

Sanman's Birthday - Our good friend and boss, Eric Sanchez, celebrated his 25th birthday in style, inviting friends to golf with him at Myrtle Beach. Jackson attended the festivities and played some of his best and worst golf in recent memory.

Local Thanksgiving - Thanksgiving this year was amazing thanks to our friends, Matt and Katie Delaurence. We’ve worked with the Delaurences for many years now, and we both found ourselves in NC for the holiday. Matt cooked “the bird”, Katie played host, and Valencia provided the entertainment with their dog, Brew.

12^th Anniversary at Carolina Inn - Our tradition of spending our anniversary at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill continued this summer as we celebrated 12 years of marriage. It was such a great weekend of eating at fancy restaurants, going to the movies, breakfast at Ye Olde Waffle Shoppe, Yoga on Franklin, and sleeping in. We will be sad to see this tradition go.