Sam's Club Members! & Colorado Blizzard

So this week Matt and I become OFFICIAL card-carrying Sam's Club Members! You see, we were going to wait until next month, but then an emergency came up at work where we ran out of copy paper. So of course, we had to come through for the team and get a good price at Sam's Club. So we just pushed our membership plan up a bit :) So on Wednesday night we were official. Matt was especially pumped to get the "Business" Membership which was 5 bucks less than than the normal membership. You simply have to own your own business or be a licensed professional! How sweet is that? Matt's DPT is really paying off! There's 5 bucks a year we have saved already because of it. :) At that rate it won't take long to pay off his student loans!
Besides the copy paper, we only bought Cheerios and milk, but we were on Cloud 9 as we floated through the store. In the midst of parading through the store checking out all of the good deals and fun electronics, we realized that this was the first time that we had been in Sam's Club without our parents! So the feelings of independence, freedom and true adulthood may have contributed to our temporary high. Ha ha. Whatever the reason...we liked it.

We still liked it even this morning, when we went to do some real shopping. Unfortunately, we were too late for the earlier hours for "Buisness Members" where they serve free bagels, coffee and doughnuts! Apparently, it only runs until 9 on Saturdays and not 10 like it does throughout the week! We will have to hit it some other morning though. That was why Matt was excited about the business membership!
So, we finally got a blizzard this week! I was wondering if we would have one this winter considering the 70 degree winter days of late. But one hit on Thursday. It was beautiful watching the snow fall at work. Then we observed the bumper-to-bumper traffic as people were racing home from work since the news teams were warning of what was yet to come. Thankfully, by the time Matt and I left for work, the mad rush had subsided and we just took an alternate route home. It was slick, but we were fine. It was fun for us...we stopped at McDonalds, grabbed a Value meal and a red box movie and enjoyed the beautiful snowfall all of the way home! Our apartment was freezing though when we finally arrived at our destination. There was snow on our bedroom floor! Someone forgot to close the window from the night before...oops! :) So anyway, we spent another night on the living room floor! We pulled the futon mattress out and lit a fire. Much warmer! And more fun too.

We went in the next morning at our normal time as we listened on the news that most places were closing for the day! Welcome to the world of healthcare :) Honestly though, the roads were completely dry by 2. When the sun comes out in Colorado, the snow and ice just don't have a chance! I didn't even get the opportunity to take pictures!

Well that's all we have to share for this week! I think I am going to try to get a nap in before our friends come over for games tonight! Have a great weekend everyone. Love, Matt & Sonya

Palmer Park & A Slick Deal

It was a GORGEOUS day in Colorado Springs this Saturday. 70 degrees! The weather out here has been incredible for winter. Very crazy indeed. I'm sure sooner or later we will get a snow storm and the dream weather will end...but we are enjoying the mild winter to say the least! Matt and I decided to go to Palmer Park for a little while to walk the trails. You can see in this picture from our car that there is still definitely snow on Pike's Peak...just not in the Springs!
Matt checked out the trail map before we decided which direction to go. Palmer Park is great because it is right in the middle of Colorado Springs, yet it feels like you are in the middle of nowhere. It is a great place to go bike riding too. We have both gone biking with Uncle Jerry & Aunt Kathy here on different occasions, but have not gone together since we have moved out!

The majority of the people that were there had dogs they were walking with. They have a dog park here as well. I can't believe how well behaved people's dogs were. Most of them were walking without leashes. I can just imagine taking Chance without a leash (our golden retriever at home in PA). Ha ha. That would never work! This is a great place to have a dog though. Chance would love romping around on the paths and in the parks in the Springs.

Here's another shot of the mountains...my camera never does God's handiwork justice!

So, my family members are big fans of Slick Deals. If you haven't checked it out...you need to! Mom told me about a coupon that was at Slick Deals for a free Thomas & Friends train at ToysRUs. Since they don't live close to one in PA, she figured she would give us a heads up in case we were out shopping. Well, Matt stopped at the store after work this morning to pick one up. He called me because there were 3 train options that were free and we weren't sure which trains Colin already had. The best deal was Light & Sound Percy that was regularly priced for $17.99 and of course for us, would be free! After chatting with mom who thought Colin already had Percy, Matt decides to go with Sir Handel. On the way out of the store, he handed another family with a little boy, an extra coupon we had printed. There were thrilled!

Then I get a call back from Age and she tells me Colin does not in fact have Percy! Oh dear. I knew Matt would be bummed but of course, Age assured us Colin is happy with any new toy. Such a cute and easy to please child :) He really is. But of course, when I relay this message to Matt (at this point, he is 3 minutes from home) he informs me that his nephew should have Percy as well, tells me to print another coupon and he will swing by the apartment "swoop me up" (his words, not mine!) and we will race back to the store before they are all gone! After all, he says, "it's a beautiful day for a drive!" So we do indeed make it in time to get the Percy Light & Sound as well, hand out another free coupon to a delighted mom and little boy and head home... feeling very pleased with the $30 worth of merchandise we obtained for nothing for our dear little nephew! Here's some pics of the wooden toy trains:

Colin: You are so very loved! Your uncle wanted to buy you everything in the store at ToysRUs.
Oh dear! I can only imagine what it will be like when we have children of our own! :)

Office/Guest Bedroom

You may remember me posting these pictures of
our office several months ago...

(You can see more on this post.)


Well, this room has been bothering me for some time. It just wasn't warm and soothing enough and I didn't feel like it had a very welcoming feel for guests who come to visit. So Matt and I made some improvements...

Doesn't this look more inviting? This might look like a real bed but it is actually our futon mattress with an air mattress underneath. We think it is quite comfortable!

Below is a pic of the room back to its office state. This is how Matt and I usually use it. It is so nice to be able to have the futon to read or work on the computer but still have an option for guests to sleep when it is pulled out! You have to be creative when you have limited space! Here are some more pics of the room. Courtney and Mom were our first guests with it set up this way. We even made sure they had a nightstand with an alarm clock. And of course, basket full of pamper products for their bathroom. Not quite a motel...but a valiant effort!I also took a curtain we had from our other apartment and hung it over the bookshelf. Much more soothing, don't you think? I know this is more about me than anyone else! That probably wouldn't bother most people! Ha ha.Matt spotted these great canvases at Wal-Mart. It was just what we were looking for...the right colors and very affordable!And of course, since I took all of my family pictures off of the wall, I had to put some in these coasters that Matt's mom got for me a few years ago. I can't wait until you all come to visit us! Do you see yourself in these pics...Colin? And by the way, what's the deal with you getting so excited about your Uncle Matt? What about Aunt Sonya? Ha ha. Love you kiddo.

A few more pics with the room in its office state.

And our ottoman to prop our feet up on. I love that thing! Another Wal-Mart special. I am really promoting Wal-mart here aren't I? Maybe they should pay me for advertising!

Courtney & Mom Witt Visit

Courtney & Mom came out to visit us last week over Courtney's Spring Break! We had a full & fun week with them here. We also tried out some new meals while they were here. This was the best by far...steak fajitas and homemade salsa with chips!

Courtney's 21st Birthday was on Wednesday so we celebrated after work with dinner at the Elephant Bar. Yummm!

Matt & Courtney booking a hotel in Denver for Friday night. Her birthday surprise was a weekend in Denver! We drove to Ski Cooper Friday morning to go snowboarding and then spent the night in Denver and went shopping on Saturday!

Matt & Courtney hitting the slopes! Courtney's first snowboarding experience...Matt's 3rd!
Below is a video of Matt and I's ascent up the mountain on the ski lift. Sorry for the crazy turning of the camera :)

Our descent down the mountain...it is hilarious of Matt. He really had a great run until I put the camera on him! Ha ha.

Right after our last run. Mom getting chilly. The sun was going down!

Group shot taken by one of the friendly staff members! All of the workers there were so kind and helpful. It was a great place to go for beginners. No pressure or rudeness at all! Isn't this a great shot of everyone? I love it!

Packing up the car.

We decided to stop in Vail on our way back to Denver. It was SO nice! We perused some shops, dined at a cute pizza place and took a ride to the top of the mountain on the Gondola.

Quick shot by the fireplace.

Courtney and Mom on their side of the Gondola. It was such a fun little ride up to the top. We had a great view of the mountain and the pretty lights in Vail, but none of our cameras could capture it very well in the dark. We even watched these people skiing (kind of, they were actually sitting on these contraptions with two skis to help guide them) down the mountain with headlamps on.

On Saturday, after hitting the mall & car wash (our car was covered after a snowy trip home from the mountains) we went toThe Brown Palace for a tour. This Denver hotel is rich in history.

Here is a shot from the inside. Movie stars, presidents, and rock stars are often guests at the Brown Palace. At the end of our tour, Matt and I actually got stuck in the elevator with about 11 other people! It was kind of funny...when they pried us out and we had to climb out because it had gone a few feet below ground level, the staff was all very concerned. They kept asking if we were okay and offering us bottled water. Matt said we should have tried to get a free night's stay out of it!

On Sunday, we heard a very thought-provoking sermon at church and then pretty much relaxed the rest of the day. A great week with two wonderful ladies. Thanks for coming Mom & Courtney! Nicole, your next! Or is dad going to be here first?