Nicole Visits Colorado Springs

Nicole came to visit us in early May for a week. We had a great time checking out the sites in the Springs...and discovered new places we had never been to before!

Here we are at Chipotle...not a new place for us. A favorite!

Nicole loves her Bubble Tea!

So when we saw this place in downtown Colorado Springs advertising "Bubble Tea"...of course we had to try it.

A close-up of the beauty. Nicole especially liked the lid.

Relaxin'.

Happy in love.

It rained on the Saturday Nicole was here...so we had to be creative to have fun...or not? Because we found out about the Penny Arcade in Manitou Springs thanks to a helpful staff member of the 'Coffee and Tea Zone'!

Wait until you see these old school games...

Pretty great, huh? The price was right too! :)

I'm sure you are wondering what on earth we are doing in this picture...it will all be clear soon...

Ahhh...you see, we just were looking for a creative way to highlight the "Penny Arcade" sign. The idea worked better in my head than when we tried to act it out. So we had to settle for a piggy back!

Crazy Mirror.

The big money arcade game...Deal or No Deal. It was a $1 per game! But well worth the laughs. The ladies were hilarious on it.

After Matt played and I made fun of him for paying that much for a game...I had to try and see if I could beat how many tickets he won. I succeeded!!!

Our prizes for all of our hard earned tickets!

Kiddie Rides! I can't wait to bring our nephew here

This post is going to be so long...I apologize now.

We went to the Dollar Theatre to watch 'Mall Cop'! It didn't get great reviews, but we loved it! Lots of good, clean laughs!

'Kissing Camels' at Garden of the Gods

Nicole skipping happily in Garden of the Gods. As everyone should when coming here. It is one of my favorite places on earth!

Sis & Bro

The Restaurant at Poor Richards-another delightful eatery in downtown Colorado Springs.

Great Pizza! It had an adjoining bookstore and coffee shop as well.

Children's play area in the back of Poor Richard's. Nicole taking over for the Princess!

Just chillin' outside of Poor Richard's

Rollerbladers.

Injured rollerblader...but very cute Patsy's shirt!

And so ends Nicole's visit! Actually the Debt Free post was the end of her visit.
But our blog is all out of wack with how far behind I am!

Playing Catch Up on the Blog!

Beginning with a visit from Dad Witt and Auntie Chris in late April!

Here we are at a fabulous barbeque restaurant in old Colorado City...Front Range Barbeque!
And I don't even like barbeque, but the banana pudding dessert was to die for!

Auntie Chris and brother, Dad Wittleder

Here we are at the Broadmoor...a luxurious and historical hotel in the Springs.

We tried to get Dad to bring you here for your anniversary in October, Mom!

A few shots in the courtyard at the Broadmoor

Like Father, Like Son.

Inside

Homes by the Broadmoor

Sunday afternoon we went for a walk in the park.

Pike's Peak in the distance

Group Shot!Matt working on dad's arm/elbow. He gave him an ice massage and everything!
Taking a look at our Grand Prix
All set to drive to Arizona and pick up a dad's dream project car...so he can
use his new garage the way it was meant to be used!

We're DEBT FREE!!!!!

The day has finally arrived. The day of financial freedom! Matt and I have been working since we got married almost three years ago to be debt free by following some of the principles taught by Christian speaker and author, Dave Ramsey. Thanks to Pastor Greg who gave us Ramsey's book in pre-marital marriage counseling, thanks to John Dodgen for sending us to the LIVE event in Indianapolis, thanks to Josh & Amber for letting us take their FPU (Financial Peace University) class with them, thanks to our parents, family and friends for their love and support and thanks to the Lord for His incredible blessings...
WE ARE DEBT FREE!!!

This morning we made our final payment to NelNet for college loans and it felt great to see the $0 balance later this afternoon.

To back up for a second, I am behind on my posts and will have to update at a later date. Matt's dad and aunt were here two weekends ago and Matt's sister, Nicole has been out here this past week. Well, she is just too cute and when I woke up this morning and came out of our bedroom, this is what I found...to my delightful surprise!

Can you see the 100 Grand chocolate bars attached to the balloons?

Nicole had left early to meet a friend for coffee but she got back before we went
into work to wish us a "Happy Debt Free Day".

So...only "Debt" is showing here, but the part of the balloon that is not showing says "FREE!" Oops! Ha ha. Matt and I have been looking forward to this day for awhile now and it meant a lot to have Nicole here to share in the excitement with us! Thanks, Nicole! You are gem.

If anyone is wondering if the sacrifice is worth it...our answer would be a resounding, YES! If you are interested in learning more about getting out of debt, check out Dave Ramsey's website. No, he isn't God, but he has some practical, biblical principles that have the power to transform your life, if you are committed to it.

Happy Easter

After Matt and I attended a wonderful Easter service Sunday morning,
we came home to prepare a non-traditional, taco, homemade salsa and chips lunch!

And can you believe...we had another snow! It was a very wet snow this time. Getting in and out of a VERY full church service was quite the adventure! But of course...it is a sunny Monday now...and it is pretty much all melted away. Because of being MOD (Manager on Duty) this weekend for work, I have the day off! I know nothing better than being off on a Monday :)

A couple of Easter shots on the porch with the snow covered trees in the background.

We went over to our friends house for an Easter celebration in the afternoon. Complete with a DELICIOUS Easter meal, Easter Egg Hunt, and a game similar to Charades & Catch Phrase. It was hilarious! I have never seen Matt do Charades-acting out without using words. He was so good! "Marley & Me" and "The itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-yellow-polka-dot-bikini" made me laugh the most!

Oh...and I forgot to mention...the Easter Bunny!

Micah, searching for eggs!

Matthew John was the lucky finder of the egg with the golden ticket! What was his prize you ask?
Peeps, a chocolate cross and of course, a Hannah Montana Easter egg.

Matt and David with their loot.

The Easter bunny got to share in the fun too!

Denise was the lovely hostess of this event. Her hospitality is phenomenal.
Plus, look how cute her and the other girls have decorated this house!
It is at this holiday especially that we realized that the time spent with family and loved ones is what makes our holidays so special. Traditions without the family you began them can feel like a meaningless action. And actually, we realized that neither of our families had a lot of "traditions". But having the opportunity to spend time with your loved ones was meaningful enough! In the past several years we have actually spent Easter with Matt's family...so we did miss them this year. In the evening though, we were able to chat with his parents, sister and grandparents for quite awhile. It was a wonderful time to catch up with all of them. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us! We love you!

We are also anxious to see my family this summer when we go home for my grandparents 50th Anniversary.
The only thing that Colorado does not have to offer: Our family! Hope you all had a wonderful Easter
and were reminded again of the incredible hope we have in a RISEN SAVIOR!

Car Issues & More Snow

Well, as I was in Target on Monday, picking up some marketing giveaways for work...I was talking to my mom on the phone. She says to me, "I'm holding my breath for you guys knowing how close you are to being debt free...just hoping nothing goes wrong...like your car needing a major repair, but I don't want to jinx you." I just laugh to myself because of course, neither of us really believe in that. I head towards my car with my newly purchased items, pop the trunk to throw them in and precede to open my car door. As I plop myself down on the cold leather seat I push my key into the ignition and crank it! Nothing. Nothing at all. In fact, my key is now stuck and nothing that requires battery power works. This has actually happened before, and we have had the battery tested to make sure it is not the issue. Auto Zone says it is not. Matt has this little trick that has worked in the past that requires a screwdriver under the hood. I contact him at work and sigh as I realize I can't get into the trunk because my key is stuck in the ignition...and the power is out of service, so I can't pop it from the inside either. Oh well! Matt tells me he will get a ride to Target and will be there in about 45 minutes. I just laugh to myself as I dial my mom and thank her for jinxing us!!!
Thankfully, our administrator graciously gives Matt a ride to Target. After realizing it is not an easy fix, she drives us back to our apartment so that we can figure things out. Matt and I change it to more comfortable, warmer clothes...and head back to solve our issue! Matt tries the screwdriver fix...but our quick fix fails this time. He tries a few other things and then calls his dad. They chat and he tests a few other options as the culprit for our silent vehicle.

We -when I say "we", I mean Matt :) -did try jumping the car with the Mazda, and the Grand Prix actually started up but died when Matt's foot was not on the gas. We finally resigned to calling AAA and having the Grand Prix towed. The good news was 1) we have AAA-and the towing cost was $0! 2) talking to the tow truck operator, we discovered a better repair shop than we had been going to 3) it was just a bad battery-that Auto Zone replaced because it was still under warranty-not sure why when it was tested a few weeks ago, they said it was fine.

The bad news is...I forgot to take a picture of the Grand Prix being towed!
We are so thankful though, that it was a minor repair. Thank you, Lord!

So we got more snow again on Wednesday night. Matt and I always itch to go out in
it when it snows...despite the road we wanted to go down being closed.
So we decided to go to Sam's Club...again! Ha ha. I'm sure the fun will die off soon...but not yet!

Matt cleared off the car while I bundled up and put on my boots so I could
thoroughly enjoy the snowfall!

He really takes care of me, huh? Fixes my car, cleans off my car...all while
I sit in the car staying warm! What a catch! :)

I decided to jump out of the car for a little snowball fight...since I do have my boots on and all!

Watch out, Matt!

We got another snowfall yet AGAIN...on Saturday. But it didn't lay that much during the day. It was just crazy WINDY. Matt took me to Starbucks while we were running errands to warm me up. I'm not really a Starbucks girl because I don't like coffee...at all. Thankfully, our good friend who works at Starbucks, introduced me to Heaven on earth...Carmel Apple Spice. Matt and I shared one in the Briargate Shopping Center right by Focus...the reason I moved to Colorado. I love this shopping center! It's just cute, even if you aren't buying a thing! After watching the movie "Marley & Me" the night before, Matt also wanted to stop at Petco, to look at puppies. To our disappointment, we realized they don't have puppies there...just toys and food for them. Not that we want a dog right now, just thought it would be fun to look. You would understand if you watched the movie. Very cute and funny flick. Then sad...I was a mess. But it was PG, and I loved that part. I wouldn't call it a family movie for children, but we really enjoyed it and laughed a lot throughout!