Congrats, Brandon!

Brandon passed the Bar Exam!!

We are so excited and happy for you, Brandon! You have certainly put in the time
to get where you are today. Not only have your put in the 7 years of schooling and
graduated from a very difficult law school...you passed the Big Test! Way to go! We're proud of you!

By the way, the picture was all Matt...including the hair. And the whole post was his idea. He loves you! :)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is Mom Wittleder's Birthday!

I was going to post a picture of her here, but instead decided to just insert this card I made in Publisher for her. That way I don't have to decide on just one picture to post! All of her kids love and cherish her very much...she has given so much to every one of them. We love you, Mom!

Hopefully, you already received this card in the mail! Have a great birthday...you deserve it! :) We wish we were there to celebrate with you. We love you! Matt & Sonya

Homemade Pizza

No...I didn't become that ambitious in my culinary pursuits! Not yet, anyway. The homemade pizza was ALL Uncle Jerry! Uncle Jerry and Aunt Kathy came over for dessert last Friday night. And to our surprise, brought in a cooler with all of the fixings for a delicious homemade pizza! Apparently, it is Uncle Jerry's specialty. Look at him toss that dough in the air! To say the least...I was impressed. Even before I tasted the pizza! Uncle Jerry added all of the desired toppings and we threw it in the oven. It was absolutely delicious!












Now...my world famous brownies didn't make the photo shoot. But don't be fooled they were amazing as well. :) Aunt Kathy asked what my recipe was and the secret had to be revealed. I pulled out my Great Value brownie mix box and confessed to my $1.27 splurge! If only she knew how rarely I get around to throwing the batter into the oven because I eat it raw! Don't knock it until you try it, though! It hits the spot every time!
While I may not be a cooking queen, I do enjoy setting up a good looking table! As much as I love the look of placemats on my dark table, I had to buy a tablecloth the other day to protect it when we have larger meals with company or are playing games on it. To my delight, these napkins that my mom (Wittleder) bought me matched beautifully! I love these napkins. I have had them for awhile because I only use them for special occasions or company. And let's be honest, many people don't care about what their table looks like which is perfectly okay by me. But I like to use them when they are fully appreciated! And Aunt Kathy noticed them right away! She appreciated how cute they are. I never get tired of them. They have my green and brown on them along with light blue and black and are very contemporary. Mom knew my tastes well before we set up our apartment in Colorado with those exact colors! Thanks Mom!

Softball Game

Matt and I went to our friends' last softball games of the year last Wednesday night.Here is a shot of the cheering section!

This is Matthew John on the left, up to bat!




And Denise Morris, his girlfriend and my good friend from Focus, on the right, is waiting her turn to step up to the plate.

Heading to the other field for their last game of the season. Aren't they cute?








Here's Amber on the left, on first base! She is really good. I was totally impressed by her skills on that base. She got a lot of people out in the last game.



This is Katie Porter on the right by Matthew. Her and I worked in the Admissions office at Indiana Wesleyan together. It's crazy that we are both out here now!





Matt & Josh watching the game! Josh is a huge Texas fan by the way...if you can't tell by his shirt. He is also a fan of the Dallas Mavericks. Matt and him are looking forward to a Spurs vs. Mavericks game. They think we should make a trip to Texas for one. These two were made for each other!

Denise and Amber on the field waiting for their game to get started! They did win their second game, by thy way. "Go Softballers!" That is, in fact, their name. Kind of like Matt's flag football team in Indiana whose name was, "Football Team". Our generation has lost its creativity!

Wii Time

Matt playing the Wii before our friends arrived the other night.

Mom and Dad Wittleder gave him the Wii as his graduation present from Physical Therapy school. He loves it! It is a good thing that we didn't have it before graduation or we may have never arrived at that wonderful day! :)

Matt especially loves it when I play Madden with him. And I must admit, I do enjoy the 5 v. 5 mode. It is easier for me to understand and I have actually succeeded in beating him a few times! This helps for my own enjoyment because I can become a bit competitive at times! It's hilarious...Matt doesn't even care if he loses, he just likes that I play it with him! He has such a good attitude about everything...a quality I greatly admire and love. Overall, he is better than me though. Unless we play target practice (kind of like Duck Hunt from the original Ninentdo.) I smoke him then because my reaction time is quicker!

When we play Madden, we usually both play with the Eagles but just play with teams from different years. I always go with the older Eagles team becasue they have a better record. I will admit, that gives me an edge too...because I need it!

Here on the right, is a close-up of Matt's outfit. I thought he looked so cute because he matched our living room decor! ha ha. That is what made me get the camera out in the first place. Can you believe how he puts up with me? :)

Clean Shoes

You know you have issues when...

So...for those of you who don't know this...I love to keep my shoes clean. I can't help it. I was born this way. This is why I find it hard to part with my running shoes that are five years old and for all practical purposes shot...but still look great! I know that when you run often, your shoe wears out and you must buy a new pair every number of months. But when they still look new...it seems like such a waste!

It was shoe washing day last Tuesday. This is my process:
1. Remove all shoelaces and removable insoles in your sneakers (not all insoles are removable)
2. Take spray 'n wash or a similar cleaning product and spray the outside soles of your sneakers.
3. Scrub the harder, rubber surfaces with a scrub brush to remove caked on dirt.
4. Re-spray the mesh, cloth areas of the sneaker with spray 'n wash and throw in the washer with the shoelaces.
5. If desired, pour detergent into the washer for extra cleaning power and begin your wash cycle.
6. After cycle has finished, remove your sneakers and shoelaces and set them on the porch or drying rack.
7. As they continue to dry feel deep satisfaction over your effort to bring back the bright whiteness of brand new shoes all over again!
8. Relish in the praises of your husband when he puts his shoes on for work the next morning and feels like a new man in his like-new kicks! (for those of you with children in school...I am betting there is a similar appreciation and enjoyment to be experienced!- you may find yourself having to buy shoes less often!)

I think there is even a lesson on stewardship to be learned in this post. That is my only redeeming thought here. That, or else I really do have issues! I guess there is no harm as long as it makes me happy, right?

Biking SAFELY!

"Biking SAFELY" refers to our helmets...not the fact that I am quite obviously taking this picture
of Matt while I am on my bike! (The shadows on the ground are a dead giveaway!)

On Sunday night, Matt and I went on another bike ride close to our apartment complex. No, I'm not going
to take pictures EVERY time we go on a bike ride. But, I thought that it might make a few of you happy
to see that we have purchased and are wearing our new HELMETS!

Behind me is Cottonwood Park. We used to come here and play ultimate frisbee when I attended Focus. I think this is where we played soccer also. It is very close to our apartment and there is acutally a nature trail that takes us right to it! Below is a blurb from their website along with one of the pictures of Cottonwood Creek with Pike's Peak in the background.

Cottonwood Creek Community Park is located on the north end of Colorado Springs in the Norwood neighborhood. The park spans 77 acres, and includes Cottonwood Creek Recreation Center (indoor pool), picnic tables, a playground, restrooms, sledding hills, four soccer fields, three softball/baseball fields, tennis courts, an in-line hockey court, disc golf course, and walking and running paths.

And here comes my husband...where the nature trail ends and the sidewalk begins!












We went back to the apartment by route of Woodmen Road, instead of taking the nature trail back. Here we are by Cook Communications-it's a minstry out here that someone at our church told us that our pastor and his family are involved in...unless there is another Cook Communications that we are not aware of. They have the cutest little pond area behind it. We don't have pictures of that though...we were really just trying to get the mountains!