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.