LOVE-ly Weekend

It was the best 3-day weekend ever – can’t remember the last time our hearts and lives were filled with so much joy. We were SO surrounded with love and it was absolutely incredible.

Around 10:15 Friday night, our friends came into town. We were on such a high from seeing them and being SO excited that we didn’t end up getting to bed until after 2 am! We had first originally met Susan and Erynn through the Christian Writers Guild. (Erynn writes books that you definitely need to read and share with your friends. Check out her website here.) They had come up from Albuquerque and volunteered at CWG’s annual conference, and we hit it off with them immediately – so much so that we went to Albuquerque last March to go to Erynn’s wedding and hang out with the rest of the family for a day. Well, recently they had all been talking about coming back here to visit all of us for a 3-day weekend. We really never thought we’d be able to pull it off, since we’re talking about trying to coordinate 13 different people’s schedules..... but we did it and it was so much fun! Yay (as Erynn would say)! =)

So you are probably wondering what we did for Valentine’s Day. Well, we spent it with Brian Regan. ;) If you have never heard of him, you are truly missing out. He is a comedian who can make you laugh until you cry. Our cheeks even hurt the next day! It was the best investment of our time and money and we recommend that you see him whenever he’s in town. We also had a wonderful dinner with friends and family at Saltgrass with the cutest server ever! ;) So, we didn’t get to spend the day alone doing romantic things, but Valentines Day represents love, and we sure were loved on that day! Also for Valentines Day, Jen’s Dad surprised her with 12 long-stemmed roses. It’s a tradition he keeps up with every year, and it always makes her feel SO special. Actually, we both also got Valentines surprises from Mom and Dad Kelly – thanks for loving us and for all the little things you do!

Sunday the girls went shopping all day up in Castle Rock, CO while the guys went skiing. It was a great bonding time for all of us. Later that night, we even played a rousing game of Catch Phrase and got to learn a LOT about each other. ;) Monday we had to say goodbye. =( That is never fun at all..... this weekend went by WAY too fast.

Mangum’s, we feel so amazingly blessed to have you in our lives. We feel honored that you have adopted us as one of your own, and that we now have a new “Mum” and Dad, as well as 2 new sister-in-laws, and 3 brother-in-laws. =) Thank you for accepting us, loving us, and for meeting needs in ways unimaginable. We love you and can’t wait for you guys to move here someday! See you in a month or two!

CFA Scholarship #2

(By Greg)

I posted a praise about 13 months ago on receiving a scholarship to pay for the Level I CFA costs. Well, I'm excited to let you know I received another scholarship today to pay for the Level II CFA costs. Not to mention, it's almost twice as much as I had anticipated!

Here's their response, and I quote: "...Congratulations on receiving the June scholarship from the CFA Society of Colorado! Scholarships were limited this year and you were one of the few candidates chosen..."

For those who forgot or are new, here's what the CFA entails: http://www.testprepreview.com/cfa_practice.htm

Check back in August 2009 (exam date is June 6, 2009) for my results: PASS or FAIL...

Bunco Babes

(By Jen)

Soooooooooo, I played my first game of Bunco last night, (I guess I am a little behind the times.....) and it was one of the most fun "girl nights" I've had in a long time! =) I even won a prize for having the most Bunco's!

I got together with a couple of friends of mine in December, and we decided that it would be fun to start a Bunco team for some of us younger gals at church. Well, indeed it was! We had our first "meeting" last night and it was a complete success - even though a few people couldn't make it to this first meeting. We laughed until we cried, learned a lot about each other, formed new friendships, and made a vow that "what happens at Bunco, stays at Bunco." ;) We also learned that apparently other people in this world (no one in our group) play Bunco and drink the whole time, thus calling it "Drunko." But we had enough fun without the booze..... if you looked in the windows though, you might have thought we actually WERE "drunko!" =)

Here are a few pics from last night.....