3 States in 3 Days

That’s what we almost accomplished this past weekend......

We woke up early on Saturday, with a quick pit stop at Einstein’s (our favorite!) for bagels and coffee, before hitting the road. It was a fairly nice morning in Colorado Springs and we couldn’t wait to get up and out to see what the day held for us. We totally love the warm weather spurts we’ve been getting and are ready for the much warmer days to come. If only it would quit snowing already......

So our first state was Colorado and our first stop was at the Celestial Seasonings plant in Boulder. It was neat to see how they made tea since we drink mostly Celestial Seasonings teas, and it was also fun to get a free sample in the beginning AND the end! =) Our next stop was at the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Ft. Collins. It was very interesting to see how they made beer, and we were pleasantly surprised that there wasn’t an awful smell of beer throughout the whole tour! They too had free samples at the end, but we chose not to indulge ourselves - yuck! So it was a fun experience to tour those two places since we’d never been there before and it was also convenient since it was on our way to our next stop - Wyoming!

We’ve been to Wyoming before - about 5 years ago when we took a trip to Yellowstone National park. But this time we stopped WAY South in Cheyenne and visited with our friends who had recently moved there. Jason and Allison are such great hosts and we had THE best time catching up and enjoying time with them and their kids again. Time always seems to fly by when you’re having fun, and it sure did this weekend. It seemed like we had just gotten there when we had to leave again. =(

Our next stop was supposed to be South Dakota - our third and final state. We were supposed to drive all around the Rapid City area, see Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, the black hills, go through Wind Cave National Park, Custer State park, and even go through the Wind Cave! Well, luckily the night before we left, we decided to check the weather. The weather forecast said that Rapid City and most of Western South Dakota was currently (and would continue to be for the next day or two) under a winter storm warning. So, being proactive, we called our hotel to see what it really WAS like in Rapid City, and the lady said indeed it WAS snowing and that it was only going to continue to get worse. Luckily for us, they cancelled our hotel reservation for free and we headed home the next morning instead of continuing on in our mini-vacation and possibly getting stuck or stranded in the snow.

Our trip was fun even though we didn’t get to do everything that we had planned. We still needed it though. It was fun having each other all to ourselves, as well as taking a break from the stresses of life and studying.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone!


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Here’s a quick update on our weekend: Greg surprised Jen with a hotel room on Friday up in Denver so she could get more studying done, more sleep, and wouldn’t have to get up so early for her test on Saturday morning. He had Good Friday off from work, so we spent the morning and early afternoon running errands in the Springs and running around Denver before we checked in early to our room. In the midst of all that running around, we FINALLY got to have lunch at the Paradise Bakery and Café. It was totally amazing and we would definitely recommend it to anyone! The rest of the afternoon and evening we studied, went out for dinner, and spent some time in the fitness center working off some of our pent-up energy. ;) Saturday morning was test day for Jen. SHE PASSED!!!! So, in honor of that, we went out and met some good friends of ours who live on the South side of Denver (since Jen's test was on the South side) for a celebration lunch. We tried another new Mexican restaurant and would definitely recommend that to anyone too!

Instead of staying up in Denver the rest of the day and night on Saturday as originally planned, we decided to come back home early and spend Easter with the family...... well, almost all of the family. (We miss you, Mom!)

From Jen - Thank you to everyone who so faithfully lifted me (and my test!) up in prayer, and for letting me know that you were doing so by sending all those encouraging emails and text messages. =) I have THE best friends and family, ever! (Oh, you know who you are!) ;)

Celebrating with Ali and David!

Happiness is a Decision

(By Jen)

I saw a quote on a magazine cover the other day that said:
"Happiness is a decision."

So, I had to stop think about it for a minute or two….. is this really true? Is it really a decision, or do you seriously have no control over how you act and feel? I mean, you hear all the time of people who quit their jobs because "they just weren't happy there." Or people getting divorced because "they just weren't happy." Or of people who have committed suicide because "life wasn't worth living and they just weren't happy anymore." Well, after much thinking, you know what conclusion I came to? No one ever said that life on this earth would be easy, but you sure can try to make the most of it and find the positive about things while you're here! Quit using "unhappiness" to justify sin, or to justify a negative overall attitude! Sure it's horrible to lose a job, lose a loved one, fight with your spouse, overdraft on your checking account, foreclose on your house - but there is always, always, always a reason to be happy and to smile about SOMETHING. Surely you can find at least ONE thing in life that can make you smile and show you just how incredibly blessed you are. If you have the Lord in your life, that’s one thing right there! He can get you through anything! Now, I’m not saying that there's never a time to cry, get mad, and show other emotion..... but overall, there's just no reason NOT to be happy a majority of the time and find the good in the midst of the bad! You can choose to get upset about things, or you can choose to let them roll off your back and be happy! After all, it IS your decision – it truly is. ;) As my Auntie is famous for saying: “we all make our choices!”

Proverbs 17:22 says: "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine....." So get happy - it’s good for your health! =)

The Thorn

In spite of the blowing snow, minor drifts, and roads that glistened with ice, we skipped our normal Wednesday night activities and braved the weather to go see The Thorn at New Life Church here in Colorado Springs with a few of our buddies. (Our friend John played Matthew!) It was an awesome and very vivid performance that walks you through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There were exciting parts and horrific parts. Parts that made you want to jump up and down with joy, and parts that made you cry. If Jesus wasn’t in your life and heart before the performance, there should have been no reason that he wasn’t afterwards! The show even ended with a surprise engagement! Some guy proposed to his girlfriend up on stage and made a big thing about it. They said that was the first time in the history of The Thorn that that has ever happened - so it was fun to be there and be a part of that. We all didn’t end up going out afterwards because it was late and the weather was bad..... so we came home and watched the American Idol results instead. ;)

Mom Kelly is on her way to Arkansas as we speak. Pray for safe travels and a good time while she is there. Dad Kelly and Brian will be fending for themselves for the next week, so pray for them! Actually, Dad will be over on Friday night while Brian is working, so he’ll at least get one good meal in while Mom is gone. ;) Greg's hoping for a snow day from work tomorrow so he can sleep in and catch up on some of his DVR'd shows, and Jen's walking plans with her neighborhood friends are being postponed because of the weather we have and will get this weekend. Ahhhh, Springtime in Colorado. ;)

Study Breaks

As the test date draws nearer and nearer (sooner for Jen anyways), we find ourselves devoting quite a bit of our time with our faces in our books. If one of us gets unmotivated to study and is tempted not too, we figure we may as well go ahead and study anyhow since the other one is already studying and we need to keep the house quiet for them to concentrate. Usually, once we’re done with dinner each night, we part ways and hit the books until 9:30/10:00, or sometimes later...... sounds like a fun evening, huh? ;)

It’s nice to have breaks though, and this week sure provided a few of those for us! Here’s how the week panned out: After we had a quick lunch out with the fam on Sunday afternoon, Greg headed up to Denver with Brian and Dad Kelly to the ESPN Zone to watch Michigan State play in the NCAA March Madness tournament. They occupied a booth for 3 hours and ate (again!) the whole time. Meanwhile, Jen took her usual Sunday nap and then headed over to her parents to hang out. Her and Mom sat outside talking and enjoying the 70 degree weather with the dogs for a couple of hours (even got a little pink!) before heading in to start dinner. -- Monday and Tuesday night we did a little planning for our anniversary trip and Greg’s big milestone birthday party coming up here in a few months. -- Wednesday night, the usual church activities as well as the American Idol results show broke up the monotony of studying for us. -- Thursday, Jen had planned to go to the hospital to volunteer her time doing mammograms all day, but when the forecast changed from a “winter storm warning” to a “blizzard warning,” she opted to stay home and not risk getting stuck so far from home and get out in all that mess. As the snow fell harder and harder, Greg’s work shut down in the early afternoon and sent people home. He loved getting paid for sitting at home! -- Friday morning we woke up to more wind and clouds, but at least the snow had subsided. So, unfortunately, Greg had to go into work – on a delayed start nonetheless. But, later that night, since the sun seemed to have melted enough ice off the roads that afternoon, we were still able to go over to our friends Zack and Jenny’s house for dinner and games. We had such a blast playing with Nola and snuggling Rocky before they had to go to bed and let us have our “adult time.” -- That brings us to today. We slept in, ran a few errands with Mom and Dad Kelly and then had them over for dinner. Needless to say, we didn't get much studying done today. ;)

All in all, it was a fun week that started and ended great for us. We’re sure it may seem like all we do is study and spend more time apart than together – but rest assured, we’re taking adequate breaks, having fun, and making some time for ourselves AND each other. Next week, Greg is taking Monday off, and the rest of the week will have a few more fun “adventures” for us as well. More to come on that later though......

Breakfast With the Cow

OK, we’ll admit it..... we’re suckers for the free breakfasts that Chick-Fil-A gives away during various months throughout the year. Seriously, who can resist? Evidently WE can’t because we got up before 6 (yes, a.m.) just so we didn’t have to wolf our food down and/or make Greg late for work. We’re also slightly addicted to their coffee - if you’ve never tried it, you’re missing out. ;)

So that makes two times now this week that Jen has been up before 6. This past Monday morning she met Mom at 6:15 to head up to the Aurora courthouse to help a friend with a domestic violence suit. Talk about a long, nerve-wracking day! They sure were nervous, and they weren’t even the ones filing the suit! They’ll probably be heading up there with her again in a couple of weeks – please keep our friend in your prayers!

Today is the first day of Spring, and man, are we ever ready for it! Apparently it’s supposed to be 70 today – guess we'll be heading out for a walk later this evening! =)

A Tidbit of Info

We’ve run across a couple of videos lately that we wanted to pass along to everyone. We’re sure most of you have already seen the first one. (It never hurts to have a reminder once and awhile though!) The second one we thought was really neat. We figure if it’s a new concept to us, then it’s probably new to someone else too! =)

Video 1

Video 2