This weekend we’re going to Manitou Springs. Whoo! I know I said earlier that Steamboat would be the kickoff to exploring Colorado, but change of plans. I am going to Colorado Springs to hear Beth Moore speak on Friday night/Saturday morning. I’m very excited, I love Beth Moore. I suggested the boys come down and we could check out Colorado Springs. And then Geoff suggested we see Manitou Springs, which is close by. From what I’ve heard, Manitou Springs is a quaint little town, so it should be right up our alley. Since I still have to train, we’ll probably try to run at Garden Of The Gods. If all goes to plan, we’ll even get to see Erik in Colorado Springs Saturday.

Last night, Jake (in town to help Kevin finish the basement) came over with Kevin and made fresh keilbasa. I wasn’t sure if I would like it, but it was tasty. 3 1/2 lbs of pork, and there were hardly any leftovers. It was awesome to get time to see him before he flew home this morning. I tell ya, Kevin & Ali having a baby was just the thing to get Kroliks out here regularly. 🙂

So not much is really going on. We have Manitou this weekend, then Geoff goes to his cousin Karen’s wedding next weekend (yep, he’s missing Mother’s Day, no biggie). We couldn’t all afford to go, and he takes with him all of our love and blessings. It’ll be a wonderful wedding I’m sure. At month’s end Geoff runs the Bolder Boulder, then we’re off to Steamboat Springs. Maybe we ought to explore all the Springs towns this summer. 🙂 I’m all over trying to get out to Glenwood Springs…

In tv world House returns tonight. Sweet! And Lost is on fire! It’s good tv watching. Plus I have Top Chef. Hopefully I’ll be sustained until Psych & Burn Notice come back this summer.

Well, that’s about it. Just doing the mommy/wife thing, my bible study, and training. Everyone is healthy and doing well. I’ll close with a quote from one of Geoff’s favorite movies, Toys.

Patrick Zevo: I can’t even eat. The food keeps touching. I like military plates, I’m a military man, I want a military meal. I want my string beans to be quarantined! I like a little fortress around my mashed potatoes so the meatloaf doesn’t invade my mashed potatoes and cause mixing in my plate! I HATE IT when food touches! I’m a military man, you understand that? And don’t let your food touch either, please?

I was feeling pretty crummy, and then I watched Music & Lyrics, and it made me feel so much better. It tapped into my love of 80s music. I hope this video makes you smile.

I thought this picture was cute, Kevin & Geoff celebrating their birthdays.

Well, this last week has been full. The Kroliks arrived, we took in their dog Amber for a week, there was a lot of visiting, a lot of yummy food eaten, and many many laughs. I had a 12 hour stomach bug that threw off my training, the sisters and I surprised Ali with the baby shower we’ve been planning, and we celebrated 3 birthdays. I uploaded the pics on shutterfly.

So that’s where I’ve been, not much time to get online and blog.

Now things are quieting down. I would love a day to just lay back and relax. I do need to book our lodging for the half marathon. Geoff says he wants to dub this summer as Summer In Colorado. Getting out and seeing the state. The kickoff will be Steamboat Springs. He is in charge of planning the camping trip.

We finally saw Evan Almighty (a few weeks ago), and it was pretty entertaining. So I’ll close with a quote from that.

Evan: Do we have anything unleavened?
Joan: Yeah, we do. It’s in the back, next to the frankincense and myrrh. We have a nifty name for it in this century. It’s called pita.

Wishing a great birthday to Doug, Alec, Geoff, and Kevin!

A nice mochaccinno

Kids playing nicely together

I feel like I have so much I want to write, but I lack the words to articulate what I’m feeling, or the point I want to get across. I also feel like I have a bunch of different topics, but no time to write them all separately, nor do I want one huge post.

First things. The baby Armstrong blogs are going private. I probably should have done that from the start, but anyways I’m doing it now. If you read them, if you want to read them, email me your address, and I’ll put you on the list. Otherwise, you’ll just get the info second hand (which maybe you do already).

Bible study is going well. All concerns I had from the get go are long gone, I’ve made some new friends, and most importantly, I’ve got focus. Two weeks ago, I got a great phrase that sums up an issue I have with some of my relationships. Truth Breeds Trust. She talked about how she has trust issues, and what you can do to gain trust. I felt like she grabbed out of my head my big problem with the superficial relationships in my life. If you can’t/won’t tell me truth, heck, if you can’t/won’t tell me anything at all, then we can’t have a trustful loving relationship. How do you love someone, trust someone if they won’t tell you truth? It was powerful, to me anyways.

I am annoyed with all the Olympic-boycott crap. I don’t understand the IOC, I think they must be idiots. I’m not even a big fan of the summer Olympics (Winter Olympics are better IMHO), but is not watching them really going to make a difference? I don’t think the athletes should be to blame for wanting to compete against the best in their fields. I put the blame solely on people who sell those dreams to the highest bidder. Seriously, let’s hold the Olympics someplace where the athletes will struggle to breath fresh air, in a country with questionable ideas. Because they gave us a crap load of money.

I’m very excited that Jake, Cindy, Lexi, Alyssa, Alec & Abbie are coming next weekend. Yes, they are coming to see Kevin & Ali, but we get face time too! It feels like forever since I’ve seen them. It will be so nice to have family around, even if for a short while.

I’m gonna go rest the knees. I’ll close with a quote from Midnight In The Garden Of Good & Evil.

Jim Williams: Sport, truth, like art, is in the eye of the beholder. You believe what you choose and I’ll believe what I know.

Easter Lilies

Elijah & his Easter basket

Miles can’t wait to eat his chocolate bunny

I’ll get the rest of the pics on shutterfly very soon. I need to get some from Ali’s camera from the dinner.

Date night was AWESOME! The downsides being it was only one night, and Geoff was still getting over the flu.

We stayed at Magnolia Hotel in downtown Denver. We originally thought we’d explore downtown, but with Geoff’s flu, and it being drunken debauchery weekend (A.K.A. St. Patty’s Day Weekend), we didn’t go out at night. The room was lovely…

Our room

The comfy bed

Naturally, a photo of a magnolia in the room

Me, all dolled up for our date (thanks for the dress Kelly!)

I made dinner reservations at Red Square Euro Bistro, a Russian/European restaurant. We enjoyed the dumplings for an appetizer, Geoff had the spinach & goat cheese ravioli and I had bacon wrapped chicken with goat cheese risotto. For dessert, a dark chocolate terrine. The place wasn’t very big, but it was so quaint. A little hard to find if you don’t know where to look. So it was perfect, off the beaten path, and by the time we left, it had filled up.

The big selling point of the Magnolia Hotel… complimentary milk & cookies before bedtime. They were excellent. Slept great in the king sized bed, until 8am! Then back downstairs for breakfast. Their club level (where the food is served) is lovely. I meant to take a picture, but I forgot. It was a lot of tables, some small booths (perfect to read a book in) and a waterfall. After breakfast we went to Peet’s for morning coffee, and then we ran some errands before retrieving the boys. We assume Kevin & Ali did okay with the boys since they were in good spirits on Sunday morning, as were the boys. They are going to be great parents to their little baby girl.

I have other stuff I wanted to blog about, but it will have to wait for another time. I have errands to run, and kids who want attention.