Manitou Springs, CO
I would blog more often if I had the time away from “Mommy. Mommy. Whatcha doing? Mommy”

Our weekend in Manitou Springs was good. A strange town, certainly wouldn’t want to live there. Friday afternoon, we got in and settled in at our motel. It was one block away from the start of all the shops on the main street. While the motel was older, it did have two rooms, so the boys were in one room and we could close the door and sleep in our room. I needed to eat quickly to get into Colorado Springs before Beth Moore started, so we didn’t stay in the room long. We tried 3 restaurants (2 were closed, one was a bar) before we settled on Marilyn’s House Of Fine Pizza. It was alright, the place was plastered with pictures of Marilyn Monroe. I ducked out early to drive into Colorado Springs. Before I hit the 24 (freeway), six deer bounding in front of the car, trying to cross the freeway. Two of them decided not to continue past the median, and stopped traffic. This amused me, as it did not affect me. The drive in went okay, I missed my turn, had to turn around and go back. Then the traffic was awful trying to get to the arena. At 7pm (when it started), I was still trying to get into the parking lot. I eventually got in, and 10 minutes later was able to call Cindy & Ali to find out where they were (because I didn’t understand the directions. At this point it was about 7:20pm. It was a good session, the music brought me to tears, and I was looking forward to going back in the morning, not looking forward to driving back to Manitou. I got lost (I have a horrible sense of direction. Trina, you have nothing on me!), but I did find my way home around 10pm.

I slept like crap, my mind was racing, and I was cold. Geoff drove me into CS, I was happy to get there early. The sessions again were awesome. During the break, I connected with Erik to plan our lunch date. Once the second session was over, I headed out to meet Geoff and we drove towards Erik’s side of town. We decided to eat at Thai Basil (Geoff’s choice). The food was alright, but Miles was not happy to be there. Then we went to Maggie Moo’s for ice cream. We parted ways with Erik, and we hope we’ll see him & Becky come up to Aurora for a visit. Since Miles had napped in the morning, we spent the rest of the afternoon walking the main street in Manitou. Some shops had signs that pretty much said no children welcome. We didn’t go in those stores, nor could we go in many stores since we had the double joggy stroller. Elijah bought himself a souvenir from the rock shop (which he lost in an hour. I tried to find it, it was gone). I was thisclose to buying myself something at the British import store (they had Irn-Bru!). I did buy Geoff’s sister Meghan something at Mona Lisa’s Italian Ice. (You’re wondering what it is aren’t you? I don’t want to ruin the surprise in case she reads this. Needless to say, it was perfect, and HAD to be bought). That store was owned by a very nice woman who was thrilled to talk to another Canadian (she was from Revelstoke, B.C., but went to college in Calgary) Then we headed to the park to let Elijah show me around. Next to the park was a Moroccan restaurant Geoff wanted to try for dinner, but it wasn’t a good fit for us. So I got to pick the dinner spot, on a recommendation from someone I met at Beth Moore. The Mason Jar offers yummy comfort food, the kind of food Melissa loves! I had one of my favorites, chicken fried steak and for dessert, homemade coffee ice cream. (Yes, I had ice cream twice in one day, but this was way better than Maggie Moo’s.)

I was so tired, I went to bed at 8pm. We all slept until 7am. Nice! Geoff was anxious to take me to the breakfast place he found Saturday morning, The Spice Of Life. I had the very delicious cinnamon french toast. I love french toast! Following breakfast we went back to the motel to pack up and go running at Garden of the Gods. It was the perfect day to be outside. Geoff took pictures while he ran with the kids in the joggy stroller, and then we took one family picture before we headed home. (All pictures are up on Shutterfly)

Erik said Manitou Springs is referred to as Colorado Springs’ liberal sister. It does have a different feel, but the charm we sought, I’d say we found. Perhaps on the next visit, we will let the kids play at the big penny arcade. In the summer, you can take a cup around town and taste all of the springs (though I was warned some don’t taste so great)

Well, that was our weekend away. I need to grab a quick cat nap on the couch before the rugrats awaken.

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.