We made it!

We did it!  Our goal has been achieved!  Now it is time to make a new goal.  Currently we are happy with our new mountain surroundings, but would love nothing more than to purchase a house.  Deidra is very happy in her new job and I have a part time job unloading trucks.  The part time job will finally give me the opportunity to go back to school and get my degree.  This is something that we decided we would do several years ago.  She went first...now its my turn.  It is funny how much you want to find a way to go back into time and smack your younger self around for some of the decisions you made isn't it?  Anyhow, it is never too late to start enjoying life the way you want to.

Here in the mountains, the leaves are turning as fall is now on top of us.  The mornings here are crisp at 42-48 degrees and it warms up to the mid 80's by mid day only to drop into the 50's before bedtime.  I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!  As you can see by the pic above, the aspens are looking wonderful.  At this point they are green/gold and getting brighter by the day.  Taylor found a pretty good walking stick on our hike and we went to the store to get some sandpaper for him so he can turn it into a great one.

Well, its time for me to go get some things done.  Ill post again soon.  More pics to come and I will be periodically changing the look of this site.  Deidra will also start posting soon and a Flickr link will be added to the right so that we can post all of our pictures.  In order for you to be able to see those pics,  you will need to join Flickr.  It is free and many pics are on there already so get to it!

Have a great week!

Oh...I forgot....

Home under contract!

The house has been under contract for about 2 weeks now.  We are so excited that this chapter of our lives is about to come to an end, bringing the exciting future we have been working toward closer than ever!  I should find out this week if the people wanting to purchase our house have final loan approval from their bank.  Once I find that out, a SOLD sign will be placed in the yard and we will be moving into the apartment that we just rented this weekend.  Good thing is its a short lease and has enough room to put all of our things that we will be moving out of our house into one place making it much easier for us to make the final move from here to Colorado.  We have boxes all over and the kids are starting to pack all of their things.  We have to be in our new apartment by June 1st.  Closing on the house takes place in about 4 weeks.  Deidra is about to pull the trigger on applying for a job out west.  We already have our Colorado apartment picked out.  So excited!

This last weekend my daughter got her first soccer goal of her life.  Just thought I would post that here.  Proud of that little bugger.

Wine gets better with time....however...some things get .... well....just sad.

New Blog Format Comming Soon

Ok, so to be clear, this blog was created to invite my close friends and family into our lives. In a way to get a cookie from the cookie bowl of our lives and enjoy a small portion of what we enjoy daily. hahaha. Truly I started this blog to give a small window view into the month to month world that we are experiencing as we struggle to do what most would consider unthinkable; to leave an entire world with a certain paycheck for another that is healthier, cleaner and the paycheck may be smaller. It seems crazy until you sit down and look at the big picture.

I believe each of us were created with the chance to make something great of our lives and live in it. Don't misunderstand that last sentence. "Something great" in the past could be something as big as discovering that the world was round. Could have been finding the cure to some terrible disease that killed many that you love. It could have been moving out into the unknown with the ones you love to discover what lies beyond and make an exciting and wonderful life and the start of some small legacy that your future will unfold to those that it matters to. For me, I believe that I need more in life for me and for my family. I also believe that to obtain that, we need to seek less.

For those of you who are christian and believe as I do that you were created by one God that loves you and wants you to seek your life as he understands it to be, this will be easier for you to understand. For those of you who are not, I can only say that each of us depend on too many things that are made by someone else and without those things we would no longer be able to function and would shut down just as your computer or your iphone shut down when you no longer provide the power for it to work.

In short, I believe we depend on too much. My goal in the coming years is to learn to do more on my own and share this adventure with my family. It will be a simple change at first but a change none the less towards becoming less stressed in life.

The format of this blog will change in the very soon future into something else. We will be moving soon and our new life will be starting. We will be starting fresh and new and so will this blog.

Stay tuned. Its going to be fun.

NFL Officials Change NFL Fumble rules....but only in this case...for this game only...

It appears that the ("Ground can't cause a fumble") rule in the NFL has been abolished for this particular game and for today only and only when it pertains to Tebow on the Denver Broncos. I just watched Jarred Allen cause Tebow to go to the ground...and when Tebow was coming down to the ground with the ball. Once the ball touches the ground the ball comes out of his hand...because the ground causes it to come out...but its a fumble? Ok...so it was probably a mistake by an official right? So the play goes under review because it is obvious that the ball came out only after the ball touches the ground while in full possession by Tebow causing the play to be over and is considered a sack....Nope. Not today. Review made...Fumble recorded.

Question: How much do the NFL officials get paid for their stellar play calling ability?

Just wondering. Its too much in my opinnion.

I dont like the Broncos Coach

Hey coach...take it from me...ya can't win games if you don't try to. 1/2 yd. What could have been......er...wait....we won? No...not with Tebow?! Heck ya with Tebow! How ya think Orton woulda fared in this game???? No need to say...the silence says it all.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Going to enjoy what is probably going to be our last Thanksgiving in Missouri.....

Well...at least as Missouri residents.

Wishing all of you are with those closest to you!

Time to reflect on what each of us are all thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Orton Leaves Town

Just some quick facts for those of you that like to look at stats...

Since Jay Cutler has been traded to the Bears:

Orton went 12-21 as the Broncos starter, including 1-4 this season before Tebow was put into the lineup. Almost 2 times more losses than total wins. The Broncos are 4-1 in Tebow's starts this season leading into a rematch with San Diego. Fact.

Jay Cutler is 7 - 3 this year with the Chicago Bears and have a shot at a run into the playoffs....Jay got injured and heads to the sideline for the rest of the season....The Bears went 11 - 5 last year and made it into the playoffs with Jay....this year they are on their way at a second stab at it...Now that Jay is out it seems as though they are in some trouble? Orton wants to go back to Chicago....If Chicago is desperate for a QB while Jay is gone who do you think has Chicago experience that just so happens to be needing a QB job now?? And...how ya think they will do with Orton at the lead of their winning season? Only time will tell...I however feel as though I already know as do all of the other Bronco fans out there. You Jay Cutler haters in Chicago should have been a bit more careful with what you wished for...ya may just get it now. Better luck next year Chicago...you pick up Orton...your playoff chances go bye bye this year. Hey! But he is safe right??!! HA! Better get used to that expression...the announcers love to use it in explaining his red zone style. Don't worry...if you forget what a red zone touchdown looks like, just let me know. I can hook ya up with some Tebow highlights.

Its official

The day has arrived! Today we put our house on the market.

We pray for a quick and painless sale in the near future!

We are excited...scared...mostly excited. Our lives are about to change in a big way.

Final Steps!

I created this blog on the day after Christmas, 2005. Almost 6 years later we are finally putting the final pieces of the plan together that caused this blog to come about. There is no accident that the blog is called "Pikes Peak or Bust". Our main goal from the beginning has been to leave this house and this town to pursue a "better" lifestyle for my wife, my children and me. When this blog started we were both working low paying state jobs in a town that did nothing for us. Since that time, we made several very big decisions to change our little families way of life. For one, getting my wife a suitable job that she truly enjoyed and that deserved her was my main goal at the beginning. So we decided that she needed to go back to school. It was very hard for her, and I have to admit at times I did think it was too much for her to handle. A full time mom with a full time job going to school full time??? Not possible! Little did I know I was married to Super Woman. I am so proud of my wife. The next step was for me to get a better job and when I applied for a uniformed civilian job in the Patrol (for the 4th time) I was happy to find out that I was accepted. Almost 6 years later we have more than doubled our salary and we have used the extra money to get us closer to our next goal. Complete debt freedom. Our true goal is, as I stated above, to pursue a "better" lifestyle for my family. One thing that I did come to realize was that happiness was not a direct reflection of how much money you make.

The final steps are in motion as of 2:26 today. I talked to a real estate agent in regards to selling this house and we are about to list the house and pay off the rest of the debt we have and cross that goal off the list. Once the house is on the market, the agent predicts around a 90 day sale which would be perfect. Once we sell the house and pay off as much if not all of the debt with our profit, we will then be in our final steps to leaving. Deidra will then apply for her jobs and we will start making 3 day vacations out to the areas we are interested in.

The excitement is about to begin!

Keep ya posted.

Oh...quick side note...down to 254! Still losing! 6 more pounds and I will have reached a weight that I have not been since my son was born! Boom Baby!