The End of a Decade...and an Era

Last week was our tenth anniversary.  And we celebrated by...SELLING OUR CONDO!!!!  Of course, it's a huge relief.  Of course, we're happy to be down to one mortgage.  And...of course...it also feels bittersweet.

It was a special place.  The place where our family was born, where three kids came home from the hospital as infants and grew into little people with personalities and ideas.  There were so many dinner parties, birthday parties, glasses of wine on the rooftop, and game nights.  It's truly the end of an era.  To keep those memories alive, I saved the pictures from our real estate listing.  They're not particularly accurate (I don't think it was ever that clean), but I just don't want to forget what our first real "home" looked like.

Pretty sure those blue skies
were photoshopped in.

The orchids were definitely our agent's idea.

We did so much with so little counterspace.

Roaring fireplace also brought to you
courtesy of photoshop.

So much food was thrown on the
floor in this dining room.

I guess we won't miss having to walk through
the bedroom to get to the backyard.

The master bathroom
we designed ourselves.

The scene of many a raucous bath night.

Danny's old room, staged to look like a lovely
guest room that was not overflowing with toys.

Our view coming in the front door, minus
three kids rushing toward us with
arms outstretched.

The best movie-night couch ever.

Aaron and Jill's room,
and their first bunk beds.

The downstairs bathroom,
which also accomodated a lot of baths.

The view into the "office." 
I still regret that paint choice.

I almost deleted this picture. 
But it was so central to my existence
I had to leave it in.

Our little piece of private outdoor space,
surrounded by power lines, street lights,
and sirens - perfect for a glass of
wine after the kids were in bed.

Our shared rooftop deck and
Chris's favorite place to have
drippy ice-cream treats.

Our official closing date was January 16, which was also the day that we walked down a sandy aisle in Puerto Rico ten years before, as rain clouds parted above us.

Since it was a milestone anniversary, we had to do something special aside from selling our condo.  So we spent a couple of nights in Colorado Springs at the Broadmoor hotel (thanks to Oma and Opa for babysitting!).  It was a really great weekend and we left feeling refreshed and grateful for each other and our family (and for selling our condo).

My three favorite things.

The Broadmoor knows how to make you feel celebrated!

There was plenty of relaxation and spa time, but we also challenged ourselves by climbing the Manitou Incline.

From bottom to summit, it's approximately 2,768 steps, gaining 2,011 feet in elevation along the way.

But we made it!

The switchbacking trail down felt like a leisurely hike after all those stairs.  I feel like there's a metaphor in there somewhere about marriage, but I'll leave that to the deep thinkers of the world.  I'm better at cheesy lines like: "If marriage is a mountain, I'm glad Chris is my belayer."  And that, folks, is why Chris loves me so much.