A Literary Life

Parent: Zoo scavenger Hunt

On safari!

A take-along scavenger hunt for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

By Kate Jonuska and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Sunny outdoor fun can always be found at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and new attractions like the Rocky Mountain Wild exhibit and the Mountaineer Sky Ride are sure to draw crowds. But if your children think the zoo is old hat or need a bit more structure, tear out this creative scavenger hunt to keep them entertained and — shh! Don’t tell them! — learning.

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of the scavenger hunt.

Parent: Father’s Day Fresh Perspectives

Featured Home: Room to relax

BY KATE JONUSKA • SPRINGSHOUSES.COM

Sometimes small is good, like in the case of golf scores or jeans size. But those who claim that smaller is always good have never had a car weather the elements because it lacked a garage, seen family members bump elbows while preparing a meal or stumbled over clutter due to a lack of storage space.

In real estate, bigger is often simply better. And this University Park home in northern Colorado Springs, listed by Connie de Jong of RE/MAX Properties for $999,000, proves how luxurious it can feel when you have space to let down your hair, let down your guard and let a sigh of relaxation drift — through the open floor plan, up to the vaulted ceilings and out the sunny windows to dissipate in the pine trees.

“A lot of houses of this caliber are outside city limits,” says Rob de Jong, pointing out that few homes so close to the city center have .66 acres of trees, soaring views and such private quiet. “The location makes it stand out. The privacy is amazing, and it makes it really unique to border 250 acres of open space.”

To read more: CLICK HERE to see a PDF of this article, which ran May 17, 2008 in Springs Houses, a section of The Gazette.

Parent: A tale of two mommies

Local mothers explain their choice to stay at home or work

By Kate Jonuska - Pikes Peak Parent

Motherhood. It is the best of times (when you hear their first word or see their face light up when you enter a room). It is the worst of times (when you feel like an underpaid chauffer or your shirt reeks of vomit). It is also the time of looming guilt, when a woman can question if she is making all the right choices, doing all the right things.

One of the main guilt-ridden struggles moms face boils down to a very simple yet fundamental choice: to stay at home or to continue working. Sometimes circumstance dictates the decision, forcing a woman’s hand, while others have deeply held convictions about what kind of mother they’d like to be. Then again, many will carry both titles at different stages of their lives.

Two local women at different places in the mommy game — one stay-at-home and one working — share their thoughts on motherhood, guilt and balancing priorities.

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of this article, which published in the May 2008 Pikes Peak Parent magazine.

Parent: Great things come in “little” packages

Becoming a big sister, for one important hour a week

By Kate Jonuska - Pikes Peak Parent

Though we’ve become closer as we age, my big sister often seemed to be an evil influence in my life. She teased me, scared me and ignored me, each in turn. She once packed my mouth with dirt, and to apologize, helped me clean it out with MY toothbrush. (Still love you, though, sis!)

I always wanted a younger sibling when I was a kid, but I never imagined that perfect little sister would fall into my lap at the age of 28, when I was introduced to 10-year-old Chloe Mosier by Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Pikes Peak Region.

Chloe and I meet once a week in the morning before school as part of the organization’s school-based mentoring program. From the moment she gets in my car to the time we get to her elementary school, this supposedly shy girl talks my ear off: about the role she had in the holiday play, the seeds sprouting in science class or an upcoming fieldtrip to the Museum of Nature and Science, where she gets to sleep overnight IN THE MUSEUM. She’s sooooo excited.

From the beginning, Chloe and I had a lot in common. We both wear glasses. We love to read and do arts and crafts. She likes helping her mom make dinner; I like to cook.

But it doesn’t really matter what we had in common initially because what we’ve learned about one another along the way has been even better. For instance, because she comes from a military family, Chloe has attended several different schools, though she’s only in fourth grade. She misses her dad when he’s away from home on assignment or for training, which can be for months at a time. She’s very proud of the traveling she’s done, including to Hawaii several times, and she wants to be a zoologist when she grows up.

This little sister of mine opened up over the course of our morning meetings, where we discussed issues like self-esteem and safety, acted out skits, made “me boxes” from magazine clippings and talked about the upcoming challenges of the tween years — all guided by a BBBS representative.

A while back, we were making bracelets out of multicolored beads. Chloe put a gray one on the string for her brother, a green one for her dad and a heart for her mom. Then she picked up a yellow bead shaped like a butterfly.

“This one’s for me,” she told me. “Because I can be shy, but when you get to know me, I’m a social butterfly.” I smiled and put a different yellow butterfly on my bracelet, to represent her.

These wonderful thoughts and ideas of Chloe’s amuse and often surprise me. “What did you want to be when you grew up? What’s your favorite color? Have you ever read this book?” She bursts out with a new question from the backseat almost every time I drive to our meeting. “What do you like about writing for the paper?” she asked recently.

“Well, I guess it never gets old to see your name in the newspaper,” I replied, and we laughed.

It’s amazing how much you can get to know a kid in a scant hour a week, how the hours add up to a real relationship. Chloe has done a lot for me, like finally showing me what it is like to be a big sister instead of just a little one. She brings back great memories from my childhood as well as some of the awkward, painful teenage ones, which I hope she’ll be spared thanks to some of BBBS’s great program themes. And she’s reminded me how important it is to make time in a busy schedule to just hang out, have fun and talk.

So in return for what she’s given me, I’ll give my “little” the little I have: some time in the morning once a week, someone to listen to what’s going on at school and maybe some confidence she can take with her into the future.

Oh, and her name in the paper, just like her big sister. This one’s for you, Chloe!

CLICK HERE to see the PDF of this article, which published in the May 2008 Pikes Peak Parent magazine.

Parent: Mother’s Day Fresh Perspectives

CLICK HERE to see a PDF of all of May’s Fresh Perspectives.

Featured Home: At one with the forest

Unique Crystal Park home incorporates boulders, trees into design
BY KATE JONUSKA • SPRINGSHOUSES.COM

There are lots of homes that claim to “bring the outdoors in,” pointing to features such as log beams, slate tile or a few houseplants as proof. But when you can touch giant boulders — complete with flecks of pale green moss — as you walk down the stairs or listen to the gurgle of a fresh, mountain stream tumbling toward the family room, you know you’re in a unique home, one that takes the “outdoors in” philosophy to the next level.

“It’s very elemental,” says Michael Carnahan of McGinnis GMAC Real Estate, who lists the Crystal Park home in the hills above Manitou Springs for $575,000.

A visitor gets the feeling the builder staked out a pretty patch of forest and simply erected walls around the existing landscape, a feeling that’s actually not far off the mark. As Carnahan explains, “The boulders make up the foundation, and the concrete was just poured around that.”

The first visible boulders tower over your head as you approach the red front door, and you can see one of the large stones bisected on either side of the entry wall. Tiled with a mosaic of polished stones, the entryway’s main feature is the focal point of the entire house: A fountain that begins in a calm pond filled with koi fish, then cascades down a 20-foot slope to the lower level past driftwood and potted grasses.

According to the seller, the home “was built around a mountain stream, which they built out to make the center of attention (as a fountain). It was really built from the inside out in that way, which is really amazing.”

To read more: CLICK HERE to see a PDF of this article, which ran April 19, 2008 in Springs Houses, a section of The Gazette.

Parent: Profile of a special-needs camper

By Kate Jonuska • Pikes Peak Parent

Colorado-Springs resident Ben Roina has six words to describe his camping experiences at Rocky Mountain Village: “Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun.” The 33-year-old Roina, who is developmentally disabled, has escaped the city for the weeklong, Easter Seals’ summer camp for the last three years.

It’s a welcome break for Ben, who works for Goodwill Industries and recently moved into his own apartment in Manitou Springs. “Part of going to camp is to get away from, to get away and have a good time and meet friends,” says Ben. “There’s a view of the mountains up there. It’s different scenery. They got cabins and a lake and a swimming pool and a hot tub.”

While his favorite activities include fishing, swimming and the dances the camp hosts, Ben also gets to play sports, interact with horses, do arts and crafts, go on occasional fieldtrips and more.

“Also, I help out with flag-raising in the mornings,” Ben explains. “We meet at the campfire and get to know everyone up there … There’s lots of nighttime activities. They’re very fun.”

And Ben participates in all this fun with the friendship and guidance of his personal counselor. Last year, that was R.J. — aka “Rompin’ R.J.” due to 2007’s rodeo theme.

“I really liked it because it was oneon-one, and that’s really unique. They shower him with attention,” says mother Darlene. At first, “I didn’t know if he would like it, but once he started, there was no stopping him.”

With the help of a scholarship, Ben pays for his summer camp with his own money, and he looks forward to the trip to Rocky Mountain Village for months in advance.

“I’m going to meet a couple new friends this year,” says Ben. He also hopes his team will win the award for the fastest cabin cleaning, which just escaped him last summer. “I was second place this year and the winner gets a special surprise.”

Darlene knows the real prize for her son is that Rocky Mountain Village is there to offer Ben such a great escape. “I think it’s good just to get away and break routine, and it’s special for Ben,” she notes. “It’s not a family vacation. It’s not something to share. It’s just for himself.”

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of this article, which was published in the April 2008 Pikes Peak Parent.

Parent: April Fresh Perspectives

By Kate Jonuska • Pikes Peak Parent

Featured Home: The good life

Click on the headline to view the full article, published in Springs Houses, March 22, 2008.