Corn Maze

After Wiseguys we went to a Corn Maze.  The weather was absolutely perfect!  Here's some pictures of our adventure: 

Family Picture at the beginning...(Thanks to my friend, Larysa.  Her family just happened to be there, which was an added bonus. :)  

The tractor to take us out to the field.

We paid an extra $1 for some cool 3-d glasses and a map.  So Nels and his Dad focused intently on which way we should go.

Aren't they cute? hehee.



This was the map of the corn maze.  It was really cool how they implemented learning into the maze.  There were different clues and games about the weather.

Nels decided to trace out the maze, just in case. ;)  We're glad he did, because it came in handy!

Mom Nyborg snapped this picture for me. 

Me and Mom Nyborg :)

While Nels figured out where we needed to go, I snapped photos.  I love the corn up against the blue sky. 

Right in the sun!  Don't squint Nels, just kidding. :)

They had a fun farm area too.  The activities were for "kids," but we enjoyed them too.
Moooo!  I'm in the cow, just in case you can't tell. :)

Combined we're barely six feet tall! 

It was a great time.  Farewell Corn Maze.  Thank you Nyborg Parents for coming.

Wiseguys

Nels's Parents came to visit the last week of October.  It was a quick visit, but we made the most of it.  We sure enjoyed having them here! 

We didn't want his parents to get homesick so we planned a Chicago and Indiana day.  From Deep Dish Chicago style pizza to a corn maze. 

First up, pizza.  We took them to a place called Wiseguys.

The picture below is of our leftovers.  The Supreme Deep Dish Pizza was HUGE, Thick, and delicious.  Very cheesy.  (the pizza, not necessarily the photo. :) 

It was about a 40 minute wait for the pizza once it was ordered.  Well, worth the wait.  It gave us a chance to talk and catch up. 

This is the outside of the restauruant... a little home.  I love unique places like this!

Blanchard Springs Caverns

Our last day in Arkansas we traveled to Calico Rock.  We found a website that talked about a beautiful hike you could go on.  So we were pumped to do it.  We tried to find the hike, but all we found were these two pictures below:

Old Fashion Ice Cream Shop...but it was closed.

The town...seemed a little ghostly.  We decided to just keep going.

We pulled over on our drive and took this picture.  I think it's funny that you can see our white car and my arm taking the picture in my sunglasses.  The view was beautiful though.

We went to Blanchard Springs Caverns.

We descended 200 ft in an elevator to the caves below.  Neither us knew what to expect, but can I just say the caves were magically amazing!  The hour long tour was informative and creative.  They have lights that turn on and show different parts of the cave.  It was hard to take pictures, but I got a few.  We learned new words like:  Stalagmite (formations growing from the ground-up, Stalactite (growing from the ceiling-down), and Column (when the stalagmite and stalactite join).

Our guide was funny and said "if you breath this cave air you'll start seeing things in these formations."  Then he would point out different shapes, like a monkey, Santa Claus and a coca cola bottle.

I thought the coolest one was of this ship:  Can you see it! 

Some of the Columns were 60 ft tall!  Other's were tiny.   I'm so glad these caves were discovered so we could see their beauty. 

Us in front of the caves... 

Cave of wonder...I'm so glad we went.

                     I snapped these photos as we drove.  The leaves just started to change colors.

This concludes our restful, adventurous and beautiful vacation to Arkansas.

Dutchoven Cook-off

After canoeing, we stopped by a Dutchoven Cook-off.  I was so impressed with the food you can make in a dutchoven.  Who knew?  Not me.  haha.

Here's a few pictures:

 I think the one on the left is a pork tenderloin!  It looked pretty fancy.

Nels watching the judges eat.

Can I just say, Impressive!

I thought you just made chicken and cobbler in a dutch oven.  But as you can see there are a lot of other yummy meals you can make.  This is just one of the sides!

It was fun to walk around and see all the food. 

Canoe Trip Down the White River in Arkansas

On our drive to Arkansas, it snowed...in October!  Haha!  Just kidding.  The below picture is of a cotton field all ready to harvest.  I've never seen a cotton field.  It was beautiful, with white fields for miles.  I'm glad it was a pretty blue sky too.  Oh, what a beautiful world! 

So after the photo shoot (from the previous post), we enjoyed steaks at Colton's Steak House & Grill. 

The next morning we went down to the White River intent on canoeing.  The employees we were renting the canoe from scared me with stories of people falling out in the cold water.  I was ready to turn around and head back to the hotel when I heard that!  But Nels convinced me that we would be fine.  I didn't know it at the time, but Nels is an expert canoer thanks to Boy Scouts.  I was surprised I didn't know this, after all we've been married for 8 years. 
Don't you love when you learn something new about your spouse?? 

I'm happy to report.  I did not fall out.  In fact, I did not even get wet!  Hooray!

So here's some pictures of our adventure on the White River.

Nels, the canoe and half of an employee.

Isn't this gorgeous!

Nels, so happy to be canoeing on his birthday. 

The White River is a very well known fishing area.  This lodge flies people in on helicopters to go fishing!  We heard a few helicopters as we floated, I mean paddled down the river.

Me...So I wore my life jacket the whole time, except when we were taking pictures.  I'm not good with water.  And even though the river was less than four feet deep most of the time, I still wore my life jacket.  I was so scared for the first half hour of the trip. 

Nels was sweet and gave me tips as we went.  He would say, "you might want to hold your paddle like this...we can go faster if you go like this...we need to maneuver out of this motor boats way...etc."  He was very patient with me.

Towards the end I was getting used to it.

Nels relaxing...haha.

My one arm picture...not too bad I think.

I loved the cliffs and trees.

Pretty homes.

We took this picture at an observatory.  It's a great view of the river and the "mountains."

So will I go canoeing again?  Yes, I will, but I hope to go in warmer weather.  So if I do fall out I won't freeze to death.

 A picture of the dam for my Dad.  :)

Fall Photo Shoot

In October, for Nels's birthday, I planned a little getaway.  I love getting away!  It was absolutely wonderful.  THE most relaxing vacation I have ever been on.  We woke up early, took naps and went to bed early.  :)  When we weren't sleeping we did some fun things, which I'll post about later.  So where did we go for all of this relaxation?  Arkansas...Mountain View to be more specific.  We were a few miles from the Ozark Mountains and the White River.  We stayed at a Hampton Inn with a great deal.  (I love working for Hilton.  The perks are great!:)

Once we arrived, I convinced Nels to do a photo shoot with me.  So we found this little park just as the sun was setting. 
Me - Swinging (obvious, I know.  But I thought I'd point it out. haha.)

I'm really into plaid.  I love flannel plaid shirts and Arkansas was the perfect place to where them.

We had a little tripod that we set on picnic tables, set the timer and the below pictures are what you get.

Not to shabby, eh?

And this is how I know Nels is done taking pictures haha:

Hope you enjoyed!