Ice Skating

Our friend Larysa gave us ice skating tickets.  So we were happy to go.  I am a TERRIBLE ice skater.  I was so shaky and wobbly.  I squeezed Nels's hand the whole time.  When I pretended I was rollerblading I was able to skate a lot better.  I didn't fall, but I didn't take any risks either! 

Here's some pictures:

Our cute skate feet.

The Zamboni came onto the ice.  It was fascinating to watch. 

We did this too while we waited for the ice to become smooth again.

There's Nels...Oh so cute!

It was fairly chilly inside the skating rink.  As we prepared to leave the rink, we braced ourselves for the cold weather.  Then a blast of warm air came as we stepped outside.  I don't know why I was shocked when it was warmer outside than in the skating rink.  We are in the South after all.

Red Robin, Yum!

You probably think all we do is eat around here!  Ha ha!  We don't really. 

Red Robin is one of our favorite places to grab a burger and fries...bottomless fries.  Yum!

So here's a couple of pics from the last time we went to Red Robin.

Cheese. :)

99% of the time I get the Banzai Burger.  My favorite!  99% of the time Nels tries something new.  I think he's tried every burger they make.  Sometimes I'll take a bite of his new burger and then I'll say, "Nope, I like the Banzai better.  I'm glad I got it."  Nels is the adventurous one when it comes to trying food.  Once I find what I like, I stick with it. 

100% of the time I dip my fries in ranch dressing.  Mmmm.  Now I'm starting to crave Red Robin again...

Gus's Fried Chicken World Famous

We tried a new restaurant a while ago.  It's called Gus's Fried Chicken World Famous.  It was pretty good.  The chicken was spicy and juicy.  Here's some pics:

It was raining that night, thus the umbrella.  The white square on my leg is my name badge on from work. Ha!  I guess I'm a little attached to it.

Nels with his plate o' chicken.  He's all dressed up because we went to the temple afterwards.  I like those dates...dinner and a trip to the temple. 

I had curled my hair the night before using those pink sponge curlers.  By the end of the day it was still curly!

That's all. :)

Christmas Catch-Up

Merry Christmas.  This year was our first Christmas we did not travel.  We stayed home the whole vacation.  A little sad...but we made the most of it.   It was fun to have a tree.  Thanks Mom and Dad Nyborg for giving us your "old" tree, it was perfect.  We bought some lights and placed the few ornaments we own on it.  Our friends gave us some bulbs to help fill it in.  We didn't have a star or angel, but we did have a Santa's hat (Thanks to my Mom and Dad :).  Maybe next year we'll add to our decor. 

This was our tree for the year 2011:

One of my favorite ornaments from the Nyborg's...ice cream cone.

We had Nels's ornaments from his childhood.  I love this picture of him from when he was little.  Ohhh...

Nels was very excited when he opened up the Ninja Blender from his parents.  We enjoyed all the gifts that were given to us.  Thanks family and friends!

So what did Nels do with his time off.  He was gung ho about painting.  He painted the bathroom (pictured below), laundry room, mud room, 1 bedroom and the hallway.  He also fixed some things around the house.  He's a happy, hard worker!

I tried some new recipes over the break.  This was one of our favorites.  It was a tad time consuming, but OH SO GOOD!  It's called Outback Steakhouse Alice Springs Chicken.  Trust me, this picture doesn't do it justice. 

Overall, we enjoyed our time together cooking and improving our home. 

Work Christmas Party

Time catch-up on Christmas.  We had a few Christmas parties to attend to this year.  I took some pictures of my work Christmas party.  It was at the Botanical Gardens.  I thought they did a great job with decorations and food. 

Here's the pictures:

Table setting...simple...I could do something like that.

They had four long tables set up in a square.  Each table had the same food.  It made getting your plate of food very efficient. 

Dessert table.  From red velvet cake to chocolate pudding to sugar cookies.

Singers in costume.  Very festive.

Outside they had a fire going to roast marshmallows.  My co-worker Nancy took this photo.  haha.

I thought this was a nice simple idea too.  A table with the sticks, chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows on it to make s'mores. 

Me and Nancy.

This was the building it was in at the gardens.

I hope to go to the Botanical Gardens in the spring time...It looked like a fun place to explore.

3rd Day of Thanksgiving Vacation

Last Day of Vacation...We toured around downtown Nashville, IN.  The streets are lined with unique shops, boutiques, cafe's, ice cream shops and more.  It's just fun to walk around and see everything.  Here's a few pictures of our adventures:

Our one arm picture:

Life is good.  What a fun store!  Nels actually bought 3 long sleeved shirts there.  He loves them.

I thought this was unique...Muddy Boots Cafe.  The Palm Tree has license plates all over it.

Beautiful Home/Store:

Ice cream with hot fudge...mmmm.

There was a Log Cabin Gingerbread Competition.

Nels and Mom

The houses had so much detail on them.  Many of them had a list of ingredients they used.  Very creative.

This one won the grand prize:

Just look at that detail...Christmas tree and presents inside the log cabin.

Last picture:  Log Cabins are so cozy!

That's all the pictures from our trip.  We had a great time and enjoyed getting together with family for Thanksgiving. 

Hopefully I'll be posting Christmas soon!

Day 2 of Thanksgiving Vacation

Day 2...We spent time riding our bikes around Brown County State Park.  It was a bright sunny day with blue skies.  Here's some pictures:

Entrance to the State Park...by the way...if you live close to here, this park would be great for a family reunion.

I took this picture through our sun roof.  I thought it was pretty cool.  I love my pink bike. :)  And I have a pink water bottle to go with it.

Nels + bike + trees=Ruggedly Handsome

Nels and Dad

Whole Family...picture taken with my awesome camera timer skills...haha.

I convinced Nels to get this Bold, Beautiful Red camel back pack instead of Boring Black.  I'm so glad he listened to me. :)

I love this picture of my cute in-laws! Aw.   

"Artsy" pictures of trees.

There was a park with this fun toy to play with.  There were some little kids there too.  I'm sure they found us to be quite comical.

We climbed to the top of this rickety old radio tower.

This is the back of our cabin.

I don't know how I captured this blurry photo, but I like it.

Nels took this picture of me.  I wanted one with me not looking at the camera.  I kind of like it.

For dinner Bob grilled bratwurst.  Oh so good!

Nels and Donna built a fire.  Boy scout vs. girl scout...just kidding, they worked together pretty well.

I actually ate my toasted marshmallow.  The first time in years.  I loved it, and I'm going to eat them more often!  We sat around the fire and just talked.  It was wonderful.