I love Door County, Wisconsin!

We went to Door County Wisconsin over the 4th of July and the following weekend for Nels' grandpa's (Far Far) memorial services. We saw and did a lot. Here's a quick summary with some pictures.
Welcome to Door County, Wisconsin...home for a lot of Swedes!
We stayed at Nels' family's cottage. His great grandpa Nils Nyborg built this cottage in the early 1900's. They've kept it up pretty well. It's so cute and cozy.

We went to a harbor that overlooked the bay to watch fireworks on the 4th of July. They shot the fireworks off a boat (probably not this one). They had a small parade of boats before the fireworks.

Here's the family waiting for the fireworks.
Me, Nels, Mom, Dad, (bottom row) Anna-Lisa, Sven (the dog) and Kierstin

We toured a couple of lighthouses. I love lighthouses. Each one was so unique.

We went for a 10 mile bike ride through the woods and along the coast. It's beautiful scenery.

We stopped at Not Licked Yet for some frozen custard after the bike ride. I got the chocolate custard with raspberries and whip cream. It's called El Nino. It is soooo yummy!

On your marks, get set, go! We went go-carting, crazy drivers!

We played mini golf at Pirates Cove. Nels got 4 holes in 1!

That's what you get for having so many holes in one, Nels. :)

We ate at Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant. We all got big mugs of hot chocolate.

I got the Swedish pancakes with ice cream and strawberries on top. It was divine!

This is the restaurant that has the goats on the roof. Pretty cool huh?!

The following weekend we went back up to Wisconsin for Far Far's memorial services. Far Far passed away back in February and was cremated. So we all got together to spread his ashes over great grandfather Nils Nyborg's grave and over Lake Michigan. We listened to Nels' dad and Uncle Phil as they told us their memories of Far Far. It was neat to learn more about him. I had only met him once a couple of years ago. It was great to see all of Nels' cousins and family and to get to know them better.

In a sense 4 generations. Great Grandpa Nils grave, Far Far's ashes, Nels Dad (Bob) and Nels.

Some sunsets in Wisconsin. Aren't they gorgeous??

Good-bye Door County, until next time!

I Love Chicago!

Hi, We're Back! Cheese! This is the first of many posts. I'm a little behind. I'm starting with our trip to Chicago back in May. We went to a Cub's game with some friends. We had a blast. We went to Millenium Park and saw the "bean." I believe it's real name is Cloud Gate. I love looking at it.

This is also at Millenium Park downtown Chicago. It has these two towers that face each other and then every few minutes water comes out the mouth. It's quite the tourist attraction.

We stopped by the Lego store. It's so amazing. This spider is made out of Legos!!!

Nels saw Darth Vader made of Legos and he immediately said, "Please take my picture with him." Boys. :)

We went to Gino's East for some fantastic Deep Dish Pizza. Mmmm!

Then we went to the Chicago Cubs vs. the Dodgers. It was a great game. Cubs won 7 to 0!

Yep, that's an empty banana spilt bowl. We ended the day with some ice cream at Ghirardelli's. So delicious...I'm craving another one.

So that was a quick summary of our fun filled day in Chicago!

Covered Bridges

Last Saturday we went on a little exploration. We went with some friends to Parke County, Indiana to see some covered bridges. It was a little early in the season, most of the trees still had no leaves, but it was still pretty. We started in Rockville, Indiana and picked up some brochures and a map (which is always good to have). We were all hungry by the time we got there and unfortunately, Rockville did not have many choices to eat. I can't remember the name of the restaurant we ate at, but everything was "handmade." On the menu, you could choose from "handmade" hamburger or "handmade" chicken tenderloin. I have no idea what "handmade" means. I got the "handmade" chicken sandwich. It was not that great, but it gave us the energy we needed. After lunch we were off on our adventure. Here's the first covered bridge we saw.Pretty cool, huh?

We weren't sure if we were supposed to drive through this bridge or not. The bridge says, "Cross this bridge at a walk." So we got out of the car and walked through it. :) The bridge was made in 1856!

Then came the dilemma, do we drive through this bridge or take the below alternative route...After a quick survey of the situation we decided to cross using the below route instead of the bridge. We later learned that most of the covered bridges you can drive through. The ones you're not supposed to drive through are clearly blocked. Oh well.The most famous covered bridge is in Bridgeton. It's famous because of the waterfall going under it.

There is a Mill that is near the bridge. We went inside and after eating some ice cream, we met the owner of the mill. He told us a lot about the mill, the bridge and how the town came to be. This website tells more about Bridgeton and the mill.

After explaining, how white flour is made (using bleach) the owner said his favorite saying "The whiter the bread the sooner you're dead. Eat whole wheat and stay on your feet." I don't know about you, but I think I'll try to eat more whole wheat!It was a fun trip and we only saw 4 of the 30 covered bridges. We'll have to go again soon.

It's Spring!

Happy Easter from the Nyborg's! CHEESE!

Yesterday, a couple of friends and I put together a baby shower for our friend Aleece. I think it turned out pretty well. Hilary and I made this diaper cake. The first one I've ever made. It was fun to make and Aleece loved it. (click on the picture below to make it larger)

You might be able to tell from the pictures...I cut my hair again and put in some highlights. I like it so far. It's nice and light...I forgot how enjoyable short hair can be.

We went for a walk along the canal in downtown Indy with some friends and we saw some sure signs of Spring.

Green Leaves Pink blossoms White blossoms

And flowers!

Here's a funny picture of me and Nels.

Overall, it was a great weekend and I'm looking forward to warmer weather. :)

I forgot the camera :(

Nels and I went with a group to Kabuto's Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar. It was so cool! I loved how they cooked the food right in front with you. I was so mad that I forgot my camera. The chef did some pretty cool tricks. For one of the tricks he built a tower of onions and then filled it with water and oil (I think) and then lit it on fire. So steam and flames came out the top.

I tried Sushi for the first time! I am not a fish fan so I was pretty nervous. I tried the California Roll which has seaweed and a bunch of other stuff in it. I did not like that. I gagged it down though. I also tried tuna. Completely RAW. It was actually pretty good. I was very surprised. I tried shrimp and I didn't care for that either. It was fun to try new things.

4:30 a.m. on a Saturday Morning

Amazingly, Nels woke up to the sound of shattering glass and I woke up to Nels peeking through the blinds. I wondered why Nels was checking the weather at this time in the morning. But then Nels said, "there's fire!" I jumped to the window and saw the apartment clubhouse was on fire. The fire was just a bit smaller than in the picture above when we first saw it. Nels hurried and called 911...his first time doing so. Then he ran outside (still wearing his pj's!) to get a better look.

A police car arrived first within a minute. (The police show up first to make sure that there really is a fire.) When the fire was as big as in the picture above, Nels was outside talking to the police woman. He tried to let her into the clubhouse using his electronic key, but the security system had shut down all electronic access. A few seconds later, the maintenance guy showed up and let her into the clubhouse. They found a fire extinguisher, but it was no use.

Then, 3 fire trucks came shortly after with about 20 firemen. I stayed in the aparment and watched from the window. I took a couple of pictures which turned out helpful for the apartment managers and fire investigators. Nels was asked to give his written statement about what he saw, so he was involved in the whole thing until about 7 am. It was quite an event. The apartment managers were grateful that Nels called so quickly... the damage could've been much worse!