Happy Birthday, Allison!

I built Allison a headboard out of pallets for her birthday, here it is! From my parents, she got the matching lamps.

Christmas, among other things.

Merry Christmas from Colorado!

It was great this year because we had the parents out here to celebrate with us. Christmas Eve at their house, here are some pictures...

...and Christmas at our house...

Sweet potato cheesecake for dessert, my wife is amazing!

Here are some random pics of the zoo recently, it has been very beautiful with the snow.

 After doing some hoof trimming on a Rocky Mountain Goat I gave her a nice manicure. Steve Jansma would be proud : )

 We got an awesome zoo puzzle from Grandma Barb in Montana, so naturally we had to finish it immediately! Looks great, thanks Grandma!

 I finally got a Sunday off from work, so we went to church this morning with the parents. Cracker Barrel for lunch, and adventures after that. Couldn't waste the day sitting at home, so naturally we went to Chuckie Cheese and scored big. It was awesome.

Thanks Aunt Margaret for the gourmet popcorn! 

That's all from Lake Wobegon, hope you all had a Merry Christmas! 

WaterStone Birthday Celebration

I celebrated my birthday with my coworkers today and had the most beautiful cake at our December birthday break! Chocolate torte... Mmmm. 

Cheesy Christmas Candids

Here are some cheesy Christmas pictures!

 Thanks Dad for "First Home" ornament/model! Looks just like it!

 Mmm... Eggnog.

Spirit of Christmas

Christmas is such a fun season, especially in Colorado! For the past two weeks, Anthony and I have been indulging in Christmas movies, egg nog, white chocolate mochas, ugly Christmas sweater thrifting, holiday parties, and best of all- cutting down our own Christmas tree! Last weekend we drove up to Woodland Park and searched for our perfect tree. In Colorado, you can cut your own tree for $10/permit. The cutting area spans for miles, so it's a great adventure! It took us 2 hours to find the perfect one, which means something other than a Charlie Brown or Dr. Seuss looking Christmas tree : ) But, I think we found a pretty good one. It's a little over 10 feet tall and fills our vaulted ceiling living room quite nicely. Then with all the Christmas decorations from Aunt Tracy (and the Will's Co.) our house looks so festive for Christmas!

 The Tools: A Hatchet and An Ax

 In his element 

 Our tree! Before we chopped it down.

 Hauling it to the car

 Making it look easy : )

Our tree!

Cranberries and Burlap

A little sparse, but it fills the room

Mink stocking that Grandma made 

Thanks Kelly for snowman plate!

Centerpiece

Coffeehouse tree in our bedroom

Thanksgiving in MN

Anthony and I went home over Thanksgiving and had a great time seeing everyone! We enjoyed all the family dinners, going to the casino with Grandpa, cooking Thanksgiving dinner with mom, playing games and watching movies, and decorating the tree. Here are some pictures from the trip:

 

At Tracy's decorating seminar

 Grandma and Grandpa

 The Cousins

 Decorating the tree

Dad and I

 Hanging out with Zoie

 The Girls

Cait and I (watching the Macy's Day Parade)

 Caitlyn, Kevin and Allison

 

Remodels

Lately there have been a lot of new projects in the Nelson household. 

1. Our couch arrived! It fits so nicely and now we have lots of seating, please come visit :) 

 

2. I painted a new picture! I pinned this quote a while back and have been waiting to paint it on something and Anthony built the frame! "God doesn't lead us into deep waters to drown us but to cleanse us." 

3. Anthony put a new floor in our master bathroom! We bought adhesive tiles from Lowes and Anthony installed them. I came home from work one day and he had the whole bathroom done, complete with a lit candle. It was very sweet. 

4. File cabinet! This was a craigslist find, which I painted and added new handles. Finally after 8 months of living in our home, we have organized our home closing paperwork, which is a lot of papers!