Weekend Festivities

Brad and I are very fortunate to have a summer jam-packed with festive activities. On Friday, we met up with Nick and Kassondra for dinner. They were passing through town on their way back from a weekend in Vermont, and we had a wonderful time with them. They even shared their skydiving videos with us!  I didn't take any pictures, but here's a photo from one of our other visits with them:

On Saturday we headed to the Wilkes Barre/Scranton area for a picnic with my mom, aunt and uncle, and cousins. It was our first time meeting baby Miles, and we enjoyed spending time with family. Again, I didn't take any pictures, but you can trust that it was a good time. We had lots of great food and managed to stay pretty cool, even with the hot temperatures.

We made it back to the Lehigh Valley in time for a light dinner and fireworks. Luckily, the fireworks were being displayed close to our apartment, so we just had to walk to the end of the street to enjoy them.

Sunday included church, Fuse, and a Fuse Picnic. Again, I don't have any pictures, but we had a blast catching up with folks, meeting new friends, swimming, and eating.

Sunday evening way pretty low key as we geared up for the start of another week. It's going to be a fun one!

Blessings,
-Nikki 

Friday Date Night + Weekend Picnics

On Friday afternoon, Brad and I headed to the Hershey area for the Dave Mathews Band concert! I had gotten tickets for Brad for his birthday, and we were very excited about the concert. After a quick drive and a lovely (hot!) outdoor dinner, we headed over to the stadium. The band that opened for them was called The Head and the Heart, and was fantastic. Apparently Dave Matthews discovered them at a show in Seattle and invited them on tour. How cool is that?

We had great seats in the stands, close to the top. Lucky for us, there was a bit of a breeze blowing since the temperatures were near ninety degrees.

The band ended with "Ants Marching" and we were able to make it back to the car just as the rain started. There was lightning flashing during the last third of the concert, but we made it back to the car just in time.

After sleeping in on Saturday (since we were out pretty late on Friday), we headed to Brad's mom's house for a picnic. Danielle and Meredith were in visiting from Buffalo, and we spent the afternoon eating, laughing, and lounging by the pool.

After church (and a workout) on Sunday, we spent the afternoon relaxing. We headed to Brad's grandfather's house in the early evening for another picnic. The food was absolutely delicious, and we spent part of the evening hanging out in the backyard. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of either of the picnics, but you'll just have to trust that we had a lot of fun.

Until next time,
-Nikki 

NYC with Momma

I was lucky enough to spend the day yesterday in NYC with my mom. Last year's birthday present from my mom and dad was a trip to NYC to see a show, and since my next birthday is coming up fairly soon, we thought that it was about time for the trip.

Mom arrived on Tuesday night and spent the night at the Nelson Bed and Breakfast (which she thought was just lovely!) and we took a Beiber bus to NYC on Wednesday morning.

We arrived in NYC around 11:00 a.m. and headed straight to the TKTS booth to get tickets for a show. There were a few that we talked about seeing, but ended up with tickets to Ghost The Musical.

After our tickets were secured, we headed to The Shake Shack to grab some lunch. We took our burgers, fries, and shakes to go and enjoyed them al fresco in Times Square.

The show was good--it was definitely entertaining--but not the best show that I've seen. We still had a great time, and it was nice to spend the day in the city with mom.

We've got another jam-packed weekend planned, I'll be back with updates.

Blessings,
-Nikki

One Year of Wedded Bliss

Can you believe that we've been married for an entire year! What a great year it's been! We've had so much fun together and are looking forward to many more years together.

Happy anniversary to the love of my life.

Date night + Weekend Travels

Whew--it's been a long time since there has been a Nothing but Nelson update. Here is what has been going on around these parts...

Last Thursday night was date night. Our date this week included a three and a half mile run (our fastest to date), dinner at Yocco's (Brad's choice), and a little bit of shopping.

On Friday morning I made the trip to Northumberland, and Brad followed a few hours behind me. We spent the afternoon hanging out, enjoyed dinner and rounded out the night with a trip to Lewisburg for ice cream...and ducks. 

 Mom and Dylan

The ducks

Saturday started with a run at the marina, followed by a delicious breakfast. After hanging out for a bit, Brad was in need of a trip to the Squeeze In. If you've never been to Sunbury, the Squeeze In is a legend. It's a small restaurant (I use that term loosely) that serves hot dogs and chocolate milk. There are only three or four stools in the whole place. If you're ever in the area, you should check it out. 

After our visit to the Squeeze In, we had some special visitors come by: 

These pictures were borrow from Denyel's Facebook, since I don't know what I was thinking and didn't take any. We spent some time with Denyel and Brinley--isn't she adorable? (I'm talking about both of them!)

Saturday late afternoon and evening included some errands, visiting with some family, and a dinner outing with my little brother. 

 Apparently Brad and Dylan have a very similar fashion sense...

...and the sun was really bright behind me!

Sunday morning started bright and early! Brad headed back to the Lehigh Valley, and Dylan, mom and I hit the road to Steubenville, Ohio! Dylan has an internship there for the summer, and my dad was in a golf tournament all weekend, so I decided to make the trip. 

We spent about five hours driving through Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and ended up in Ohio. We got Dylan moved in, did some shopping, and camped out in his new apartment for the night. We were in Ohio for less than 24 hours before getting up early on Monday and heading home. It was a long few days of travel, but really nice to spend time with family!

So, there was our week and weekend in nutshell. See ya soon!

-Nikki

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to some of the best moms that we know. Thanks for loving us, supporting us, guiding us, helping us, and always being there for us. There have been a lot of changes over the past year, but thank you for being loving and understanding throughout our lives.

Love you lots, see you soon!

Love,
Brad and Nikki

Easter Weekend

Brad and I had a busy Easter weekend. Here are some highlights from our adventures:

Dying Easter Eggs! This was take two of our date night adventure. Take one didn't go so well (FYI: there is no TCBY in Bethlehem, and EuroYogurt is NOTHING like Menchie's)

 Post-Easter Egg coloring adventure AND workout Saturday

 Before heading to Brad's Grandfather's house for an Easter meal

 Saturday also included a trip to Sweet & Sassy with this cutie

 The spa area, just for little girls

 Before her haircut

 Picking out the nail polish color

 The manicure

 After her haircut!

Dressed for Church on Easter Sunday

...and a picture of sweet little Lydia that Kathy and Jeff sent, just because I'm a proud aunt. :)

Until next time,

-Nikki

Happy Easter!

"Nobody knows what we're for only what we're against when we judge the wounded
What if we put down our signs crossed over the lines and love like You did
Oh Jesus friend of sinners
Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus friend of sinners break our hearts for what breaks yours"

- Jesus Friend of Sinners, By Casting Crowns

We hope that you spend today celebrating with friends and family. Happy Easter!

-Brad & Nikki

Weekend, Workouts, and Date night

It's been a while since I've given you an update, so here it goes--all in one post!

On Saturday afternoon Brad and I took a hot yoga class at Lehigh Valley Yoga. This was my first attempt at hot yoga, and it was definitely quite the workout! They are having a special on hot yoga class on on Saturdays and Sundays at noon, so if you're in the Lehigh Valley area, check it out.

My mom and dad arrived on Saturday afternoon, and we spent some time catching up (and watching our wedding video) before heading to Paolo's in Northampton for dinner. All of our meals were delicious, and Paolo's serves some of the biggest portions that I've ever seen! I ate my entree for dinner on Saturday, Brad and I shared some leftovers for dinner on Monday, and I finished it off for lunch on Tuesday. I got four meals out of one entree! If you see my mom and dad, ask them how their leftovers were ;).

On our way home we made a stop at Premise Maid for dessert. Check out these photos:

Yes, those are the Blues Brothers.

Sunday included church, Fuse, a trip to the grocery store and a stop at the gym. Monday was a crazy kind of day, which included a Zumba class for me. We were able to get in a crazy leg workout on Tuesday, and I can still feel the results of walking lunges--they were killer!

Since workout Wednesday technically happened on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, we choose Wednesday night as date night. We've decided to take turns planning date night, and this week was my turn. We started with a picnic in the living room (OK, so we really just ate dinner on the floor, but it was fun), followed by some Wii Jeopardy (because we're really that cool).

Today also included a surprise lunch date at Wegman's before coming home to get some more work done. We've both got a few things to do before a quick workout and an evening with friends.

Until next time,
-Nikki

Workout Wednesday Fail

Yesterday was workout Wednesday. Except that it wasn't

Because sometimes things change. And you have to go with the flow.

Because sometimes opportunities come up, and you just have to embrace them.

And I'd much rather have dinner with this guy:

Brad's grandfather, "The Grizz"

...than worry about a workout. Family comes first. 

Catch ya later!

-Nikki