Freezing at Lambeau Field / Christmas Vacation

I knocked another one of my goals off of my 30 Before 30 List! Yep! Seeing a Packers game, tailgating, and freezing to death at Lambeau Field was one of my goals : )

Since Josh and I were already planning on going to Wisconsin for Christmas, we figured that it would be fun to see a Packers game while we were up there. 

[Tickets]

I really had no idea what I was getting myself into so I did some research. Turns out the seats at Lambeau are like High School bleachers and the average temperature there this time of year is in the 20s! Fun! So you may end up freezing your butt to the bleachers, but that is all part of the game. Luckily, you can rent seat backs for only $6 and there is plenty of hot chocolate to be purchased!

The Trip:

We left Rifle, CO, early (it was -10 degrees, BTW) on Friday, December 21st and headed to Omaha to stay the night with my brother and his family. The drive was LONG and the roads were icy but we made it to Omaha in one piece. 

The next morning we got up, made pigs in a blanket (Neilson Family Tradition!), Skyped with my parents, and opened presents with everyone. Even though we couldn't be in CA this year, it was a lot of fun to Skype with my parents so we could see their expressions as they opened their presents. Josh and I got my dad a "Christmas Vacation" Moose Mug complete with a Cousin Eddie Dickey! I saw them online and knew I had to get it for my dad. My mom wanted a scrap book of the year that showed what all of her kids have been up to. Missy and I made one for her using an online program. The book came out really well and I'm glad she liked it!

[Dad with the Moose Mug and the Dickey! Classic!]

 [Pictures from Chritmas in Omaha. Thanks Missy!]

[Missy taking care of the pigs]

After that Josh and I headed to Green Bay. We ate dinner at Fuddruckers (complete with Wisconsin cheese curds) and spent the night.

The next morning we were up bright and early, got dressed in a lot of layers,  and headed to Lambeau!

[All the clothes I was wearing to the game]

[On the way!]

It was so cold, SO COLD!

But that didn't stop us from tailgating.

[The tailgating SUV]

[Brats... what else?!]

[Yes, it was THAT cold]

After tailgating, we headed to Lambeau

[Me] 

[Josh and I at our seats] 

[Hot chocolate to keep me warm]

[Clay Matthews] 

[Enjoying the game]

[Our "seats"]

[Leaving the game]

Even though it was a little colder then I would have liked, we had a great time at the game. The Packers won and it was fun to experience a game on the "frozen tundra!"

The day after the game (Christmas Eve), we headed up to Superior to spend Christmas with Josh's family. We stayed the night with Josh's dad and stepmom, George and Julie. We opened presents with them and then headed over to see Grandma and Grandpa Carlson and Josh's sister, Jessi. We continued to open presents and celebrate being together for the holidays. 

Throughout the rest of the week we hung out with Josh's family and friends, saw a lot of movies (Les Miserables, The Hobbit, and Django), ate cheese curds, watched another Packers game, went bowling (Josh threw out his back in the second frame so he is done with that), and rested. It was a lot of fun to have a white Christmas and to spend time with Josh's family! 

[Wisconsin]

I only wish I had taken more photos  :-(  

I did get a few from our crazy New Years Eve:

[Fresh venison]

[Josh setting up the PS3 so we can watch a movie]

Yep. Party people right here!

Our vacation ended quickly. Josh got a call to come back to Colorado for work so we packed and headed out.

Overall it was a great vacation! The only downfall was that we didn't get to see Josh's mom, Suzi, because she was working in North Dakota and we weren't able to spend time with Brodee. Hopefully, we will get to see both of them soon!

[Cute picture of Brodee that his mom sent us. Looks like he had a great Christmas too!]

Thanks to everyone for making it such a great Christmas Vacation!