2nd Annual Oktoberfest 2013

Hi everyone!  It's been more than a week since I've posted anything but it seems like just a few days!

Jordan and I have enjoyed October a lot so far so I wanted to share some pictures from the 2nd Annual Oktoberfest at my parent's lake house!  Last year they hosted the very first Oktoberfest at the lake and we all had such a blast!  At the time, the pavilion had not yet been built, but the party was still a huge success.  This year, if it's possible, the party was even better!

We got a little rain the day of the event, but the sun came up right before the guests arrived and the temperature was perfect!

Oktoberfest started with food prep (lots of food prep).  That morning, we did all the choppin' of onions and peppers.  Those are some staple ingredients in most Oktoberfest foods so we sliced a LOT.  20 lbs of onions to be specific.

Left: Onions and peppers ready to be sliced!
Top: The finished product - full box of sliced onions and peppers!
Bottom: While we were slicing, a dragon fly flew into the pavilion.  I got a pretty good picture so I thought I would share.  HUGE eyes so he's a little creepy!
 
Then we started to get ready for the party!  Here are a few pictures.

Top Left: Box of kuzies ready for guests!  "Show me your Schnitzel!"  Hot yellow was a perfect color!
Top Right: Ticket and name tag table!  The tickets were for the door prizes (pretty fun items) and the name tags meant you could pick any kind of German name you wanted.  Jordan went as "Fitz"!
Bottom Left: I made a few ribbons for my hair.
Bottom Right: The dogs steadfastly watching the preparations and dying to get out and enjoy the fun.

Top Left: Me, Aunt Cindy, and Mom all in costume!
Top Right: Jordan and I ready to party!  I LOVE Jordan's hat!  It was just enough to match my costume without being too matchy-matchy.
Bottom Left: Jordan and my cousin, John, in their best lederhosen.
Bottom Right: Dad and my Uncle Robert enjoying the kuzies!  Uncle Robert was more Texan-German than German per se.

And here is a picture of the lovely hosts!  Mom and Dad looked great in their costumes!  Mom even had a light up skirt that was a lot of fun after the sun went down!


This is a picture of my cousin, John, his friend, Bry, and my other cousin, AJ.  (Now that I think of it, I have a LOT of cousins on both sides of the family.)
 
The food was amazing!  Everyone brought a dish to pass but Mom and Dad, Cindy and Robert, and Tony and Alina, all supplied the bratwurst and fixin's.  It smelled A-mazing!


Top Left: Quick shot of the food.
Top Right: Food tent!  We set up the tent as a precaution but the weather was quite nice that evening.
Bottom Left: My yummy plate!
Bottom Right: Jordan's delicious choices!


And then there was plenty of singing and meriment.  This is a picture of Mom, Aunt Cindy, and Uncle Tony (he's actually wearing a t-shirt but it looks great!)
 

All night there was singing, dancing, picture taking, and of course, the token lake boo-boo.
Top Left: Cindy, AJ, John, Gary, and Bry singing.  This year was special because Mom and Dad put a large television on the fireplace mantel.  Every person under the pavilion could easily read the words and sing along to the music!
Top Right: Mom and Dad dancing.
Bottom Left: Me and my cousin, Tommy (seriously, I have lots of cousins)
Bottom Right: Mom's shin boo-boo.  She tripped over the dog gate in the house.  Ouch!
 
 
Overall, it was a wonderful weekend and we are already looking forward to the next Oktoberfest!  Everyone is already brainstorming the next kuzie slogan and critiquing the music and karaoke choices!  I'm not sure how they could possibly top this party but I wouldn't bet against it.

Jordan, me, and Abby all headed home Sunday afternoon and Abby was asleep before we even got to the main highway.  This is a picture of her totally zonked with her mouth open and dirt in her beard.  So typical but cute.
 
Sunday night we decided to go for a little treat and got a Bahama Buck's snow cone!  Jordan got Strawberry and I got Pinacolada (Really, I chose both flavors and Jordan let me switch back and forth with him).  Yum!  Abby enjoyed the adventure but immediately went back to sleep as soon as we got back home.  


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