Oktoberfest

We drove to Idaho this last weekend (Oct 23-25th) to visit Layne and Kris in their new house. We left Friday evening, and Tom and his girlfriend Kristin rode up with us. We got in around 10-ish that night, and after visiting a little bit, headed to bed. 

We woke up the next morning to a little dog in our bed. Archy, Layne and Kris' dachshund, had wandered into our room and jumped up on the bed. That is a very happy way to wake up, having a cute little dog jump on your bed. His little footsteps and bouncing on the bed woke me up, and I watched as he went over to Brian and started licking his face. Haha! Brian was startled awake, but immediately started laughing when he figured out what was going on.

After we ate a delicious breakfast, and everyone got ready for the day, we went on a walk through the fields up behind their house and around their neighborhood. It was surprisingly warm for late October in Idaho.

Kristin, Tom, Kris, Layne, Brian

They live in a very beautiful area, and the views were incredible. I love Idaho in the fall...my favorite place during my favorite season.

The rest of the day was spent visiting, and playing with Archy. Brian just adores him, and loved playing fetch with him.

The main event of the weekend was an Oktoberfest celebration. I've been trying to expand the types of foods I cook lately, adding new recipes and trying new foods. A few weeks ago, I asked Brian if there was any dishes that his Mom cooked that he really missed. Without hesitating, he said "her German food." So I decided that I wanted to learn how to make it. We called and asked if we could go visit his parents sometime so that I could have a lesson in making German cuisine. His parents loved the idea, and we settled on a date for our Oktoberfest meal. Layne and Kris made a feast of German food for us on Saturday. We all helped out here and there, but we were mostly put in charge of minor things like peeling potatoes. We left the rest to the professionals, and they didn't disappoint. 

When Kris suggested that we eat on china, Brian requested that she pull out the King Tut set. They are just gorgeous plates. Kris put together a beautiful table that was perfect for our fall celebration.

Brian's Uncle Kim and Aunt Pam came over for dinner, and once everyone was gathered the feasting began. And oh, a feast it was. Look at those beautiful bratwurst.

Setting up the spread.

They had prepared German potato salad, cucumber salad, rotkohl, sauerkraut, homemade sweet spicy mustard, bratwurst, and boiled salt potatoes. We also had two kinds of rye bread and a choice of apple beer or apple juice mixed with diet grapefruit shasta. It was all amazing.  We all ate way too much, but it was so worth it. I loved every single thing that was served.

 

It was such a lovely evening. We had so much fun talking, laughing, and eating. Is there anything better than getting to spend time with loved ones?

Kris had made apple pie for desert, but we were too full after dinner to have some right away. We played Scattergories, and got to skype with Sean, Brian's brother, who was in Kentucky. After a bit we were feeling less full and enjoyed Kris' delicious apple pie with vanilla ice cream. Delicious! That night, I thought I'd never be able to eat again.

The next day, we hung out in the morning, eating breakfast and looking at old pictures of Tom and Brian. We went to church and then came home and took a much needed nap. For dinner, we ate more German food. You would think we would have had our fill the night before, with the amount we had consumed, but nope. It was just so good that we wanted some more. We filled up again and had another slice of pie. 

By then, it was pretty late in the day and we needed to get on the road for home. We got to see a gorgeous sunset as we were packing up the car. 

I don't know if I'll ever be able to  make German food as good as Kris and Layne can, but it's a worthy goal to have. Luckily, I have an in with the chefs, so I can ask them for all the tips and tricks.

It was such a wonderful weekend, and we can't wait to go back. It's looking like our next trip up will be for Thanksgiving, and I'm so excited.