Oktoberfest!!

  We walked in the door about an hour ago, back from a weekend in Pierz, MN for the famed "Oktoberfest" with our friends, the Kahlhamers. We stayed at Max's parents' house (Kathy and Dennis), along with Max and Erika and their two children... meaning there were five children under five (as well as six adults) in one house! Kathy and Dennis had turned their finished attic into "Casa del Wevers," complete with a mattress, an air mattress, a made-up couch and a crib for Bennett! They even installed a window air-conditioner that night for us so we were more comfortable. What a wonderful little get-away for us!

  We left Friday afternoon (after I had worked two night shifts and had a short nap, making my patience level less than stellar!). After touring the house, which was EXACTLY as I imagined it would be, we all ate supper together. The Wevers' have eaten many a Kahlhamer meal from when Max lived with us, so we were excited to again partake in Kathy's delicious cuisine. We went on a walk around town that night (only Kathy and Liesel stayed home) and got to see where Max grew up. It's such a quaint little town! We were off to bed before 10 pm, and everyone in the attic but me and Bennett slept all night!

Noah and Sophia looking out the plane window!

  Saturday found B and the kids heading to the airport with Dennis, Max and Henry to see Dennis' airplane. B and the kids even got to go for a ride! They flew over the house twice and the girls (and Bennett) were out on the porch watching and waving! The kids loved it, and B got some great pictures from above. Not only did everyone have a great time, the trip reignited B's love for aviation and now he's thinking of buying an airplane as well! We'll see how that goes for him; but we have also decided to budget so that B can get up in he air at least twice a month and stay current. He is happiest when he is flying, so it would make me happy to know that he's doing what he loves to do!

  After the boys' (and Sophie's) return from the airport, we had a quick lunch of brats (of course!), hot dogs, chips and fruit and it was nap time for pretty much everyone. By the time everyone fell asleep and took a decent nap, it was 5 o'clock.

We packed up the kids and headed down the the "swimming hole" for a bit of Pierz-style swimming. Of course, by this time the sun was going down and the bugs were out, so we stayed less than an hour. The kiddos had fun though, going down the slides and shooting each other with the squirt gun. Even Bennett had a good time splashing his feet in the cold water! Needless to say, we got out of there pretty quickly. Upon our return to the house, we looked at Sophia's back and it was COVERED in mosquito bites! Even I had about 10 on my legs. That poor girl is like me- every bite makes a huge welt. The boys had a few bites each, but we could barely tell (they, luckily, are like their father in that respect).

We got home and threw them all in the tub before eating some of the best spaghetti I've ever eaten! The kids played for a little while Max headed off to the store for some supplies. When Max returned, he made the four of us some Pink Squirrels (yum-o!) while Erika and I got the kids ready for bed. We enjoyed our adult drinks :) and headed off to bed with the kids pretty early in anticipation of the exhausting day we had before us the next day!

  Sunday morning found us early! Sophia woke me up once, almost peeing her pants in the process, and Bennett-bear woke me up twice to eat (I have GOT to get him out of that- he's almost eight months old!), so I was exhausted at 0730 when we had to wake up. We all showered and got ready because 10 am brought Sunday Oktoberfest brunch, and about fifty people to share in it! The house was hopping for a couple of hours, then we all headed out front to watch what was probably the best parade I've ever seen... and it went right past the Kahlhamer's house! The kids got a bunch of candy, and I got a sunburn on my feet. There were awesome floats- we even got to throw water balloons at some people on a float at their request (I hit one guy in the face through the fence!). After the parade, we all got situated and hopped the shuttle (a school bus, which Noah thought was the coolest thing EVER) down to the park for the Oktoberfest festivities. The kids rode ponies and a camel, fed a bunch of different animals, got their faces painted, went down a huge slide, ate some brats and candy corn, and won some tickets for prizes. B also beat me at a baseball-throwing booth, so I had to change all of the diapers for the rest of the day! We got everyone tuckered-out and took the shuttle back to the house. Since the kids were exhausted, we packed up quickly and headed for home, after thanking Dennis and Kathy for their hospitality. We only stopped once in Fosston to eat at the A&W, and finally I am in my own bed, documenting the fun we had. It was the best weekend vacation I've had in quite some time, and I hope we get to go again someday. How wonderful that we have friends that are willing to include us in their family functions, and Pierz sure knows how to put on a party!!