Oktoberfest 2019

Do you celebrate your heritage?

If so, how do you do it?

My paternal grandma's family called Germany their home and I truly love all things German!

For the past 5 years now we have celebrated Oktoberfest in our friend's hometown, and always have the best time!

It's just over 2 hours to get to Minster, Ohio from our homes.

And if you are new around here, Ohioans speak in travel time, not miles.

But for your sake...it is about 128 miles to get there.

We arrived, said our hellos, added our new pins to our hats, and then headed to church.

Mic and I are not Catholic, so we typically don't go with the rest of the group.

But Mic said he would go this year, so we all hit up the 4 o'clock mass.

This church is over 150 years old and it was pristine!

I could have taken a dozen pictures of the outside and inside, but I held back.

We headed back to Brian's parents home to get ready for the rest of the evening.

Of course we have to get some group pics before we walk downtown :)

We grabbed our beers and got ready to watch some of the Ohio State game that was being broadcast on a giant screen.

Love this guy!

We danced, we watched football, we had good eats and drinks, and just had a good (child-free) time with our friends!

We all walked back to the house at different times, but we couldn't miss taking our annual picture with the big chair! lol!

For reference - Mic is almost 6'6'' ;)

And just like that the evening was over and we were headed back to our kiddos early the next morning.
Thanks go out to all of our parents for handling our kiddos at soccer games, birthday parties, etc. while we were gone!

Do you celebrate Oktoberfest?


XOXO ~ Vanessa

Oktoberfest 2018

This past weekend is always one of my very favorite times of the year!

Oktoberfest!

🍺🍺🍺

This year we attended two different celebrations.

Our small town hosted their 1st Annual Oktoberfest put on by the Athletic Boosters/Kiwanis Club.

Of course we had to rock our hats! ;)

The first night was the same evening as the homecoming football game, so there was only about 100-200 people there while we were there.

I hear it picked up quite a bit after we left.

And I hear Saturday had a good turnout as well!

Fingers crossed they continue this event every year :)

On to the big event of the weekend...Oktoberfest in Minster, Ohio

I came across these earrings (currently sold out) awhile back and knew I had to have them for Oktoberfest!

We hopped in our cars and in a little over 2 hours we were there and ready to have some fun!

Bobbie Jo was the newbie this year, so our first stop was to get her a hat!

Mic and I picked up a couple new pins too!

(You'll see those further down this post)

Vinnie is always a good time!
Anytime someone asks him to take a picture he must take a selfie on their phone first. lol!

Despite the storm that was rolling in, that sky looked gorgeous!

We quickly found a spot in one of the tents while we waited for the storm to pass.

Oh Mic!
It did actually say to stand there to take a picture, but he of course had to add his own wings ;)

These guys are such a fun bunch!
(Mic, Dave, Brian & Vinnie)

And Kelli, Bobbie Jo, and Jody are truly some of the best friends!

The rained passed and it was time to get some food!
I knew what I was headed for...

But first, we had to take a silly selfie 😜

And they aren't kidding when they say Giant Tenderloin!!!

After some fun in the game tent, we headed back to the entertainment tent for some dancing!

We ended the evening at the Wooden Shoe.
It is a local bar that everyone tries to cram into when the festival ends, but it so much fun!

And then we walk back to our "home" for the night...with some silliness along the way 😉

We were definitely tired the next day, but it is always so much fun to get away with good friends for a night!

Here are the new pins I picked up this year...

I wanted a pretzel pin for awhile, so Mic ordered those for us after last year.
The house I picked up this year at the festival,
and the Minster Oktoberfest shoe was given to me this year.

Brian gave us the wooden shoes last year and I just love them!

We all got the 2018 Oktoberfest pin to add to our hats,
and Mic and I each got matching beer mug pins since it was our anniversary :)

I feel like I blinked and the fun was over :/
But I did come home and get to watch the Cleveland Browns win against the Ravens so the weekend definitely didn't disappoint!
Now for Mic and I to find a time to celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary that fell on Sunday :)

Have you ever attended a Oktoberfest celebration?
I would love to hear your stories in the comments below!

XOXO ~ Vanessa

Friday Favorites | October is here!

Linking up with Andrea, Narci & Erika for...

What happens when you start writing your Friday Favorites post and then get so busy you forget to finish it?

This right here :(

Better late than never right?!

This week I joined some of my FAVORITE ladies over at The Blended Blog and shared some of my FALL FAVORITES :)

On Tuesday I recapped one of our FAVORITE weekends of the year - Oktoberfest!

Sporting events are mine and X's FAVORITE!

Fall soccer is coming to a close this weekend for our little guy,

but we are looking forward to watching The Cleveland Indians in the playoffs,

all the football we can play and watch,

and fingers crossed starting a basketball league soon!

Getting a fresh cut and color from Kasey is always a FAVORITE!
How many people get quality one-on-one time with a friend these days?
Cherry on top is that that friend can work her magic and make you feel fantastic :)

Since I am finishing this up this morning I will add this..seeing the Cleveland Indians win is a FAVORITE!
This catch my Kipnis in center field last night was awesome!

My FAVORITES from Instagram this week...

And that is it for the week!

Mic and I are heading out to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary a day early tonight :)

Have a great weekend!