It’s been about a month since I’ve done a “what we’re doing!” post, so it’s probably time! Here’s what we’ve been up to lately:
Oktoberfest: I don’t know why we got so excited for Oktoberfest this year. Sure it’s fun, but it’s not like GABF or anything…. Still, this year we decided to get pumped up, and the day didn’t disappoint! Ryan and John joined us for an afternoon/early evening full of beer, stein holding competitions, and German food! While this probably won’t be an annual tradition, we’ll definitely plan on going every other year or so.
Don’t ask questions, it was the end of the night…
GABF: The main event. We’ve been waiting for this day since, well, GABF 2013! This year was quite a bit more low key for me since I stuck with the boys the whole time (instead of going off on my own and drinking ever IPA in sight!). We had a blast, got to meet the founder of Sam Adams, drank some tasty and rare beer, etc. etc. Scott even got to go TWICE! On a whim he decided to buy a ticket to the member’s only session on Saturday afternoon and he and John went for round 2. I think in future years we may actually shoot for this session since it’s when they announce the medal winners and people are in an exceptionally good mood 🙂
Front of the line and pretzel-ready!
The GABF crew
Cabin Weekend: Back in March, Scott found a groupon for a cabin getaway in the mountains. We invited the Game-Night crew (well, 3/4 of them), picked a date, then headed up to Silverthorne for a couple of days/nights of escape with the Gilbertsons & Edwards! Our cabin had a beautiful view of Lake Dillon (with a hot tub on the balcony!) and Scott and I even got up one morning to watch the sun rise over the lake. We all brought snacks and took turns making meals–and of course, played a few heated games (who knew banangrams could get so intense??).
Girls cook, boys clean. We were sitting around drinking mimosas while this happened 🙂
On Saturday we hiked, then split up as the girls went outlet shopping and the boys watched football/drank beer. Sunday was almost a disaster as they closed the road to get back to Denver–but luckily Loveland pass was mostly dry, so we were instead treated to a gorgeous view of the Rockies. A perfect weekend–sure to be an annual tradition!
Yeah Gopro!
Of course I brought the chicken suit. And of course Abby put it on.
Loveland Pass
Final preparations for Thailand: We received our last Amazon shipment (a mini-tripod and bag for gopro accessories) this weekend. We got our vaccinations and Vietnam visas on Thursday (2 more typhoid pills to go!). All tours, lodging, and flights are booked. The only left to do now is…go! We are T-9 days but honestly time is flying by. So excited!
Cooking More Meals: Since mid-September, Scott and I have made a huge effort to cut back on our biggest area of wasteful spending: eating out. Our new rule is that we can only pay for a meal if it’s spent with others (or if we’re travelling). This hard stance has led to a lot more home-cooked meals, and neither one of us feel the least bit deprived. Will it be like this forever? of course not. But we need to break the habit of “I’m tired/we didn’t go grocery shopping/I’m stressed and want____” that results in us spending money on unhealthy food The best part is we actually have no desire to change yet so we’ve challenged ourselves to go until Christmas.
That’s about it! We don’t have any big or exciting plans between now and Thailand (perhaps a visit to the pumpkin patch and/or some carving action?) so until then I’ll just enjoy the quiet and eagerly await our trip to a land far far away.
The Ocean in a Drop 