adventures

Camping with the Getz Family!

What better way to kick off summer than to go camping?!

I will admit, up until last weekend, I dreaded going camping and found every excuse in the book not to go. Sleeping on the ground, being too hot or too cold all the time, bugs, no real bathroom…the list goes on and on. But last weekend I realized all of the positive aspects of camping…there is no schedule to follow, the expectations for the weekend are out the window, if the weather is right, you can rotate your chair around the campfire to be in the sun all day, s’mores for breakfast (!)…and again, the list goes on and on.

Last weekend we ventured North (and west) to the Lower Narrows on the Poudre River (near Ft. Collins) with our good friends Brian, Jamie & Tucker. We had the best time and I cannot wait to do it again! (Who’s the new girl?!) I was so inspired/excited about the weekend, when we got home, I started putting together a container for all of our camping gear and went shopping for things we needed.

Another great thing about this camping adventure…no cell reception. So we were able to unplug for the weekend and come back feeling like we just went on a retreat to a far away land. (A girl really should do that more often.)

Here are some fun pictures from the weekend

RainbowGetz Party of 4Poudre RiverIt was a little chilly Friday night, hence the hat, coats, boots and poka dotted socksburrCamping tradition: Shotgunning a beer (and I capture the moment!)
Shotgun traditionMy first chili dog! (Well technically, I had two) Great camping food, but I don’t think I will be making them for dinner anytime soon…First chili dogHeadlamps are so great! HeadlampsS’mores for BREAKFAST!
S'mores for breakfast!Poudre CanyonPoudre CanyonClassic signTake off your WadersTesting out the LifestrawLife StawMenMenTwins (Patagonia represent!)TwinsGroup picture…Tucker is so thrilled!Family photoRelaxing in the hammock
Who's having more fun?!S’more s’mores…how can I have s’more of something when I haven’t had any yet?!S'more actionAnd of course star gazing and the obsession with shutter speedCapturing the starsThank you to the Getz Family for the invitation and all the fun, we can’t wait to do it again! Now, we just need to find an open weekend.

Franklin’s BBQ- Austin, TX

This past January, Tyler and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary (now that’s something to celebrate!) We decided to celebrate by taking a long weekend vacation to Austin, TX. Why Austin you may ask? Well, 1) we had never been their before 2) it was somewhere warmer than Colorado in January 3) We have heard great things about the town and we thought we would see for ourselves what it was all about.

The trip was memorable in many ways, we did a lot of walking around, a lot of eating and some shopping in between. The food in the town was amazing. I feel like we really didn’t have a bad meal while we were there. But one meal sticks out above all the rest, Franklin’s BBQ. BBQ in Texas…it’s one of those “when in Rome” situations. Using one of our best foodie friends, Yelp, it was a definite must stop visit.

Waiting in lineWe arrived at Franklin’s around 11:00am, right after finishing breakfast. The line was pretty long already, snaking out the door and down the street. We got in line and thought, this shouldn’t take too long….almost 3 hours later, we were getting ready to order probably the best BBQ we will ever experience. Worth the 3 hour wait? YES! And the 3 hours went pretty quick. The wait staff brought us sample sandwiches to munch on while we were standing in line, offered beer and water to those who were interested, it was great. But lets get back to the food. SO good, I am not even sure how to put it into words. We ordered a little bit of everything and like Tyler said, “it was so good, you don’t even need the sauce”.

Classic signs all around this placemenuThis is it!Franklin's BBQWe debated getting BBQ somewhere else the next day for lunch but then determined, we would just be disappointed because nothing is going to live up to that meal we had at Franklin’s.

Inspired by our experience, we got home and pre-ordered Franklin’s cookbook and look what gem showed up the other day.

A Meat-Smoking ManifestoThis is not an ordinary cookbook, although it has recipes, it also tells the history and techniques that makes this BBQ so great. Tyler and I would take turns reading it until we both finished it. Inspired by the book, Tyler decided to make homemade BBQ sauce from the book and declares it “So good, we never need to buy BBQ sauce again”. And once we live in a place bigger than our 400 sq foot apartment and have a yard of some sort, I will not be surprised if Tyler builds a smoker and becomes best friends with the local butcher in town.

A Meat-Smoking ManifestoA Meat-Smoking ManifestoA Meat-Smoking ManifestoA Meat-Smoking ManifestoA Meat-Smoking ManifestoA Meat-Smoking ManifestoMoral of the story, if you are in Austin, go to Franklin’s BBQ, it is well worth the wait. And if you like BBQ, buy this book, it is a great read and the recipes are amazing.

Mother’s Day Surprise

“Life doesn’t come with a manual, it comes with a Mother”

I saw this quote last Sunday on Mother’s Day and I immediately thought, “spot on”. My mom is one of a kind and her “mother’s instinct” is so accurate it’s scary. She knows things I am thinking before I even think them.

One week ago, I was just about to board a flight from DIA-MKE. My brother was just making his connection flight from ATL-MKE. We were in route to one of the biggest surprise we will probably even be able to pull off. We were headed to “home” aka Eden, Wisconsin, to surprise our mom for Mother’s Day weekend.

How the surprise unfolded…

A few weeks before, my brother and I both realized that neither of us had plans on Mother’s Day weekend. So we decided we were going to make the trip home and have it be a surprise to everyone. Well, almost everyone, we told our Dad so he could help us pull it off!

My brother Dan and I both flew into good ol’ Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee at 11:00pm Thursday night, rented a car and drove the hour to our parents house. When we arrived it was almost 1:00am on Friday morning. We snuck into the house, trying to be as quiet as we could…opened the door to my parents bedroom and said “Mom, we’re home!” She rolled over and looked at us, and it took a minute for it to register that she was not dreaming. She was BEYOND excited and emotional.

After that, it was hard for anyone to go to sleep, so my dad made us a pizza at 2:00am and we all attempted (and failed) to go to sleep.

We ended up getting a few winks before it was time to go to “Costello Family Breakfast” (a regular thing of Friday mornings), where we surprised our grandparents. The surprised continued from there by going to visit my mother-in-law at work and hand delivering the flowers Tyler and I had ordered for her.From there we went to complete the list of surprises by visit Aunt Mare in her classroom by brining her lunch and flowers.

"Take a picture so I can put in on Facebook" -MomFriday was full of surprises for everyone. And the rest of the weekend was filled with lots of family time that I am so grateful I could be a part of. Coming back to CO on Sunday night, my heart is so full of joy and love, I felt I could explode. The memories are irreplaceable and I am able to see, yet again, how fortunate I am.

Board games with the kids!Dinner with the familyGreat day for a walk with Mary & RudyMother's Day 2015Ice cream at Kelley's Country CreameryThanks to everyone who made the weekend so memorable! And Mom, we got one past you, Happy Mother’s Day!