SummerFest Party

The MidWest contingent of Engelmanns, Kytes, and Doudts made a trek out to Boston for Jim & Julie Uthoff's awesome SummerFest/Oktoberfest party held annually.  The Engelmanns and Kytes both made it a road trip by driving out and stopping along the way including a stay at Niagara Falls for a night. Anthony and I flew out to Boston and then would be flying onto Iceland on Sunday, the 7th, after the big party.

We're going to recap the party bullet point style...it's much easier that way:

- The flights out were smooth and easy. Cousin Jeff picked us up at the bus depot.
- We hung out with the extended family for a bit before heading to bed. Jim and Julie were nice enough to house all 9 Engelmann/Kyte/Doudt guests for the weekend. Full house!
- We woke up early the next morning, snacked on the East Coast staple of Dunkin Donuts while the kids played in the pool, on the swingset, and on a really cool inflatable waterslide.
- The boys set up most of the tents and decor and were rocking their Uthoff SummerFest STAFF shirts that were made by Julie's uncle. Anthony was very proud to earn his shirt.
- The party started rocking around 1pm with about 45 people in total. Great drinks (freaking amazing sangria), great food (Reuben egg rolls and open-pit smoked chicken), and great fun (horseshoes, cornhole, flip cup, cake eating contest for the kids, rolling down the hill competitions, and rock climbing - Amy and I DID reach the top of the huge boulder in flip-flops :)).
- We ended the night with a fun game of cornhole with the siblings (Anthony and Jay beat Sara and Katie) and then....
- While I was trying to reach into the kiddie pool to retrieve a glow stick for the kids (with Anthony holding on so I wouldn't fall in) we saw a streak of yellow flash across our faces as Julie dove into the pool in front of us still fully dressed. A split second later Jim cannonballed into the pool with all of his clothes on. I quickly followed them into the pool. At this point Anthony was enjoying the scene from afar but he should have known better...a few seconds later Jim got out of the pool grabbed Anthony and flung them both in. Pretty soon many more were in the pool voluntarily and involuntarily, including Uncle Roy. (No electronics were hurt in the making of this pool party)
- It's a fact: the Uthoff/Engelmann/Kyte/Doudt families know how to party!! Jim & Julie have 8 million pictures to prove it - thankfully none of those will be posted here, just a few that we took. :)
- The next morning, Aunt Judi and Uncle Roy hosted everyone (and I mean everyone) at their house for a brunch feast Judi Style. There were appetizers, snacks before the appetizers, casseroles, deserts, drinks, and more snacks. Everything was beautifully laid out and of course was delicious!

Recipes we need:
- White sangria from Julie
- Reuben egg rolls from Julie's aunt...Julie can you get that for us??
- Blueberry french toast casserole from Paula
- Lobster & egg casserole from Aunt Judi

Here are a few of our pictures from the party (and the direct link to the photos):



Next stop: ICELAND!!