On Friday, we had friends over to celebrate Adam's 28th birthday! It was originally planned for Saturday night as we like to prep the house and food all day Saturday. However, I had to change it due to the Vikings vs Packers playoff game. And it's a good thing I did too because we ended up going to the game!
However, that meant it was a rush to get all the food made on Thursday night. We worked on it from 6 until 10! Adam made soft German pretzel sticks which were quite time consuming, but delicious! We also had buffalo chicken dip with pita, French onion dip with pretzels and potato chips, veggies & dill dip, guac (made by Adam) and cucumber salsa with tortilla chips, chocolate covered pretzels and Oreos, and cream cheese brownies. It sounds like a lot of food, but almost all of it got eaten! I love snack-y food.
We also had Brandy Slush to drink along with the usual beer assortment. It was a lot of fun to see people and visit. Thanks to all who came!
Chester was a really good boy and loved all the "visitors!"
After the last guests left around 12:30, I still had some clean up and packing to do. Adam fell asleep on the couch at midnight, but I was up until 2:30. Let's just say the 7:30 alarm came far too soon!
We dropped Chester off at Adam's parents (thanks again!), and we were off to Green Bay to meet my fam. I drove most of the way there for once. Four hours after dropping off Chester, we were in Appleton and meeting my family at the hotel.
We had lunch together at Texas Roadhouse. Adam and I had never been to one before, and we probably won't again. The food wasn't bad, we just aren't big fans of sit-down chains, though their bread rolls were delicious! Since we had all split deep fried pickles, I wasn't super hungry. I had a small Caesar salad, and Adam had a pulled pork sandwich.
Back in the room, we got all our winter gear on, and then left for Green Bay. It's about a half hour drive from Appleton, so not bad.
Once in Green Bay, we found a yard to park in. Since the stadium is right by a residential area, homeowners clear their front yards and let you park in them for cash. It's quite unusual. The one we parked in even let you use their bathroom! Haha.
While getting our gear together, I realized I had forgotten the battery for the Cannon SLR at home. Detestation! If only I hadn't taken it out the night before to charge it! We called Best Buy, and they sold the batteries, but they came uncharged and I had no way to charge it. Major bummer. I was so disappointed. And then to top it off, I spilled half of my cold beverage.
It was only two blocks from the field, so a short walk. Once at the stadium, we walked around and looked at all the tailgating.
When the doors opened at 5, we went in. Christine and Dad wanted to go to the Team Store, so we spent about a half hour there.
Adam's imitation of the typical Green Bay fan ;)
It was there that it was announced that our starting QB Christian Ponder was inactive and Joe Webb would be starting. Now I'm a Webb fan, but I was bummed. Webb hadn't started or played in a game all season. It was not looking good for the purple...
Adam's first view of the field -
Then we went and found our seats in the stands. The seats are bleachers and they were covered in slush. Delightful. Luckily we had blankets with. Let's just say that Lambeau is a lot like Fenway. Really cool because of all the history, but I'm sure glad it's not my home stadium! I like actual seats and not feeling packed in like a sardine. Interestingly, "during recent stadium renovations, conversion of existing benches to individual seats was reviewed. Due to the space needs for individual seats, the capacity for the bowl would be reduced by more than 12,000 seats, a figure that is not acceptable." That's directly from the GB Packers site. So that gives you an idea of how crammed in you are. On the bright side, it means that even if you're up in the nosebleeds (like we were), your view is not bad at all. I'd say it was pretty similar to the upper lower level of the Metrodome.
I'll have an upcoming post with actual interactions and conversations (if you can even call it that) we had with Packers fans. Let's just say we were not impressed. There was a lot of violating of the NFL Fan Code of Conduct. I'll save it for later though because overall we had a good time and I don't want to be negative in this post.
The game did not go well for the Vikings, so there's not a whole lot to say about it. It was ugly. But I have been to worse at Lambeau - like when the Vikings were shut out and AP got injured. And there wasn't much to photograph, especially without my good camera.
Notice how Adam is between me and my dad and sister as a "buffer."
One happy sister,
and one sad sister.
I drove us back to the hotel after the game, and it took forever. It was like driving in rush hour. Start, stop. Start, stop. EVERYBODY BRAKE. Not to mention the whole time we were listening to Packers Radio. Ugh. I still maintain that it was in direct violation of our "No Gloating Rule" agreed up on before the game.
At the hotel, we reunited with mom and had some snacks before bed.
On Sunday, we were all so exhausted that we slept past 10. It was a rush to get ready and packed up before check-out at 11. Then we all went and had a quick lunch at Culver's together before saying goodbye.
Then we were off to sit in the car for 4+ hours. This time Adam drove the whole way. Thanks Adam!
We picked up Chester and visited with Adam's fam for a bit before heading home.
It was quite an eventful weekend, I just wish the Vikings could have pulled off the win! Thanks again for thinking of us Dad!
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