Beerful Weekend

It has certainly been a beer filled weekend! Last night, Kristin and I went to Beer Fest in Providence. Obviously, Kristin did not drink. She did eat cheese, pizza and sandwiches though! If you remember, we had gone to the April one and had a great time. The November one though is much bigger, with more beer companies and beer paraphernalia. They have two sessions, an afternoon on and an evening. As we did in April, we went to the afternoon session, which started at 6:30pm. The place was absolutely packed. If you do not like crowds, this would not have been the event for you to go to.

Kristin's friend/former roommate Stephanie and her husband Mike met us at our house before heading up. At the fest, we met up with Lauren and Paul, Stephanie and David and one of Lauren and Paul's neighbors. The thought of how many beers I tried over the period of 4 hours makes me want to get sick, but it was certainly fun at the time. I have to thank Kristin for going because I cannot imagine how boring it must have been for her, not to mention how long she had to stand on her feet (5-10:30pm). She was definitely a trouper!

Speaking of Kristin, she seems to be getting bigger every day. Very exciting indeed because now I can actually see it!



After beer fest, we all headed over to Union Station in Providence for some food. We were all tired, especially knowing we had an hour drive. After a later night dinner, we headed home, sat in front of the fire for a while and then headed to bed at 1:30am.

This morning I got up early and cooked breakfast for Kristin, Stephanie and Michael. I made french toast, eggs, sausage, bacon and also picked up bagels. After they left, I began my next batch of beer. I have been excited for this next batch, which is a Holiday Ale, flavored with chocolate malts, cinnamon, ginger, orange peel, vanilla and some other holiday seasonings. As I write, the wort (unfermented beer) is sitting in an ice bath to rapidly cool it to 70 degrees. Once it hits 70 degrees, I will then transfer it to the fermentation pale, add 3 more gallons of water, the yeast and then tuck away for the next 7 days while it ferments. Keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well, we will have some holiday spiced beer, which will leave your stomach with a warm feeling (more alcohol).

Beer ingredients:


Kristin just left to grocery shop. While she shops and I wait for my beer to cool, I am watching to Pat play the Bills, currently winning 7-0. Hopefully they can keep it up the rest of the game and secure a win against first place Bills.

Upcoming this week we have our next monthly check up with our midwife and our 3D/4D ultrasound on Friday, which we both cannot wait for. 3D ultrasounds are fairly new and insurance does not cover them. They are typically not used for medical purposes unless they are trying to determine if the umbilical cord is tied. Rather, they are used so you can see what the baby looks like, watch it move etc. I always thought 3D ultrasounds are the ones that allow you to see the babies organs, bones etc, however, found out that this is done with a regular ultrasound. We will definitely be posting picture Friday.