Over the weekend we made the obligatory appearance at the Plaza Art Fair. I say obligatory because I think we’ve gone every year since we’ve lived in Kansas City, even though the only things we’ve ever bought are overpriced beers and maybe a little food. I enjoy some of the works that are on display, especially some of the photography. Other pieces look like they could have been done by Kamala, the painting elephant. Perhaps my opinions are in the minority, but you may want to compare some of Kamala’s paintings to those of artists and even a preschooler. It’s not that we couldn’t use a little art for the house, we could, but no way I’m paying the obscene prices I saw on Saturday.

Over the weekend I was rudely awaken from my Saturday afternoon nap by the sounds of jet engines. I must have dozed off watching the miserable football game between Notre Dame and Michigan. I immediately leapt from the couch and ran outside to see what the noise was coming from, but it was too late, there was nothing in sight. I knew that the air show was taking place at the downtown airport so I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the Stealth B-2 Bomber. I never did see the B-2, but we did drive downtown on Sunday to watch most of the Blue Angels performance.

It had been many years since I last saw the Blue Angels at the Dayton Air Show but their performance was just as I remembered. I recall being amazed by their performances when I was younger and I’ll admit that little has changed. People were stopping their cars wherever they pleased to investigate the rumble from above. Many of these people were probably experiencing this for the first time and I’m sure they were just as amazed as I am every time. For them I hope that the air show continues to be a yearly event. And although I doubt it compares to the Dayton Air Show, next time I’ll try to catch a little more of it.

Over the weekend I finally gained some key Kansas City knowledge, how to use a smoker for cooking. Our friend Todd gave us a smoker shortly after we moved into our house. He won it on eBay and then realized that he had nowhere to put it at his apartment complex. I gladly accepted the device and even put it together, but then it sat covered and unused for many weeks. That was until this past Saturday afternoon.

I asked Phil “Dr. Brisket” Kenagy to come over and assist me in smoking a couple of chickens. We did one “beer butt chicken” and another chicken with a can of Pepsi inside. If you’ve never heard of this BBQ method, it involves a whole chicken that is resting on a can of your favorite beverage. This helps to keep the bird nice and moist and also adds even more flavor. I forgot to keep track of which was which, so I’m not sure if one was better than the other, but I must say that it was all very tasty.

After a pool party up at Woodside we had a little after party at our house. Kim and Amy, who was in town for the weekend and desperately needs to update her blog, put together lots of side dishes for the party. Everyone in attendance agreed that the chicken was really good. Phil and I think that we may have cooked it just a bit too long, but it was definitely a successful first effort. The guys over at Triple Fat Back Barbeque better watch out!

I’m sure the lack of posting last Friday went mostly unnoticed. Everyone was either busy preparing for this year’s Pig-Fest or on their way to Cincinnati for the party. After flying into Cincinnati late Friday afternoon I met up with others who had made the trek as well. We started off at Christie’s and after a dozen or so pitchers headed down to the Mad Frog to see Mike Perkins play. A couple notes from the night:

• I miss pitchers of beer, especially when they are only $5.50.
• Potbelly needs to open a store in Kansas City.
• Papa Dino’s is only good after a few beers, luckily they are open until 3AM.
• Recording a show at the Mad Frog can be impossible at times.

Saturday was obviously dedicated to Pig-Fest The 13th! As always it was an incredible party even though the cops really tried to ruin it this time. It would be impossible to document the events of the party so I won’t even try. Thanks to everyone who came out and partied with us. We’ll have to be sure to do it again!

The “holiday weekend” was great even though I’m back at work today. We started it off with a party over at Phil and Doni’s on Friday night. The highlight of the night was the cornhole tournament, and by the final match there were many new pro level tossers.

On Saturday we did some shopping followed by lots of work around the house. I installed a shelf into my closet to hold my pants and shorts. Kim organized her vanity area using a new rack of shelves. From there we moved outside to do some weed eating (thanks to our new weed eater) and yard cleanup. I also fixed a rocking chair that Kim picked up for free last weekend. All it needed was a new seat and it cost us less than $10 to fix that.

After we were good and worn out we walked up the street to Rudy’s Tenampa Taqueria for some awesome Mexican food. We had heard many great things about this restaurant from our neighbors, and they were absolutely correct. The food was fantastic!

We spent most of yesterday out at Smithville Lake, the same lake we were at this time last year. The Martin’s were nice enough to invite us out on their boat once again, along with Phil and Doni. I was finally able to ditch my farmer’s tan, although I did get a little burnt in spots. At least I won’t look like a goof at Pig-Fest.

The day has arrived! We close on our first house tonight after work. I cannot wait to get the keys and check everything out once more. Hopefully everything goes smoothly. At times we still feel like “the puppy that lost his way.” With the keys in hand the packing process will then begin. Thankfully we don’t have too much stuff to pack up for the move.

In other news, the Pig-Fest evite has gone out! In less than 24 hours we’ve already got 66 RSVPs. If you didn’t get an invitation in your in-box, here is your personal invitation. As always, I cannot wait for the event and I hope to see you there.

After a long day of work on Friday we quickly headed over to Phil and Doni’s to kick off the weekend. They were having a Cinco de Mayo party complete with burritos, various dips, and lots of Mexican beer. Kim and I were crowned the cornhole champs after beating everyone who stepped up to the plate. Phil must be practicing his toss since he was much better than I remembered in the past. We only beat him and one of his co-workers by two points.

Saturday morning we woke up early and decided to give spinning another try. In the past couple weeks we have run into the instructor of the classes and he was asking if we were ever coming back. It’s not that we do not enjoy the classes it’s just that the times they offer do not fit into our schedule very easily. It was actually a lot harder than I remembered but it was definitely a great workout.

From there we attempted to hit some balls at the driving range, but I think we were a little too exhausted from the spinning class. Kim was hoping to get in some last minute practice before heading to Pinehurst this week, but we left more frustrated than anything.. After tearing up most of the grass at the range we picked Bianca up and drove down to the Pet Expo. There were lots of exhibits to walk through along with free samples of all sorts, but we enjoyed the disc dogs the best.

Later in the evening we headed to the Brooksider to meet up with our friends and to watch the Kentucky Derby. I didn’t have any money on the line, but I did make some free picks that could have won me some money. Unfortunately Sinister Minister couldn’t hang on at the finish and ended up in 15th place. Oh well. We spent a little time walking around the Brookside Art Fair and headed back home before it was too late.

My birthday weekend is now over. This 26 year old is back at work on what seems to be another typical Monday morning. Before I can say goodbye to the weekend here is my recap of the events.

After work on Friday I drove home to find boxes of wrapped gifts from Kim. She bought me all sorts of clothes and even a new pair of shoes. After opening all of the boxes we quickly drove down south towards Overland Park and Olathe (Kansas suburbs). We tried to get in a few different restaurants for dinner, but each place we went was packed and had hour long waits for a table. Luckily I remembered there was a Moe’s nearby, so we settled on burritos for dinner. Next up was a hockey game at Ice Midwest. This was not your typical game though, it was a “NHL rules” game that a couple guys from my team played in. This game had it all: big hits, nice goals, good goaltending and even a fight. The standing room only crowd was estimated to be 300 deep. Overall “Friday Night Lights” seemed to be a huge success, and the guys from my team said they would play again. From there we went back home to rest up for Saturday night.

During the afternoon on Saturday we preparred for a little party that would later take place in our apartment. Mike and Christie helped kick the party off shortly after dinner. We played a game of euchre before other partiers arrived, if I remember correctly the guys won! Todd stopped by early in the night, but had other events to attend. Doni, Phil, Maria, Christina, and Taylor all helped in celebrating my birthday. Later in the night we made a trip up to The Levee for some music and a couple rounds. All in all it was a very nice birthday party!

Sunday turned out to be a fairly nice day, so we started off at the driving range with Maria. I hit everything really well except for the stupid 6 iron. I could not get that one right, and I’m still not sure why. Hopefully next weekend we can squeeze in a round of golf. From there we had lunch at Ponak’s and completely stuffed ourselves. Next time we go, I’ll have to try one of their Margarita’s which I’ve heard great things about. After lounging on the couch for a few hours, I drove up north for the first round of playoff hockey. We faced off with the same team we beat up on just one week earlier. This must have got to them though because they came out flying and hustled the whole game. In the end we lost our second game of the season, and will be playing for 3rd place this coming weekend. I guess it was only a matter of time before we lost.

I got up at the normal time on Friday morning and drove out to the airport. No problems with my flights, although I must admit that the flight from Cincinnati to Dayton was pretty pointless. By the time portable electronic devices were allowed I only had time to listen to one song on my mp3 player before I was tapped on the shoulder and told it was time to shut it down. If it will save me a couple hundred bucks I guess its worth it. Anyway, Kim picked me up in Dayton and we drove over to my parents’ house.

Later in the night we headed down to the Holy Grail with my parents and my brother. We met up with Fighty, Liam, and the Hemmelgarns there and after a few rounds of Guiness we walked over onto UC’s campus for the second round NIT game against Charlotte. Unlike most college’s across the country, UC typically serves beer at the games, but unfortunately the NIT does not allow it. We all had great seats on the end of the court in the student section. At halftime we headed up to the UCATS Club after Fighty heard that it was open to the public for this game. We watched the second half of the game from up there and had drinks served through the end of the game. It made the bearcat victory even better!

After the game we spent a couple of hours at Christy’s and ran into a bunch of family members of mine and Kim’s. And of course, no night in Cincinnati is complete without a late night trip through the Skyline drive-thru.

After hanging out at my parents’ on Saturday we went to my aunt and uncles house for Emma’s 1st birthday party. In case you have forgotten, Emma is my godchild. It was nice to see everyone again, although we could only stay for an hour or so.

My buddy from high school, Jeff, was getting married and we were already skipping the ceremony so we didn’t want to be late for the reception. After picking up Jon, another buddy of mine, we finally arrived at Ivy Hills Country Club for the reception. There we met up with yet another friend, Chris, and his wife. I hadn’t seen him in a couple of years, so it was nice to catch up. The food was good, the band was great, the fireworks were a nice touch, and it was a very nice reception. This will probably be the only wedding that I ever go to that has a 15 minute fireworks display. I was a little disappointed by the lack of musical accompaniment, but I guess you can’t have everything. :) Congrats to Jeff and his wife Megan!

Our next stop after the reception was at Million’s to meet up with Amy and some of her friends. That bar has really changed since the last time I was there, but I was just happy that it wasn’t too crowded.

We got up early on Sunday and drove over to the Hais’ house. Kim’s brother Jason had a birthday present to give to me, and wanted to see us before we left Cincinnati. He made a marble mouse pad for me, something he has learned to do at his new job. I also got a bottle of Woodford Reserve from her family. I can’t wait to open that up! It was nice to see everyone again, and meet James, their latest foster child. Kim’s sister Bobbi drove us to the airport, complete with a trip on the Anderson Ferry and a stop at the Gap outlet store. This ended our trip to Cincinnati, but we’ll be back again soon.

I had another hockey game last night to round out the weekend. We won yet another game to finish the regular season undefeated. We don’t count our overtime shootout loss as a real loss. The playoffs start next weekend and hopefully we can win the mini tournament.

Everyone’s favorite summer time party is back! Pig-Fest XIII will be held this year on July 8th, so mark your calendars now. If you have any ideas for logos let me know. I could just use this year’s bonnaroo logo, like I did last year. I just got confirmation that Greenstreet will be back again this year.* I’m also talking with another band’s manager who is also interested in joining in the festivities this year.

Last night I spent an hour or two finalizing the layout for the Sig Ep site that I’ve been designing for the past few weeks. Feel free to critique it using comments to this post. Now I just need to get the content that they want to be displayed on each page. From there I headed out to Charlie Hooper’s for the infamous import night. I met up with a couple of guys from work and friends of theirs. It was nice to get out of the apartment for a bit, while Kim is in Minneapolis wondering around the Mall of America.

In exciting work news, I got another raise yesterday. Go me!

* Greenstreet goes from confirmed to unconfirmed in one day. The 8th is the same day as the singers mom’s 50th birthday. I guess that means they are out, and it’s probably too late to consider alternate days for the party. Hopefully I have better luck with another band.