Fun and exciting weekend with kids and friends

This weekend found us heading down to Olympia for the Dirty Dash. Birdy loaded up the truck and she and the Big Sho picked me up from work (I gave her kids the nick names Big Li'l and Massa Shogun and the two of them are referred together as the "Big Sho"). We swung by and picked up Abbicus and Paco Sanchez and we were off in search of adventure.

We were going to be a part of the  IBEW Local 77 Renew Committee's team running in the annual mud run called the Dirty Dash. Five of us pitched in and rented a house on Summit Lake. This place was immaculate: fully furnished and exquisitely appointed. Great deck overlooking the lake.

The weather was better than we could have hoped for;sunny, light breeze, clear blue skies and no bugs. The kids were in the water within a few minutes after our arrival. We were joined by our house-mates Ben and Dusty (her real name is Shelby, but I will always know her as Dusty...its a long story...I will tell you all about it in another post some time) Cook just as we had finished unpacking. Matt Reese made it sometime around midnight. Everyone had a blast.

After a night spent tying on a few too many Friday night, we crawled out of bed and made ready for the main event: It was time to get dirty! How better to spend a scorching hot afternoon than to trounce around in pools of mud and drink beer? All in all, we had a really fun time and got to hang out and be a part of the IBEW Local 77 Renew Committee's fun event.

Birdy had the brilliant idea to bring along black trash bags for the car ride back to the lake house after the race. Her idea was to step into the bag and poke holes in the bottom of the bag and stick your feet through. We just needed to get back to the lake house without turning the truck into a mud pit and jump into the lake to wash off. I am pretty sure that half of the lake turned a shade of brown for a few minutes after we all got cleaned up.

We had a blast. The kiddos really bonded. We can't wait for next time we can all get together and make mischief. Can anyone say, Seaside?

-MyKO

Just grillin' it

It has been nearly two months without a BBQ. Last weekend the weather was warm, we were working hard, and there's only so much quinoa people can eat. It was time for a steak. And steak is NOT steak without a BBQ. 

There isn't anything that I buy without some research, particularly when it involves large amounts of cash. With the help of my Facebook friends, a few different websites and a couple weeks of contemplation, the final decision was made. Weber (the Genesis series at least) is Union made in the USA. There is hardly a review to be found where folks are not RAVING about this grill. And many that have recently bought one did so because their last trusty (15+ year) one finally said its final farewell.

So we called Fred Meyer to check stock. They carry this grill for the same price as everyone else. I've watched the sales, even around Memorial Day and Father's Day and there's nothing to be found. So, why not give my $799 to a store who employees my fellow Union brothers and sisters? Fortunately for us they had 2 in stock, one assembled, and one in the box. Myko cordially asked Tyler the BBQ guy to please hold on to it for us as we were on our way.

While we were at Freddy's, we picked up some nice New York's. It's the debut dinner on a brand new grill at the start of summer, there's just no cheaping out on the meat.

We dashed home and Myko got started assembling the grill. All in all it only took a little over an hour, all by himself, to get it steak ready.

While he assembled the grill I prepared the meat and some side dishes. He called me outside when it was all done:

We had a small SNAFU with the propane. All hooked up, started that baby up and anxiously awaited the time to put the steaks on. After five or ten minutes to get it good and hot I went out to start sizzling those grill marks on.......and the propane was out.

By this time it was nearly 8 o'clock. Myko to the rescue. Without missing a beat he grabbed the tank and grabbed the keys. When he got back, nearly 30 minutes later, I wondered what had happened to him. Apparently, you can only get propane in town until 8pm, and it was 8:01 when he finally got to talk to the cashier. And so he had to scour the other gas stations in and around town to find some propane. We were having steaks, one way or another. Thankfully, the Chevron at Getchell Station fills propane until 11pm!

FINALLY, I got to throw the steaks on. It's a good thing they only take a few minutes a side to cook....

Oh my goodness that taste can't be beat. Since then it's grillin' season. Made these kabobs Friday night.

So far, I can't say a single bad thing about this grill. I LOVE it. Now, I need to find some grilling utensils. I don't have that many more hairs to be singed off my arms!

- Birdy