As you can tell, we were busy Friday and Saturday and the fun didn’t end there. On Sunday, while Bob was helping a friend dig out a patio, I headed over to the pool with Katie to enjoy the first day of pool season. Hooray! It was actually so warm that I dove into the pool (twice!) to cool off before laying back on the pool chair. Ah, if only I could do that all day, every day. That would be the life. I believe it has been decreed that Sunday would be pool day. After baking in the sun all day, some friends came with us to Guido’s to celebrate Monday off. Just some good, simple Italian/Spanish food. Molto buona!

Monday was a girly morning with my gals joining me for the viewing of Sex and the City 2 and then a barbecue at Yao and Sheena’s. Another warm and humid St. Louis day for a barbecue. Food was great and the company was entertaining, as always.

I tell you, being that busy on a three-day weekend is exhausting and I need a day to recover but having that much fun is totally worth it. I do have to say, we’re pretty fortunate to have such good friends.

Our good friend Amanda recently earned her MBA from Wash U, so we figured that it was a good excuse to head on over to Alton, Illinois and enjoy an afternoon at Fast Eddie’s Bon-Air. This is not our first time to Fast Eddie’s but if you have never been, you can expect to pay very little for good food, cold beer and top notch people-watching. Seriously, this place is cheap, fun and good — and if it’s a little bit hoosier, well, that’s part of the charm.

We camped out on the patio. It was quite warm, but they had fans and partial shade. One table was not in the shade at all:

As you can tell, it’s a very casual atmosphere:

If playing count-the-tattoos doesn’t sound exciting, you can always bring your own reading material:

Afterwards, we went back to the Peimanns’ house and played Wiffle Ball.

It was a great afternoon. Congrats, Amanda! Click here for all the pictures.

Have you ever dreamed of running away and joining the circus? Well, we got as close to that Friday night when a group of couples went down to Circus Flora’s annual charity gala, Circo Diablo. I had procured some tickets to the gala and it was great fun eating and drinking like respectable adults. It’s not often that we wine and dine in an atmosphere that required us to restrain ourselves. The girls pulled out some fabulous dresses and the guys dusted off their dress shoes for an evening out under the big top.

The evening started off with food from some local restaurants: Modesto, Onesto, Vito’s, Triumph Grill and Kota. Wine was available from St. James Winery and Chaumette Winery, along with beer and some other drinks.

Once everyone was satiated, we were directed under the big top for the live auction and show.

I’ve been to a couple of charity auctions and this was big-time money. There was an apartment in Paris for a week, I bid on it (I was willing to pay $1,000 for it) but it got too pricey for my blood (I think it went for $4,000). There were some circus packages (trapeze lesson, dog tricks, and equestrian show) as well as a couple of vacation packages.

Now, came the show. The patrons got a taste of Circus Flora’s show, Ingenioso, a Spanish-themed show based on Don Quixote.

There were trained horses:

A hoop contortionist:

An amazing acrobatic pair:

A man wielding a whip:

A half-naked man on a horse:

I have never been to Circus Flora and now, after this experience, I’m going to have to check it out. The amazing thing about this show is that the furthest seats away from the ring is still pretty damn good.

Watching the talented performers made us realize that while we don’t have what it takes to join the circus, we definitely have what it takes to enjoy the circus.

Thanks for the quintuple date, guys! Let’s hope we can do this again next year!

Click here for the rest of the pictures.

Once upon a time, there was a girl and a grill. Now, the girl lived a very pampered life and never had to light a charcoal grill because she’s always had a man in her life to do it for her. One day, the man in her life was not available to light the grill and so it was up to her to feed her friends. She ventured out to the backyard and stacked the briquettes in a pyramid and lightly sprayed it with lighter fluid. The girl then proceeded to try and light the grill. The video aptly illustrates the girl’s attempt.

Although the video ends on a happy note, it was not to be. The flame soon went out and she was out there again trying to light the grill. Well, this time, she thoroughly soaked the briquettes and since some of them were already warm from the time before, the grill began to smoke. She ignored the fumes and promptly threw a match in. The fireball could be seen for miles around. Fortunately, the siding did not melt and the girl kept her eyebrows. So, she lived happily ever after.

The moral of the story: do not let Jen try and start a charcoal grill if you like your eyebrows.

Appetizer: Cucumber Rounds. Everyone loves cucumber rounds. We’ve made these in the past. They were gone before I remembered to take a picture of it.

Entree: Grilled Chicken Kebabs. Perfectly grilled chicken kebabs (I think it had something to do with my awesome fire). I really think the two sauces that Katie prepared really made the dish pop.

Side Dish: Green Beans with Garlic Vinaigrette. A tarty green bean dish that pares well if you eat it with rice. I was hoping for a more garlicky flavor to it but the lemon really overpowered the dish.

Dessert: Pink Lemonade Cupcakes. It’s the freakin’ taste of summer in cupcake form! Loved it! Now, where can I find some little kids selling lemonade for a quarter?

We love going to the wineries and will find any excuse to go. So, for the second time this year, we headed down to Augusta to enjoy the wonderful spring weather and wine under the guise of celebrating Brandon and Sarah’s birthdays.

We first hit up Blumenhoff Winery, Brandon’s favorite. It’s a great winery to go to because of the relaxing atmosphere and the freedom to bring in outside food. The weather was amazing, sunny, no humidity, warm, breezy. Fabulous…until the swarm of bugs came attacking us. Sarah was the first victim and we all mocked her for spazzing out. Then Brandon was attacked and we laughed even harder. Okay, karma’s a bitch and soon everyone was covered in bugs. That was our signal to bug out. (Tee-hee.)

Well, on our way to Mount Pleasant Winery, the cars were craving a bit of petrol and so all stopped by the local filling station.

(That’s three college educated people trying to figure out how to use the satellite credit card machine and old timey gas pump.)

Once the gas tanks were filled, off we went to Mount Pleasant.

None of us had been there so it was a new adventure … and we will never go back. At first, everyone thought it was cool to pay $5 for five tastings (they were very liberal with the amount of wine for each tasting). That made up for a little for the crazy sticker shock of bottle prices there. I believe the cheapest wine was $24 per bottle, almost double the price of other wineries and you weren’t even allowed to bring in food. I do have to say the view was amazing but not worth the price of wine. But now we know and will not be frequenting that winery in the future.

And what better way to end a winery trip than a sobriety check point?

This was the first time I had ever seen this and they were checking every single car. We got to see a car get pulled in and a man get handcuffed. Thanks Sarah for being sober!

I know this is a very late post but it’s the thought that counts, right? Awesome birthday party, guys!

You can find some more pictures here, if you’re interested.