Par-Tay!!!

Happy Memorial Day 2010, everybuddy!!

Here, my eldest nieces knock back a couple of cold ones:

(I'm KIDDING. I'd never waste Newcastles on toddlers.)

This was our first time hosting a warm-weather Occasion for the fam, and it was fantastic! I'm rather peeved that I took a few very staged pics of the whole buffet spread and they have since disappeared from my camera, but they have been replaced with ones like this:

So, I can't really complain.

The menu included grilled veggies (asparagus, summer squash, zucchini, red onion, garlic, and corn), which I had never really attempted over an open flame before. We sort of freaked and did this step way ahead of time, because storm clouds were threatening and we had no idea what we were doing.

In addition, there were burgers and beer brats (and hot dogs for the kids), three kinds of cheeses - american, colby jack, and bleu, green leaf lettuce, fresh sliced tomato, assorted condiments that go without saying including two kinds of brown sauce, and deviled eggs. Veggie burgers and maccaroni salad were present, as well, but didn't make it out of the fridge.

And for dessert, as made evident by the empty bowl below, a lovely creation by my sister-in-law, which my niece proclaimed "Strawberry Shortcake Jello." It was truly delicious, and I'm sorry I don't have an actual picture of the thing. As you might suspect, it involved fresh strawberries, shortcake, and jello:

(it's all gone)

Although the rain occasionally chased us inside, it did nothing to dampen (haha) our spirits, and a good time was had by all. Before everyone left for the evening, we managed to make it outside to enjoy the back yard, and even staged a small game of Red Rover.

After company departed, taking most of the left-overs along (the better to be eaten), Matt and I lingered on the deck to bask in our garden. A lovely evening. We are truly blessed.

Happy National Hamburger Week!!

^
Here, my two eldest nieces much enjoy celebrating the gastronomic occasion with burgers and pickles. Or they could've been happy to celebrate their Uncle Bub's birthday at a backyard picnic. It's kind of hard to tell...

This after-work event was a riot, with the necessary burgers and dogs, potato salad, mac and cheese, ice-cold beer, and long-forgotten family anecdotes. We sat in the back yard for hours, with the threat of thunderstorms ebbing and waining, periodically nibbling honeysuckle blooms and keeping an eye on the impending chaos.

We've decided kids are like naturally-occurring coke addicts. I swear they were turning into Raptors by the end of the evening, giving us ravenous hugs and screaming their good-byes as we drove down the street.

(And yes, it really is National Hamburger Week.)

Unseasonably Warm.

PICNIC!!!!!!!!

Friday the high temp reached the low 80's.
We had an impromptu picnic in our backyard at 8:00 pm.

In addition to the asian pear, gouda cheese, summer sausage, crusty country bread, and chianti featured above, we also had Ritz crackers, monster blackberries, some baked ricotta, and a whole stick of butter:

^ See?

It was a blast. We had candles to keep the mosquitoes away, and we managed to overlook the slowly thickening air until it was dark and there was dew on everything. Can't wait to do it again!!