Cheers to 30 Years

Conor & I recently made a trip to Spokane to help my parents celebrate their 30th anniversary!  Since this is a big milestone, I decided to throw a cocktail party in their honor.  We invited a few of my parents close friends and asked if they would send us some pictures from the last 30 years to contribute to a surprise slide show that Conor & I were putting together.  Wow did we get some great pictures!!!  Conor and I were hysterically laughing as we pieced together all the photos!  Let's just say, my mom has had some awesome hairdos and dresses with shoulder pads, while my dad has apparently been known to wear some of the shortest shorts I have ever seen, my closet included!

The party went wonderfully, and I think everyone really enjoyed themselves!  The old fashions were flying off the bar, wine corks popping around every corner, and people trying not to stab each other with skewers as they really got after the delicious snacks!  The food was particularly a big hit, which made Conor & I happy since we made it all ourselves.  We make quite a good team!  I picked the menu, but Conor made almost everything.  I was just the chef's assistant and mostly did prep work.  In case your curious, here's what we served: chicken, steak, and shrimp skewers with three sauces (chipotle mayo, mango herb, and thai peanut), bruschetta, better cheddar (a cheese dip), guacamole, and lots of fresh fruit and veggies.  We did our best to keep my mom out of the kitchen, but of course she just can't stay away!  Normally, she'll switch into her sneakers, even while she's all dressed up, to get work done in the kitchen.  When I decided to throw the party at their house, it became Conor & my main objective to make sure her sneakers stayed in the closet!  We were at least successful at that!

Here are some of my favorite pics from the party:

the happy couple



The rest of the visit was fun and relaxing.  Conor had to leave on Sunday for business in Alabama, but before his flight, we met up with Ryan, Chelsea, and my parents at Press for their famous (and absolutely delicious!) bloody mary bar.  Since Conor and I have really been lovin the bloody marys lately, this was a hot sauce, vodka, and pickled vegi heaven!  To use a tried and true Simpson Family catch phrase: It was just a "reeeeal nice" little Sunday morning together.  With how busy everyone seems these last few years, it seems rare that we get to spend quality time together like this.  After dropping Conor of at good ol' GEG, I spent the rest of the day with my brother, Ryan. We took the Costco samples by storm as we worked through our list and then headed out to Tonicx for my new favorite cocktail, the creamsicle: whipped cream vodka and orange San Peligrino!  It's even better than an actual creamsicle, but that may be on account of the vodka!  I plan to add this great find to the Keenan bar repertoire back in AZ very soon, yummers!  Later that night I tagged along with Ryan, Chelsea, & Linnea to their friends' (Jon & Shelby) house for a BBQ.  This is where I had my first experience with the X-Box Kinect 360!  We had a blast playing dance central (or at least I think that's what it was called...).  And I don't mean to toot my own horn... but SOMEbody ended up beng pretty darn good (Toot! Toot!). It so much fun playing with Ryan and all the kids.  What a great night!

As always, I was sad to leave Spokane. But lucky for me, Conor & I decided to head to San Diego the following weekend after he got back from Alabama to see TJ, Erin, and Conor's brother, Kyle, who was planning on being in town for an architecture conference. I'm sure we'll have a post up soon about that trip.

Top Bunk is Kitty

April arrived with very hot temperatures: 99 degrees on the 1st!  That's a little hot for April in my book!  I'm sure Conor is thinking..."let the whining begin," but I will try and keep my complaining to a minimum through these upcoming summer months!  Anyways, I was wanting to get out of Arizona, and Conor had been wanting to visit a friend in Palm Desert, so we made an impromptu trip to California.

We went to visit Conor's childhood friend, Kelly, who he hasn't seen in years.  Kelly and her husband Matt have three kids, one of which is only 3 months old.  I was really looking forward to getting my baby fix in!  Kelly told us that we would be sleeping in the kids room which has two bunks bed...I quickly claimed top bunk!  Kelly's response: "Top bunk is kitty!"  I thought this was her way of saying, "Top bunk is really cool," but oh no...top bunk is really kitty...as in kitty bedding!  I was instantly 8 years old again and reliving my kitty pajamas days!

The first morning of our visit everyone was up early, except me, until Conor told me Monte (the 3 month old) was having bath time in the kitchen!  This was enough motivation, so I quickly got out of bed to see the cutest little boy ever get cleaned up.  Our morning only got better when we played a few games of freeze tag and red rover outside with the girls.  Oh my are kids fun, I forgot all about these games!  Then we headed to downtown Palm Springs since Conor and I had never been before.  It was nice to walk outside and enjoy the sun.  Here are some fun pics of us and Sophia (the almost 3 year old).

Next up was a delicious lunch at a Mexican restaurant called Armando's.  The place was packed and the margaritas were stiff...even for me!  Once our bellies were full, Conor & Matt went to buy catch phrase and a kiddie pool, while the rest of us made cookies at the house.  Well Kelly & Sophia made cookies, while I got some quality Monte time!

I had promised Olivia (the 5 1/2 year old) that we could go swimming, so we improvised with the kiddie pool.  They are definitely not built for adults, 'cause once I got in it....all the water practically poured out!  However, it was an exciting 10 minute activity!

The rest of the night was full of a little game Olivia called Hair Stylist, catch phrase (of course), and Despicable Me.  The movie put the kids right to bed, so the adults had a late night dinner of flank steak and chatted over some red wine.

In the morning, the two little girls got up early to watch Despicable Me again.  Conor got up as well and spent some time with just the two of them.  I was enjoying the top bunk and kitty blanket so much that I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed yet.  For the next hour, I could hear Olivia & Sophia coming in and out of the room frequently to see if I was awake.  Finally I hear one of them ask Conor: "Does she know it's 8 o'clock?!"  Apparently my still sleeping at 8am was unacceptable so I quickly joined them for some more fun before we had to leave. 

Before saying our goodbyes, Kelly loaded me up with about six baby books!  Guess I have some reading to do.  She was worried that after our visit, Conor & I would never want kids.  But her little ones were too cute, and we loved playing with them.  I may have a bit of baby fever, but...we are going to wait for a little while...

Next baby fix: a trip to Kansas in May to see my great friend Christina and her 3 month old Tommy!

Shh, We're Hunting Wabbits

March 17th, 2011, what a wonderful in so many ways! (1) St. Patrick's Day: Who doesn't love a reason to eat corned beef & cabbage and party 'cause/like you're Irish.  (2) March Madness Begins:  A day many people play hooky to stay home and watch college basketball!  Watching my bracket fail almost immediately.... not so fun.  (3) Our friends from Delaware, Quinn & Karen, arrived!

Quinn & Karen's flights weren't due in until til around 8pm, so Conor & I went back to Blue 32, the fun sports bar in Scottsdale we like, to watch the Gonzaga game.  The bar was packed: half full of sports fans, half full of people getting their Irish on.  We luckily snagged a table in the bar with a decent view of the game.  Zags, cider, & fried pickles....what a perfect combination!  Q & K called for us to come pick them up just as Gonzaga was clinching their first round win.  So we popped over to PHX to kick off a great weekend with our much missed friends, The McAllisters!

That evening, the four of us enjoyed catching up over a few cocktails.  And, of course, we played some Catch Phrase late into the evening!  The next day Conor had to go to work, while the rest of us slept in and had a lazy morning waiting for him to come home.  The weather was gorgeous (no clouds with temps in the lower 80s)!  The three of us enjoyed coffee and breakfast on the patio, while checking in on day 2 of March Madness.  Bloody Mary's & Blongo were next on the agenda....tough morning!

Finally Conor came home, and we all went out to lunch at a place called Oregano's.  I have received numerous recommendations for this place, so we finally were going to check it out.  The pizza was delicious; I can see why so many people like it!  However, our waiter was quite a boisterous, slightly obnoxious, 20-something who made for an interesting experience in itself!  Although he provided us with a little bit of entertainment, we were definitely ready to leave him behind at the end of our meal.  With full bellies, we headed back to our house for more....relaxing!

Q & K are some of the busiest people I know, so the main goal of the visit was just to relax and enjoy each others company.  And what better way to do that, than with cigars on the patio watching the sunset!  The rest of evening contained more basketball, more catch phrase, and more crazy antics into the evening.  We were even lucky enough to coax out Karen's Elmer Fudd voice out...."Shh,  we're hunting wabbits" became the new weekend slogan!

Per strict request by our visitors, Saturday was all about sun, beers, & baseball.  The four us went to Tempe to watch the Angels take on the Indians in quality spring training fashion.  This time we got lawn seats which were an excellent choice.  We arrived there a little early to snag a nice spot right in front of the fence.  It was a wonderful day!  While basking in the sun, we got to enjoy the game, munch on sunflowers seeds, and enjoy a couple refreshing beverages.  Absolute bliss!

On our way home from the game, we stopped at Whole Foods to get all the fixin's for sushi!  Since Conor & I were so successful the first time around, we decided to make it again and teach Q & K.  Once again, the rolls turned out great with the ahi tuna being everyone's favorite.  We all ate our fill and then changed into our "cozies" for a movie in the backyard.  It was a little chilly out that night and some of us were falling asleep, so we didn't end up making it through the whole film.  Is this a sign of age....?

Unfortunately, Sunday came around all too soon, and Q & K had to pack up and leave.  Their flight wasn't until late afternoon so we had time to do a little bar hopping before taking them to the airport.  First stop was our favorite wine bar, The Living Room.  At the rate I've been popping in here, I'll be a regular in a no time!  The place wasn't too busy, so we got one of the coveted couches outside.  The four of us enjoyed bruschetta, salads, sandwiches, and drinks as we relived our fun weekend... dreaming up plans for future visits!

The second stop was at SanTan Brewery, where we had a quick beer (or cider) and caught some of the basketball tournament.  One thing I love about this place is being able to sit at the bar and watch a game, all while being outside with a fan blowing on me.  Doesn't get much better than that!  All too soon, we reluctantly took our East coast friends to airport.  We said our good byes and promised to visit them out East as soon as we can....