Man will it EVER warm up out there?  We were supposed to go the Royals game yesterday but it was so marginal out we bailed on that plan.  I’m getting tired of sitting outside trying to convince myself I’m having fun when it’s 50 degrees and windy.  Screw it, I’m just going to stay inside for the rest of my life.

We kicked off the weekend pretty strong on Friday, going down the Power & Light District to celebrate K.B.’s 45th birthday.  I like going to those, makes me feel young.  That place is really taking off, it was packed everywhere;  Most places even had a line to get in.  We started things off at the “PBR Big Sky,” which proved “interesting.”  In what would be the theme for the evening, it started out tolerable and then the music got so loud (and bad) that it drove us out.  We ended up moving over to the bowling alley for a little peace and quiet.  This bowling alley had a slightly different format than the ones I’ve been to though;  After we’d been there a few hours it had mysteriously shifted from “bowling alley” to “hip-hop club.”  Time for Phil & Donette to go home.  On our way to catch the bus though, we ran into the neighbor girls, who talked us into stopping by the newly-opened Flying Saucer.  That was one of our favorite places when we lived in Fort Worth, so it really wasn’t very hard to convince us to check it out.  We ended up staying there approximately “way too long.”  We finally left at some unreasonable hour, and found out that we’d missed the last bus home by about an hour…  Whoops!  I knew I hated public transportation for a reason.  So, we split a cab with the girls, which worked out fine.  (They stopped by the Plaza on the way home to keep the night going though… Crazy kids.)

Saturday morning I rather grudgingly drug myself out of bed and headed north to Platte City, to judge my very first BBQ competition.  I wasn’t very sold on the idea at first;  It was cold and rainy, and I stayed out way too late Friday night.  But, I’d signed up for it so I figured I better show.  It turned out to be a good time though, and I got to eat a lot of good BBQ.  (And a little bit of not-so-good too.)  It was a lot easier, and cheaper, than cooking in the competitions, that’s for sure.  I hung around and talked to some guys about a new cooker too, but didn’t pull the trigger just yet.  I’ve been sorta eying a new rig for a while, if for no reason other than I’ve had mine for over 15 years.  Anyway, these guys were cooking on a few models from American BBQ in Olathe, and they looked like pretty solid units.  I’ll wait and see how they did in the competition.  At the end of the day though, I don’t have near enough coin to get a new one anyway, so it’s kinda a moot point.  That event took up most of the afternoon;  I finally got home around 3:00 to find Donette still in bed.  Sheesh.  I carefully rousted her, and we went out in search of a place to watch the Royals game.  Never did find it on TV, so we just hung out at Tanner’s for a while and headed back home.  We opened the front door to find Gabe had escaped his kennel and was tearing around the house like the 85 lb. moose that he is.  He has somehow figured out how to open the latches, and has been escaping more often than not lately.  We can’t figure it out either;  Best guess is he has developed retractable thumbs and folds them out when we’re not around.  Oh well, so far he hasn’t torn anything up, knock on wood.  He just sorta moves things around…  You might find your shoes in different rooms, and a hat laying in the middle of the back yard, that kind of stuff.  Weird dog.

Sunday, as briefly mentioned, we intended to go to the Royals game, but decided against it.  Instead, we went and bought some brisket and chicken and fired up the smoker.  Slightly disheartened by my mediocre finish at the St. Joe competition, I’ve begun my quest to improve the product.  I made a few key changes, which I thought resulted in a slight improvement.  Still need a few more tweaks though, although I haven’t figured out exactly what.  Donette’s first try at chicken turned out well too.  I even stirred up a pot of BBQ gumbo with all the leftovers I’d brought home from Platte City.  Faced with four lbs. of beef, eight pieces of chicken, and a few gallons of gumbo, we called up the neighbors, who luckily came over and helped us at least put a dent in the spread.  The freezer is getting a little stuffed with leftovers though.