Are you ready for round two of Summer O12’ happenings so far?? I’m going to assume that if you’re reading this the answer is yes!
How many master degrees in meat science does it take to smoke ribs? The answer is four plus two hungry dogs.
Who knew there were hills like this in Nebraska?
I couldn't resist this picture. I think it looks like a boy band album cover.
Yes, Ace does cattle work in shorts when it's hot out. Jealous ladies??
Next, came a weekend in Austin for our Roteract volleyball tournament. I did my best to put together a stellar team after the disappointing showing in last year's tournament. Ace, Jessie, Adam, Johnson, Mac, and my friend Crystal made up my team. I thought we would definitely win at least one game. Sadly, we never left the loser’s bracket and were the first team eliminated. We later played in a loser, loser’s bracket against Holly’s team. We were ahead in the third tie breaker game when we had to quit so the championship game could take place on the court. We went ahead and declared ourselves not the worse team there.. It was a really fun weekend having a house full of visitors. We hung out in the backyard, grilled, and had a bonfire. We then proceeded to burn a cabinet and some random boards from the garage after the firewood ran out. Note to self – next time buy more firewood.
Rob and Brooke fled the heat of Illinois to visit Minnesota. I took off work on Friday to spend the day with them. We ate at this very yummy restaurant called “The Blue Door Pub”. Brooke had seen it on an episode of Driver’s, Dine Ins, and Dives where they featured SPAM balls and a Minneapolis original – the Juicy Lucy hamburger. The food was delicious! The SPAM balls were deep fried balls of cream cheese, pickles, and SPAM served with a pepper jelly. YUM! Then, in some kind of weird miracle, we convinced the boys to go to Ikea and the Mall of America. Luckily, Ikea has plenty of display couches to sit on and MOA has many dining establishments to sit and have a few beverages. It was a great day! Saturday we went tubing down the Root River in nearby Lanesboro. Vacation does weird things to my brother because he even wore shorts! Everyone needed sunglasses from the whiteness of his legs :)
This year is the 75th Anniversary of SPAM. Betcha didn’t know that! To celebrate, Hormel planned a big celebration which included the SPAMtastic Challenge. The challenge was an employee team competition that resembled the TV show "Minute to Win It". There were various random games that members of the team had to complete within one minute. I found that I have a talent for being able to slide an Oreo down my face and catch it in my mouth. I’m available for bookings if you’d like me to come show off at your next party! My team was the R&D ‘B’ Team (long story behind that name), and we very surprisingly won! The only thing we won with our rare talents were bragging rights. However R&D was so proud of our efforts that they had an embarrassingly large banner made up that is now displayed on the outside of the building.
The B Team in first place!
Holly and I dominating at the "move a pop can with a spaghetti noodle" challenge.
You had to catch three Oreo's to get all of the points. I did just that.
I know my Mom would be so proud.
August has mostly been spent with Mom and Dad. They had a mini vacation that included visiting me, going to a cabin in very northern Minnesota, and then stopping to visit me again. Ace and I joined them up north in Ely, MN for a weekend. It’s very pretty up there. We attempted to fish, but we only caught one fish all day. Overall, it was a nice relaxing weekend. While Mom and Dad were in Austin they were very good workers. We got so many little projects finished and started some new and exciting projects. Stay tuned for more updates!
So that very long winded update brings us to the end of summer. I can’t believe it’s over! However, football is starting and I can’t wait to do some tailgating!
