Weekend Update: Hockey, Awesome Music, and a Birthday Party (part 1)

Friday night was game 1 of the CCHA hockey playoffs...Mavericks vs the Bowling Green Falcons. Mavs won 6 to 1. Normally, it wouldn't be considered an exciting game, but Bowling Green was the hockey team that cheated, and won a game with us that they shouldn't have in the regular season. So smashing them into the ice was nice to see.

(Coincidentally, they did the same thing on Saturday night....6 to 1. Awesome!!!!)

On Saturday morning, I bummed around the house, doing laundry and other fun things like that. The boys picked me up around lunch, and the three of us headed east to Des Moines. Roxi Copland, one of our all time favorite local artists (from Des Moines), was holding a CD release party...and the 5 of us scored ourselves VIP tickets for the show!!!

I drove most of the way....it seems the Boys needed a little nappy time. :-)





When we first arrived in Des Moines, we stopped at the Girls' house...and then headed out. First stop, Dollar Tree.

Exciting eh?

You just never know where you're going to end up when you go out with us!!!! :-)

Second stop, getting the Boys checked into their hotel.

Here they are, with their Dollar Tree bags, in front of the hotel.



And, as we'd find out minutes later, the wrong hotel! (hehehehehehe)

From there, we headed to Day Dreams, a retail store closer to downtown. I wanted to stop by, because they sell disc golf discs. When we got out of the car, a block from the store, we could smell the place before we could see it. Incense anyone? :-) :-)

I decided that it would be good for me to actually use the discs I have, before buying more. But I'm sure I'll be back this summer to look around!


Des Moines natives in their natural habitat. And, it appears, wearing their finest.

It was about then we noticed the time, and decided to head back to the house to get changed and ready for the night.

Before the show, we stopped at a Mexican restaurant the Girls and I had eaten in last summer...and, it just so happens, is right next door to the hotel the Boys where were actually supposed to be staying. :-)

After dinner, we beat feet downtown. The venue, People's Court.

When we walked in the door, the gentlemen greeting people...handing out the bottles of wine (we rec'd with our VIP tickets)....said...without skipping a beat...."Oh, you must be the Omaha group?" We hadn't given them names or anything yet. None of us were wearing hats that said Omaha....nor were any of us carrying the Nebraska state flag. So.....apparently, we're famous!

Who knew?!?!?!


Our bottles.


Roxi's show was wonderful....as usual! Besides her original work, she did a couple covers I'd never heard her perform. One, in particular, was (correct me if I'm wrong) co-written by Steely Dan.

(Roxi, if you're reading this...keep that one in your set list!) :-)


I'd never heard her play with her band...only solo. It was great!


I knew they wouldn't be able to keep her out from behind the piano long. :-)



The new album, by the way, is awesome!!!

She's out on tour now...if she's in your area...you should go check her out!!!!

The show was done at 9:00, and none of us could decide if we wanted to call it a night or not. There was a bar around the corner that the Girls had never checked out....so the five of us headed over.



We had a cocktail while waiting for the balcony above the dance floor to open. Once it was opened, we headed up.


Makes you wonder what this conversation was about, doesn't it? :-)



Another drink or two....and a couple of really "interesting" conversations later...we all decided to call it a night. We dropped the boys off at their hotel, then headed back to the house.

Sheila and I snacked on some munchies, giggled like school girls, then eventually drug ourselves to bed.

All 5 of us met up the next morning for breakfast.

At a Bar-B-Q joint.



Yep, you heard me right. BBQ for breakfast.


Danny had 4 pancakes....that weighed no less than 5 pounds....and were normal dinner plate sized, at least.


Sheila had a smoked sausage burrito the size of her head.


I ordered a quesadilla with smoked chicken, and a side of the smoked ham.

When breakfast was over, we all said our good byes, and headed back towards Omaha. We had a busy day ahead of us!!!!


(to be cont)