Boo at the Zoo

Last Saturday we headed out to celebrate Halloween early at Boo at the Zoo. I've mentioned before that the Milwaukee County Zoo membership is about the best deal in familyland, and this was one reason. A short wait to get through the gates and our car was in and parking for free. We loaded up the mom mobile with the three of us, plus Uncle Stevie, Auntie Erin, and Auntie Erin's niece, Samantha. Samantha borrowed G's Tinkerbell costume and off we went.

Princess in the parking lot


Whoa lady, you are something


Spooky!

Not surprisingly there are not that many animals to see in the dark. But there were TONS of kids and families roaming around and the buildings with small mammals and fish were a big hit. Also a hit was the carousel.

Seriously, the carousel made me a little motion sick but Little loved it

We chose to avoid the crazy line for the train (especially since Matt and I had just taken GG on the train the weekend before) and instead we walked and walked and wore those little costumed cuties out. Towards the end GG was hanging out in her stroller and we came around to a big area that had music blaring. She said something to me which I couldn't understand so I bent down to ask her what she wanted. It was a pretty simple request, "Mommy, I want to get out to dance!" All righty then.

Go on, princess!

Doing the Monster Mash

This is a bit dark but I do not exaggerate when I say this girl loves to dance. Can't wait to see her moves at the wedding on 11/6!

SmokeFest 2010

Yes friends, you read that right. Smoke Fest. Not as in tobacco smoke, but as in smoked meats. For weeks, and I mean weeks, October 9 was reserved for Smoke Fest 2010 by Matt and his buddies at work. Together there were six competitors who gathered at Dan's house (the ringleader) early in the day to do a BBQ Pitmaster-style smoke off. We wives were wrangled into being the judges, along with any children old enough to read (you know, so they could fill out the judging form. Clearly). The judging was based on presentation (25%), appearance (25%, and yes, that is different than 'presentation'), and taste (50%). It was a blind judging so only the guys knew whose ribs were whose. Like everyone else I went through the line and judged each entry individually before moving on to the next contestant. I could easily live my life without ever consuming smoked meats so there wasn't much nuance to my ratings. It was either 'love it' or 'hate it'. 'A' was really good. B and C set my mouth on fire and I didn't even bother with a second bite. D was too sweet. E was also too sweet. F was juuuuuuuuuuuuust right. I actually thought that Matt's entry was F so I was super excited, as apparently my charming husband had been flapping his gums all week to his competition that I would rate his ribs the lowest. Alas, when the numbers were tallied Matt landed in 5th place. His entry was actually C - the fire starters. Looks like we're already signed up for 2011: the year of Rib Revenge.

Do we get to judge too?


The scene: kids, dogs, and smokers as far as the eye could see. Yes, that's a recliner in their yard.


The prize: the coveted pig, complete with genuine sear marks


Matt, probably adding more chili powder


These boys mean business


Doing a little pre-judging dance


Ribs down! Disaster on the horizon, but he pulled it together to win the competition (submission A)


Making Daddy proud


An A for...effort?


The over-under. Notice the freakishly accurate description of Chef Maio


The aftermath