A small tornado tore its way down Portland Ave this afternoon. Afterward, I walked the three blocks to take my own pictures of the carnage.

Tiff held her birthday bash at her parent's beach house this year. The theme was Logan's Run and we went through two coolers worth of wop. An awesome and memorable night.

We joined Anne and Doug at Ground Zero for his birthday surprise on stage with the Pirate Burlesque crew. Twas a great show!

Danielle's cousin, Stacey, came to visit for a weekend. We went to the Uptown Art Fair, stopped at the Falls, peeked at the Sculpture Garden, and then met friends at Pizza Luce.

This year for my birthday, we rolled our own sushi and had a good time munching Japanese goodies, drinking, and partying. Thanks for all the wonderful gifts and cards!

Kara invited us to spend the weekend at her family's cabin. We spent it swimming, boating, kayaking, grilling, drinking, playing the rope game, and having a blast.

After the prior day's bash, we went for bloodies at the Chatterbox, filled the ball pit with water to cool off in, finished the keg, then stoked up the firepit and shaved my head.

Danielle hosted a huge Candy Land themed party. Everyone dressed up in character and had a blast with foosball, the ball pit, ice luge shots, and rainbow colored drinks and snacks. It was fantastic and everyone had a ton of fun!

Mo and Shane were in town a day early for Danielle's big party, so we went to a Twins/Yankees game. After the Twins lost, we joined people at Grumpy's and then ended the night at the Manfort.

We took a quick break from the CONvergence and joined Tiff for her family's Fourth of July beach party. The band Who Nu was there to play, along with a giant firetruck slide, and pig roast. These people know how to throw a party!

Danielle joined us for her first Con experience this year. We spent our time wandering, people watching, and drinking lots. This time around we stayed at the hotel and partied it up!

Ed and I tagged along with Betsy to the Brewfest at Midway Stadium. There were hundreds of tasty beers to sample. :) Afterwards, we went to a secret neighborhood pub built above a garage. Fantastic!

We headed over to St. Paul with Bubba for the Jazz Festival and started the evening at Ann's. Afterwards we stopped in at Barrio, Innuendo, and The Bulldog. Quite a night!

Meredith has returned from South Korea, so she and Phister had people over for a party. Afterwards most of us headed to the Otter Stop Inn to end the night.

Bertine and Zach hosted a Spam cookout complete with gourmet Spam. We enjoyed Spam burgers, Spam kabobs, Spam loaf, and Spam cake. Even Sid and Bubba ate their share of Spam.

Toni had a little summer soirée in her backyard, so we headed over with the dogs and enjoyed some fireside chat and a bit of Rockband.

Our team, "Second Base", lost all 6 league games, but we did win 2 out of 3 playoff games. After such hard work, we head off to our sponsor, Liqour Lyle's, for some much needed refreshment. Onward to Summer League!

Katie began her birthday celebration with friends at the Chatterbox Pub. I got a few pics in before we left early for the night. Hope you had a blast!

Danielle and I biked down to the Otter Stop Inn for Joni's birthday. It was packed! Soon we all left to end the evening with cocktails at Club Jager. Good times.

The Current sponsored the annual David Bowie tribute concert with covers by local musicians down at First Ave. It was a stellar show with lots of familiar faces.

I went to the Kitty Cat Klub last night to listen in on Brian Gallagher play his sax with Scott Dercks. It was an amazing jazz set as expected. And a fun, cozy atmosphere with friends. :)

I decided last minute to join friends for Goth Prom at the Saloon. Tons of people were there dressed up in their finery of the night. Lots of eye candy and fun.

Time to clean out the remnants of nearly empty bottles in Danielle's liquor cabinet. Margaritas, mojitos, and Long Islands filled cups as we hung around the bonfire and grilled hotdogs and veggies.

Kelly and I wandered a bit of the NE Art-A-Whirl. We made sure to stop in at Angelo's new Silk Road Studio where I added "The Green Fairy" to my Brewer collection.

I had Bubba on Friday and was watching Kari's dogs for the weekend as well. It made for a day of dogs and enough energy to power a small nuclear plant. All four dogs sure had a great day!

After a stop at Everett's, I made an attempt at turning a $10 cut of tenderloin into a $40 steak. Great success was had.

Bubba came over to play with Sid all day. They kept themselves busy with, chomping, tug of war, chasing, and exploring. They were two tired pups by the end of the day!

I went along with Danielle and her friends to celebrate Tony and Sarah's wedding up on Mille Lacs lake. We all stayed in a cabin at the resort and had three fun filled days. Congratulations, you two!

In order to have more free time for outdoor summer fun, we're suspending Rockband nights until fall. We all got dressed up in our finery and went to the Casa de Pantalones for the first half and then finished the night back at the Manfort.

Danielle and I met up with friends for a light rail bar crawl, but we didn't make it further than the first bar. So it was a night of karaoke at the Cardinal and lots of cheap beer.