We went bowling on Friday night, kind of randomly. Dario & Gina invited us out. Off to Revs Bowling in Burnaby, the old 10 pin staple.

I kind of find it surprising how busy it is in there every time I go there. Lots of parties and stagettes. People in costumes, people having fun.

We bowled 3 games for $20 which was pretty good, but it was about the only good thing we were about to encounter.

Revs has a rule that if you want to drink booze while you bowl then you have to buy food. Its actually a law or a by-law or something. Dosen’t really bother me, I like munching on stuff and their platters to share aren’texpensive. So we flag down a waitress, the one and only waitress working the entire bowling alley and order a pitcher of beer. We ask if we have to order food as well and she says we are supposed to but she doesn’t care, so we don’t. It took half an hour for her to finally bring us said pitcher. The old ‘sorry, the Keg was being changed’ excuse was given to us. The boys were not impressed but at least they had their beer.

The pitcher went down quick, so another one was in order. I suggested trying our luck at the bar so Dario headed over. 15 minutes later he comes back pissed off and beerless. There was a group of guys standing at the front of the line ordering shot after shot and the bartender only seemed concerned with them. The line up didn’t more for 15 minutes and the bartender didn’t seem to care. Thank you, Revs, for your wonderful service. Dario was about to have a rage attack on someone.

So, we tried our luck with the waitress again. Chad finally found her and ordered another pitcher. We finished up our second game and the pitcher still hadn’t shown up. Now Dario was ready to kill someone. Halfway through game number 3 we decided if this waitress ever did show up we would not accept the beer, given the fact that we had waited another 30 minutes. We bowled and nothing came.  No beer at all. No waitress. NOTHING. Are you kidding me? The real kicker was that all the groups around us were ordering beers and shots and food and they got everything they ordered right away. Us, we got shit. Maybe it was because we ordered pitchers, or maybe its because Revs has the worst service ever.

Personally, I could care less about beer, but when you are trying to have a good time with boys who put way too much importance on beer and then end up in a piss poor mood when they don’t get beer, you get frustrated.

The good thing was that I won. I won all three games. Yea, that’s right, apparently I rule at bowling. 5 pin not so much, but 10 pin is where I excel. I took this photo as a tribute to my Nonno, who loves to pose for pictures like this. That’s right, I am a WINNER.

This is what a winner looks like from behind.

Going to the PNE every Summer is a tradition that I will never let die. Even though it feels like we go for a shorter and shorter amount of time each year, I just can’t not see all those adorable farm animals and eat loads of deep fried goodness.

This year our Whitecaps tickets got us into the PNE for free which was awesome. The only thing that sucked was that we missed the last show of the Super Dogs, which bummed everyone out. We are obsessed with the Super Dogs.

I can’t remember where I read it or heard it but I was informed of the PNE having Deep Fried Onion Blooms this year. SO EXCITED! Deep Fried Onion Blooms are on my Food Bucket List, so you know I had to indulge. The dipping sauce was spicy and the onion batter was delicious. It was a little softer then I was expecting and definitely needed a knife and fork but it was super tasty. Chad, Elise, Ryan, and myself shared one. Dario basically ate a whole one himself.

Chad was not feeling very good the next morning and blamed the Onion Bloom for his bathroom woes, but given that I have a super sensitive stomach and did not get sick despite eating the Onion Bloom as well makes me think Chad was wrong about the Deep Fried Oniony goodness.

Hello Farm Animals!

Sheep! My favorite!

Clearly my favorite part of the PNE. I tried to get a job there one Summer but it never came to fruition. Sad Face.

Anything to do with Farming, Farm Animals, and THE Farm are untouchable in my book. Ryan and Chad finally realized that Elise and I will always love The Farm (My grandparents farm) more than anything. By the time they came around The Farm was gone so they will never understand.

I never feel shorter than Elise until someone takes a picture to prove it.

Ryan got his chance to race on the track. He was faster than the speed of light.

Chad failed to inform me that my impromptu photo shoot took place right in front of a red van. Awkward.

We seem to spend a lot of time on the PNE grounds in the Summer. It kind of feels like my second home since it’s literally 10 minutes from my parents home and my brother works here and so much of what we do involves the PNE. Sport, Horses, Fairs. SO MUCH GOODNESS! These are my stomping grounds.

I love you Fair at the PNE.

Though we’ve been to two BC Lions games at Empire Field, we had never been to a Whitecaps game. The only Whitecaps game we’ve been to actually was years ago at Swangard Stadium for Ryans Birthday. We definitely wanted to experience some Vancouver soccer at Empire before it was too late.

We started off the days events at Oscars pub on Boundary & Hastings. I haven’t been there in like 8 year but it is the meeting place for all Whitecaps fans so we knew we had to start it off right. Dario & Gina met us down there along with my cousin Steven who has moved here from Italy. We were just finishing off our beers, getting ready to walk down to the stadium when Steven showed up with a pitcher of beer! I haven’t had that much beer in a very long time, but it was a challenge we were all up to.

After the beers we joined the hoards of Whitecaps fans and walked down to the stadium to meet up with Ryan and Elise.

We ‘splurged’ and got tickets on the West side of the stadium as to ensure we would be in the shade. It was the perfect day, hot and sunny, with amazing views and excited fans. The funny thing about our seats was that during the first half of the game there was a lot of empty seats in our section while the section across from us was packed, but during half time all of a sudden all the seats filled up and there were tons of empty seats on the other side of the stadium. I guess people were getting a little too toasty in the sun!

We wanted to get to our seats so we could see all the pre-game festivities, but buying more beer was more important to the boys so only Elise and I got to take it all in.

There was some great chances through out the whole game. We were all really into it.

Spike came to visit. He bit Elises head and Ryan tapped his drum (that kind of sounds dirty haha). He is so fuzzy and soft I just want to take him home with me.

Ryan got a little photo happy when I gave him my camera. He was acting like a crazy paparazzo.

Oh hey look, we scored!

Yes, we are officially good luck. Last time the Lions won, and this time the Whitecaps won!

 It was such a great game and I’m really glad we paid a little extra for seats in the shade. I don’t even want to think about how gross Chad would have been if we sat in the sun.

Now I can’t wait to see what the new BC Place looks like!

Our first visit to Hasting Racecourse this Summer happened this past weekend. I bought a groupon a few months back and have been waiting for the weather to be just right. Thankfully the weather finally smarten up and we chose the perfect weekend for it.

The groupon was for a box seat, 6 programs, and $10 towards food and drinks. We settled in for a very enjoyable afternoon.

This is Ryans horse. Ryans horse won him $20 on a $2 bet. Somehow we never have that kind of luck. The Tyrrells were winning everything. They kept betting on horses to win and the would win. We bet on horses to win and they would come in 2nd. What the hell! Someones got a horse shoe up their ass.

Chads not impressed with the Tyrrells beating everyone.

Speaking of horses, my husband is a stud.

Dario and his friend Gina joined us for the day. It was a jam packed day at that. Hasting Racecourse in the afternoon, the Sandbar for dinner, and then Granville Island Arts Club for Patsy Cline in the evening. It was such a great day of venue hoping in the city.

For the 2nd to last race I went up close and personal to watch my horse come in second. See I told you ever time I bet to win I lost! The horses are just so beautiful, I love watching them. This is one of my favourite spots in the city.

Crossing the finish line. #6 was my bet to win :(

It’s always neat to see who own the horses, plus I always forget just how tiny the jockeys are.

We had a great day. Our server was excellent, and the food and drinks were awesome. The Mediterranean Meet & Cheese platter was so good!

I absolutely love Hastings Racecourse. It seems as though every person I talk to has some fond memory at the Race Track. Hanging out with their Grandparents, betting on the prettiest horse, or just enjoying the amazing view. Going to Hastings Racecourse is one of my favourite things to do each Summer and I hope the tradition never dies.

A couple Fridays ago my Uncle offered us 4 tickets to the Lions game. In seeing as how we haven’t been to a Lions game this season, we treated the BFFs to some Football Fun. Clearly we were good luck because the losing Lions actually won a game! Elise was pretty tense through all 4 quarters but I had a good feeling about it.

I was glad to be sitting in actual seats, unlike our first game at Empire.

I find these girls rather amusing.

Men go through a lot of beer.

Look! We scored a touch down!

Woot Woot!

They had Mascot Musical Chairs and Tug-o-War at half time. I was the best thing I have ever seen! HAHAHA I was giddy like a 5 year old!

The Best Buy mascot was the best.

Elise is very tense right here.

Nice Bums.

These guys are ridiculous.

Yes Dear, your chin is quite impressive.

Drunk girl is excited that the Lions scored. Drunk girl is also excited because she is drunk.

Drunk Girl made friends with the Drunk Guy from Saskatchewan in front of her. He was much older then her, but that didn’t stop him from getting touchy feely after the game. Note Drunk Girls awkward face. Note Drunk Guy trying to make out with her neck. Note Not Drunk Boyfriend looking very confused. So very amusing.

It was a bitch and a half getting too and from the Stadium. We’ve never had a problem with traffic getting there but this particular night was a disaster. Though we left with plenty of time to spare, we ended up being 20 minutes late. Parking was also a bit of a gong show despite my brother helping us find a spot. Yes, I have connections at PNE parking.

After the game was even worse. We were stuck on Renfrew for 20 minutes not moving at all. Finally Chad got out of the car to see what the problem was. Well, he took too long getting back and we figured out that if we turned left instead of right we could exit the mayhem much easier. Only problem was Chad was no longer in the car. So we made our move, parked on the side of the road, called him and told him to meet us, and then watched him walk in the opposite direction because apparently he doesn’t listen to instructions very well.

OMG what clusterfuck.

Ryan had to jump out of the car to chase him down because he wasn’t answering his phone, but eventually we got everyone back in the car and home safe and sound!

It was an eventful night at Empire, to say the least. Now we just need to check out a Whitecaps game.