The American Family

Ice cream trucks, Bomb Pops, BBQ, lemonade, beer, sunshine, sleeping in, staying up late, American flags, summer dresses, and fireworks. I'm a sucker for the Fourth of July [and summer in general] and this was one of those weekends I never wanted to end.

Fireworks: the perfect symbol of America's tendency to go over-the-top with extravagance, unnecessarily dropping thousands of dollars for an hour of mindless entertainment. And I love every minute of it:) In fact, we did not just see ONE fireworks show. We saw two: Thursday night we headed downtown for the big Milwaukee display and Friday we watched our local suburb's version. The downtown show was freaking insane [and I'm not just talking about the parking situation]: fireworks in four different locations, all down by the lakefront. Three intervals in 20 minute sessions --all complete with individual 'grande finales'-- totaling an hour of firework madness. And Milwaukee does not screw around with crummy works; they go all out with heart-shaped, dollar sign-shaped, smiley face-shaped fireworks that had us saying, "oooooh" and "ahhhhh". It inspired us to snap many pictures, which proved to be a difficult feat:

[two of the four locations]

Then our local suburb came through on Friday with their own pimptastic show, albeit only 25 minutes long with one grande finale. We sat freakishly close to the fireworks and it was too much fun to watch the guys light each work---I loved it! Leaving blind, deaf, and inhaling toxic smoke is always a sign of a good night. And I'm proud to be an American:)

Then came Saturday, the day we had to run ten miles. Let's just say this was a rough one for me. My stomach nearly exploded from my body multiple times and I don't know why. All I know is my digestive system needs to behave on race day or I might suffer from a mental breakdown/severe embarrassment. NOT cool, but we ran 10.21 miles in 1:37 which is still less than 10 minute miles [and better than Oprah!]. And so begins the double-digit mileage...I also got a wicked tan line from one of my new tank tops, which figures. Don't they make strapless running tops anywhere? Oh wait, I'm trying to be a 'hard core' runner and not a pansy. I forgot.

After the grueling run I convinced Nate to lay out on the beach with me [which did not ease my tan lines despite my efforts]. Milwaukee's lake front is one of my most favorite places in town. It's so beautiful and serene and the best place to people-watch ever. I've decided I want a sailboat, too, just so you know.


Oh, and for you non-Milwaukeeans, we have the COOLEST art museum ever. Just look at this puppy!
Sunday started with a bang: making banana pancakes! Okay, so we used the boxed mix and just added smashed bananas, but I am still proud of us. Even if they were a little mushy and weird. Nate had to study most of this day so I made myself useful and deep cleaned our place. Nothing better than capturing dust bunnies from their hiding spots!

Besides watching tons of tennis at Wimbledon, I convinced Nate to go for a bike ride. In the midst of all this running insanity, I forgot about our fabulous road bikes. Biking for 45 minutes is WAY easier than running [at least the way we ride] and I love the wind in my face, too. But the next day I always remember why I despise biking---when my backside pulsates all day long. It's seriously not normal to shove a little hard seat up your hee-haw while riding over bumpy paths. That's all I have to say about that.

Please note that my helmet is purple with flowers on it and try not to be too jealous:




I almost slammed into the photographer on this last shot, but I wanted you to see our awesome bikes. Is it bad that I sometimes forget how to change gears, and I like to use my feet for brakes? Because Nate hates my riding skills:)

So yes, it was a super fabulous weekend. Next you'll hear from Henry about his little experience...