It's Still Summer.

This picture brings back memories of riding my bike in the snow in Chicago and makes me the littlest bit excited for winter.

Weekend Recap: Relaxing, Reverting.

This weekend, we all did a lot of this:

While I was out running errands on Friday afternoon, I stopped in at AC Moore and picked up some embroidery floss to make friendship bracelets (like I mentioned here). By the time I left the store we were getting some wicked thunderstorms and downpours, so it was the perfect time to cozy up on the couch and try to remember how my young fingers used to turn this string into jewelry. I got the hang of it after just a little while, and enjoyed the mindless monotony of tying a knot, tying a knot, tying a knot... 

After my run on Sunday morning - only 10 miles (more on this tomorrow) - hubs and I took these beauties out for a spin. We rode 5 miles down Beach Drive to our favorite farm stand to pick up some local produce. Tomatoes. Peaches. Blackberries. Green beans. Yum. Then it was 5 miles back home. Ouch.

When we got home, we turned on the USA v. Brazil Women's World Cup game, which ended up being a 120 minute plus nail-biter of epic proportions. My nerves were rattled watching the end of the game...actually, the last half of the game, extra time and penalty kicks. I cannot handle penalty kicks. I think I conjure memories of taking PKs in a few high school state tournament games and the anxiety makes my head want to explode. After the American ladies won the game, I needed a nap. Like this guy:

July 4th Recap.

We had a perfectly American Independence Day. We started it off by sleeping in on a holiday Monday. It's what Uncle Sam would want. Then we loaded our bikes into the back of the car, drove a short distance to northwest DC and rode our bikes through Rock Creek Park and along Pennsylvania Avenue into downtown. Since the Metro wasn't too busy yet (I think everybody was watching the parade), we took the green line down to Nationals Park.

What is more American than baseball? Why, watching baseball from awesome seats, while eating a chili dog, drinking beer, and almost catching a foul ball, of course! I found myself rooting for the Nats and the Cubs. And even though the home team won, I serenaded the crown with "Go Cubs Go" as we were leaving the stands.

To skip the Metro chaos after the game, we walked from Nationals Stadium back to the Mall. The area around the stadium is still turning. There are quite a few new high rise office and residential buildings, but some old "New Condos" are still available.

Knowing that we were going to be waiting a while for the fireworks to start, we grabbed some beers and burgers at the Hawk 'n Dove on Capitol Hill before heading to the Mall to find a small piece of real estate from which to watch the show. We ended up sitting right at the foot of the Washington Monument looking west, and watched the fireworks pop with the Lincoln Memorial in the background.

The last time I went to see live fireworks on the 4th of July was in 2001 in Indianapolis. I'm not sure why it has taken me this long to realize how incredible a live fireworks display is. And fireworks on the 4th in Washington, DC, can't be beat. I think we've found a new tradition.