Fourth of July

We're having one of those stretches of unbelievable weather that (almost) makes you forget about Minnesota winters. So while we didn't get to spend the holiday on a lake or at a park, the utter perfection of the sun and the sky and the food and the friends made the holiday seem like just that...a perfect summer celebration.

We spent Friday and Saturday night at barbecues with friends, stuffing ourselves on other's hospitality (egg rolls and pork chops at Han's, brats and ribs at Chad's) and enjoying the ease of summer gatherings.

Sunday morning found us at the Farmer's market in St Paul, buying sweet peas and flowering perennials and huge batches of fresh greens. A garden was planted (this only took three years of complaining about the side of the house and a whopping 21 dollars to fix...we're nothing if not efficient!), and another impromptu dinner eventually ensued.

The actual fourth of July was low-key, which was just what we (or at least I) had in mind. We went on a 6+ mile walk, then out for lunch at the Cheeky Monkey Deli, then came home, where I promptly passed out on the couch in some sort of post-walk-pregnancy-haze. An hour or so later I was able to rouse myself, and we dragged some cushions out to the backyard, where we gorged ourselves on watermelon.




We lazed about and licked our fingers.




We talked hazy dreams about Taylor 2.0




Later, we shelled peas, and found a perfect three peas in a pod.



We lit fireworks.



We ended the evening with the best plan ever...watch fireworks from the back roof! Surely we would be able to see the downtown fireworks from such a high vantage point! Alas, we are apparently situated in the worst spot for fireworks watching in all of St Paul, but we did discover that the back roof is surprisingly comfortable, plus there was all the fun of being on the roof and no one is even yelling at us about it! Look mom, no hands!



All in all, a most wonderful holiday weekend.