The Soukups: Happy Birthday America

Bill and I are both on day 4 of a glorious 4-day weekend. We relaxed together all day Friday. One benefit of living in Des Plaines is that the area has so many great parks, most of which have playgrounds for children, and some that are perfect for picnics. During a walk, we discovered a peaceful grassy park with lots of trees and flowers and decided to have a picnic there on Friday. We read, talked, ate and laid on the blanket until the sun started to set. It was wonderful! It was a perfect day off with my babe.

We started the Fourth of July off with a 13 mile run, which really boosted our spirits about the marathon! We were only planning on running 12, the longest run we've had so far this year, and we felt so good at the end that we decided to go the extra mile and do half of the marathon distance. It was inspiring! We thought we would be completely exhausted after the run, which would have been sad because we had night plans too.. but we felt fine! It's so hard to imagine though that it was only HALF of the distance - that if we had been running the marathon, we'd have to turn around and do it all again. Yikes!

On the night of the Fourth, Megan and her roommate, Elizabeth had a rooftop party at their apartment in Wicker Park. Once the rain stopped, everyone was able to party on the roof while vagabonds set off fireworks in every direction. Megan's Charleston friends were in town and are always so much fun in their cute southern dresses and southern drawls. They make me really want to move below the Mason Dixie line.

Sunday, I went to the Cubs game with all of the Brodericks and Meg's visiting friends. We had seats on a rooftop, something I haven't done before. It was very fun! We spent the whole time talking in the sun and didn't watch the game too closely except to cheer for runs (the Cubs won 8-2). When I got home, exhausted, my wonderful husband asked what I wanted for dinner, went to the grocery store, and made dinner for us while I laid and watched Friends. He had spent the day with our nephews, going to Crystal Lake's 4th of July parade and playing with water balloons. Such a fun weekend.

I wanted to ice my knees after the run, but there was no time. Bill helped tape the ice packs to my knees while I wrapped bacon wrapped dates for Megan's party