Can't get enough of Summer

Just a few reasons Will and I can't get enough of summer:

A plethora of city events to choose from: A few weekends ago, we went to the Stone Arch Bridge festival and checked out local artwork, bands, and got to spend some time around St. Anthony falls- an old favorite from our Minneapolis days:) Then last night we headed over to Harriet Island for the Taste of Minnesota. The music was great (Minus the Bear, P.O.S., Atmosphere, etc...), and you can't beat the location. I would say that compared to the Taste of Chicago, the food selection was more generic- more fair food and fewer local restaurants- but we stuck to the local spots (we sampled ribs, pork tacos, soutwestern corn on the cob, sushi, and Bridgeman's ice cream) .

City Parks: Eating at the Tin Fish on Lake Calhoun is one of Will's favorite summer activities (see pic below of a beautiful evening walk around the lake). What says summer more than sitting in adirondak (sp??) chairs with a view of the sun setting over the lake, while eating fresh fish? When we stick closer to home, we go to a lot of the parks along the river. Last year there was a fair amount of beach alongside the river, but this year the water levels are too high! Although, we have significantly less middle-of-the-day free time this summer for sitting on the beach (Will was looking for a job last summer and I taught nights), so it's not a huge loss.

BBQ's: I'm pretty sure we grilled at least 3 times a week in the summers when I was a kid. I could eat burgers, brats, watermellon, and corn on the cob for every meal in the summer and never get sick of it. Our cohort was able to get together for a BBQ recently at Nick and Shannon's gorgoeus patio (they put it in themselves) to welcome Ryan, Elizabeth, and Santiago home from their year in Honduras (Ryan was doing his dissertation research there). Santi was about 6 months when they left, so it was fun to see how he had grown- he was walking all over the place, checking out the yard:) We are glad to have them back! We also headed down to my parents' house last weekend and of course grilled a couple of times and played plenty of bocce ball, catch (my wrist is close to normal again!), and frisbee with Mosby in the backyard. We have had plenty of rain this year, so the corn and beans are growing like crazy, making the countryside all the more gorgeous (and a perfect backdrop for said outdoor activities). Stephen and Kirstin also had the weekend off, so they were able to come down and hang out, and Kirstin's parents came for dinner on Sunday. On Friday, we checked out the baseball team in LaCrosse with our friends Matt and Sarah. The Loggers team is made up of college baseball players that want to keep playing over the summer, and they bring in an average of 3,000 people a game (pretty impressive for a town that size). My favorite thing was that they actually had police directing traffic at one intersection (questionable if this was truly necessary); oh yeah and also that Ronald McDonald sang the national anthem. Priceless. It was a great night for baseball, and it is fun to be so close to the action (because it will probably be 20 years until we can afford tickets that close at Target Field). It was such a relaxing and fun weekend (despite the depressing U.S. loss to Ghana).

The only sad thing about summer is that it is going so fast!

Happy 4th!

Until next time,
Kirsten