A Nice Summer Weekend (with the occasional downpour!)

I must say that this first official weekend of summer was quite nice. Plus, the weather was actually decent which makes us all happy! Tom had the pleasure of informing me that the days will now be getting shorter from here on out. That was quite sad to hear! I don't know why he felt the need to share that little tidbit of info. As far as the weekend goes...we had the pleasure of having Amy and Steffen over to grill (Tandoori chicken and lots of veggies all on the grill--YUM!) Friday night. They left NYC to go apartment searching here as they will be back in August! We are so thrilled we will have them nearby again!
Saturday and Sunday have been rather uneventful. Tom always has to come up with some project so his latest was to construct a rain barrel to become a little more eco- friendly. Pre-made rain barrels are quite spendy and not that attractive because they are made out of plastic so Tom was able to find an oak barrel on sale to make our own. All he had to do was add the faucet and a few other various parts. It turned out quite nicely and Owen had a fun time playing in it before it was finished. Hence, all of the pictures. He also loved trying to smell the flowers and eat the leaves. Also, as you can see, apparently the inside of the barrel was a little dirty!
Today we had a fun mini adventure. The wonderful Kubat family was kind enough to let us use their Burley so we could go on some family bike rides. So this morning, after dropping off Chad at the airport, Susan and the kids came over bright and early to drop off the Burley. We had a nice breakfast with them at the Longfellow Grill. As always, it was quite yummy! Later on, after Owen napped etc...we took off on our bikes with Owen in tow. He had a good time in it! We went along Minnehaha Creek to the River Road along the Mississippi. It is quite a scenic ride. We biked to one of Tom's friend's houses to check out his new landscaping. It ended up being about a 5 mile bike ride! Tom bikes faster than I (even while towing Owen!) so it was quite a workout for me! Unfortunately, on the way back, we were so lucky to get stuck in a downpour! I even checked the weather before we left!! We stopped under a little shelter but decided to brave the rain since we could see blue sky ahead. That was definitely not the highlight of my day but oh well. We dried off by the time we got home. Plus, Owen stayed dry the entire time thanks to the rain flap on the Burley! I have a feeling the Burley will be put to good use! Oh and how do you like the helmet?
And ,FINALLY, I had to add a photo of Daddy reading to Owen. Owen adores books now more than ever and it was just another photo op I had to take advantage of. Enjoy!