friday five: fourth of july

Technically it's Saturday evening, so I'm a little late to the Friday Five. My apologies, but better late than never, right? I am linking up with the DC Trifecta again for another Friday Five: Courtney at Eat Pray Run DC, Cynthia at You Signed up for What?, and Mar at Mar on the Run. This week's theme is "Fourth of July". Here are five things that are on my weekend calendar/to-do list (or things that at this point are already completed...)

1. Hometown parade and fireworks/BBQ at moms house. Every year my hometown has a parade and fireworks the day before the fourth. I get the pleasure of spending time with my mom, sister-in-laws, nephews, parent-in-laws, and other family members (or family of family members, but to me, it's all the same :) ). During the parade, I help all the kids in our group gather as much thrown candy as possible – it's like Halloween for them. After the parade, my brother cooks up some burgers, brats, and hot dogs, and we eat lots of yummy food (this year I went with some pasta salad, potato salad, fruit salad, and a cheeseburger. And for dessert, a small piece of vanilla cake with strawberry filling) while the fireworks go off not too far from the house. It was a lovely evening.

2. Finish the running streak on July 4 with a 7.4 mile run. I actually ended up going about 8 miles total, but I stopped my watch at 7.4 for the purpose of the day. It was in the upper 70s/low 80s and sunny, but it was a pretty good run and didn't feel too miserable out. I almost stopped at 4.7 because I was having a bit of hamstring and arch pain, but after continuing at a slow pace during mile 3, the pain subsided, so I kept going for the intended 7.4 miles without any issues.

3. Another family BBQ. I was lucky enough to spend more time with family on the Fourth – cousins I don't get to see very often. More delicious food was eaten (bbq chicken, steak in tortillas, corn on the cob, and apple pie).

4. Relax. It's a very rare thing in my calendar to have nothing scheduled, so I plan on enjoying it with some couch time on Saturday and Sunday watching movies/tv shows, playing Super Mario World on Wii, and reading. 

5. Cleaning/errands. I have plenty of laundry and cleaning to do this weekend, along with a few errands. I'm hoping to make it to Target to look for some goggles and a swim cap. Then the only thing left to do will be to join the gym and start using the pool!

What were your Independence Day plans? Anything fun planned for Sunday? 

Again, sorry this post is coming to you late!! I wish I was better at blogging early and scheduling posts, but I'm just not there yet. I hope you aren't too upset. I'll get the hang of this one day...

I'm grateful for the freedoms we have in this country, and remember/think of all those that have helped us gain/keep these freedoms (both past and present). 

Thanks to Courtney, Cynthia, and Mar for hosting! Make sure to check out their "Friday Five" posts (links to the specific posts are at the top of the page) and link up if you are joining in!

Have a great weekend (what's left of it), everyone! I hope you were able to celebrate Independence Day with friends and family, and enjoy a longer weekend :)