I love kicking off my favorite holiday weekend with the Heart and Sole Race, in Pittsville, WI. It’s always on July 3rd, so sometimes it’s crazy hot! It’s an evening race, which sometimes helps, but it’s a fabulous five mile race that raises money for their little local fire department. What a great cause!
There are a couple things that I can count on in this race, and this Blues Brothers guy is one of them!
This course is an out-and-back with four water stations, and they’re all needed since it’s usually so warm. I stop every time! I run this race with my friend, George, and we chat almost the whole time. We both see runners that we know from other races, so it’s nice to wave at our friends when we run by! That’s one of my favorite parts about out-and-back courses… I get a chance to see everyone who hit the turnaround before I did on their way back, and then I get to cheer on everyone behind me once I turn around! 🙂
The finish line for this race is just adorable. So festive!
I obviously took that photo before the race- when we came through the chute, there were lots of other people with us! I really love small town races. 🙂
I enjoyed some incredible watermelon post race…
…and granola. Oh, gosh, the granola.
It’s homemade, and I have dreams about it the rest of the year. It’s sooo delicious, and I love munching on that once I finish the race! 🙂
Many thanks to this lady, who obviously is responsible for cooking pans and pans and pans of the good stuff!
George and I came in at a strong 47:24, and refueled with cold beer. 🙂
I came home, soaked in a tub, and hung out with Brian on our newly finished back deck. We live close enough to Riverfront Rendezvous that we could hear Here Come The Mummies as they played, and I relaxed with a glass of lemonade and enjoyed them from the comfort of my own home. 🙂
On Saturday morning, we prepped for a cookout later, and I got ready for our Stevens Point Fourth of July parade. I love parades, and the Fourth of July, and everything patriotic. This is my favorite day!
The common council and the mayor all got together and walked in the parade. It was a lot of fun!
This is me with “the Marys…” Alderperson Mary Kneebone and Alderperson Mary McComb. 🙂
Our other friend Mary was driving the truck with the City Band float. Way to go, girl!
After the parade, I dropped off cookies for our police department and fire department (THANK YOU for working holidays and keeping us safe!), then met Chris and Amy at our house for some lake time!
We had some perfect weather- hot and sunny with a cold, clear lake to jump in. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to our house for our annual cookout. Of course, I completely forgot to take photos of our friends and all the delicious food, but we had a gaggle over for burgers, brats, sweet corn, and all sorts of traditional grilling foods!
For dessert, we featured my tenth annual flag cake!
I can’t believe I’ve been making this cake for ten years! I used to choose white cake, but now I make angel food cake with fresh whipped cream for frosting. Delicious!
Once it got a little darker, we played with some sparklers. My friends are the cutest!
We finished our night with s’mores by the fire, and Amy and Chris stayed for a sleepover!
We woke them up with coffee, egg sandwiches, and quite impressive Bloody Marys.
Breakfast on the front porch with friends is really the best way to start my day, especially since our post-brunching activity was a walk to the new winery. Brian and I were lucky enough to attend their soft opening the week prior, so we were excited to show off this new facility!
We strolled through the parks on the way home, stopping to look at the emergency vehicle display.
Abbie was thrilled with all our visitors and all the time playing outside, but she was really happy to cool off inside for the afternoon. 🙂
Stevens Point hosts fireworks on Sunday, so Brian and I headed over to the park with our kayaks and watched both our friends in Horseshoes and Hand Grenades play at the park AND the fireworks from our little place on the water.
Don’t worry, friends: we are experienced kayakers and had both bow and stern lights, as well as headlamps. I get concerned about the other kayakers out on the water- there is a lot of boat traffic out for the fireworks and I’ve seen less experienced kayakers struggle in the wake. Lights are very important, too!
We packed up the boats, drove the three blocks home, and collapsed in bed.
Fourth of July weekend? Complete, and a total success. 🙂
As always, thanks for reading!!
Miles this year: 308.55
I burned off all that gummy candy with a super windy and hilly nine miles with Lydia on the Wau-king trail. 
We refueled with beer at Chain Bar, and I headed home to pack for a crazy week.
I had such a busy day- when Brian got home, we headed up to Wausau for a ballroom dance lesson with our first dance teachers, Missy and Jeff! We hadn’t seen them since they taught us to dance before our wedding. Eight years was too long! Of course, I was too excited to see them and I forgot to take a picture, but after our lesson, we headed over to the election headquarters for our alderman Mike Wiza, and we were present when they called the vote, making Mike our new Stevens Point mayor! Congratulations, Mike. 🙂
Brian and I spent the week in the Valley, while he was at a training for work. It was pretty cool for me- since most of my work is portable, I can work from anywhere. I was able to catch up on some photo work, make all the games for Amy’s upcoming bridal shower, and shoot a gorgeous pastry (with the cutest edible orchid!) from 
On our last morning at the hotel, we went out for breakfast at this fabulous cafe- Molly’s. They had sweet potato hash browns! Made. My. Day. I loved the treadmill at the hotel, so I headed back to our room, changed, and logged a few miles in the hotel gym. After a quick shower, we packed up and headed down to Chicago to celebrate my great aunt Eileen’s 75th anniversary of being an active member of the ancient order of Hibernians.
It was a beautiful party where I got to see a lot of my family, including my brother and his family. Happy National Sibling Day!
We caught up with everyone and danced until we dropped! It’s fun to visit my Hoffman side, because I’m the short one among those cousins, and I’m 5’8″! 🙂
I think she was upset that she wasn’t invited to the party. She wouldn’t smile for me! 🙂 We left very early on Saturday morning to head up to Wausau for Amy’s bridal shower! My car celebrated a little palindrome milestone of her own somewhere in northern Illinois…
We stopped at home for a whirlwind half hour- showered, changed, styled my hair, brewed some iced tea, boxed up the shortbreads, made simple syrup, then packed it all up in a cooler and took it to the Hirn home for Amy’s bridal shower. Becky, Brooke, and I planned this adorable tea-themed shower, and it turned out beautifully! 
Congratulations, best friend! I’m so happy for you and thrilled to be your matron of honor. ❤️ 
artist & athlete | a glimpse into real life, Heidi style 