a perfect day of outdoor fun

We New Englanders have had the wettest summer in decades, which has dampened our ability to enjoy the customary dry trails for mountain biking and running. This past week however, things began to change and we took full advantage of it today. It was clear and sunny, with a light breeze with temps up into the 80's.

To start things off, J left early in the morning to get in a long, technical bike ride at Harold Parker State Forest. After Riley had breakfast, I put him in the jog stroller and did the 3.5 mile loop around Lake Q..

Next, we headed off to Zac Zivan's first birthday party which was at a park with playground equipment and a large "sprinkler" that the kids enjoyed. Riley wasn't too keen on the large drops of water coming down on him, but he loved the large button that had to be pushed to keep the water spraying.

Riley and the birthday boy:









He much prefers to go up the slide:









The cool sprinkler:


















Pushing the button to start the sprinkler:









My brave boy retrieved the ball as he was pummeled by water drops:


















Riley leaving and Zac following:









We had decided to bring our bikes so we could ride the 11-mile Minuteman Bikeway since we would be on that side of town. We started off in Somerville and ended up riding 26 miles during the next two hours. We weren't planning on making a workout of it, but once we got going, it's just habit for us to ride hard. It just doesn't seem right not to breathe heavy and have a burn in yer legs...

Riley got his only daytime sleep on the way over -- 30-minute naplet. He was pretty mellow when we started out:









After two hours, he was still pretty mellow (note the one arm hanging out of his harness!)









When we finished, we enjoyed two of our favorite things in Davis Square -- burritos from Ana's and Vietnamese Coffee from Diesel Cafe. Having Riley around changed the experience in one major way -- instead of hanging out in front of JP Licks, we spent our time at the playground. I don't think I ever noticed that playground until today.









Riley enjoyed watching the boys play basketball and being able try out a new swing, tho' he started zoning from being in dire need of sleep:









I think we squeezed all the fun out of today...time for a good night's sleep.

Shelby