Surprise downpours and dinner dates!

Another awesome summer-time weekend draws to a close. It was  a great weekend for me, with a few surprises thrown in for fun! Saturday morning started off with Liesel and I voluntarily heading back to the place that inflicts pain to our under-utilized muscles. After dropping the boys off in the gym's child-care, we headed upstairs for the workout class. The instructor was very creative and found ways to increase resistance to some mundane exercises, and let's just say, that it worked! Today, Liesel and I are both experiencing severe stiffness in certain muscle groups, that solicit grimaces and wincing every time we stand up, sit down or cross our legs.....
After the gym, we headed to a few stores with the boys before heading home for the afternoon. Later that afternoon, in the upper 80 degree (30C +) heat, I took out my mower to cut the grass before our friends arrived later that evening for dinner. After getting through about 75% of the task, I heard thunder starting to rumble in the distant. Then, a few minutes later, the heavens opened and unleashed a torrent over our house. I was determined not to stop, as the end was in sight for me. So I pushed on through the heavy raindrops and became soaked in the process. It was actually refreshing, since five minutes earlier, perspiration was dripping off my face in the heat!

That evening, we had some friends come over for a pre-birthday dinner with us. I grilled some lamb and salmon and Liesel made the salads and desserts! We all had a great time together, enjoying the delicious food, and company! It was a wonderful time with friends, and even Nathan and Joshua loved hanging out with their friends too!

On Sunday, we headed to another church in the morning. After a great sermon, we stopped at the local mall to go price some cell phones, and give Josh a chance to play in the child area. Afterward, it was lunch time, so we headed back home. That afternoon Nathan, Josh and I played in the pool for a while. Around 5 o' clock, Liesel stuck her head out and said we need to get out since the babysitter is arriving in half an hour... BABYSITTER?? This was news to me! So I came inside and got dressed, only to be told, that I needed to dress up a little nicer... The babysitter showed up on schedule, and then Liesel drove me over to one of my favorite restaurants, the Melting Pot! It was a wonderful surprise! The food was fantastic! We started off with a cheese fondue, where I dipped bread into the cheddar and garlic sauce, while Liesel enjoyed the fresh vegetables. Then for the main course we had shrimp, sirloin, chicken and tuna, which we cooked ourselves in the red wine broth. Finally the dessert came out witha chocolate fondue pot containing both white and milk chocolate. They even put a candle into a slice of cheesecake for me! The dessert tray included pound cake, cheesecake, brownies, marshmallows, rice crispie treats, strawberries and bananas. Decadent, but oh so good! It was a wonderful end to a great weekend! Thanks Liesel!!!

The dessert platter!

The white/milk chocolate fondue!