4th of July

Kate and I spent our 4th of July in Plymouth, Massachusetts as you can see in the pictures above of Plymouth Rock and the replica Mayflower. I don't think I have been to Plymouth since 4th grade when we went on a field trip to Plymouth Plantation. It turned out to be a nice day and we had a great lunch on the water. I was able to feed my New England appetite for seafood with a clam roll. Haven't had one of those in awhile and it was well worth the wait. Overall we had a great 4th spending time with my in-laws and seeing friends who we don't get to see as often since we moved to Pennsylvania. We'd love to be back one day and plan on making it happen sometime.

A little over 3 weeks until our summer vacation and I can't wait. Kate and I need a vacation in the worst way...

Bear vs. Nerf - Bear wins...

Summer Jobs

I’ve been doing quite a bit around the house lately since my last post. One of the major additions was removing the old door that led into the back patio with a slider. The old door swung open and hit the kitchen table, not to mention there was a storm door on the other side. Opening 2 doors was a pain in the butt to get outside. It wasn't very convenient at all. The new slider is perfect. It is much larger which lets in more light and you can leave it open without fear of the wind whacking the door into your table. Installation was not as hard as I thought... Now I need to do a few windows...

The other major project was fencing in my back patio. There was a decorative fence around the patio (as you can see by the weathered grey cedar) that had 3 openings. It looked nice, but we like to let the dog out on the patio and not worry about him running off. I had placed chicken wire at the side attached to posts and narrowed the middle opening to accept a baby gate. Again, not very convenient… With much appreciated help from my father-in-law and 2 days of nice weather over Memorial Day, we were able to install the missing fence sections around the patio complete with a latching gate. It was an adventure digging post holes around the roots of a cherry tree and through Pennsylvania clay (concrete)...

Beautiful Weekend...

It was another gorgeous weekend here in PA. Kate, Bear and I got to spend a majority of it outside. We played Bear's favorite game with the Frisbee. I got to listen to my birthday presents out on the patio. Kate grew up next to the ocean so a fountain was the best I could do for her in PA. And finally our cherry tree has blossomed and while it is pretty, it will soon lose all its flowers and cover my patio and furniture with a blanket of petals. Not fun to clean...