Summer (stuff we did besides the reno)

I have been so busy blogging about the renovation, that the other life stuff has gone on hold. Since this blog has become a way for me to track our life (who puts photo albums together anymore?!), I want to capture a few highlights...

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Phillies game! This is definitely becoming a family tradition - we love going to games together and tailgating w/ Primo hoagies!

we had to ride out a major storm - Anthony was so freaked out because he had just read a book about tornadoes on our way to the game - and the wind was really strong! The rest of us were having a great time getting soaked as it was super hot that night and the rain and wind felt great!

his spirits were lifted when the game resumed and he saw his name on the board for his 7th birthday!

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Anthony's 7th birthday

the front toothless wonder! :-)

What a fun kid Anthony is! He brings so much laughter and joy to our family. He is always doing something funny like mis-using air quotes. As in - - Mom, I'm going to "brush my teeth" when in fact he is going to brush his teeth. He also asks such funny questions such as, "Dad, what is thinner, a potato chip or a piece of paper?" He is still so sweet and cuddly and we're enjoying that for as long as it lasts.

I got Anthony a Phillies ice cream cake but he was upset because he had a Phillies birthday party last year and didn't want a repeat - what?! Aunt Shanny to the rescue - she scraped off the Phillies stuff and made a skateboard ramp out of peanut butter chips and added one of Anthony's finger boards - he loved it! Again - what?!!

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Father's Day at the beach! We enjoyed an impromptu weekend down at the beach - what a great way to spend Father's Day!

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This was our 3rd summer going up to Rhode Island to visit our friends the Eilbergs. So glad they keep inviting us back as it has become a highlight of our summer. We have such a great time together. These are the same awesome friends that let us live in their house for 4 weeks while our renovation was at its worst.

how cute are they?! playing in the outdoor shower

Mike, Dionne and Q are always a part of the party too! So thankful for these great friendships!

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Our 6th annual beach trip with the Skis! This was bittersweet as we knew they were moving to Georgia in 2 weeks - we enjoyed our time together, but it was hard knowing it was going to be our last for awhile. Greg, Tricia, Lexie and Noah have been such a significant part of our lives for over 10 years now and we already miss them so much! We are hopeful that they will still come up in the summer to visit and we can carry on our tradition of going to the beach together. But regardless, they are lifelong friends no matter the distance!

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2nd Phillies game of the season - this time a day game (we decided we like night games much better)


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Beach time w/ the Rileys - - we had such a blast just relaxing, cooking, reading and catching up with friends we wish we saw more often!

one of the days we picked up our niece Lily so she could spend beach time with cousins.

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Taylor Swift concert! sometime when things settle down, I want to do an entire post about this - it was such a blast and such a fun memory for Sophia and I.

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a quick visit from Grandma & Grandpa!

Starting to feel like home again

This past week has been a mad rush to try to get our home as liveable as possible before Jon heads back to work on Monday. In a few short days, we went from this...


to this..

laundry closet tiled, grouted and sealed


wood floors installed (yet to be sanded/stained)

lots of painting...

(this view is from standing at the kitchen sink - that entryway is the old mudroom, which led to our outside door, - the new door is past that wall and down a couple of steps)

repainted the mudroom wall - straight ahead used to be our back door

repainted the dining room wall AGAIN - and it won't be the last time...we have to rip the wall open again to replace pipes but can't do that until we're ready to rip open the bathroom floor and decided not to do that along with this project

painted and installed floors in Anthony's new room

still so much to do, but it is starting to get to the exciting phase!

A peek at the inside progress

I can't even tell you how excited I am that we are going to have a laundry chute!

So exciting...almost done!

The outside that is...much left to do on the inside.

Siding is on

Siding on the lower half is on - the shingles for the upper half came in on Friday and will go up early next week!

We have a door!!!!

A lot has been happening in the last few days, but this is by far the most exciting!

The Latest

Our contractor is almost done with the outside...we are just waiting for the door and siding to come in - it should be here late next week and then it will just take them a few days to finish everything up.

Meanwhile, a lot is happening inside...our house has been full of contractors...plumbers, electricians, hvac etc.

This is in the downstairs part of the addition off the kitchen. They have roughed in a closet for our laundry etc. and then the open space to the right is for a built in desk.

This is upstairs - what will be Anthony's room

and the kids bathroom:

Roof & Windows!

they did such a fantastic job matching the roof - you can't tell the old (10 yrs.) from the new!

These guys are fast!

last Friday, a.m.

what they got done that day!

after another day of work today