Cake

 

Look at this outstanding checkerboard cake that Alma made.  Wow!

Poconos

 A few days at a rental in the Poconos rounded out our official vacations for the summer.  While the rental was a bit of a splurge for us (hot tub, private pool, community with lakes, billiard table, darts, foosball, etc.), it was also a bit of a disappointment (dirty, everything broken, run-down, or unavailable, etc.), which was a shame.  After our initial disappointment, we found the things that worked and made our own fun (bike rides that included thrilling hills, a movie every night, Alma defeating me at billiards).  In the end, we all agreed that it was a rather fun getaway.

This summer has been busy.  Because we weren't sure which vacations would be possible, we booked a few.  Happily, COVID numbers have been good in the regions we visited, I had a ton of vacation days to use, and everyone has been healthy, so we were able to do all of these trips.  Now we will transition back to regular summer activities until the fall -- Daddy Camp for the kids and Joshua; work and dissertation writing for me.  

We'll have small local adventures -- hopefully some sailing at Marsh Creek State Park -- but we are still restricted by the kids unvaccinated status that prevents us from engaging in any of the other fun activities we would sprinkle into our schedule (a movie at the theater, climbing at the gym that opened a mile away from our house, going to fitness classes like aerial yoga or martial arts, etc.).  While children have a low chance of getting the virus and often have less severe reactions, we don't want to take any unnecessary risks with their health. We look forward to the vaccine being available to them.  It is still slightly nerve-wracking to be in a state of worry and second-guessing all of our choices. 

Pittsburgh fun for 4th of July

We had a great time in Pittsburgh after our Pine Grove week.  We have visited with the Kloders most summers and for a ton of Independence Days (some recorded visits: 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2020).  It was awesome to do it again this summer -- especially wonderful after a year of socially distancing due to the pandemic.

Pine Grove