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Courtyard Serenity...

We do enjoy our mornings in our space.

(Made with InstaDan)

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Pittsburgh Fireworks...

Part of our summer travel plans included a trip back to Pittsburgh to do our annual (at least) tradition to visit with all our friends and family. Eric and Becky were the lucky hosts this time around after the invite came during their visit to us in February.

The amenities were excellent! Summer heat made it easy to find our way to the pool after we arrived and unpacked. Some day drinking and chatting soon made the day turn to evening when we made plans to meet up with the Jerichos for dinner.

After much dinner conversation at Carmody's Grill, we visited other spots on Dan's original island home of Neville Island. We all crammed into the Jericho wagon for the quick trip to Paradise Beach. As we walked down to the sandy area of the bar, we quickly learned that there was a band and a prime pickup spot for 50-somethings, the likes we haven't witnessed since our 20s.

The next day, we woke up and got right to the 4th of July activities! Family gathered in waves, and we spent the day catching up, drinking, playing games, and cooling down in the pool. We made our way up the street to watch the fireworks at a neighbor's house, which overlooked the community display. This was a very convenient way to celebrate after all day with the social meter peaked off.

On the 5th of July, we acted like complete tourists. We took the Gateway Clipper Three Rivers Sightseeing Cruise with Marie (Dan's Sister), Rafal, and the Grandmas. We were completely impressed since it's been years, probably decades, since we all have been on any of the boats. It was a hot, but beautiful day for the sights. Pittsburgh is such a gorgeous city with a great history and it's so easy to forget until this type of reminder.

After the tour, we stayed at Station Square for lunch at Tupelo Honey. Everyone enjoyed the food and the time together so we continued the conversation at Grandma's house, which was not quite over the river, but definitely through the woods.

Soon we found the time was slipping away and we had an early flight to get ready for in the morning. The final stop on the tour was to get our last taste of pure Pittsburgh at Primanti Brothers.

We had a great time and got to celebrate America's holiday with many of our favorite people! We thank them all for being part of our lives!

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Second Time's a Charm...

After being away for the first launch of Amazon's Project Kuiper, we got to catch the second launch of the Atlas V rocket for ULA's Centaur this morning.

GO ATLAS! GO CENTAUR! GO KUIPER!

(Made with InstaDan)

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(Disney) World Champions...

Our day at Disney was awesome! We started out at Animal Kingdom.

Next stop was Hollywood Studios so we could geek out on Star Wars!

Yes, we outlasted the kids in the rain at Disney and nailed 4 of 4 parks on our hoper pass.

Our last stop was Epcot for dinner and...

A nightcap at Rose and Crown!

We even made some friends along the way!

So worth the wet heads and sore feet!

(Made with InstaDan)

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Waiting for a Girl Like You...

...and then this happened 31 years ago...

Yes. We are watching the VHS after all these years.

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Wall Street Exchange...

After saving for the next upgrade to our beautiful home, it was time to put all our plans to action!

Thanks to Ramon and crew!

This week, we filled our walls with color and joy and are so excited that we just had to share...

Backsplash tiles:

Accent walls:

Mirror frames:

(Made with InstaDan)

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Another Sucess Story...

We planned our first trip to Vegas in May, and it was great. Less crowds, lower limits, and of course, awesome times!

We flew in and our room was ready. Grabbed some grub.

We spent some time by the pool. Drank too many fruity drinks in the desert sun.

We went Downtown. Hung out with all the freak show folks.

We did our typical gambling tour. Monorailed till our hearts' content.

Dan shopped for hats at Gilley's. Felt like the wild, wild west!

Got to see the Bellagio fountain show. Felt the chill air of the desert nights.

And finished up with Sammy Hagar rockin' out! With a side order of game 5 Stanley Cup quarter final playoff action right next door.

We would recommend this time of year to anyone. Not too hot, not too crowded, and plenty of fun!

(Made with InstaDan)

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May The 5th Be With You...

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

(Made with InstaDan)

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Hot Off the Presses...

Well, sort of. Some of the following news items are a bit old, but we saved them for this special announcement:

Frooze: She moved on and got lucky with the double "roommate and new-found friend" for her place. Continued her awesome career as an Architect.

Jo: Her career is going great with a promotion, but the biggest move was a physical one. Her and her boyfriend found a perfect new apartment in Orlando with young professionals her age. The amenities are "spot on" so much so, she has a hard time leaving the grounds.

Ebaugh: His recent promotion was just the start. He got accepted to the school of his choice to study and become a Radiologic Technologist.

Amy: Today it was announced that after all her hard work and dedication of over 10-years she is now a Senior Associate at her firm.

Dan: This week he accepted a new position and is moving on in his career to a new job and company. He will be working remote and traveling to client sites as a Senior Environmental Consultant. This includes a much better compensation with a bonus structure that makes him wonder, "what took so long?".

And now back to your regularly scheduled program.

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Sunrise Easter...

(Made with InstaDan)

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Spring Into Action...

We were lucky enough to get visits this spring from two of our best couple friends from Pittsburgh. The second visit came last weekend from Heather and DJ. They arrived on Thursday morning and so did the fun.

We stopped at Grills on the way back from picking them up at the airport for some breakfast and Bloody Marys. Both were yummy enough to hold us the rest of the day, which turned into a gorgeous beach day. After getting our fill of the sun, we stumbled home (some more than others) for a quick freshen up (some did magic tricks with their hats) and back out for a meal at Goombay's (some enjoyed this place so much, we tipped 168%).

The next day was a pool day. It was relaxing because other than the birds stealing food, there was nearly no one there other than us. The other thing missing was the 99 proof Butterscotch Liquor in our hidden drinks. This meant less sway in our steps on the way home.

Mexican was on tap for the evening plans. We never knew how entertaining people-watching was until the muscle man and triple D entered into our lives but proved to be top scale.

Saturday morning arrived with abundant sunshine, as opposed to the forecast. After the second round of breakfast burritos, we made it back to the beach, and we're joined by our neighborhood friends, Ian and Gina. Soon, our grand plans of going out on the town were canceled just like our dinner reservations and replaced by laughter and sand in our toes for the day. The other constant on this weekend was day drinking, and of course, the shenanigans that followed. Since this was the last day, we decided that we'd just get take out and chill at home.

We are so thankful for our friends and visitors that we are blessed with this year. We just hope this is a continuing trend!

(Made with InstaDan)

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Happy Anniversary Home...

Can't believe it has been 5-years since we sat in the parking lot of our mortgage lender to sign the documents to make our construction project our home!

(Made with InstaDan)

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Paddy's Day...

Hope yinz have a great St. Patrick's Day!

We sure had fun celebrating yesterday with our friends downtown Melbourne!

(Made with InstaDan)

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Rescue Mission Crew X...

It seems like a movie for Crew 10 to finally get the Starliner Astronauts from the ISS after 9-months "lost in space(X)".

It was a beautiful evening for a launch and especially of this magnitude. Sonic Boom and all!

Go Falcon 9! Go Dragon!

(Made with InstaDan)

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Let's Go Buccos...

After living in Florida since 2000 (on and off), we realized that we never made the trip to the West Coast for Spring Training. Not sure why, but this year the Grapefruit League called out and we answered!

First stop after the 3-hour trip across the state was Clearwater Beach for some beach time. Once we arrived in town, we parked to get a refreshing drink at a local watering hole, Salty's.

The plan to kill some time worked to perfection as we chatted with a nice couple at the bar until it was time to check in. We found this little place amongst the giant resorts and condos. Gulfview Hotel was nice and such a great value on the water.

The weather was sunny but a tiny bit chilly, but perfect for hottub fun. We found some more friends and got some great ideas for future plans. The evening was drinks next door for two shows: one on stage and one in the spectacular sky. The sunset over the gulf was awesome!

Dinner was just next door at Taco Bus (aka, DELICIOUSNESS). With our bellies full, we went back to our room for rest. Our room was on the first floor by the lobby, which is very convenient for the trips for more drinks during the day, but a different story at night. Dan was able to sleep through the noise, but Amy did not fair as well (she does not drink as much).

The next morning, we woke for breakfast right down the street at SpEGGtacular. Then the hour trip to Bradenton, FL, Spring Home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. We got there and were impressed by the large crowd. Although there was a good share of Phillies fans, it was a great showing on a perfect day at LECOM Park.

Our seats were awesome, 3rd row, 1st base line. The Pirates won 3-2 and Dan was able to procure the autograph of the closing pitcher, Eddy Yean, who may have played well enough in the save to make the major league roster (Dan is hopeful).

After the game, we stopped at the brewery across the street, Sun Lab Brewing Company. After a nice brew and conversation with mutual Penn State graduates, we checked into the historic, downtown hotel. The hotel was within walking distance to nightlife, which we definitely took advantage of for drinks and dinner before retiring for our final night.

This quick vacation was so nice and exactly what we needed as a great getaway!

(Made with InstaDan)

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Friendly Weekend...

Got a great visit from our friends, Eric and Becky, this weekend.

We had such a great time and we were so happy to get our first repeat customers to stay with us!

They were happy to escape the frigid temperatures of winter in Pittsburgh.

We talked, relaxed, visited our favorite restaurants, and even got a bike bar hop day in all day Saturday.

While the weather was not perfect and a little breezy at first, Sunday ended up as a nice Beach Day before they left.

They even got to meet our local friends from the neighborhood, who pointed out, "Thanks for including us in your day!! So nice meeting Eric & Becky .... you have such a wonderful circle, and we are happy to be a part of it. You are so genuine, it's easy to flock to you!" Thanks, Gina and Ian, we feel the same!

(Made with InstaDan)

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Happy Valley Day...

Yummy drinks and dates!

(Made with InstaDan)