New fence

My backyard revamp has continued, with the latest addition - a new fence! The existing fence was getting pretty old, leaning over, and had a broken board creating a hole to see through to the back neighbor. My next door neighbor was particularly happy. She's been there for over 40 years and can't even remember when that fence was built. So, it was definitely time for an upgrade.

Before shots:

The couple that owns the townhouse unit in front of me (they rent it out and live in Kirkland) suggested their landscaper, who happens to do fencing as well, do the job for us. He came out to give his estimate, and he was by far the cheapest as he agreed to throw in some lattice and a new gate for free.

His crew came the next Monday to get started. They first tore down the old fence, and put in new posts along the entire length. It was pretty strange to come home and be able to see into the neighbor's yards.  

hello neighbor

The next day, I worked from home, so I was able to watch the progress they made. Two by fours went up pretty quickly as the fence started to take shape.

As the week went on, the crew (slowly) started to finish. 

putting up the framing for the lattice

power-washing existing fence before staining

By Sunday, all that was left to do was stain. 

almost done!

I had them move the gate out a bit so
that I would have a nice area to
put a shed or garbage cans in

After about a week and a half, I came home to a beautiful completed fence. It really turned out great, and I love the extra privacy the lattice provides. Plus it just looks pretty.

As with any job like this, I had my issues with some of the things the crew did (timelines, ruining a few of my plants, communication issues)...but I'm happy with the end result, and now I have a great backyard I can enjoy all summer!

After shots:

Family time

I love when my grandpa comes into town for a visit, cause that means we all get together for some family time. This year, he came and stayed for about a week and a half. That first Saturday, my uncle Bub and aunt Sara had us all over for dinner at their place on Mercer Island.

We had BBQ'd hot dogs, and sat out on their patio enjoying the great weather. After dinner, we headed to the backyard to play some badminton. The guys ended up playing quite a bit more than us ladies, we're better at spectating. Rex also got in the game and snatched the birdie as often as he could.

trying to hold Rex back

The next morning, we all met at my mom's house before we set out for a day trip to Port Townsend. We had done a similar trip last year when Papa was in town that was so much fun we decided to go again. We all piled into the suburban and headed out to the Edmonds ferry.

First on the agenda was lunch. We had eaten at the Courtyard Café last year, and I've been dreaming about their homemade bread and ginormous slices of pie ever since. Definitely worth the drive out there!

Bub and Max playing checkers

pesto chicken salad sandwich and apple pie

Fully stuffed after lunch, we walked around the cute little town of Port Townsend and did some window shopping. It was a pretty overcast day, but it eventually burned off and we had the sun shining as we took a walk along the beach.

creepy artwork in Port Townsend

homemade donuts being sold out
of an old elevator

Mom had us collect some rocks for her garden, so we combed the beach and had the guys lug around the heavy bag.

Joe and Max finding a secret
passage way

After our walk, we made our way back to the car and drove to the ferry line. Turns out Sunday was a busy day to be heading back to Seattle, but we made the most of it by stopping for ice cream.

back to the Kingston ferry

The weather was much better on ferry ride home, so we enjoyed the view from the top deck.

Mom and the boys

Papa with his favorite grandkids

The following weekend, I had everyone over to my place for a patio party and to check out the new fence. The weather was perfect, so it was nice to sit outside and enjoy it. We even had some entertainment from the little girl that lives next door. She was out playing and chatting it up quite a bit. 

Clint took over the BBQ and grilled teriyaki chicken, Mom had brought her delicious watermelon salad with feta, tomatoes and pistachios (per Clint's request), and I whipped up a batch of roasted potatoes and a BLT chop salad.

Clint manning the grill

sneaky picture from the balcony

BBQ chicken, watermelon salad,
potatoes, and BLT chop salad

For dessert, I bought an assortment of frozen treats from Trader Joe's (sans popsicle stick for Mom), including Clint's favorite - the mini ice cream cones.

Clint and his favorite dessert

It was great to have the fam over, I love hosting! The next day, Papa hit the road early to make the drive back down to Palm Desert. We all had such a great time having him here, and now I'm counting down the days for when we get to visit him in October!

BBQ with the girls

A couple Sundays ago, I had a few of the girls over for a potluck BBQ. With the fence almost finished (just staining left to do at that point), I wanted to get some use out of my new backyard. The weather was perfect, and it worked out that we were all free and able to make it.

Maureen and Maeve came and brought yummy cheese pastry puffs, Kylee with her delicious guacamole, Erica and sweet baby Luke with a fruit salad, Jingle with the BLT chop salad (that I requested), Becca with chocolate and cream dipped strawberries for dessert, and Rachel with an amazing homemade rhubarb upside down cake (so worth the gluten!). I was in charge of the main course. I marinated some teriyaki chicken thighs for the grill...but neglected to notice my propane tank was low and then ran out. Not a big issue, just had to transfer it to the oven. So not quite a BBQ.

the girls minus Rachel and Maeve - off playing somewhere

We sat outside (and flocked to the shade, so hot!), gorged ourselves on delicious food, and caught up on everyones exciting news. Love these girls, thanks for coming!

Vashon with the Skulleruds

While Clint's brother and his family were here, they were staying at the Skullerud family cabin on Vashon Island (otherwise known as "Work Island" since the boys were put to work so often there growing up). Last Saturday, Clint and I took the ferry over to spend the day with them.

We met up with them while they were in the midst of their yard sale circuit. They had gone through the paper to find all the yard sales and were making their way around the island to hit them all up. I was pretty excited about this, I love finding treasures!

At the first one, I found an old RC Cola crate that was filled with junk. I asked if it was for sale, and the owner said I had a good eye and that he'd give it to me for $10 - and that I knew it was worth every penny. So I unloaded all the junk, found a couple other items to throw in, and we had a deal.

I also scored some old tea cups that inspired me to start a collection. You know, for all the tea parties I have. Clint found an espresso maker, the girls found some American Dolls for a steal, and Rebecca and Blake found a few items for the cabin. We finished our rounds with a stop at Granny's Attic, the island's version of a Goodwill.

Skulleruds makin deals

the girls making friends with some puppies

all the "bookmarks" Granny's Attic
finds in their donated books

During our yard sale tour of the island, we came across the abandoned stationary bikes and decided to get a workout in real quick.

faster!

no handlebars

We then split up while Clint and I headed into town to grab some lunch. We tried Zombiez, and their burgers were amazing! Definitely will be heading back and maybe try their ginormous chicken strips next time.

  

rootbeer float in a grass hut

eating in the jungle

After lunch, we headed to the cabin. It had been a while since our last visit, but Blake and Rebecca had really made some progress on getting the place cleaned up. They had put the girls to work (cause that's what you do on Work Island) and had built a rock wall and a campfire area.

And of course, the cabin is where the Skullerud van is parked. Clint and Blake rode this thing around the country and camped out of it while they were in college...so gross. They're not sure who wrote on the back window, but it sure fits.

free candy and puppys (spelled wrong) inside

We then went down to explore the beach. The Skullerud's neighbors (the Teds - both of their names are Ted, how cute) have a great staircase they just built for beach access that they let them use. The Teds place is amazing. It's been featured in magazines, and they even have their own blog. They've named the cabin "Westward" since it faces, well, westward. Check out the amazing pictures of this place.

Down on the beach, we explored with the girls. We found "squishies" that spit water when you touched them, the hugest barnacles ever, and some crabs that had "passed away." We also found some drift wood to go in my garden, yay!

Clint and Brynn with the huge barnacles

Back from the beach, Rebecca and I drove into town to get dinner. We were tempted to head to Seattle for a night out, but decided it was probably best to get back and feed everyone. We grilled some hotdogs, and then roasted smore's for dessert, a perfect campfire meal.

After dinner, Clint played with his nieces...showing them his yo-yo skills and teaching them how to climb trees. Uncle Clint is the best!

tree monkeys

We still had some energy to burn and daylight to take advantage of, so headed out for a walk. We got to check out a few other cabins in the area right on the water. We made our way back as it was starting to get dark and sat around the campfire. 

walking backwards up a hill

Clint and I had to head out and say goodbye so that we could catch the last ferry to Seattle. We had such a fun day and were happy to get a chance to spend more time with everyone!

Jammin

I decided I wanted to try making raspberry jam this year, and asked my mom how difficult it would be. Turns out it's not that hard, especially when you have an amazing mother like I do who brings over literally everything you need. Well, okay, we did use one of my pots...but she provided everything else from the berries, jars, gelatin, sugar, lids, to the canning supplies.

We followed the recipe (sort of) from the gelatin packaging and were done pretty quick. We mashed up the berries, mixed in the sugar and sure jell, and cooked it all on the stove. After funneling it into all the jars, we screwed the lids on and dropped them in boiling water to create a seal. Easy! Now we have delicious jam to last us quite a while. Thanks, Mom!