Now that summer has come to an end, I thought it was about time I wrote a new diary entry and updated everyone on what we have been up to over the past few months. (Plus, I wanted to keep the last diary entry up as long as possible so everyone who wanted to got a chance to read about our Las Vegas trip.) Anyway, here's what has been going on over the past few months.

At the beginning of June, we all took park in Bark in the Park, to benefit the Humane Society of Greater Akron. It was a one mile dog-walk through a nicely wooded park. A couple hundred people, and their dogs, participated. It was great fun and a great cause. Spirit even got to be in the Humane Society alumni photo that was taken of all the adopted dogs in attendance. Nothing noteworthy happened for the rest of the month, until the 27th when we celebrated our third wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe that it has been three years already!

Just as in June, we did things at the beginning and end of July, but not much in the middle of the month. Of course, on July 1st we put up our Canadian flag in observance of Canada Day. Most of our neighbors know our Canadian connection, but there were still a few confused looks. On the 4th, we went to a party at a friend's house. It was loads of fun...lots of people, great food, and even a live band! And, as most of you know, that's where we obtained Elvis, our latest addition to the family. He has become a fixture in the family already and it feels like we've had him for years. He already has his own page on our "Puppy Pages" website too! On the 5th, Dawn celebrated her 30th birthday without any anxiety over getting another year older! Near the end of the month, we spent a day in Cleveland as Dawn had her annual Hub visit for work. Kylan explored the city while Dawn socialized with fellow at-home editors and managers. The company had even arranged a scavenger hunt...and the team Dawn was on won! A donation of toiletries and supplies was also taken up to benefit the ACCESS Women's Shelter in Akron. Dawn is on her department's charity committee and had helped arrange the collection. We dropped all of the donations off (3 large bags full!) later that week.

Nothing too eventful happened in August. Because Kylan's dad was planning to visit, we used most of our spare time finishing little projects around the house. Kylan's dad arrived on August 30th. It was good to see him after so long...the last time we saw him was at our wedding, three years ago! On the 31st we all went to Six Flags. We pretty much stayed around the former Sea World area and saw lots of the shows. Took a walk around the coasters and other rides, but we weren't much in the mood for standing in line for an hour for a two minute ride! After we left Six Flags, we went by the house of one of Kylan's coworkers who was having a party. Kylan really wanted his dad to meet these folks, who have become close friends. For the remainder of his visit, we had planned on taking his dad up to Cleveland and a few other places. But once he heard that our car was in need of a tune-up, all side trips were off! Kylan's dad loves working on cars, so the two of them bought some tools and supplies, and spent almost two days tinkering under the hood. They did a great job too...the car runs smoother than ever and is much quieter.

And now for September. After Kylan's dad left on the 3rd, we didn't rest for long before getting on with another project. We decided to finally start a patio in the backyard. Concrete seemed the best way to go, so we bought a mold which looks likes paving stones, some bags of cement, and made ourselves a patio. Well, the start of one anyway. We now have a 6' x 6' square patio, just outside the back door. It's big enough for now, but we do plan on adding to it in the near future. Of course, we will post photos of it soon.

Bye for now!
D.


CLICK HERE to read the diary entries from the beginning!
(Keep in mind that this one is #31.)