Neighborhood Bonding with Hershey’s #Smores #CampBondfire

When Jay and I were house shopping waaaay back when, we looked at what seemed like a million houses before we found any we seriously considered. Then, as luck would have it, we found two we could totally see ourselves living in – on the same day.


One was a cute blue colonial with a wrap around porch, a formal dining room, and a scary looking basement that looked like the old fashioned “cellars” I used to see in old New England homes.  The other house was an open airy ranch that had the open untouched basement Jay was itching to finish off.  We each preferred a different house and decided to go hash it out over dinner and meet up with our Real Estate agent after dinner and write up an offer then. (This was back when houses were flying off the market and you had to move it or lose it.)


Our agent (an older gentleman who reminded me of the guy from UP) gave Jay a knowing look and said he’d see us in a bit to write up the offer for the colonial.  He was a bit surprised when we came back and said we had agreed on the ranch.  Although it wasn’t as close to my “dream house” as the colonial, it had one thing the colonial did not.


A neighborhood.


We have really grown to love our neighborhood and the folks who live in it with us (even after a few turnovers!).  It is the kind of neighborhood where you can ask to borrow a chain saw or a cup of sugar – whatever you need.  The kind of neighborhood where there are yearly round robin Holiday parties where we tromp from house to house through the snow.  The kind of neighborhood where I didn’t have to cook for days after having LJ because of all the food that was dropped off (and so appreciated!!).


Earlier this month, one of our neighbors threw a baby shower for a friend and had lots of tents and tables set up.  Figuring we should all get the most out of them, she invited the neighborhood over for dinner and a bonfire.

We brought some makings for S’mores (courtesy of Hershey’s!) over and the next thing you know, the bonfire had turned into a BONDfire!  You know, the central part of the party where everyone stands around and chitchats (while roasting marshmallows, of course).

I have to admit – this is one of my favorite parts of summer.  In fact, we recently went out and bought our own fire pit so we can create some more HERSHEYS CAMP BONDFIRE memories (once the drought ends and the burn ban is lifted *sigh*).