House O' Sullivans

The foot and a half of snow melted, and amazingly we have blooming flowers scattered throughout our gardens.  Below freezing last week, near 60 degrees today.

Last week after the big snow, the kids wanted to go sledding, naturally.  We went down to Ben Franklin Park (aka Scott Avenue park) and did as many runs down the hill as we could before the sun set over the Oquirrhs.  The sledding hill there is small, so Soph and Hal could hike back up and do as many reps as needed unassisted.  Perfect!  Sophie and Hallee mostly soloed and Zeke and I two-manned it, although when Casey Bert arrived (I tipped him off about our location) we ALL piled into one small sled for a wild ride.   Hallee with HER sled (blue is her current favorite color) Our sledding bookended the time we spent on the snow-covered playground.  We were dressed for success, so intrepid we were. Zeke, and Sophie pile on top pf Casey for a ride down the hill Last Tuesday, we met several of our homeschooling friends at Evergreen Park (a weekly tradition) and created this amazing snow fort.  Hallee hadn't eaten her lunch, so after ...

Anyone who's lived in Utah can tell you that Spring and Fall are the seasons for bi-polar weather.  This week was a good example of the fast swing between the weather yin and yang.  I took the kids downtown on the bus (exciting fun for my kids in and of itself) last Wednesday morning.  It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day.  We had no agenda (except to have ourselves some FUN).  We walked by the Beehive house, admired some of Casey's handiwork (he replaced some stones on the building a few years back), and sauntered in for a quick tour with the Sister missionaries.  Of course, being Wednesday morning, we had the place to OURSELVES.  After touring the Beehive house, we were walking past the 28-story Church Office Building and I was telling my kids how MY Mom used to take my siblings and I up to the observation deck, then we'd jump on the elevator on the descent and learn first hand how the laws of physics operate.  After those stories, we had no ...

An instant replay of this afternoon's game . . .

Last Monday for Family Home Evening we carved the pumpkins.  Hal's warty pumpkin proved the most difficult--super tough skin that was nearly impossible to cut through.  The kids drew the faces on the pumpkins with Sharpie, then Casey and I cut them out.  Hallee got frustrated after a couple of attempts on her pumpkin, feeling that the vision that she had in her head was not translating well to the pumpkin.  Casey sent her inside to draw a few sketches on paper and that seemed to satisfy her. Zeke's pumpkin Sophie's pumpkin (with the "flower" eyes) next  Hallee's My pumpkin . . . and Casey's Since Sophie was born, we've hosted an annual family Halloween party in Wayne's Bar.  The weather was so pleasant this year that we set up shop in the backyard.  Chili and homemade rolls for dinner, along with a side of heart and brain jell-o molds and salad, then we were off to trick or treat the neighborhood with all of the White...