Fall 2018: Another Bunch of Random
We've been looking for a good mountain swimming hole, and in September, someone told Casey about Lake Lackawaxen. We invited Casey's sister, Beth, and her kids to join us for the exploratory hike, which involved summitting a 10,420 foot peak just for fun along the way. We had all of the little people with us, so it was slow-moving, but we navigated a 7+ miles loop past several lakes near Guardsman's Pass up Big Cottonwood Canyon.
Sophie, hiking to Lake Lackawaxen.
Casey, baby Sean, Lindy, and I atop the 10,420 foot peak. Our three older kids were cruising up the trail way ahead of us.
It is family tradition to drink from any mountain spring that we find.
By the time that we got to Blood's Lake, I was ready to get in. Beth, Casey, and several of the kids jumped in as well. It was COLD.
Zeke, reading to baby Sean.
I asked Casey to take me sailing for my birthday, and in September we boarded The Unsinkable II for some sailing lessons and cruising on the Great Salt Lake. We brought the three older kids with us and left baby Sean and Lindy at the Sullivan Homestead. It was amazingly fabulous. After our adventure, Casey and I started watching sailing documentaries and have been dreaming of taking to the open seas ever since.
Hallee, onboard the Unsinkable II.
Hallee, navigating the vessel across Utah Lake like a pro.
Casey has a proclivity to sea-sickness, but there was no barfing on this adventure. Yeah!
Sophie at the helm.
Zeke, manning the sail boat.
We went out to Antelope Island to help Piet, Mary's oldest boy, work on his Eagle Scout project--clearing weeds off an overgrown trail. We'd spent the morning helping some neighbors move, so by the time we made it out to the Island, they were nearly done. We decided a family hike was in order, since we were already out there and hike up to Dooley Knob.
Hallee and Sophie on the trail
Casey found this little guy at the trailhead.
Little Sean's face was a bloody mess after the carrier Casey buckled him onto fell over. Poor little guy. We all felt so bad for him.
All of us on top of Dooley Knob.
For one of our Ladies Adventure Nights last fall, we hiked up to the Salt Lake Overlook.
Sophie started running on the cross-country team at her school, Wasatch Charter, in the fall and had a phenomenal season. The school, only three years old, just started introducing some middle school sports and Sophie was all in. There were six girls on her team. I brought all of the kids to every one of her meets, so it was a huge time commitment and a ton of driving during hours that are already busy. My kids loved being at the meets. Zeke and Hallee were both riveted by the action and can't wait until they're old enough to run too.
Zeke, Sean, and Lindy, watching for a sighting of Sophie at her first meet.
I was so surprised to see Sophie at her first meet. She kind of came off the couch with no previous experience or training and came in 11th (out of a pool of probably 50) and right behind the leading girls.
Aspen Lakes--that's Sean and Lindy (on the right) playing with Parker and Andrew Dickson at one of the many lakes.
In September we also started up the neighborhood preschool co-op again, much to Lindy's relief and satisfaction. That girl is a social queen extraordinaire.
Sean and Lindy, communing with this year's chickens.
In September we did our first trial of Grandeur Peak for the season, along with Sophie and Hallee's best friends, Katelyn and Anna Mae, and my mom. We needed to abort the effort after getting about half-way up the trail due to some overheating (it was pretty hot that day and we didn't start up the trail early enough), so we ended up just playing in a trailside stream instead.
More of Sophie's cross-country meets:
We gathered all of my Salt Lake siblings for an old-school style picnic up Millcreek Canyon and spent some time hiking along the Pipeline Trail.
Sophie
Lindy
Sean and I
Lindy Loo
The kids moved over into our neighbor's yard, the Johnsons, to make these giant leaf piles. It seemed to be a good Sabbath afternoon activity, so I let them have at it.
Waiting for Sophie's race to start at Big Cottonwood Regional Park on October 3rd, 2018. It had been cold and rainy that day, so we were feeling grateful when the clouds parted just before start time.
Ready to run!
Sophie with two other qualifying teammates: Eden and Camilla. Sophie's team didn't qualify for the State Meet, but these girl's qualified individually, based on their finishing times at the Regional Meet. Sophie took 11th place at Region, running against 7th and 8th graders.
Staging for the big race.
Sophie, bringing it home down the final stretch. I was so proud of her. She ran a PR at the State Meet.
The girls with their couches, Mr. McKelvie and Mr. Keenan
Lindy, loving on Sophie's chicken, Annie. Lindy spent a lot of time in the chicken coop over the summer and fall months and this was her favorite one to carry around, pull in the wagon, or walk down the street in one of our strollers. Lindy also took on the responsibility of egg-collected and would deliver them to me each afternoon with the announcement, "Mom! Look what the little farmer brought to you!"
Zeke and Casey got to head down to Antimony with Grandpa Sullivan for the deer hunt in October. Success was had and Zeke is all in for any and all hunts that present in the future.
Grandpa Sullivan with Zeke, arrayed in full-battle gear.
As the story goes, Zeke was so excited to get to the deer that Grandpa shot, that he super-manned off the top of one of these barbed wire fences, narrowly escaping permanent injury.
We made yet another visit to the hot springs up Diamond Fork Canyon in October. It was bust that day, but we found our own private soaking spot.
October 12th, 2018, Lindy Ilene Sullivan turned four. This girl is an absolute LIGHT in our home and we love her fiercely. She'd told me several months previous that she wanted to make gummy bears on her birthday, so I scoured the web for directions and some silicone bear molds and we went to work while the older kids were at school.
Presents before her birthday breakfast.
Lindy set some homemade gummy bears loose in baby Sean's hair. Luckily, plucking them out was easier than I anticipated.
That night we staged Lindy's proper birthday celebration. We played games in the basement (Duck-Duck-Goose and Ring Around the Rosies), and then went outside for Lindy's now traditional birthday parade around the neighborhood.
She wanted a cheesecake and we made this one with sweet sour cream and cherries on top. It looks weird (I was being impatient and dumped all of the toppings on in haste), but it was amazingly delicious.
Sean on a trip to Wheeler Farm with our preschool coop friends in October. It was a COLD morning!
We went and did the hay maze afterward, much to Lindy and Sean's delight.
Baby Sean, eating treats under the picnic table leaf fort that Lindy made from branches I'd trimmed from the apricot tree.
October family tradition: making homemade caramel apples, covered with obscene amounts of candy.
Thursday, October 18th, Mary and I hiked up Grandeur Peak with her daughter Rose and ALL of my kids. I really wanted to make it up Grandeur Peak this season for Lindy. It was her goal to make it up under her own power, which she did!! Casey was at work and the kids were on UEA break, so it was just moms and kids on an epic hike. I was so relieved when we reached the top (and the bottom).
Hallee, hiking up the Grandeur Peak trail.
Sean on the trail. It was another cold start.
The victorious summit photos!
Lindy is officially hiking big stuff on her own two feet. Now on to Sean!
The kids and I rode the bus downtown and visited the Salt Lake Temple and the Church Museum of Art and History.
Baby Sean at the temple.
Lindy, wearing her new favorite pony shirt, acquired on her birthday.
Hal
First ever occurrence over here--a kid fell asleep ON the stairs.
Sean and Lindy at Tracy Aviary while the older kids were in school:
It was a perfect fall day and the leaves were amazingly colorful!
More leaf-pile forts:
Lindy with two of her buddies--Lucas and Parker--playing in the Johnson's backyard.
Another Ladies Adventure Night up Bell Canyon to the waterfall.
Zeke, teaching Dad how to do some string art. He is a patient (and successful) teacher.
Lindy
Hallee dropping down
Soph
Simple pleasures.
Casey's sweet Aunt Patsey, Gertie's sister, passed away and Casey drove down to New Mexico for the funeral with his parents and Zeke and Hal.
Katelyn with Sophie
Anna Mae with Hal
Running the Pipeline Trail on the one year anniversary of my dad's passing. It was a cold, dreary, drizzly day, but running makes everything better. I met my local siblings, Mar and Noodles, later on that day for dinner at the Koyo--my dad's favorite restaurant in Salt Lake.
My cute redheads--Hallee and Sean. Hallee is THE BEST at entertaining Sean and getting him to laugh and smile. She has a gift with children.
Thanksgiving morning, we hiked up the base of Parley's Canyon with the kids. It was so cold and windy, so we were relieved when Zeke found this little hollow for us to play in.
Sean
Zeke, gathering construction materials for a fort in the hollow Thanksgiving morning.
Sophie
Hallee was really braving the cold, since she'd only brought a thin hoodie.
Zeke
Zeke and Lindy in their "fort."
We spent Thanksgiving at Mary's in-law's house, Beth and John Goebel. This was our array of homemade pies after the feast.
We had planned on driving up to Evanston to cut down a tree again this year, but with severe winter weather warnings in place, and not wanting to navigate Wyoming back-roads in the storm, we decided to go local the day after Thanksgiving. To make the expedition epic, Casey suggested that we walk to the tree lot, a couple of miles away, with our wheel-barrow (to haul the tree back). I'm certain that we were a spectacle AND we had Grandma with us, which is like having Mary Poppins along.
Tying down the tree to our wheelbarrow before the long walk back home.
Hallee didn't approve of the tree our family voted on, so she bought her own and carried it home.
I tried a new (and liberating technique) this year. I let the kids totally decorate the tree--lights, garland, ornaments, and all. After it was up, I let Sean and Lindy do what they would with it (pulling down ornaments, etc) within reason. It was way less stressful than trying to keep everything perfect. I waste too much time trying to hold back entropy.
Casey and I found some raw cacao beans at the local Rancho and brought them home for roasting and making from scratch hot chocolate.
Lindy, was obsessed with this silly putty she'd made at preschool. This moment was the moment that I had to take it away because it was all through her hair.
Sophie, at the Salt Lake Children's Choir dress rehearsal at the Cathedral of the Madeline. This is what angels sound like.
Proof that Zeke loves his dad (and is a creative speller). :)
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