House O' Sullivans

This is where we're at.  Casey is totally laying down on the job.  Take note of the plywood floor, the barren walls, the sinkless (stoneless) plywood counter.  Still washing dishes in the bathroom sink and/or tub (or the backyard, which is Casey's preference).  Still eating in the backyard on various tertiary tables (real and improvised).  Oh yes, apparently it will get cold and rainy next week.  Maybe we'll move our picnics down to Wayne's Bar.  (It's about time I dusted that old thing off.)

. . . tonight's event was CARAMEL APPLES!!  Not exactly healthy (except for the fact that there's an apple in there somewhere), but fun and delicious, none-the-less.  I decided that to celebrate the "harvest season" this year, we'd have at least one "harvest activity" each week.  Our creations speak for themselves.  (And, of course, we did all of this in the backyard.)

This morning's main event was a hike up Millcreek Canyon.  Spring and I rounded up the kids early and headed up Porter Fork--one of my favorite fall hikes.  The road is gated at the bottom and winds up through dozens of older (unique and very charming) cabins, many hidden back in the woods behind tall trees and just beyond weathered bridges.  Towering trees line the sides of the road and lean together in the middle, creating the illusion of a natural tunnel.  In the fall, this tunnel is brilliantly illuminated with the colors of autumn.  The stream rocks are covered with "fairy moss" and the whole area seems absolutely magical.  The kids collected dozens of glorious red, yellow, and orange leaves, explored lots of cabins, tossed "leaf boats" into the stream, and enjoyed a picnic of freshly harvested fruits, vegetables, and peanut-butter and honey sandwiches.  Perfect!

Since the kitchen is still ripped apart (it's been more than a month in the non-functional state) we spend a whole lotta time in the backyard.  The weather has been PERFECT, so it's been a blessing to enjoy it so fully. Soph and Hal carefully, painstakingly, taped these two apple boxes together.  The newly constructed device is a boat, a train, a car, pretty much WHATEVER the situation calls for.

Sophie and Hallee are playing on a local rec-center soccer team.  After their first game, a couple of weeks ago, the coach asked the team what they should call themselves.  Many suggestions were given, and after the vote, no conclusion could be made.  The official team name stands as the Bumblebee Dragon Princesses.  They are one amazing team with two superstar players that make like 20 goals a game.  Our girls?  They just chase the ball in a giant herd.  The formation of 3 and 4 year old reminds me of a comet--concentration of kids around the ball, then a trailing tail.  Oh well, they have fun and Soph and Hal are quite pleased with their pink shin-guards.

. . . the Zeke-Horse, that is!  I took these pictures of the kids after church last week.  We'd walked home and the kids all picked apples at our neighbor Shirlene's house along the way.  (We have REALLY nice neighbors.)

All of my kids have been fascinated with shoes.  Even now, Sophie and Hallee still pull all of my shoes out of the closet to set up "shoe stores" and try on various pairs, then clomp around the house.   Zeke follows in the tradition of his sisters.  He was walking around outside with one of Sophie's shoes on this week.  It was so cute I had to take some pictures.