House O' Sullivans

The yurt was COLD when we arrived on Thursday afternoon.  Sophie, apparently not noticing how cold it really was, thinking that now she was INSIDE of something that SHOULD be warm, threw off all of her warm layers and sat there shivering and bewildered.  Casey quickly lit a fire in the wood burning stove, and while he stoked it, the kids huddled under "Bucky," one of the sheepskins that we'd brought along.  (Bucky was a sheep that Casey raised in high school.  There ARE benefits to marrying an FFA man.)  Every frigid expedition should have a few Buckys on hand. Zeke, Soph, and Hal with Casey's beloved "Bucky" Zeke cocooned into a down sleeping bag with his "Bear-Bear" while we waited for the yurt to get toasty After the yurt was sufficiently warm and circulation returned to our extremities, Casey and the girls started in on the card games that our friend Ginny gave the kids for Christmas.  (A boxed set including Snap!, Go Fish, Me...

Last week was the big week that we've been prepping for mentally and physically over the past couple of months--the epic journey to Big Water Yurt at the top of Millcreek Canyon.  Girls only turn 6 once, you know.   Sophie wanted to bring a pinata up to the yurt--a giraffe pinata.  I knew that it needed to be small to fit on a haul sled so we got to work early in the week. The kids gathered en masse to craft our little creation I love how our paste bowl is illuminated in this picture After drying for a day, the pinata was still soaking wet [I think we put a few too many layers on that little thing] so we resorted to baking it in the oven at a  low temperature over the course of a couple of days and then it was ready to paint.  The kids took turns painting our mini-masterpiece. My Mom and Dan brought pizza over Wednesday night to celebrate with Sophie before our expedition departed in the morning on Thursday--Sophie's birthday proper. ...

All of the kids have had minor colds, congestion, sniffles, and coughs lately.  Zeke has been a bit grouchy the last couple of days--which is totally not like him.  This morning Zeke wanted an apple.  I was just about to put his breakfast on the table so I told him no.  He started a minor tantrum, pouting and fussing over my response.  I told Casey that maybe Zeke had an ear infection (since he's been sick and runny nosed of late) and maybe that would explain the unusual grouchiness.  Casey turned to Zeke and said, "Zeke, do you ears hurt?"  To which Zeke quickly replied, sporting a sad, long face, "No, my feelings hurt."  Poor little buddy.

"In  economics ,  austerity  refers to a  policy  of  deficit -cutting by lowering  spending  via a reduction in the amount of  benefits  and  public services  provided." Last year we dubbed January a month of austerity.  [You can read about that  here .]  The basic idea, gleaned from my Uncle Danny and Aunt Leslie, is that you go a whole month without purchasing anything.  We slackened the the rules to allow for gas re-fuels, when needed, along with purchasing milk and fresh produce (one "bountiful basket" each week).  Projected food expenditures for the month are about $85.  We had so much fun doing this last year, that we are repeating.  When I did this last year, I realized how much I buy that I don't really need.  Even though I consider myself a thrifty person, I am realizing again that I can do so much better.  Austerity January teaches me to be content with the things that ...

Last Friday Ilean watched the kids while Casey and I went skiing at Alta with Newel and Arden (aka "The Powder Hound").  We literally dusted off the skis before we went.  Although it was bitterly cold (around 10 degrees), we had fun doing what we used to do in "the old school." Saturday morning, Casey woke up before dawn to go backcountry skiing with our friend Todd Miller. They donned their avalanche beacons and skied the "USA Bowl" near the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon, loving every minute.  When Casey got home, I geared up for an afternoon of extreme cross-country sledding with Sarah and Carlynn.  We hiked up the steep Neff's Canyon trail for an hour and a half, getting high into the backcountry, quickly downed a cliff bar, then positioned in the sleds and took off on a sustained wild ride down the trail.  Laughter echoed down the canyon during the descent.  So much fun and the snow was perfect--lots of packed powder!  I have decided that...