House O' Sullivans

This afternoon, Casey, Sophie, and I were peacefully reading book #7 in the Little House series, when Hallee marched Zeke into the living room dressed like this (photo editing was necessary to promote standards of decency): She was quick to explain, "I dressed him like an Israelite."

Last Friday afternoon, we packed our climbing gear and hiked a couple of miles up Neff's Canyon to some slabs for the first family climbing of the summer.  We'd been talking about going, but it hadn't yet materialized, so yeah for us.  Hallee had been sick the two previous days with a fever and hadn't eaten much during those days.  The poor girl looked pretty palid, but she was so excited to go.  It was HOT at the start of the hike, but as we climbed higher into the canyon and into the shade, it was much cooler.   A giant fallen rock slab near our designated climbing area. Last year, Sophie displayed crazy climbing skill, but the chunky route we picked to climb this time wasn't her favorite so she didn't get very high before asking to be lowered.  All of the kids climbed, and though they didn't get very high, they all had fun. Little Hal, getting her harness on. Zeke did fairly well, and had some sweet climbing moves.  He look...

Zeke's had a collection of underwear for a few months and has occasionally requested to wear them.  Usually the way it goes is he'll go potty a couple of times after he puts them on, then at some point he'll let loose in his underwear, leaving messes to be cleaned and laundry to be washed, and we'll change him back into a diaper for the rest of the day.  We haven't made a big deal about it, just matter of fact, "Oh, you peed yourself.  Well, we better clean that up buddy."  No big deal.  Well.  Yesterday, Zeke announced, "No More Diapers For Ducky!" when he got out of bed.  That's the title of a book we have in the Sullivan library about a little duck that gives up his diapers for good.  We put diapers on Zeke in the morning and he did ALL his business in the toilet all day, by himself, no reminders.  Today was the same.  All I can say is "WOW."  I have taken the relaxed approach, more relaxed with each child, just waiting for THEM...

Right before we ate dinner, Zeke walked to the back door and robustly pushed it closed, then resolutely announced, "I just locked Satan out."  Good thing.

Last Thursday, Casey and I woke up ridiculously early, dressed in pioneer garb, and loaded a bus bound for Wyoming.  We spent three days hiking a portion of the Mormon Trail with the youth of our stake.  Casey was the appointed trail boss and I a fiddler.  Just a couple of days before our departure, we assumed the roles of Ma and Pa, when another couple found out that they couldn't come.  Casey and I were assigned to the vanguard handcart in a line-up of ten. It was humbling to walk that section of trail, literally among dozens of pioneer graves.  I learned much about sacrifice and the way that it makes things sacred.  That trail was definitely sacred ground.  The details of the trail and the travail and the fun and my personal reflections remain in my journal.  As I always say, the blog is like the "large plates."  The juicy stuff stays largely in my personal journal. Today I celebrated the pioneers on the sidelines.  I've worked t...

Yesterday, as is the weekly custom, I took the kids to the library and maxed out our 30-item limit.  One of the books we randomly selected was this one: Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle . Yesterday afternoon, I noticed that Hallee had finally mastered the fine art of riding Sophie's pink scooter.  She's been trying for months to get the balance and glide just right and yesterday was the day.  So last night I surreptitiously pulled the book from the pile and read it to the kids as one of our bedtime stories and announced to Hal that on the morrow I'd teach her to ride.  She was worried about possible bodily injury, so her prayers included a plea to Heavenly Father to protect her during her attempt to master the sans training-wheel ride. Sophie just picked up a bike and started riding a year and a half ago with no troubles, so I think Hal's been intimidated to try because it was so ridiculously easy for Soph.  Hallee likes to be perfect right away and ha...

Last Thursday we journeyed to the Sawtooth Mountains near Stanley, Idaho to join our friends, the Spaldings at their family cabin for three days.  We started our joyous reunion out with a dinner picnic on the shore of Redfish Lake.  A live bluegrass band performed right behind us, creating the perfect mountain ambiance, at the Redfish Lodge while we swam and played in the sand.  Andy rented a paddleboat and all 6 of our (combined) kids boarded with Sophie and Simone manning the pedals.   Zeke was all upons. Zeke, sporting a faux-hawk. Andy and Bethany and their three kids--Simone (6), Phebe (4), and Bronte (2).  Bethany and I met in a singles ward about ten years ago and quickly became friends.  We did lots of camping, exploring, and adventuring together while we were still single.  The last time Casey and I were in the Sawtooths was when we went to Bethany and Andy's wedding just a month before we were married.  We love these p...