House O' Sullivans

One of our favorite family summer traditions is attending free concerts at local parks.  Every Monday night in July and August, Liberty Park hosts international musicians in front of the Chase Home Museum.  Last Monday was the first of the year.  We invited the Miners to join us for a romp through the water features, a potluck picnic, and the concert.   Kim, Izzy, and Joseph, staging for the concert Zeke and Hal, enjoying the ambiance. Last Monday's fare was a Cambodian dance troupe, performing traditional dances that were over 2,000 years old, followed by these energetic Japanese taiko drummers.  We loved it! Watching the taiko drummers with rapt attention. Soph. Wednesday morning, Casey and I drove up to our stake's girl's camp above Francis on the south fork of the Provo River.  Ilean and Kay benevolently agreed to watch the kids so that we could stay overnight and I could be there for two days.  Normally I do the over-ni...

On July 3rd, we hosted a backyard BBQ for all of my family that lives close by.   After the feasting, the kids set up the snow cone machine and prepped for our much-anticipated "ghetto" firework display in the street. Zeke with some smoke bombs--a family favorite. The girls set up a little snow cone stand, servicing all of the cousins and neighbors. Staging for our street firework event. The kids were so excited.  They organized our arsenal in the little red wagon before the show. A snow cone and some "pops."  Everything a little boy needs. After our street display, we anxiously awaited the South Salt Lake firework show, always deployed on the 3rd of June from Granite High School--just a few blocks south of our house.  When Casey and I moved onto Best Avenue, we soon learned that our front lawn was the appointed viewing spot for said fireworks.  All of the neighbors join us for the show. On July 4th proper, we decided on a morning ...

The last weekend in June, we had our ward youth conference.  Our theme was "Be Strong," based on this scripture in Philippians: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."   We started Friday up Millcreek Canyon with a lunch and a devotional, then a hike to the top of Grandeur Peak.  I knew that for a couple of kids it would be easy, for most it would be mildly challenging, and for some extremely difficult.  Being the pregnant lady with the big belly (third trimester, finally), I took the position of caboose, giving myself the job of shepherding the stragglers up the mountain.  One boy, a cousin of one of my young women that I'd invited the day before to join us, stopped about 50 yards up the trail, huffing and puffing.  He pulled off his backpack and told me that it was too heavy and that he'd never make it. Upon closer examination, I observed two small water bottle and a few snacks--not much of a load.  After a short pep talk,...

Since the day he was born, Zeke has been a blessing in our home.  Even when he was a little baby, I used to tell people that he was the easiest one at our house.  He wakes up smiling and with arms outstretched, ready for a big "good morning hug."  We all love him so much. Little 3-year-old Sophie, admiring day-old Zeke.  Born on June 19, 2014 at IMC. Look at those soft, chubby cheeks.  What a cute little guy! Zeke on his 1st birthday. 2nd birthday! 3rd birthday, eating s'mores up Little Cottonwood Canyon. Zeke's birthday started two days early when Grandma White brought over presents, cousins, and cupcakes!! Zeke on his actual 4th birthday!!   Zeke had several special birthday visitors, including Grandma Sullivan. Shirley Baker, a sweet lady in our neighborhood that's dubbed herself an honorary great-grandma to my kids, brought Zeke some gifts and spent time reading to him in our backyard. Casey brought home a ...

I love our neighborhood. I love that we have a good mix of ages and life stages and that everyone knows my kids by name.  We don't get lost in swarms of kids, like in some of the newer neighborhoods, where I can imagine it's easy to get lost in the crowd of homogeny.  Sadly, many of the families in our ward reach a point when they feel like they need a newer or a bigger home and they move.  There are just a couple of families with younger kids that have held out in the 9 years that we've lived on Best Avenue.   The little guy in the picture below, Issac, has been Zeke's best buddy for the last year or so and he just moved.  :( Issac and Zeke..  Such good little friends. A couple of weeks ago I took my kids up to Porter Fork for a relaxing stroll through the woods while Casey was working at home. Sophie chose to wear her pioneer bonnet as the required hat for the day. We all wore our wading shoes so that we could get wet in the little ...