House O' Sullivans

I finally did it! I ran a marathon again!!  The Saturday before last, I woke up at 4:30 am, nursed the baby, then had Casey drive me to the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon and drop me off. It was still dark, although nearly 6 am by then. Something about being on an epic adventure--like a self-supported marathon--in the early morning in the mountains is incredibly invigorating.  Going solo just added to the epicness.  I'd made a goal this year of running another marathon. I haven't run one since Casey and I were married and after ten years and four kids I felt like it was time to get off the couch as they say in the industry.  I've been running for several months to get ready and it hasn't been easy. I've needed to do my running in the mornings while Casey is still home but before the kids wake up and before Casey needs to be at work. Lindy often wakes up once or twice (or on occasion many times) at night and it is hard to get myself out of bed. I often get u...

I was just telling Casey this week that I've felt like our family life has felt dissipated this summer. Although we are together a lot, we've had so many things going on between family, friends, and church responsibilities that I am craving time to be together with just our family. I love time spent together where Casey and I are completely present with our children and with each other and we haven't had nearly enough of that. All of the summer action has been fun but I'm feeling tired. Of course I could attribute that to having a 9-month-old nursing baby. Or I could attribute that to all the running I've been doing of late. So my brother H.B. has been in town with his family, and we've spent time with them. The week before last we went to This is the Place, Secret Lake, the Days of '47 Parade, and for a hike in the gully to introduce the next generation to "the tube." With all of the trails that wind through the gully, somehow our kids (a...

We spent the week before last doing some hard core "cousining." Yes, that's a verb that spontaneously surfaced in the White family to describe what the cousins do when they are together. The home base was a cabin up above Heber in the mountain subdivision of Timberlakes. After weeks of heinously hot weather down in the valley, we got the ultimate reprieve with cooler temperatures and daily rain showers. My mom, Kristen, Karen, Mary, and all attendant cousins came up. Newel and Casey were intermittent visitors. There were 5 adults and 18 kids on site all week. It was a lot of fun, but the noise was deafening at times. Did I mention there were 18 kids in one modest-sized cabin? By the end of the week, Lindy was so sleep-deprived. She'd spent the entire week going to bed at 10 pm or later, waking up early, and with maybe 2 daytime naps (total) because of the cousin energy. We had a great time, but I was so relieved to come home to my quiet little house and tone down to...

Friday was crazy. The morning started with some impromptu apricot picking, followed by a flurry of jam production and canning. A guy in our neighborhood had apricots falling to the ground and as the grand daughter of Thyrza and Viola, who both passed on the depression era mentality of "let nothing go to waste," I felt morally obligated to do something with those apricots.  That night, Casey and I met Mary and Phil and my friends Sarah and Carlynn on Antelope Island for the annual 24 mile moonlight ride from White Rock Bay out to the Fielding Garr Ranch and back. It starts at 10 pm under the full moon and is a blast. My mom watched the kids to make the excursion possible. Casey and I with the DeLorean on Antelope Island. (This year's theme was "Back to the Future.") Casey's expression is classic. Phil and Mar, ready to ride! Carlynn, Sarah, and I at the Fielding Garr Ranch, which was built by Carlynn's great great great grandfathe...