M. Sullivan Photography

September 15, 2010 M. Sullivan Photography Family, Photos

Back To School

The kids started school last week. There was an open house the night before. The kids each dropped off their school supplies in their desks, met their teachers and saw lots of friends. Although they weren’t ready for summer break to end, they both missed the social aspect of school – but not so much the homework.

I barely caught Sebastian before he headed out the door to catch the bus. I made him sit with his sister to get our “First Day of School” photo.

The kids had a long wait. Not only did they arrive over 15 minutes early to the bus stop, but the bus was late. Typical for the first day of school while the driver is still figuring out the route and the kids are getting back into their routine.

I hate to jinx it, but Sophia has ridden the bus now for the first five days of school. We sent her on the bus for her first day of Kindergarten last year, but she quickly opted for a ride to school from Mom for the remainder of the school year. I didn’t mind dropping her off. We had a great routine. We would get Sebastian to the bus stop, then drive down to school. We had a few minutes to waste before the bell would ring and she could go into the school. Our daily routine was to take a photo with my iPhone, send it to Dad and by then it was time for her to go into school and for me to head to work. This year I can get both of them to the bus stop and I should be able to get to work 15 minutes early (once the bus is on time and the city is free of road construction). I guess that means I will be able to leave 15 minutes early too!

The kids both like their teachers, despite the amount of homework. We are looking forward to another great school year.

September 9, 2010 M. Sullivan Photography Family, Photos, Vacation, Weather

Cabin Weekend

We spent Labor Day weekend at Tom & Karen’s cabin. The kids played on the sandy beach, went for boat, pontoon and jet ski rides, looked for frogs, made s’mores and watched our mini fireworks display. Tom made his famous deep-fried turkey and Karen made her delicious Boursin potatoes for dinner on Saturday. The weather was cool, but comfortable for being outdoors. It was a much-needed weekend away.

One More Picture Before We Eat - S'mores

It was a great way to finish up summer vacation.

September 2, 2010 M. Sullivan Photography Animals, Family, Photos, Vacation

The Great Minnesota Get-Together

We made a trip down to the Twin Cities on Sunday night in anticipation of going to the State Fair Monday. We didn’t go last year and Sophia claimed she couldn’t remember going two years ago…not even the Giant Slide. I guess she was only four at the time. Sebastian remembered the fair very clearly. He wanted to check out the Kidway, Midway and Giant Slide again. Mike was mainly interested in the pronto pups and turkey drumsticks. We got up early and made it to the fairgrounds at 8:30am. Tom and Karen also came with us. The weather was overcast, but warm and humid in the morning. The afternoon ended up being sunny and in the 90’s. It was definitely hot, but we had a great time.

Our first stop was “Little Farm Hands”. Sebastian was hesitant to participate this year now that he is almost ten, but he was a good sport and trudged through with Sophia knowing that there was a reward for his labor at the end. He opted out of the apron (too lame) and the tractor (too small). The kids made their way through the various areas of the farm gathering eggs, picking vegetables, milking a cow and then turned in their farm goods for money to use in the store. Instead of picking out Lucky Charms cereal like two years ago, Sebastian bought an apple and Sophia picked out a small stuffed lamb.

Sebastian brought his camera with so that we could take pictures of our day at the fair.

After working the farm, we ventured off to see some other displays and to find a pronto pup for Mike (and Sophia).

Off to the Kidway next…

Time for a Sno-Cone break.

Off to the Giant Slide.

If you look closely you can see Sebastian in a white shirt, Tom in all black and Mike and Sophia sitting on their burlap sack in black and pink, respectively.

A few stops along the way included various fried foods, restroom breaks and Tom and Karen took the kids to the butterfly house while Mike and I looked at the Home Improvement area and Merchandise Mart.

Despite the heat and crowds, we decided to check out the Miracle of Birth building. It actually wasn’t too bad and the kids were able to see lambs, ducklings, chicks, calves, baby pigs and goats.

We made it over to the Midway for Sebastian to enjoy games for big kids. We went through a lot of tickets (i.e. $’s), but Sebastian did win a large, stuffed gorilla and a purple stuffed cow. Mike won a small penguin for Sophia. After the games and rides we viewed more exhibits and ended up at the all-you-can-drink milk booth. Karen treated Sophia to an ice-cold glass of milk.

And don’t forget Heritage Square for a turkey drumstick.

We made a quick stop to see a few Vikings players.

The boys also stopped at the Fox Sports North booth and did a “live” broadcast. It was recorded and can be viewed online. I need to track down the link and will add it here.

We left the fair via the Sky Ride per the kids request.