M. Sullivan Photography

January 27, 2010January 27, 2010 M. Sullivan Photography Cooking, Family, Photos, Weather

Winter Activities

The weather was wet and snowy this past weekend. We had ice and sleet overnight Friday, rain and snow on Saturday and more snow on Sunday. The snow total for the weekend was over 10 inches. The rain didn’t do any favors to our sledding course in the backyard, but the snow at the end of the weekend made up for it. Sebastian was disappointed that he couldn’t achieve the same amount of speed as he did in the previous weekend. With the cold weather forecasted for this week, ice should replace the slushy snow. I’m sure the kids will be back in business for the upcoming weekend. Sophia didn’t mind the conditions and practiced with “no hands”.

After the kids were thoroughly soaked from the wet snow, we took a break to make a batch of cookies. I had promised Sophia we could try out the new Valentine sprinkles we picked up at Target earlier in the day.

Photos to begin, recipe to follow.

Bake Until Lightly Golden Brown On Edges

From the Land O’Lakes Cookbook

Cookie Ingredients:

1		cup butter, softened
1		cup sugar
1		egg
2 1/2		cups all-purpose flour
2		tablespoons orange juice
1		tablespoon vanilla
1		teaspoon baking powder

Frosting Ingredients:

3		cups powdered sugar
1/3		cup butter, softened
1		teaspoon vanilla
1		to 2 tablespoons milk

Combine 1 cup butter, sugar and egg in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add all remaining cookie ingredients. Beat until well mixed. Divide dough into thirds; wrap in plastic food wrap. Refrigerate until firm (at least 2 hours).

Heat oven to 400°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface, one-third at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut with 2-inch cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 6 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 1 minute before removing from cookie sheets. Cool completely.

Combine powdered sugar, 1/3 cup butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla in small bowl. Beat at low speed, adding enough milk for desired spreading consistency. Tint frosting with food color, if desired. Frost and decorate cooled cookies as desired.

Preparation time: 20 min Baking time: 6 min Chilling time: 2 hrs Cooling time: 15 min

Yield: 6 dozen cookies

January 18, 2010January 18, 2010 M. Sullivan Photography Family, Photos, Sports

Preparing For The Winter Olympics

Four years ago, Mike and Sebastian were inspired by the Winter Olympics and built a “bobsled/luge” course in our backyard. Of course it was on a much, much, much smaller scale. Sebastian was only 5 years old at the time, so it seemed quite grand to him. The “bobsled” course has been an annual tradition since then. Each year Mike has a new idea to perfect the course, make it longer or faster. Despite the unusual snow/ice/freezing rain storm we had at Christmas time, he worked all of New Year’s Day to make it better than the year before. With new sleds from Santa, I think the course is better than ever. The kids agree. I had to put my camera in sports mode to capture these shots. They were moving pretty fast.

The jump that the kids are going over in the above photos is actually my vegetable garden. We built the garden on to the hillside with concrete blocks. Once it is covered with snow, it makes a great jump. I’m thinking it might be a good idea for the kids to wear ski helmets. What do you think?

The kids did take a break to let me take some additional photos.

Taking A Break From Sledding & Snow Fort Building

Daphne even came outside to join in the fun. She did too much damage on the bobsled course, so we had to engage her in a game of fetch instead.

January 15, 2010 M. Sullivan Photography Landscapes, Photos

Lake View

In the winter we have a fairly nice view of the lake. Not panoramic, but still quite pleasant. With the leaves off the trees, we see some amazing sunrises. Just as we did this morning.