Family – Page 93 – M. Sullivan Photography

February 10, 2010February 11, 2010 M. Sullivan Photography Family, Photos, Sports

Valentine’s Cards

With Valentine’s Day coming up on Sunday, the kids have worked on getting Valentine’s cards ready for their classmates. We picked out some cute Hello Kitty Valentines with glitter stickers for Sophia. Sebastian ended up with Phineas & Ferb. I think he was hoping for some sort of sport Valentines, but the choices were very limited. His other options were Spiderman, SpongeBob, Diego, Barbie and a variety of princesses. Not cool for a 9-year-old. Sophia spent Monday evening writing out all of her classmate’s names, signing her own and taping a small sucker on each one. She even made one for Mike and one for herself. I think her alterior motive was to get a sucker for herself. Sebastian is still working on his, but plans to finish up tonight. Homework and basketball practice the past couple of evenings has cut into his Valentine time.

Speaking of basketball, Sebastian’s last game is on Saturday. It’s been a tough season with only one win, but the kids have played hard and learned a great deal in their few months playing. The teams are supposed to made up of 3rd & 4th graders, but his team has only 3rd graders. There is definitely a big height difference between the two grades! We took team photos after the game this past weekend. I put together a simple photo momento for the kids to remember their awesome team. 🙂

We also took photos this weekend to use for a Valentine card to send to family. Here’s a peek at some of the shots.

Photo Session Over

February 2, 2010 M. Sullivan Photography Family, Photos, Sports

Chester Bowl Ski Races

The kids participated in the Chester Bowl Ski Races this past Sunday. Sebastian is an old pro in the competition after racing for the past three seasons. Sophia, however, is brand new to the races. The races consist of two runs down the ski hill. Skiers are divided into sections by age and gender. Sophia competed in the 5 and under girls, Sebastian in the 8-9 year old boys. We arrived to the hill a bit early so that Sophia could take trial runs down both the blue and red course. She was a bit nervous earlier in the day, but knowing that treats and a trophy were in store for all participants helped encourage her to race. Single digit highs and sub-zero wind chills didn’t discourage the racers. There were over 100 kids signed up to compete. Sophia’s group was first up.

Sebastian had to wait a while, but he was ready to go when it was his turn.

Both Sophia and Sebastian did a great job. Sophia finished her second run in 7 seconds less than her first. Sebastian finished second in his division. We were very proud.

The kids were prepared for the cold, as seen by the photos below.

The kids posed for a couple more quick snap shots once trophies were handed out.

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