Christmas – Page 6 – M. Sullivan Photography

December 21, 2012 M. Sullivan Photography Family, Photos, School, Weather

Out Of The Picture

You may have noticed that we have neglected our blog this month. The big factor has been that are dearly beloved Toshiba laptop that allows me to load, edit and upload photos has recently passed away. We originally thought it was a Windows 7 issue. Unfortunately, a local computer guy gave us the news that no one wants to receive, the hard drive had crashed. The good news is that I backed up everything within in a couple of weeks of the demise of the hard drive. Also, for an additional fee, I can have the computer guy try to pull all the data off the laptop – just in case my backup isn’t as good as I though it was. Our household is currently using our 2004 PC (running Windows XP). The kids have complained how slow it is. They should be grateful that they haven’t been trying to run a photo editing program with it. I’m back to Photoshop Elements 6 with no actions. Extremely slow and limited in its abilities! Therefore, the posting to this blog has been on hold. Perhaps there will be some post-holiday sales where we can get a great deal on a fast new laptop. We will have to reload all of our programs and data, so it may be a while before we are “back in the picture”.

I did get a few pictures edited and uploaded though. Here’s a quick peek at some things that have been going on this month.

Buddy, our Elf on the Shelf, returned from the North Pole.

Sophia still doesn’t know how he got up there and stayed there throughout the day and evening. Magic, of course!

We had a snowfall that allowed for some play in the backyard, but it wasn’t sticky enough to make real snowmen. Mike and Sophia improvised by making mini snow people.

Sophia’s school had their winter concert. She sang with both the school choir and with her class. She did a great job and it was fun to see how much she enjoyed being on stage.

Her class also performed “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”. We took some video and pictures, but they have made their way to our makeshift editing room yet.

Mike and I enjoyed a day off from work on our wedding anniversary last week. We celebrated 18 years of marriage by having a quiet morning at home after the kids were off to school. We went to lunch at a new restaurant in Canal Park and then walked around checking out the stores. We finished with coffee and hot chocolate at Caribou Coffee. The evenings are always chaotic during the school week, so it was nice to spend some uninterrupted time together during the day.

In the days or weeks ahead, I hope to get caught up on photo editing and posting. Maybe Santa will bring me a new laptop for Christmas. 🙂

Happy Holidays!

January 4, 2012January 4, 2012 M. Sullivan Photography Family, Photos, Skiing

A New Year, Another Sunrise

I’ve been MIA – busy with the holidays, cleaning up from the holidays, an unexpected trip to the northern-most part of the state, Sebastian’s invention project, the kids’ ski races, getting back to work and the kids going back to school, along with a side project/job that I’ve taken on for a friend. Although our holiday break took some unexpected turns, we did have quality time with both sets of parents (grandparents) and a short visit with the Sullivan cousins. We found time to see a movie, play some games, enjoy our new Christmas gifts and spend time together as a family. Now that we are back into the craziness of work and school, it was nice to stop and enjoy a couple of beautiful sunrises this week. I neglected to bring my camera with me on my drive to work both yesterday and today, but borrowed my company’s point-and-shoot to capture these images this morning.

Here’s a family photo taken with Sophia’s new camera at our traditional New Year’s Eve dinner destination – Famous Dave’s. We spent some additional time next door at Adventure Zone playing games, winning tickets and exchanging tickets for two stuffed monkeys, two tops and a few other plastic trinkets. Fun was had by the kids and the parents. 🙂

The kids spent the earlier part of their New Year’s Eve at Chester Bowl participating in the ski races. Mike and I were busy trying to stay warm at the bottom of the hill, but eagerly cheering on both of them. Sophia had two excellent runs that put her in the middle of nearly 20 kids in her age category. Sebastian outdid himself by placing second in his category. Here are the YouTube clips of their races.

December 26, 2011 M. Sullivan Photography Family, MCP Project 52, Photos

Project 52 ~ Weeks 51 & 52

Week 51 Theme ~ Holiday Cheer

Buddy, our Elf on the Shelf, has been bringing holiday cheer to our home since December 1. Sophia’s mornings aren’t always cheerful, but trying to find Buddy in his new location each morning makes for a much better start to the day. It’s the first thing she does after she gets out of bed. Thanks for the holiday cheer Buddy! We are sad to see you go.