dog – Page 3 – M. Sullivan Photography

February 16, 2014February 16, 2014 M. Sullivan Photography Daphne, Family, Flowers, Photos, Weather

Hopper Happiness & Sock Monkey Madness

We gave the kids a few small things for Valentine’s Day. Nothing fancy, just some chocolate treats, gum and a small gift for each kid. Sophia had her eye on a giant stuffed frog that was on display in the gift section of a local store since mid-January. Every time we stopped by the store to pick up a few items, she spotted the frog and begged to have it for Valentine’s Day. It was a little overpriced and ridiculously pink and large, but she declared her love for it each time she saw it. Early this week I had to do some errands and stopped by a different store for a few household items. I decided to pick up some Valentine’s treats for the kids and a card for Mike. While I was debating on whether or not to get a small stuffed bulldog for Sophia, I looked up on the top shelf and spotted the same frog that Sophia had seen at the other store. I decided that it must be fate. Not only was it the same frog, it was almost half the price. Sophia became the proud owner of a giant pink and white frog on Valentine’s Day. She couldn’t have been more excited. Now we just need to figure out where to keep him. Sebastian’s gift was not quite as bright or exciting, but he was very happy with his new fleece blanket (a.k.a. Woobie).

Hopper, Socky, Sophia, Sebastian & The Brown Blanket

In addition to her new frog, Hopper, Sophia also received a gently used sock monkey hat with her Valentine’s Day loot. Sock Monkey was also a big hit with her as seen below in the snapshots from earlier today,

I also enjoyed my Valentine’s gift…a beautiful bouquet of roses, truffles and a nice card from Mike.

Sebastian had a basketball tournament in Zimmerman, Minnesota today. Mike made the 2 1/2 hour journey with him. It was a long day, with less than ideal road conditions, but the boys played well and they made it home safely at 10:40 p.m. tonight. While they were away, Sophia and I took care of shoveling the freshly fallen snow. We did take some time to have a little fun and enjoy sledding in the back yard.

Daphne also joined in the fun.

We are looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow and enjoying a quiet day at home…or maybe skiing in the fresh powder.

January 1, 2014 M. Sullivan Photography Daphne, Family, Holidays, Photos, Sledding, Weather

Outdoor Activity

We had high hopes of having a great winter with lots of outdoor activities. We had nearly three feet of snow on the ground early in December, but since then the temperatures have barely made it above zero. Today’s high was -4 F. We did have a couple of days at the end of last week that made it to 30 degrees…above zero! We took the opportunity to play fetch with Daphne, sled in our backyard and clean the snow off our deck.

We spent New Year’s Eve at the movies, followed by dinner at Famous Dave’s restaurant – an annual tradition for us.

Warm wishes for the days ahead and hopes for some outdoor time skiing and skating. Happy New Year!

December 17, 2013December 17, 2013 M. Sullivan Photography Daphne, Family, Holidays, Lake Superior, Landscapes, Photos, Weather

Long Cold Winter

It is still not officially winter per the calendar, but since we had the huge snow storm after Thanksgiving, the temperatures have either been below zero or single digits. We took our holiday card photo on a day with a high temperature of 3, wind chills below zero and snow flurries. I usually try to get several shots so that I know that we have the perfect photo. Not this time. Our remote shutter stopped working because the battery was too cold. I did make the kids stay outside for an extra minute or two after I took the camera off the tripod so that I could make sure to get a good shot of just the two of them.

Days and days of temperatures 25 degrees below average is getting old really fast. Rumor has it that there will be a day or two of 20 degree temperatures soon. In the meantime, here are some pictures from the cold “tundra” of northern Minnesota.

Here is a preview of our holiday card photos. Notice the white snow dots on our clothes and faces.

It was too cold for Daphne to join us for the family photo so I snapped a picture of her indoors where it was nice and toasty.

Out on Lake Superior, the evaporation of lake water created “sea smoke” in the subzero air.

It certainly makes for a cold work day for the people working on the ships coming into port.

What I want most for Christmas is to be able to enjoy all of our new snow without the unbearably cold temperatures. Are you listening Santa?