Family – Page 40 – M. Sullivan Photography

March 21, 2012 M. Sullivan Photography Family, Photos

Eighty-Three

I can’t believe my Dad turned 83 this past Friday. He has lived through the depression, World War II and served in the Korean war. He has farmed his entire life. He sold his last cow when he was 79, but still lives on the farm he and my Mom bought in 1954. He was 42 when I was born and was the oldest parent of any of the kids in my class during my school years. He is the oldest person Sebastian and Sophia know. And he has stories for every one of those 83 years.

My Dad has slowed a bit recently, but still enjoys every minute of when his grandkids visit. He loves watching videos of his great-grandson, Ari, giggling. He talks about the stock market and politics with passion. He eats sweets and doesn’t care if he has more than his share. He’s 83, why not live a little?

We had a nice visit with my parents to celebrate my Dad’s birthday on Friday. We ate sundaes with chocolate fudge, caramel and strawberry toppings – Sophia added sprinkles and whipped cream to hers. We sat outside and talked in the warm sun. We took a few pictures to remember the day. I think we should plan to do it again next year.

March 14, 2012 M. Sullivan Photography Family, Landscapes, Photos, Skiing, Sports, Weather

Daylight Savings Time & Weekend Recap

Daylight savings time is always a little difficult. You lose an hour of sleep. It’s still dark when you get up in the morning. On the flip side, the extra light in the evening is really nice after a long day at work. We can go for family walks and get our dog, Daphne, outside. And once again we are able to watch the sun come up before we head off to school and work.

Mike and Sebastian went to the Timberwolves game at the Target Center last Friday. Mike’s brother gave them the tickets and they couldn’t refuse – Timberwolves vs. Lakers, how can you say no? They arrived early and Sebastian solicited autographs from some of the players.

They watched a great game with the Timberwolves leading for a good portion of the evening. The Timberwolves did not win, but made it an exciting match until the very end.

While the boys were at the Wolves game, Sophia and I went to see the UMD Bulldogs during the first round of the WCHA playoffs. Sophia decided to put a Bulldog tattoo on her cheek and I made signs for her to hold up during the game.

We also saw a fun game with excitement until the very end. The Bulldogs scored an empty net goal in the final seconds to win 4-2.

We watched more sports on Saturday when Sebastian played his final basketball game of the year. Sebastian scored seven points and had several rebounds and assists. We had a special fan join us to watch the game. Papa Tom came up from the Twin Cities to see him play.

Sunday was spent skiing at Spirit Mountain with Papa Tom. The snow that we had received the week before was melting fast in the near 60 degree temperatures. We enjoyed the sunny, warm weather on the slopes and ate lunch outside on the deck.

We had every intention to take a picture with the five of us, but ended the day without snapping a group photo. We will have to ski together again next season so that we get one with Papa Tom on the slopes at age 70 along with the four of us.

March 4, 2012March 4, 2012 M. Sullivan Photography Family, Photos, Skiing, Sledding, Weather

Lake Effect

When you live next to the world’s largest fresh water lake, you become familiar with how it can change the weather – heavy fog, cooler summers, warmer winters and lake effect snow. Weather forecasters are often inaccurate when predicting temperatures or precipitation when the winds change and start blowing off the lake. The forecast on Friday evening was for flurries overnight and up to 3 inches of snow accumulating throughout the day Saturday. I would have to say that they were a bit off…once again. Here’s what we actually received.

We woke up to several inches Saturday morning and it continued throughout the entire day. By evening we had over a foot of snow and by Sunday morning we had reached 14.5 inches. Mike pulled the snow blower out three times during the day Saturday so that we could get out to two playoff basketball games for Sebastian, register the kids for ski races and make a run to the grocery store. Sophia had decided on a breakfast dinner for winning the previous snow total bet so we had to pick up supplies. We didn’t bother to make a bet for this next “storm” since the original forecast had minimal accumulation expected.

The nice thing about lake effect snow is that it is light and fluffy. Not like the heavy stuff we received during our “blizzard” last week. Speaking of our blizzard snow, Thursday was warm enough for Mike and Sophia to make this guy during their day off from work and school.

Here’s what he looked like this morning when I was out shoveling our driveway…again.

Sophia had a friend over Saturday during our snow event. Her friend lives just blocks from our house, so it is was a short walk through the snow to get here. She came prepared in snow gear and with a sled. The girls took turns going down our newly complete sledding course in the backyard – the one I didn’t think we would have this year since we had grass in the backyard two weeks ago.

They also tried a couple of runs together on one sled.

They trudged through the deep snow and found a perfect spot to make snow angels.

They also found the biggest snow pile in the yard and climbed to the top.

Then they slid down.

They got tired from all the play outdoors and cold from the snow filtering in under their snow gear and played inside for the rest of the afternoon. By that time I think we were all tired of the snow.

Fast forward to Sunday morning, here’s what I saw when I was out shoveling at 7:45am.

After breakfast the kids headed out with Mike to have some fun in the snow.

Sunday afternoon the kids had their final ski race at Chester Bowl. The snow actually had ended by this time and the sun came out. It was warm on the slopes and the fresh powder made for some great skiing.

Here’s Sebastian – he’s the black spot with a red helmet in the center of the picture.

We hope to enjoy the new snow a bit more before the spring thaw hits. Temperatures are forecast to be in the 30’s and 40’s this week. We are looking forward to skiing with Mike’s Dad next weekend at Spirit Mountain and perhaps we can make a family for Mr. Snowman in the front yard before it all melts.