Family – Page 41 – M. Sullivan Photography

March 1, 2012March 1, 2012 M. Sullivan Photography Family, Photos, Weather

Leap Day Blizzard

We are used to hearing lots of hype surrounding storms that are predicted to hit our area. Last year we had the “blizzard that wasn’t” where predictions of 24″ of snow with high winds turned out to be one big windy day – no snow. We have become accustomed to lots of talk, but little to no snow. Late last week we started hearing about the big storm scheduled to arrive on Tuesday and continue through Wednesday evening. I was thinking, “here we go again”. We even started a wager at our house with what the total snow accumulation would be. The winner receiving a prize package to include control of the TV remote and the dinner selection for the evening. The weather forecasters had been predicting totals reaching up to 18 inches with blizzard conditions, high winds, dangerous travel, etc. I felt generous at guessing 6 inches for the storm total. Sebastian guessed 7 inches, Sophia 7.5 inches and Mike went all out at 13.1 inches.

Tuesday evening came and went with no snow. I woke up 3am and looked out to see how much snow we had received – nada! When I got up for work at 5:30am, there was a small amount of snow blowing across the driveway and yard. The weather forecasters were lowering their predictions at this point, but still insisting a foot or more of snow would fall during the day. Schools and business all over the city and area were closed. Mike felt venturous and took my aging 4wd SUV to work. I stayed with the kids and worked from home.

The winds continued to pick up throughout the morning and the snow began to fall. By lunchtime, more businesses were closing, the city buses were only on emergency routes. Sebastian was getting bored with being inside and decide to venture out. Geared up with snow pants, boots, gloves and ski goggles, he proceeded to start shoveling our driveway. Unfortunately, it was a completely futile effort considering the winds gusts were clocked at over 50 mph during the day with a 65 mph gust along the bridge connecting Duluth and Superior. The light snow combined with the high winds caked icy snow on all of our windows – north-facing, south-facing, east and west – all caked with ice.

After realizing that he wasn’t getting very far with the driveway, he worked on our small back deck to clear the way to the backyard for Daphne to…well, you, know.. she’s a dog. Anyway, he came back in tired, covered with snow and ready for a snack.

We had a couple of very short power outages, a snowmobile or two drive by on our street and the power company truck drive by. We continued to stay inside until later in the afternoon. Sebastian headed out after 3pm and took another stab at the driveway. I felt bad watching him out the window so I decided to gear up and help. Sophia didn’t want to stay inside by herself, so she got her snow pants and boots on to join us. Even though the wind gusts could take your breath away, the temperatures were in the low 30’s. Not too bad by Minnesota standards. We worked on the driveway, built two forts, made snowballs and shoveled out Daphne’s path to the backyard…again. After 30 minutes of shoveling by hand, Mike arrived home from work and got out the snow blower.

Here’s a peek at the fun we had.

And my favorite photo…

The storm totals from the local weather service came in at 9.5 inches. Predictions were off once again, but at least we finally received enough snow to make it look like winter in Minnesota. As far as storms go, it was a pretty good one. Schools are canceled for the second day due to poor road conditions. Sebastian and Sophia were super excited about that. Mike stayed home with them and they are working on the “bobsled” course in the backyard. How cool is that? And last but not least, Sophia won the snow total bet. She is debating between mac & cheese, steak or pizza for her meal of choice. I’m not sure what will happen when she is in control of the TV remote. I’m glad she is beyond the princess/Dora stage. There may be hope for something entertaining.

Check back in the next few days. I’m sure we will have backyard sledding pictures to share. For now, here’s last year’s.

February 26, 2012February 26, 2012 M. Sullivan Photography Daphne, Photos, Vacation, Weather

Winter Break

It’s Sunday evening and winter break for the kids has come to an end. They had a good week with lots of fun at daycare Monday through Wednesday. Sebastian had the opportunity to go to Spirit Mountain on Monday evening with his daycare friend’s church group and went tubing and rode the Alpine coaster. Both kids had dentist appointments on Thursday, no cavities, but braces will likely be in Sophia’s future. The dentist said she would give us a referral to an orthodontist at our next check up in August. Just when we were cutting back on child care costs, the orthodontist will more than make up for it.

We checked into a local hotel Thursday afternoon using a gift certificate we won at a silent auction event this past fall. We had a room with direct access to the pool. The kids had their swimsuits on before I even had everything in the room. We swam, used the hot tub and had the pool area pretty much to ourselves.

Sebastian worked on his cannonball.

I played lifeguard until Mike joined us after work. My swimming skills are lacking, so I was relieved that the pool was only five feet deep.

There was also a game room in the pool area. Lucky that Mike and I rarely have any cash in our wallets. The kids talked us into getting them tokens, but our combined efforts only provided for $12 in tokens. Sebastian really wanted to win this.

He came up empty-handed, but Sophia managed to win two rubber balls in a crane game. She used her sharing skills and gave one to Sebastian.

After the kids were exhausted from swimming, we ventured out into Canal Park to get some dinner at Green Mill.

After dinner, we enjoyed s’mores back at the hotel.

The kids swam again in the morning before breakfast, then filled up on waffles, fruit, yogurt and juice at the complimentary breakfast buffet.

Views of Canal Park from the pool area.

The kids layed low for the rest of the afternoon knowing that they would be up late at the Bulldog hockey game that night. We watched a great overtime game with a winning goal at two minutes left in the overtime period. These are photos from last fall at the Bulldog home opener during the tailgate party. A friend and co-worker of mine took a few photos of our family and I just saw them for the first time last week.

Winter break came to an end today with an all day snow storm and ski races at Chester Bowl. Sophia skied two solid races despite having some problems with her ski bindings right before the race. Mike got her back on track and she had a couple of nice runs. Sebastian finished in first place in his division. Mike snapped this picture with his iPhone when Sebastian went up to collect his trophy and take his moment on the podium. Way to go!

And last, but not least, here’s Daphne playing in some of our new snow.

We are expecting more snow this week, days filled with school and work and evenings filled with activities. I am already looking forward to next weekend!

February 19, 2012 M. Sullivan Photography Flowers, Landscapes, Photos

Valentine’s Day Leftovers

With Valentine’s Day falling on a Tuesday this week, it didn’t offer much opportunity for romance. Mike and I weren’t even able to fit in a lunch date this year. While I was at work, Mike was chaperoning Sebastian’s class ski trip to Spirit Mountain. He did have a great time and had a fun group of skiers that he was with throughout the day. My lunch date ended up being with Daphne. She seemed pretty happy about it. I even gave her an extra dog treat because it was Valentine’s Day. I had given up much hope for anything Valentine’s related in my day, when these arrived for me in the afternoon.

I was also greeted with six chocolate-dipped strawberries from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory when I got home. I fought the temptation to devour one and instead got a quick run on the treadmill in while Mike got dinner for the kids. When I finished my workout, I put together dinner for Mike and me. By the time our risotto was finished cooking, Mike had only 5 minutes before he needed to leave with Sebastian to basketball practice. He ate a few bites and then headed out with Sebastian. I was planning to wait to eat until he got home so that we could share our dinner together, but I was hungry and the risotto looked too good (with Italian sausage, red & yellow peppers, parmesan cheese and fresh cracked pepper). I finished eating just as he walked back in the door. We did enjoy chocolate-dipped strawberries after the kids went to bed. We had enough leftover risotto that we ate more for lunch the next day along with a couple of the chocolate-dipped strawberries. Even though I think we still deserve a night with just the two of us, I can’t help but be thankful that our days are busy and full with our kids and activities that make us a family.

The kids are looking forward to their winter break from school this coming week. We don’t have a big trip planned, but the kids will get a mix of time at daycare and time at home. The kids are excited to see friends at daycare that they haven’t seen for a while. We also have some fun things planned to do in town and are looking forward to a week off from evening activities, homework and packing lunches.

Mike and I are both tired after a late night out last night. We were invited to a dinner at a co-worker’s house. There were three couples in all. We had a nice evening filled with wonderful food, great stories, music and even some Pictionary. We got home way too late, but enjoyed our time socializing with adults. Morning came early when Daphne wanted to get let out at 6:45 this morning. The sun was coming up, but I wasn’t ready to be up. Despite my grogginess, I noticed the sherbet colored skies outside. Half-asleep and in my bathrobe, I took a quick snapshot through our front window. Even though I would have loved to stay up and watch the sunrise, I was too exhausted and went back to bed. I’m sure it was quite amazing though.