Kitchen Demo, Wii Boxing

Can't Stop Loving that Reindeer of Mine

Belated Photos of Our Annual "Leaf Day" - Early November 2007

School Starts!

So, three days down, 177 to go until next summer! Thankfully the heat wave broke for the start of school and the kids only had to brave 98 degrees rather than the now-seemingly-normal 103. Aidan is our big fourth grader, and is in Mrs. Green's class. Jack is our very-able second grader in Ms. Griffith's class. And excited Maggie is our kindergartner in Miss White's class. Eakin Elementary is now full of Sullys. We take the kids to school each mroning and the bus brings them home; the bus stop is only two houses down the street. We feel we've just entered a pretty special year, with all three of them in the same building. Nora starts three-day-a-week preschool right after Labor Day at a wonderful church preschool in town. Her demeanor in the picture is not indicative of anything really.

Hot Time Summer in the City

Yeah, We're Wet and We're BAD
Originally uploaded by thesullys

It has been awfully hot here for the past ten days. We are only nine days away from the start of school, so we have been trying to get "friend time" in with our kids' friends, whether they come over here to our house or we farm ours out to theirs. The boys had a great time with Aidan's classmate, JP (see pic) the other day.
Andrea's job continues to go well at Bristol Development. She is there approximately three full days a week. Starbucks is also going well. If you're in the area, please stop by the Green Hills Hillsboro Road location where I work --- I will get you either cooled off, caffeinated or both!

My Wacky Wife

IMG_5707
Originally uploaded by thesullys

It was so much fun to be in Ohio with my family...especially my wife. We've had quite a year, and it was good for all of us, esp. her, to be up in the home turf for a while (of course, too short. Here she is being goofy at her grandmother's 90th birthday party, alongside our sister-in-law, Sara, who lives with her family in Chicago.
Andrea often makes faces like this, its just not that often that I get them on film.

Alumni Return to Tour the School

Alumni Return to Tour the School
Originally uploaded by thesullys

Great time had in Cleveland and then Columbus. This shot taken at Andrea's elementary school.

Cousins Camp!

Nora Smertsmile
Originally uploaded by thesullys

The kids have been up here in Cleveland for the past two weeks. Andrea and I completed MANY household projects and have now come up north to join our kiddos. We are having a great time up here, the weather has been incredible --- lots of swimming, and all of Andrea's siblings have come into town. That's saying a lot when there are six kids and they live in Chicago, Tennessee, Ohio and Norway (yes, the country, as in smoked fish).
Nora has really come a long way with her swimming, so I'm giving her the photographic place of honor. Her cuteness doesn't hurt any :)

Fast Forward to Summer

Here we are in July already! I am writing from our kitchen table and the house is eerily quiet. The four kids are up in Ohio and have been for the past ten days. Andrea and I have been doing lots of house projects and even WATCHING A MOVIE or two! The house has never looked better, but we miss the kids something fierce. We are going up there on Friday (two days from now) to spend time with both sides of our family, so it will be very good to be reunited. At left is a shot of the kids at Miami Univ. We attended Reunion Weekend last month, where the Men's Glee Club celebrated their 100th anniversary.

Leaf Day!!!

We went on our annual jaunt down the Natchez Trace Parkway this past Sunday (yes, we played hookie from church). With a rake in the back of the van, we found a rest area with a nice hill and raked together a sizable pile of leaves and the kid ran down and jumped.
This may be one of my favorite traditions we have as a family.

Hurtling toward End of School

Bejeweled
Originally uploaded by thesullys.

We are moving at light speed as the end of the school year is almost upon us. Extreeeemely busy, but lots of fun things.

Whoa Nellie!

Whoa Nellie!
Originally uploaded by thesullys.

The weather has been marvelous over the past few weeks (with some notable bad streaks in there --- tornadoes came through twice), so the kids have been outside lots after school. The windows are open and so we can hear the activity outside. We have finally gotten Aidan interested in riding his bike (thanks, Abby and Emma!), and Jack is getting really good too. Maggie is now two-wheeling it, the first kid we know of to go straight from tricycle to two-wheeler (no training wheel period).
The ramp has been like honey for the bike riding bees of the neighborhood. Jack is especially in love with the concept. We are now making him wear his helmet. BTW, Nora's in on the act too on her tricycle. After a dreary winter with hardly any snow at all, its great to see spring and enjoy all its benefits.

Kids + Cookies = Awesome!

Kids + Cookies = Awesome!
Originally uploaded by thesullys.

We had a GREAT time in St. Louis on spring break

The Tarantulas that Ate Cleveland

The Tarantulas that Ate Cleveland
Originally uploaded by thesullys.

Christmas in Cleveland...and we went to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. Sammy and Jack had fun looking for the tarantulas at the Madagascar exhibit.

Is Spring Coming??

We are in the dog days of winter and are ready for the spring to come. I know, I know, there are plenty of colder places we could live, but with four kids of this age, the house can really seem like a confinement in this weather. And then there are the renovation projects that make it even more painful to ALL be in the house at the same time.
Okay, I'll quit harping. We are having a good February. Thankfully, we are all pretty healthy, and the kids are all doing well in school.

Advent - Week 3

O come, Thou wisdom from on high,
And order all things mightly.
To us the path of knowledge show;
And teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

Fall Fun

SHE RULES THE AUTUMN!

We had one of those Saturday mornings that will be hard to replicate --- maybe ever again. We got out of the house early (7:30) and had an amazing breakfast at the Loveless Cafe, a Nashville institution, a down-home restaurant that sits at the entrance to the Natchez Trace Parkway.
Then we headed down the Trace to take in the colors, which were at their peak. It was great! Then we pulled off at a rest stop. I had brought a rake along, and we used it to make a big pile of leaves, mostly reddish maple leaves. We put the pile at the bottom of a hill, and the kids had an absolute blast running down the hill and into the leaves. We had leaf fights and wrestling matches. What a hoot! We are doing to make this into a tradition.

Bro & Sis - ready to Trick or Treat!

Bro & Sis - ready to Trick or Treat!
Originally uploaded by thesullys.

Jack "in the Box" holds his sister's head steady for this shot, about one hour before we ventured out to trick or treat.

Halloween!

Well, we made it through another Halloween. The kids had a great time. Aidan created the character Captain Underpants, and dressed up as a superhero, complete with stuffed biceps. Jack made his own costume of, of course, a Jack-in-the-Box! He looked great. Maggie was a bumblebee with the cutest curly pigtails, and Nora was our ladybug, complete with wand.

Our neighborhood didn't have a lot of houses "open for business," but that did not deter the kids. We started out with our neighbors, the Batarsehs, at about 5:45 pm (after having chili and cornbread together) and by 7:15pm, Aidan and Nora were spent and wanted to go home. Andrea took Maggie and Jack by about 10 more houses after that. Needless to say, everyone slept quite well. Grandparents --- please don't send any candy for a while! :)

Boys Ready for School

Boys Ready for School
Originally uploaded by thesullys.