We do pretty well for the most part but we have moments where the house seems so empty. So incredibly empty. We lost all 3 so fast it's almost impossible to comprehend. We have so many pictures of them curled up sleeping together, but this is my favorite pic. Before kids this is how we travelled. Luggage crammed in the back seat and dog beds in the back. Miss them so much.
Rudolph in the house
Vader 1999-2013
What we have once enjoyed
we can never lose;
All that we love deeply,
becomes a part of us.
-Helen Keller
2013 Fall Family Fun Day
The plan was perfect. The day was going to be beautiful. We were going to ride our bikes from central Fayetteville on the Razorback trail to the Botanical Gardens and then around Lake Fayetteville. We'd have fresh air, exercise, and get to explore the gardens. Except....
The day was not beautiful. Weatherman got that one wrong. By the time the clouds dissipated it was turning cold. The Botanical Gardens doesn't take American Express which was the only card we packed in our bag. Then I got not 1, not 2, but 3 flat tires. Two of which required walking to Lewis and Clark.
At the end of it all we persevered. Jenna rode ahead to get fixes for the bike and the kids and I walked. We just decided to let ourselves in at the Botanical Gardens and make a donation afterwards. Oddly when we got home we had a fundraiser request from the Botanical Gardens in the mail. As far as the weather, God provided a make up to us with the most unbelievable sunset on the lake.
I made a gallery linked below. Not many pictures but a couple of fun videos. Overall it was a great day. According to plan or not.
2013 World Series
One long strange set of occurrences happened last weekend that resulted in a spare World Series ticket. Another set of happenstance and the ticket fell to me. Thanks to the DiCarlos for making a lifelong dream come true. Thanks to my wife for letting me bail on a family weekend in Branson to mark this off my bucket list. She may not have understood it then, but eventually she got how big of a deal this was to me. And thanks to Kara for letting me crash her own bucket list dream. The whole night was surreal and awesome. From the opening introductions to the crazy wild finish on a player obstruction call, the game was everything I dreamed it would be.
Friday night is the Croods night
Most animated movies are parent and grandparent fodder to take the kids to do something. Somehow The Crood's escaped my kids eyes until it came out on video. So Friday night Jenna decided we were going to have movie night. We got chocolate chip cookies to bake and laid out pillows and sleeping bags on the floor. We were going to watch Epic but since I was the only one who hadn't seen it I suggested the Croods. After watching the trailer, the kids were convinced and off to iTunes we went.
How this movie escaped mass market appeal like Shrek and Madagascar I'll never know. It was really funny for kids. Not quite as funny for adults as others, but still funny. During intermission, the kids convinced Jenna to go on a caveman hunt (they run on 4 legs). There was no way my knees were going to hold up to it so I was the videographer.
Woo Pig
Still can't them to sit still enough to actually watch a game but at least they get excited over dressing up.
Datenight Sullivan Style
Who would've thought we'd ever pay for a babysitter to go ride our bikes. #datenight
Dance Party in the 'Hood
Callie 2000-2013
"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."
Roger Caras
Lordy lordy...
My 40th birthday happened to fall on a supermoon this year. When we discovered this last year I was dead set on camping out on my birthday. As the time neared and Jenna discovered I was serious she became a good sport and the weekend was on. The Green's were gracious enough to join us.
We went to Petit Jean mountain. I've been there as an adult but haven't camped there since I was a kid. It was fun to take the kids a place I went several times when I was their age. It hasn't changed much at all with the exception of the walkway over the lookout point. Luckily they had steps down to the old points so I could take my kids out on the rocks where Dad took me.
We had a little rain Saturday afternoon and we got a little wet. It was worth it though for the drop in temp and to get rid of the bugs. I woke up in a tent 2 days in a row. The first morning I was 39. The second morning I was 40. As you can see from the morning picks with the kids snuggled to me; there wasn't much change at all.
Quick bike...er...hike
Jenna, Noah, and I went for a quick bike ride around Lake Fayetteville this afternoon. We had a full schedule so we were rushing to cram it in. We got there and somebody (think of me doing the Blake Shelton finger point at myself) realized he only threw 2 of the 3 bikes in the back of the truck...so...
Jenna, Noah, and I went for a quick hike around Lake Fayetteville this afternoon.
Easter 2013
Here's our yearly pic from the day. I predict only 2 more of these pictures before Noah is taller than his mom.
Crystal Bridges with Magga
Magga was able to come up for the weekend at the last minute. Her visit was short but enjoyable. I feel obligated to say the highlight was going to check out the Norman Rockwell exhibit at Crystal Bridges. Noah liked it way more than I thought he would. We messed up lunch though and didn't know we'd have to wait in line and be stuck so blood sugars got a little low and we had a cranky little kid cut the day short. The actual highlight was Saturday night at bedtime when Noah told Magga all about the girls in his class and got himself tickled and embarrassed. Mom and I couldn't stop laughing at him as he just kept blushing. He wanted to tell her so bad but it was just so hard to tell on himself.
Lucky in Love
Dolphin Swim in Cozumel
When we ported in Cozumel we did a dolphin swim. We were only able to touch the dolphins since Noah and Campbell were too young to actually swim with them. The kids were able to make shake his fins, let him swim out of the water to their hand, give him a kiss, get a kiss back, and then pat him several times. Our dolphins name was Daniel and he was awesome.
We had a slight SNAFU booking it, by messing up time zones (Mexico doesn't observe DST) so the adults were a little stressed since we basically had to beg the people to let us go early. The kids didn't know it though so they were carefree and enjoying an awesome experience. Also, Melissa was able to take the pictures from a zoom lens but went to check on a taxi and missed the two big kids interacting with the dolphin but we still got some great shots.
Easter Cake-Sullivan Style
Arrival Dance Party
The "official" dance party kicked off a little too loud for Campbell and we were so rushed to get there. Afterwards though the music kept playing and we broke out into our own launch party.
Galveston
Galveston has changed a lot in the 16 years since I was there. The beach was much prettier than I remembered and the boardwalk was packed with people and resorts. When we took the shuttle to the boat the next morning we saw the Galveston I remembered with the refineries and rigs. Nice to see these things can coexist with each other.
The Disney Magic
We got back to land yesterday and we still have our sea legs. There will be plenty of time to put lots of pictures and videos up but I wanted to briefly put a picture of us all in front of the boat. This was taken in Cozumel right after getting off the boat. I like this picture because 1. we are fresh and 2. you can see the insanely blue water. Loved every bit of Cozumel.
