The Sullivan Family Blog

Disney brunch @ the O'Club

2012-01-29T11:57:00.000-08:00

Treasure maps, princesses, green men & monsters

2012-01-29T11:55:00.000-08:00

O'Club Disney Day

2012-01-29T11:53:00.000-08:00

"Holly Days Festival" at the Norman Bird Sanctuary

2011-12-10T13:47:00.000-08:00

We checked out the festival here in Newport today. Abigail's favorite part was roasting marshmallows. Olivia's favorite part was running around (and around) the barn museum. Now we all smell like camp fire...but that's okay with us. :0)

Holly-Day Polar Express

2011-12-10T13:45:00.000-08:00

The kids got to take a spin around the Norman Bird Sanctuary in a John Deere powered Holly-Day express!

Larry made a wreath!

2011-12-10T13:44:00.000-08:00

Abigail & Olivia

2011-12-08T16:12:00.000-08:00

A visit to the windmill

2011-12-08T16:10:00.000-08:00

Newport Frondescence

2011-12-06T07:11:00.000-08:00

frondescence (fron-DES-uhns)

noun:1. Leafage; foliage.

I made a wreath!

2011-12-05T17:54:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-05T17:52:00.001-08:00

The holidays are here in the Sullivan household

2011-12-05T17:48:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving. Enough food for a small Army.

2011-12-05T17:44:00.000-08:00

My little soldiers ate well and fueled up for some serious Christmas decorating.

Halloween in Newport with my baby dragons!

2011-12-05T17:40:00.000-08:00

Boston Children's Museum

2011-10-30T06:05:00.000-07:00

Abigail, Olivia, Larry, Jane and I took a trip to the Boston Children's Museum...perfect for a cold and rainy day. They had a blast learning all about science, culture, environmental awareness, health and the arts. Although I've only been to a few children's museums, this was the best one so far.

2011-10-30T05:56:00.000-07:00

While at the museum they checked out each of the exhibits. It was National Chemistry Week so the American Chemistry Society hosted a chemistry fair. They learned about, sugar content in foods, how soap works and how to use litmus paper to determine the Ph of chapstick...and Larry is a lifetime member of the society so he was a proud Dad watching his babies learn about chemistry. They thoroughly enjoyed each exhibit. Abigail loved organizing the animals and Olivia had a great time learning about shadows.

...more from the museum

2011-10-30T05:51:00.001-07:00

The girls (ok...and Larry and I) played hard and had a lot of fun. On the way home we passed by the Occupy Boston site...needless to say they were a little cold...

Harvest Festival and Pumpkin Patch (there will undoubtedly be more pics like these)

2011-10-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

Just me and the girls...:0)

2011-10-19T09:15:00.000-07:00

From top: 1. Guess who is Larry's mini-me and guess who's Teresa's mini-me? 2. Olivia, unlike Abigail at this age, likes to launch herself down slides any way that will make it faster/more exciting (like face first, on knees, etc)... 3. The girls were awaiting the Columbus day parade in their double stroller.

My FAVORITE part of the day...hands down.

2011-10-19T09:10:00.001-07:00

When school is dismissed Olivia's top priority is to find her big sister....then they all play outside. So sweet.

Olivia & Abigail visit Vermont

2011-10-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

Abigail and Olivia had the chance to spend the day with their friends Annie and Zoe Marek in Vermont. They loved hanging out under the apple tree, by the chicken house and playing in the beautiful leaves with their great friends.

**Thank you Grace for letting us visit. We're happy you are living in Vermont in an awesome house living the dream!! Miss you guys!

First Day of School anticipation...

2011-10-03T07:13:00.000-07:00

Abigail started off her first day of school with a good breakfast surrounded by family. She was also accompanied by Grandma, which made the day perfect for her!

Abigail is officially a pre-schooler

2011-10-03T07:11:00.000-07:00

Abigail began preschool at Emmanuel Day School in Newport, Rhode Island. Her teacher is Ms. Terry and she's LOVES it.

First trip to the dentist!

2011-09-12T05:51:00.000-07:00

Abigail had her first dental appointment and thankfully it was a fun experience. The first picture is of her and the receptionist having a little conversation. The next picture is right before the dentist came in. She was very curious but as you can see, a little apprehensive. We spent a lot of time reading a book about going to the dentist, so she had an idea about what was about to happen. The dentist showed her all the equipment and let her hold the parts and test them out...very cute. She had no cavities and won over the entire team of dentists and staff.

Hurricane Irene 2011

2011-08-29T17:27:00.000-07:00

Here's an update about Hurricane Irene from our experience in Newport, RI. First of all, we're okay and all is well here. We were without power for a short time, but otherwise we had a ton of fun "camping" and hanging out as a family during the storm. Here's a picture the day the storms started their way up the East Coast. This was taken at Easton's Beach which is about two streets away from our house.

The calm before the storm...

2011-08-29T17:21:00.000-07:00

Before the storm set in we made a stop at Nickolai's for pizza, went on a bike ride, stopped by the marina we sail from and had some playground time. As you can see some people boarded up their windows as a safety precaution and overall the community took a level-headed, organized approach to their storm preparation. We were very prepared (as you all can imagine). :0)

Hurricane Irene blows into Newport

2011-08-29T17:14:00.001-07:00

The hurricane brought in stormy seas. The picture with the house was taken from our attic window during one of the more heavy rain showers. The other pictures/video were taken at Easton's Beach. The water reached the wall where there is usually about 100 yards of sandy beach. Here is a link to an ireport I made that was featured on CNN: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-662686?ref=feeds%2Foncnn

Hurricane Irene T+1 Day

2011-08-29T17:09:00.000-07:00

Today most of the town got their power back after about a day and a half without it (not too bad). As you can see there was a lot of debris to clean up, but other than that the damage was pretty low for the most part. By the afternoon everyone was out and about enjoying the beautiful weather. Hurricane Irene sent Newport cleansing rains, giant waves, wind and just a small amount of damage and inconvenience. We were blessed and hoping for the best for those less fortunate. The last two pictures are of Second Beach where there was a lot of surfing going on. It's business as usual (at least recreationally speaking). :0)

Olivia & Abigail visit Providence Children's Museum with their friend Aaron

2011-08-29T17:01:00.001-07:00

Abigail and Olivia visited the Providence Children's museum with their friend Aaron last week. They explored every section of the museum and there was a special exhibit...a Providence police car and police officer...the kids loved climbing around the vehicle. All three of them loved the dragon...we printed it out and it's on the playroom wall now.

Providence Children's Museum

2011-08-29T16:58:00.001-07:00

Olivia & Abigail miss their Gram

2011-08-14T11:17:00.001-07:00

Gram & her grandbabies in Newport

2011-08-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

EAST HAVEN, VT...go there if you can!

2011-08-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

East Haven VT camping

2011-08-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity to go camping at a cabin in East Haven, VT. It was relaxing and just what we needed after a busy few weeks of traveling across the country. We did the standard...hiking, reading and we found our first geo-cache.

Abigail & Olivia visit Illinois, Colorado and Missouri

2011-07-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from our visit to Illinois. It was our last stop on a long (long) trip across the United States. We had a great time in Colorado with Larry's parents and the quick stop in Illinois to see his extended family was also great fun. The girls loved playing with their Great Grandmother Grace and all of her fun toys! We need to say a very sincere thank you for all of the hospitality of everyone who we stayed with and had the chance to visit. This move (which is about 80% complete) has been less stressful and a more fun because of it. We'll be moving into our house in Newport, Rhode Island in the next couple of weeks and look forward to a fun year! (Pics from top left to right: Abigail and Olivia play in their Great Grandmother Grace's front yard in Fairfield, Il, Grace took Abigail for a walk around the neighborhood, Olivia stands on the super Jeep in Denver, Abigail goes trout fishing with Bernie, Ruby and her Gram, Abigail and Olivia up to something in their Great Grandmother's back yard, Abigail growing as fast as the corn, my girls and me standing by the St. Louis arch.)

Colorado Jeep Trip

2011-07-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

On our 4 day Jeep tour of Colorado we crossed 14 mountain passes and only 5 of them were paved. We almost died only twice. Dad, thanks for letting us use your Jeep.

Olivia's 1st Birthday Party

2011-06-29T13:23:00.000-07:00

Olivia celebrated her 1st birthday with friends and family. She spent a lot of time during her first year hiking and camping in places like Yosemite, Red Rocks, Mt. Charleston and other areas in Nevada so we thought it would be fitting to have a great outdoors theme. Notice the beautiful tree cake another masterpeice by Larry. :-)

Happy Birthday to Baby Via!

2011-06-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

Olivia was not shy about eating her b-day cake!

Olivia's 1st Birthday Party!

2011-06-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

Olivia and the kids played with a tent, sleeping bag, binoculars,compasses, made smores and had a paper campfire.

Tomahawk Fini-Flight @ Nellis AFB, Nevada

2011-06-25T19:25:00.001-07:00

The Air Force has a tradition of celebrating a pilot's final sortie at the base. We had the chance to take Abigail out to the flightline so she could be a part of the fun. It was a great way to end a great assignment! Now we've embarked on our road trip to Newport, Rhode Island...first stop, Denver, Colorado. It's shaping up to be an outstanding summer!

Out on the Nellis Flightline

2011-06-25T19:20:00.001-07:00

Abigail did such a great job out on the flightline! We're glad she had the chance to see her Daddy fly his "werplane" (airplane).

Grand Canyon

2011-05-30T19:38:00.000-07:00

Olivia was fearless on the glass 'skywalk' at the edge of the grand canyon.

Olivia is Walking!

2011-05-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

Olivia's Baby Dedication

2011-05-10T09:27:00.002-07:00

Easter Babes

2011-04-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

Easter Eggs!

2011-04-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

Abigail dyed some Easter eggs. This year was fun because she could participate and had a good time. Olivia supervised. Abigail was very organized.

Olivia's FIRST Easter

2011-04-24T15:37:00.000-07:00

She's saying "Hey look I grew some teeth last night!"....Olivia has two and four half teeth (it makes sense if you see them). She's ready to use them too. She bit into one of Abigail's chocolate eggs (oops). She's our little Easter egg!

Easter Hike @ Red Rocks First Creek (our recent favorite)

2011-04-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

We hiked the First Creek trail at Red Rocks and had a picnic. Olivia had her first-ever pickle (we saw it again later in the day). Abigail checked out some pretty cool bugs, flowers and threw some sticks into the creek for Linky.

Mission Complete

2011-04-24T15:32:00.001-07:00

Olivia's 9-month b-day party!

2011-03-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

My name is Olivia and I'm 9 months old!

2011-03-28T10:19:00.001-07:00

Olivia turned 9-months old today ~ March 28, 2011. She had a little birthday party this morning (which Abigail loved). Why a 9-month bday party? Just because she's so cute. Some of her favorite things are laughing at her sister when she wears Daddy's helmet, saying "yang, ying, yang, gaga, dada," and beatboxing.

My two little water babies ~ Olivia's first swimming lesson

2011-03-21T10:29:00.001-07:00

Olivia and Abigail went to swimming lessons on Saturday. It was Olivia's first and Abigail helped her out. She watched Olivia from her end of the pool and kept telling her swim coach "there's my baby sister!!" Olivia loved the water and they both had a great time. It looks like we have two water babies now.

Olivia's FIRST St. Patrick's Day ~ 2011

2011-03-21T10:28:00.000-07:00

Abigail's first race! 3rd Annual 5K and kids run for Pancreatic Cancer Research

2011-03-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

Proud little Runner!

2011-03-13T13:51:00.000-07:00

Gwen and Abigail went hiking at Red Rock!

2011-03-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

This morning's hike at Red Rock's Calico Creek

2011-02-12T17:07:00.000-08:00

Red Rocks & Bonnie Springs

2011-02-12T17:05:00.002-08:00

Baby "Via" ~ 7 months

2011-02-12T17:05:00.001-08:00

Girls!

2011-01-31T10:56:00.001-08:00

Here's the latest on the girls! Olivia is growing two teeth as we speak and she's busy getting around on the floor. So far she is a fan of bananas, peas and rice cereal. Her favorite person of all time is......ABIGAIL. Abigail is getting bigger by the day. The top funny things she's done over the past couple of days includes: cheering for mama after she went to the restroom, asking "why mama" to things like not being able to bring her microphone to church.... and telling us that too many kisses "make her face all wet." They are so much fun (and a lot of hard work) but mostly fun! Pics from top to bottom: 1. Abigail and Olivia took a picture right before their friend Gwen's birthday party. 2. Abigail making me blueberry juice while Olivia looks on. 3. A little chalk art. 4. Perpetual hugs for Olivia. 5. Olivia letting me know it's time to lower the crib...

Our visit to Texas during the holidays...

2011-01-04T11:07:00.000-08:00

As you will see the girls had a blast visiting my family in Texas. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to peel Abigail away from the horses, the tractor or her own personal horse swing...She got to feed Diamond and Nugget (my two favorite and muddy horses)!

Abigail's Horse Swing ~ she LOVES Texas!

2011-01-04T11:06:00.000-08:00

Tractor Fun

2011-01-04T11:04:00.000-08:00

We visited my Dad at Ft. Sam

2011-01-04T11:03:00.002-08:00

Olivia turned 6-months while we were in Texas!

2011-01-04T11:03:00.001-08:00

New Year's Eve at the Riverwalk

2011-01-04T11:02:00.000-08:00

We had a lot of fun at dinner in our very own private "kids room" at Ruth's Chris downtown and we watched the fireworks at midnight. This was the best new years ever!

All the Kids ~ New Years Day celebration

2011-01-04T11:01:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve Snowshoe Adventure

2010-12-25T12:14:00.001-08:00

Holiday Season 2010 ~ Not a worry in the world for Abigail!

2010-12-23T11:20:00.000-08:00

I found Abigail relaxing with her baby by the Christmas tree today and realized how thankful I am that 1. she's so relaxed, happy and content 2. for having the time to take pictures like this and then post them to the blog 3. that we're all four together this Christmas...also thinking of and very thankful for my friends in the desert over these holidays...Toro, SB, Col. A, Col. S and others...all people who would love to be at home relaxing and doing things like this with their families. They are making huge sacrifices and are the heroes who make it possible for people to celebrate the season without a worry in the world. It's amazing what a kid can make you realize. Merry Christmas...I'm counting my blessings today.

O's 1st Christmas!!! ornament art...paint plus sugar!!

2010-12-21T16:00:00.000-08:00

Abigail made a stocking Christmas ornament this year. She loved getting to use really messy paint. It was great! Olivia loved her antlers. :0)

Baby's first Christmas ~ Olivia visits Santa!

2010-12-18T09:13:00.000-08:00

Abigail visits Santa at Bass Pro Shop

2010-12-18T09:12:00.000-08:00

Santa Dress Up Time

2010-12-18T09:06:00.000-08:00

Gingerbread House

2010-12-18T09:05:00.000-08:00

Making a gingerbread house with a two year old equates to serious mess and sugar overload (okay and cute pictures). It was a lot of fun for Abigail (okay and me too).

Baby's FIRST Christmas ~ Sweet little Olivia

2010-12-13T13:30:00.000-08:00

...There is nothing better in the world than having a sweet baby during Christmas. Olivia's first Christmas has been a special time for all of us.

Breakfast with Santa!

2010-12-13T13:25:00.000-08:00

Abigail told Santa she wanted a cat for Christmas and that she likes candy canes. Olivia and Santa just held hands for a second. She didn't even cry. Abigail loved having candy canes and donuts for breakfast and getting to see Santa's sweet "ride" in front of the clubhouse. After breakfast Abigail and some of her little friends did sprints out at the basketball courts. She had a great nap after all the fun.

November 28 ~ Happy 5-month birthday Olivia!

2010-11-28T19:50:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-28T19:26:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving we had Tim, Jane, Rebecca, Abigail, Olivia, Lincoln & EO. The picture by the jet was taken the day before Thanksgiving on the Nellis flight line in front of a 16th WPS F-16. It was a little windy and cold, but everyone had a good time. Abigail's favorite holiday (so far) is Thanksgiving. I think it has something to do with the mass amount of food. Olivia had her first taste of food (besides rice cereal). Since it was her first Thanksgiving we thought it would be fitting for her to have sweet potatoes. I think she liked them by the smile on her face. We had a good dinner (and Olivia peacefully slept through it). After t-day we took Lincoln and EO, Rebecca's dog, to Red Rocks to go hiking. They ate a LOT of dog food and we'll just leave it at that. :0)Overall it was a great holiday!

Sisters

2010-11-16T08:54:00.001-08:00

Preparing the Jack-O-Lantern

2010-11-08T07:48:00.000-08:00

My little pumpkins!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-08T07:46:00.000-08:00

We had a great Halloween this year. Abigail and Olivia were excited to have their Gram in town and also to share the evening with Annie and Liam. They were so precious in their little costumes. Liam protected Annie and Abigail out there. It was a little scary!

Trick or Treat

2010-11-08T07:43:00.000-08:00

...Trick or Treating with Liz & Liam and Grace and Annie...

Farmer's Market

2010-11-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

Look who's 4-months!

2010-10-28T14:51:00.001-07:00

Coronado Island

2010-10-17T11:23:00.001-07:00

We had a great time during this year's trip to Coronado Island. We went to the San Diego Zoo, had a squadron barbecue and celebrated Larry's birthday. The best part was Abby, Annie and Abigail's reunion.

San Diego Zoo 2010

2010-10-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

San Diego Zoo 2010

2010-10-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

Yosemite 2010

2010-09-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

Theodore R.

May 1903

Abigail S.

September 2010

Mammoth ~ Devil's Postpile

2010-09-06T14:15:00.000-07:00

Yosemite 2010

2010-09-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

Yosemite 2010

2010-09-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

Ready to see the sequoias...

2010-09-06T14:08:00.000-07:00

Yosemite 2010 ~ Abigail getting all her gear ready...

2010-09-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

Yosemite 2010 ~ Everyone's clean and happy

2010-09-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

Yosemite 2010 ~ Glacier Point hike

2010-09-06T14:02:00.001-07:00

Yosemite 2010 ~ Back at Curry Village

2010-09-06T13:59:00.000-07:00

The picture of our feet is Abigail's "first picture." We were eating dinner after our hike down Glacier Point and these feet were tired. The picture of our clothes lined up on the bed is to show everyone how organized Larry is. None of us were going to get our clothes mixed up by accident. The last picture is of Abigail standing at the door planning her escape back out into the wilderness. She kept saying "more outside, more outside." Overall it was a good trip and we highly recommend Yosemite.

Olivia ~ 2 months

2010-08-26T13:55:00.000-07:00

Abigail's 2nd Birthday ~ July 29, 2010

2010-07-31T09:03:00.001-07:00

Somehow we managed to get the kids to line up in a row again this year without anyone getting up and running away or too many tears. :) We should have video taped this though because we told all the kids to say cheese and they all sang it in key for about 30 seconds. It was the cutest thing ever.

Look who's 2 ~ Happy Birthday to our SWEET baby Abigail

2010-07-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

...she'll always be our baby, but we know she's a big girl. The cake was another one of Larry's creations. Her birthday theme was CRAYONS and COLORS because she loves to color and be creative. Oh, and she loves cake...and ice cream too.

More birthday pictures...

2010-07-31T08:57:00.000-07:00