Merry Christmas from the Sullivans!
Karen gets her first ride where Daniel is in charge of the moving vehicle. The summer started with two weeks of sailing camp on the O'Shaughnessy Resevoir.
2009 has been another busy, wonderful year for us. We are so blessed to have family and friends that have shared so many wonderful times throughout the year.
February brought a lot of excitement with Pat’s 50th birthday party. And yes, he was truly surprised, even though both of his brothers and his parents were all coincidently staying with us that weekend. When we arrived at dinner, and nearly 60 guests yelled “surprise” and burst out singing “Happy Birthday”, the look on his face was priceless. Thank you to all of you who plotted with me for months to make it happen!
After 10 years (yes, we’ve been here 10 years!), we undertook a major kitchen renovation that expanded to new paint, carpet, construction, and furniture for nearly the entire first floor. The project stretched from April through most of August and ended with a big vendor open house to show it off to our friends and business associates. We introduced a lot of color and it’s like a whole new house.
The rennovation, of course, took MUCH longer than we planned, but it was worth the wait.
That’s great for me, because I’m working exclusively from my office at home these days as I concentrate on taking Sullivan Solutions from a solopreneurship to ... well, the next level. I’m working on what that means, exactly, and I’m having a great time exploring the options.
The controversial, but highly popular, skate ramp.
Daniel’s 12th birthday in September was the official opening of his own back yard skate ramp. The mini-half pipe replaced the aging play set and it was an instant big hit with all of Daniel’s friends and neighborhood skaters. The ramp was constructed on-site by a crack team of builders including Pat, his father, Bud, my brother-in-law Jason Davis, and Daniel himself and it was a true labor of love. Unfortunately, the skate ramp is NOT such a big hit with the Village of Shawnee Hills, within whose jurisdiction our back yard properties fall. The local ordinances are certainly not explicit (or we wouldn’t have built it - duh!) and we are embroiled in legal wrangling that is largely harassment. The fate of the ramp is yet to be determined.
The rest of our year was equally filled with so many other milestones and events. In January, my braces came off and we hit 2 feet of powder for snowboarding bliss in Park City. In March, Pat & I rode our snowboards more miles than my years on my birthday and we landed our first rail slides. In May, my 20-year reunion with my Graphic Design class at UC was another milestone and it was wonderful to visit with everyone...so much changed, yet so familiar. In October, Pat accepted a new role, still with Rolls-Royce in Mt. Vernon, but with new challenges and we attended our first Buckeye football game.
Meanwhile, Daniel and Pat are still involved in Boy Scouts and Daniel ran Cross Country on the 7th grade team this fall. He skipped the school basketball team in favor of the ski club so that he could indulge his passion for snowboarding. He has already hit the local slope (don’t call it a mountain!) twice on the opening weekend. He is playing basketball in the recreational league just to keep involved and he plans to play lacrosse this year on the school team. So many “firsts” in 7th grade, even though it is the 2nd year of middle school. Daniel is active in the Youth Group at church, and I’m working with the parent leadership team. The middle school youth Christian rock band lost its leadership over the summer, but we hope to start the new year with new commitment. At school, Daniel has switched from clarinet to tenor sax.
We are looking forward to the new year, and wish the very best for you in 2010, also. Drop a line (online is good) or just drop in. We’ll do our best to keep in touch, too.