A Blistful Week Off!

Week-off Top Ten

10. Dad's Beard
We all had the week between Christmas and New Years off, and took advantage of every minute. It's been a long time since Steve took that long off of work and decided to grow a beard to prove it. I didn't especially love kissing him with his red beard, but I loved what it stood for - time off!

9. Whitney Behind the Wheel
Whitney got some good driving time in this week, as she works toward her drivers licence. She got her first freeway and canyon miles logged.

8. The Book Launch
My famous sister launched her second YA novel this week. The launch party was amazing!

7. Brick Films
Steve L. made some impressive brick films with his new Christmas web cam.

6. Merit Badges
Daniel had a goal to earn all 4 Historic Boy Scout Merit badges that were only available until Dec. 31st. He finished the last 3 this week.

5. Jump Start Passes
Dad gave all the kids Jump Start passes for Christmas - certificates for 3 hours of his time and up to $10 towards materials to work on a project of their choice. He and Whitney built a cat tower, he went shopping for and installed Steve L's new camera. Daniel chose to work on merit badges and Janey went shopping for a used mirror for her new dance studio. Ellie and Dad bought a new cat bed. Connecting with the kids was the goal, and they all enjoyed their one-on-one with Dad.

4. Painting
What I wanted to do most this holiday was paint! I painted 2 accent walls in our home and spent an afternoon with my artist brother learning an under-lay technique for a landscape painting I'm attempting. So much fun!

3. Movies
We took the kids to see Narnia one afternoon and then on New Years Eve it was so cold, we spent the day at the Dollar flick. We saw the Guardians of Gahool, went to In and Out Burger for lunch and back to the dollar flick for Secretariat. To quote Janey, "Best day ever!"

2. Cross Country Skiing
Steve and I spent a morning Cross Country Skiing up Millcreek Canyon. We had such a great time, we rented skis for the kids and went back New Years Day.

1. Playing with Kitty
The biggest surprise has been how much we've all loved playing with and snuggling our new cat. Steve and I often keep playing with him after the kids go to bed. Poor guy still doesn't have a name, as their are seven different opinions, but he always answers to Kitty.