Our "Family" Week

The week between Christmas and New Years is a special week for our family.  Steve's company shuts down so we have a "family" week. We planned for the week writing each day down on the top of a sheet of paper and then jotting down all of the ideas we had onto sticky notes and placing them where we thought they'd fit.  I loved it - I loved the time here in Milwaukee with all of us home.  In fact... I'm already looking forward to next year.

MONDAY: 

Monday we drove home from Steve's parents to find that Santa had visited our house.  We unpacked the car and then sat down to open gifts.  This picture is perfect because Olivia managed to get ahold of every present Norah opened before Norah did. :)

This was my favorite present that we gave Olivia. I had this hat made for her. :)

TUESDAY:

We took the kids to Adventure Rock.  It was so fun to watch them climb all over the place.  Braden has a fear of heights for some reason but did a good job trying his best.  

Steve and I even got a few climbs in and Norah tagged along, climbing some of the rocks from ground level.  This is definitely something we'll do again.

WEDNESDAY:

Each of the kids planned a meal.  This was Olivia's from her new cookbook.  It is "mouse" twice-baked potatoes. They were delicious!  

She also asked for kiddie wine! During the day today we went downtown to the Central Library where we played and checked out a boat load of books.  Then we went out to lunch at Botanas, a favorite Mexican restaurant of ours.

THURSDAY:

We met the Olsons at Red Arrow Park to give Ice Skating a try.  Norah wasn't sure about it but did hold Andrew's hand for a short stride.  

It was a BEAUTIFUL day outside.  The boys shed their jackets and had such a good time.  Braden showed a lot of perseverance and got up each time he fell.  By the end he was skating on his own.

Olivia also did great. I am impressed how quickly kids pick up new things.  She fell though about 30 minutes after beginning and broke her wrist.  We weren't sure it was broken at the time so we just sat on the bench outside the rink and watched everyone while sipping Starbucks.  She is such a trooper.

That night we had some friends over for dinner. The kids ran around, ate some pizza and left the adults to actually talk and enjoy some camaraderie.  It was really fun - we don't do that nearly enough.

FRIDAY:

Friday morning our neighbors Katie, Rory and Sabrina came over.  The kids watched Tangled in 3D while Katie and I were able to catch up.

Braden looks like a super dude! 

That afternoon I took Olivia to get her cast put on.  She hasn't really skipped a beat.  With the exception of the hassle it is fitting it into her many chosen outfits each day, I don't think she minds it at all.  She got a unicorn named Rainbow from her friend Ava (that you can see in the picture).  Olivia doesn't mind the extra attention! :)

SATURDAY:

Saturday Braden and Steve went skiing.  Braden took a lesson and really enjoyed it.  In fact he can't wait to go again.

That night Judy came down, we went over to Dave and Busters to play games and then came home, made a delicious dinner and played games until we went to bed - just shy of the new year!!

I loved our "family" week.