John is in Mexico City right now, project-managing some network upgrades to the United Airlines facilities at the airport there. Hopefully he's able to squeeze in some sightseeing time and a chance to practice his Spanish!

High time we reviewed some of the highlights of the past month or two!

Ice Skating Lessons - John and AP have been taking ice skating lessons at the University of Denver every Monday evening for the past 6 weeks or so. The first 3 lessons were pretty pathetic...AP hardly able to stand at all on the ice, and John's back all the worse for the wear. 4th time though, we tightened her skates alot more and it seemed to make all the difference! She actually had a ball out there, joking around with daddy and instructor Kate. She saw her cousin Sarah ice skate at Thanksgivingtime in WI, so we think that's a big part of her surprisingly strong motivation.

Lisa started back to school - this time only one class: Family Therapy Theory. Really fascinating stuff, to learn theories about family dynamics. Even if she never becomes a counselor, there is some practical application potential here!

She also began volunteering with a nonprofit called Families First. It's been around for about 30 years I think and its mission is to strengthen families and prevent child abuse. So every 2 weeks she has a 4 hour shift, which she can take from home, to answer the Support Line. You never know what you're going to get on this line, but it's not a crisis line per se. Mostly parents seeking support, which of course everyone needs but not everyone has enough of, to cope with child-rearing. It's a great way to do some volunteering, with not too much time commitment, for something that seems important. And as a bonus she's getting some much-needed practical "counseling" experience.

1/30-2/12 - Papa's visit - Lisa's dad and Jill stayed a night with us then headed up to Nils' wonderful home in Arrowhead/Beaver Creek. We joined them a few days later, along with Jill's son Rich, his wife Pam, and their daughter Maddy from Pennsylvania. The Denver Neyman clan (Tim, Sarita, Olivia) came too! Snow is plentiful so there was some good skiing/boarding to be had. Lisa went out for the first time since her ACL surgery in '00, thanks to some long over-due PT, patient instruction from now-resident Casey, and some laid-back skiing companions (Jill, Pam & Maddy). John and Lisa skiied for the first time togther the next day, while the kids were napping, which was great. Saturday night the Rardin side of the group took a cold but beautiful horse-drawn sleigh ride west of Edwards, CO. The horses were beautiful Percherons and their names were Kibbles & Bits. Booooooo. On Sunday the Neymans sadly had to head home but we were joined by Casey & Terie who helped us cheer the NY Giants on to victory in the Super Bowl! About 5 people piled into Nils' bed to watch Shrek - too cute!

1/17-1/28 - Nonny's visit - Lisa's mom became a fixture in our household and the kids just loved having her for that long. Highlights included some very special grandmother/granddaughter time (art projects, feeding birds and squirrels, making cozy tents), a National Western Stock Show visit, Chinese buffet dinner with the Duncanson clan, a mother/daughter shopping trip & makeover for Lisa, and a grandmother/mother/daughter trip downtown via light rail to see the Tiny Tots DSO concert at Boettcher Hall!

1/15-1/21 - John tacked a weekend on to his business trip to Chicago and got to spend a day/night in Janesville with his parents. Then on Saturday he, Casey & Fuzzy road-tripped up to Green Bay for the NFC Championships. Only Ace had tix to the game, so he froze his buns off while the other 2 stayed warm inside a Green Bay bar with cold beers. It was a devastating loss for the Pack, but the boys had a great time anyway.