Our Family

Here is a quick introduction to the Prestwich family.

Dan - husband, father, bread winner, strong and silent type outside the family, prankster inside the family, always up for an adventure.

Diane - wife, mother, home maker, shopoholic, fun loving, cheerleader to the family, attached to the phone, tends to stress just a tad.

Natalie - oldest child and takes the role seriously, wants to be involved in everything, quiet and shy in public, good at anything she tries, active and athletic - but a true princess.

Dylan - the sensitive soul of the family, tender hearted, very social - but also likes some alone time, good imagination, creative, absorbed in whatever he is doing, very boy.

Devin - youngest and adored by all (in other words spoiled), playing catch up from premie birth, stubborn, has a contagious giggle, constantly asking why, completely loveable.

We are basically a pretty normal family. Our time is absorbed quickly by all kinds of activities - work, school, sports, church, etc. so it seems rare lately that we can all sit down and eat dinner together. But I think we all love what family time we do have. We love being together. Part of that, I believe, comes because we moved to Denver (and away from any other family members) shortly after getting married. Our kids have never been able to walk down the street to Grandma's house or have cousins come to a soccer game. Because of that, we have truly had to rely on one another. It has made us closer and stronger as a family.

One thing we emphasize a lot in our family are holiday traditions. Because we are on our own for many holidays, we try to create traditions and memories for our kids. From the "You are Special" plate for birthday celebrations to annual trips to the pumpkin patch and decorating cookie trains for Christmas, we always try to make our holidays festive and memorable.

Another thing we find ourselves doing quite often as a family is watching reality TV shows. The kids can usually name the major players in our favorites - Survivor, Amazing Race, Dancing with the Stars, and American Idol.

If we were part of a reality TV show, I think it would be something like The Modern Cleavers. We have pretty traditional family values, and I think many people view us like the Cleavers from Leave it to Beaver. I think it would be interesting to bring back some of the situations and dilemmas from that show and see how modern families would react in the same situations.