The hubby and I are on vacation for a week...sans children. I do miss my children but I'd by lying if I said I wasn't enjoying a break from Mommy Duties.
We're staying at Keystone ski resort in Colorado. We skied three days and now we're in the middle of a two-day break before we enjoy our last two days on the slope. It snowed on day two but otherwise, the weather has been glorious. And of course, even though it was cold while it was skiing, we certainly enjoyed the fresh snow.
Sunday, February 2
SKI BIRTHDAY For her birthday, KIERSTEN’s letters plan to sneak away and ski, Watch the ENTRIES and the exits to the ski slopes—you will see. (Let me here INSERT a warning—do not turn away your eyes For each letter in her name can ski black diamonds if it TRIES.) Oh, that birthday girl! Her letters now have all begun to STIR. They won’t SIT still for a minute—they’re an awful lot like her! They have made IT look so easy; things are worse than I had feared. All those letters that I love so much have simply disappeared. Yes, her letters all have gone, but wait, you heard it first from me, They’ve been spotted on the ski slopes. Look for SKIERS, THEN you’ll see. Look for SKIERS, TEN or twenty at the lodge when they arrive And you’ll find that ski bum KIERSTEN celebrating birthday 5.
Annika and the Year of Birthdays Annika had a birthday and from what I’ve heard folks tell, The ice cream was delicious and the birthday cake as well. The party was a big success, leading Annika to say, This year I’m going to have a birthday each and every day! The next day she turned 7 and the next day she turned 8, And all her friends brought presents and came help her celebrate, And everything was wonderful and all the parties fun. Already, April Fool’s Day, she was turning 21. On the 17th of May, she celebrated 67. By the 30th of June, she turned a hundred and eleven. The presents all piled up until, no matter how she tried She couldn’t fit them in her room and had to sleep outside. And so the parties go each day, and all the fun goes on And there’ll be fun and games until the birthday year is gone. And every day a birthday cake, and every cake a bean, And every day a crown and every crown a king or queen. So Happy Birthdays, Annika, I hope for next year, you Can still blow all the candles out, when you’re 372!
The other day I flipped on the TV and happened to catch a segment on Rachel Ray's show with Tyra Banks. I'm not sure why I had turned the TV because I only had a few minutes but it was long enough to watch Tyra Banks give a quick tutorial on smokey eyes. The following day, I woke up, and feeling all inspired by having watching Tyra's tutorial, I actually put some make-up on. But then I realized I had a rare opportunity to go for a quick mid-morning jog while my mom happened to be at the house and could watch my youngest, I switched to running clothes and went for a little 4 mile jaunt, pretty eye make-up and all. When I got home I took a quick shower so I could drive my mom to the airport. As I was headed out the door, I glanced in the mirror and realized that I now had smokey eyes, ala Heather. My method took a little more time and effort than Tyra's but the end results were just as magnificent.
Today we attended a graveside service for my husband's grandmother. It was a brief but very touching service. She was an amazing woman. She raised five children by herself AND put herself through college at the same time.
I never know how to start these letters but I’m just going to start typing and hope that the words will fall into place.
First of all, a big thank you to those of you who keep sending us holiday cards even though we’re slackers and haven’t reciprocated the last few years. Someday we’ll start it back up and you guys will get a special gold star on yours! But in the meantime, let me tell you what we’ve been up to.
In January Dwight built me an exercise room in our basement. I love it! Kiersten, Kardynn and I took a roadtrip to Waterloo, Ontario to check out the University of Waterloo. At this point Kiersten and I had visited a lot of schools and so far none of them were exactly what Kiersten was looking for. But she had high hopes for Waterloo. And I’m glad to say that even though it was bitterly cold, we all walked away with a good impression (no doubt the cold temps were offset by the very warm welcome that we received from my cousin Jillian).
Niagara Falls at night
In February I got to visit my brother Ted and his three kiddos, along with my Dad. We had such a great time and I appreciated the chance to warm up in the Arizona sun. After spending my formative years living at the equator, I’m for sure a sunshine girl. (Which I’m sure pleases my parents who often accused me of *not* being a sunshine girl, in my youth. Ha!) That month we were proud to discover that Kiersten was selected a National Merit Finalist. (Kiersten, I will NOT be removing this sentence from my letter – sorry!) And the biggest news was that Kardynn turned 16. I’m not sure how it can be that sixteen years have passed since my baby made her grand entrance but it seems to have happened.
Heather with Kolton, Konnor & Kierra
March brought two more birthdays for Annika and Kiersten. Plus Kiersten and I visited Montreal to check out the university of McGill (spoiler alert, that’s not where she ended up).
Annika and her cat Tigger
Kiersten in Montreal
In April I got to watch Annika’s last hurrah as a collegiate volleyball player, at a volleyball tournament in Frederick. She had broken her hand the year before and it just never fully healed so for that and various other reasons, she decided to let the volleyball go. Which prompted her to change schools as well (she was already going to be taking her engineering classes at ODU so she figured she might as well benefit from their lower tuition rates).
May brought some sobering news as we learned that my father-in-law had colon cancer. He’d been very sick so it was nice to have answers and a plan. That month we had another visit to Waterloo, this time as an admitted student to the Honours Software Engineering program. Kardynn got her driver’s license. Kiersten graduated from the Academies of Loudoun. In June she graduated from Rock Ridge. Bruce’s surgery was a success so that was the absolute highlight of the year.
Kiersten
Kiersten's Rock Ridge grad
In July Oskar turned 21. Jonny defended his dissertation and became Dr. Prouty. Unfortunately, on that same day Annika was in a nasty car accident when someone ran a red light in front of her. That landed her with her ninth concussion. Not a statistic any parent wants to brag about.
She did get a little break in August when she went to Hawaii with her roommate for a week. That month started the exodus for the college kids. All three of them are at new schools this year. Oskar is studying abroad in Japan at the University of Waseda in Tokyo. And of course I already told you that Annika is at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia and Kiersten is attending the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Kardynn is a junior in high school and very sorry to have been left behind – she says that she does NOT like being a “third wheel” with Mom and Dad.
Our emptying nest prompted me to downsize from our minivan to a medium size SUV. The minivan went to Ted’s family so we’re happy that it gets to serve another family.
Heather & Oskar
Kardynn started off her junior year of high school with a bang. She’s the president of her school’s Educators Rising chapter and she was inducted into the National Honor Society. She’s been working three evenings every week and she managed the high school volleyball team.
In October I spent a few days visiting Ted’s family in Arizona. As always, the company and sunshine were a delight. Work took me to New York City for a couple of days. I enjoyed the conference and ended up having a little time to wander around and explore as well so that was a treat.
In November, my mom – who was recovering from rotator cuff surgery – took a tumble and broke her pelvis. She had to spend a few weeks in a rehab center until she could literally get back on her feet. Meanwhile I road tripped with my cousin Jenna to visit our various family members in Waterloo. It’s a real treat that I get to see extended family when I visit Kiersten.
Before Mom’s injury, my family had plans to gather in Virginia for Thanksgiving. My brothers and I did a quick pivot and all drove down for quick visits with my mom in North Carolina before Thanksgiving.
December 1 was a low point for our family with the loss of our sweet cat Bandit. He had a very sweet, loving disposition and was super smart. The vet was very impressed that he knew how to open doors, for example.
Kardynn & Bandit
Later that month Dwight and I enjoyed a quick getaway to Costa Rica for a week. In case you’ve missed this underlying theme – I once again appreciated the sunshine and good company. When we got back to the US, my father-in-law met up with Dwight and Kardynn for his comeback to pickleball (after having a hip replacement in August). We rounded out the year spending a lot of time visiting with family and especially loved having Annika and Kiersten home for two weeks.
Dwight in Costa Rica
Playa Flamingo
We already have fun things to look forward to in 2025. I’ll save most of those for next year’s letter but one big highlight will be having Oskar back on the same continent as the rest of us.
These last few years have brought a lot of changes for our household - our kiddos are rapidly leaving the nest and venturing out into the world to start their own lives. It’s a big transition for me and Dwight. We miss having them around all the time but we’re so proud of each of them and are just in awe of the amazing people they’ve become. It’s such a privilege to be a part of their journeys. I have no idea what this next stage of life will look like but I’m excited to find out. It’s a little strange to suddenly have a surplus of time to focus on ourselves and our hobbies but I’m making the most of it.
Dwight (center) and his bandmates
Dwight is still loving playing music with his band mates. They’ve been doing this for more than a decade now! They don’t play for the public very often but if you do have a chance to make it to one of their gigs, I highly recommend it!
Twice a month Dwight and his sister get together with their Dad to record stories of his youth. Dwight’s been loving that routine with his family and looks forward to it every week.
The older I get, the more I appreciate how fortunate I am to have a life rich in family, friendship and community. You guys are fantastic - thank you!
If you have the patience, here's a little video with one second from every day of 2024:
I love handmade everything - especially pottery. I'm a sucker for pretty 16oz mugs. I love earrings. I love lotions and soaps. I love milk chocolate. I love all things blue.
In October I went to New York for a work conference. I've not really spent very much time in New York city so I really enjoyed the opportunity to explore a little bit. Here are a few photos from my short visit to NYC.
