Christmas Letters Over the Years. . . and Once Again in 2023

 

Family picture at Denver Botanic Gardens in 2017 at Amy & Corey's wedding

As we were preparing to move to Minnesota, going through decades of “stuff”, I came across past family Christmas letters. The oldest was written in 1995 with a yearly series through 2001, then the letters began to falter. There was a sprinkling of letters with the last one found in 2014. They were all printed on holiday stationary and sent with cards. I did a final check on my laptop and found one more recent letter written in 2020.

Those letters provided a wonderful summary of each year, with many details that were buried deep in my memory bank. It was fun to remember those memories as our daughters grew up and left the nest, the places we traveled to each year, and fun events with family and friends.

Life gets busy, especially at the end of the year with Christmas approaching, and many years those letters did not get written. I’ll summarize our year later in this blog, so keep reading. But first I’ll share a few of the past memories that I enjoyed remembering.

The first two letters in 1995 & 1996

1995, Letter #1 – We had recently moved from Hanover Park IL to Gurnee where we loved our new neighbors, preschool and babysitter. Jaime was 5 and in preschool, and Alyssa at 17 months was always on the move after starting to walk at 10 months. “Her latest feat was falling with a can of paint in the family room. The result was a paint-covered toddler, a puddle of paint on the new carpet and a hysterial mom. Steve who is always buying a new gadget came to the rescue with a new shop vac!”. Steve started a new job in sales with Roseburg Forest Products out of Oregan, and I was working at Johnson & Quin promoting direct mail printing.

Lauren, Jaime, Kelli and Alyssa at Drunken Jack's Restaurant in Murrells Inlet SC - the best hush puppies!

1996 – Our summer vacation found us going to Myrtle Beach SC with Fred and Vicki Behr and their daughters, Kelli and Lauren. This included the infamous afternoon when the upcoming tide washed Steve, Fred and Vicki out of their beach chairs after an afternoon enjoying Strawberry Hill wine (our beach Kool-Aid). It was one of many trips with the Behrs and so many wonderful memories!

1997 – This year’s summer road trip was to Yellowstone National Park with the Behr family. We enjoyed the Badlands and Custer State Park, Devils Tower, Grand Teton National Park and all the wonders of Yellowstone. “It was a wonderful trip, just a little too much driving for a week, and too much camping with young children (all but one night!).”

Jaime and Alyssa with Mickey Mouse at Disney in 1998

1998 – Alyssa was 4 and her favorite Christmas gift was a large toy horse and the Barbie that went with it. Jaime was 7 and got a Magic Attic doll from Nana and Grandpa. Steve with all his home projects was finishing a room in the basement and added a patio in the backyard. My comment on my job was “The Internet will have a profound effect on a lot of businesses as well as everyone at home.” Yikes, little did I know what the digital world would be like today! Trips included Disney World in Florida with Steve’s entire family, a road trip around Lake Michigan, and the annual 4^th of July camping trip to a friend’s farm in Ridgeland WI.

1999 – Prep for Y2K was the big scary topic in 1999, but the world didn’t implode when January 1, 2000 rolled around! The big events were a trip to California to San Diego and Los Angeles, skiing in Lake Tahoe and moving into a new home in Gurnee! Our old home sold quickly so we lived in an apartment for the summer while the new house was built. We loved that house and our neighbors and lived there for 23 years.

Jaime and Alyssa at Gooseberry Falls in 2000

We recreated this photo in 2021!

2000 – Trips included skiing in Breckenridge CO, the first ski trip for the girls. We also spent a few days on the North Shore of Lake Superior enjoying the lighthouses, parks and waterfalls. Little did we know that one day we would live in Minnesota! I often attended Direct Marketing Conferences for work. This year Steve joined me for a weekend in New Orleans which is always fun.

2002 – Two trips to Colorado included skiing in Breckenridge, as well as a summer trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, Pikes Peak and more Colorado sites.

Pictures from the 2006 letter

Fast forward to 2006 – Jaime is now a freshman in high school and Alyssa is in sixth grade at the Middle School. Both girls are on the Blue Devil Swim Club, along with various other activities. The big trip this year was spring break in Florida with Steve’s parents making the rounds of Disney, Universal and Sea World.

Several pictures included in the 2014 letter

2014 – Alyssa wrote the letter this year since Mom hasn’t gotten to it for a few years. Alyssa is at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and Jaime is in Physical Therapy School at Northwestern in Chicago. No big trips this year, but we spent time as a family in Chicago at a Cubs baseball game and visiting museums.

The final letter in 2020 – After the first covid year, I finally wrote another letter on New Years Eve as Steve and I spent the evening at home. We had been vacationing in Breckenridge with friends in March when the pandemic hit, so we quickly headed home. I then started working remote at home. In October Steve and I took a trip to Colorado to see Great Sand Dunes National Park, old mining towns and other sites. It was great to get away from home and be out in nature in Colorado, even if all our meals were take out.

This year’s 2023 highlights:

Our grandson, Xander, is 16 months old and so fun!!

In August 2022 we moved to a new home in Dundas MN, the same week our grandson, Xander, was born! At the end of 2023, we are feeling pretty settled in our home, and are enjoying living in Minnesota close to our daughters and friends. Steve is building a shed in the back yard, and next year we plan to add a deck off the family room. It is really a safety issue since currently you would fall a story down to the patio if you stepped out the sliding glass doors!

Eating beignets in New Orleans.

I retired from my job of 38 years on February 3. Two weeks later we took off on a five week trip south to get out of the Minnesota winter. We spent time in Canyon Lake TX, New Orleans, Clearwater FL, Nashville and stops in between. This year we have a six-week trip planned back to Clearwater, as well as visiting friends who are also wintering in Florida, driving to Key West and a cruise to the Bahamas.

I enjoyed golfing with the Wednesday Wonder Women each week.

We joined the Northfield Golf Club and I finally golfed more than one round a year. We both met a lot of new friends and had wonderful groups that we golfed with each week.

Playing Mexican Train Dominos in Crosby

This summer the family spent a long weekend in Crosby MN by Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area. It was great spending extended time with Alyssa and Jaime, Mike and Xander!

Alyssa, Steve and Kay with one of the amazing views in SW Colorado.

In August Steve, Alyssa and I took a road trip West and visited many national sites in SE Colorado including Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde, Canyons of the Ancients, Chimney Rock, and Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Plus many other planned and unexpected sites along the way.

Cocktails at Glacier Distilling near our rental house

In September, we joined the Behrs and Goldsmiths on an adventure to Glacier National Park and Banff National Park in Canada. It was another amazing trip with great friends seeing beautiful country.

This year also included trips to Milwaukee to see Steve’s mom who lives in an assisted living facility. In 2024 we hope to make more trips to Wisconsin and Illinois to see family and friends.

Before we knew it, the holidays and end of the year are approaching! We hosted family for Thanksgiving at our house. Jaime, Mike and Xander plan to go to New Mexico to see Mike's parents for Christmas so we’ll celebrate with them when they return. We’ll enjoy Christmas with Alyssa and family friends.

Do you send Christmas letters or cards? We enjoy receiving them if you do!

As 2023 winds down, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2024!