As 2024 Winds Down. . .

It is exactly one week until Christmas as I finish writing this. I imagine you are all in the midst of preparing for the holidays – shopping, wrapping, baking, decorating, cleaning, making celebratory plans with family and friends! Our tree is up, my shopping is done, wrapping gifts is underway, and one batch of cookies has been baked.

This year has been busy with traveling and activities with family and friends. We spent several weeks in February and March with our friends, Vicki and Fred Behr, in Florida. We were based in Clearwater with trips to Naples and Marco Island, a cruise to the Bahamas, the drive to Key West and exploring the Everglades. We enjoyed the warmer weather (although a bit colder than normal for Florida) and meeting up with friends along the way.

In Key West at the Southernmost Point in the Continental USA

Vicki & Fred's daughter Lauren & family joined us for a week at the beach!

One of the many alligators we saw in the Everglades 

In one of Buffalo Trace Distillery warehouses - barrels of bourbon.

In April Steve and I flew to Denver for our nephew Jay’s wedding. It was great to catch up with all my brothers and sisters and spend a couple days in Colorado Springs and Denver.

Summer in Minnesota was full of golf, deck building, gatherings with family and friends and a few trips out of town. Father's Day weekend we went camping with my brother, Bruce, and his family at Brushy Creek State Recreation Area in Iowa. Luckily my nephew Jonathan has a large camper so when a storm went through and flattened our tent, we had a place to sleep for the night. . . as well as my brother Brian who joined us for the night! It was great to hang out together, with lots to eat and drink, games and kayaking. Timing was perfect and the next couple days I spent with high school friends at Lake Panorama. 

We enjoyed outings with our family – Alyssa, Jaime, Mike and Xander, who turned two in August. We spent a long weekend up north in Baxter, Minnesota. We hiked at Crow Wing State Park, went to a beach with the added bonus of watching a waterskiing show, played mini golf, went to a brewery and enjoyed the large house we rented along the Mississippi River.

The family at Jack Pine Brewery in Baxter MN

Regarding house projects – Steve with the help of Fred, finished the shed, and got most of the deck built. A big thanks to Steve Hauser and Paul Goldsmith who also helped with those projects. The stairs are yet to be finished, but the deck is beautiful and we look forward to using it a lot next year.

We live in the small town of Dundas which is basically an extension of Northfield, a picturesque town with a beautiful main street and a population of around 21,000. In August I volunteered along with a group of friends to help with the Northfield Shares Community Dinner. 1,200 people plus 250 volunteers were served a family style dinner at tables up and down main street. Click here to see a video of the event which was amazing!

Northfield Shares Community dinner in downtown Northfield

In early September Annika Kay joined the world, little sister to Xander and our second grandchild! We enjoyed staying with Xander when Annika was born and meeting her when they arrived home. She is now over 3 months old and such a sweetie!

Xander meeting his little sister

Aunt Alyssa with Annika

Luckily timing worked out and Annika was born before we left for a trip to Italy on September 21! We took a 14 day tour with Gate1 and it was fabulous! We flew into Milan and spent 2 to 3 days in Lake Como, Venice, Florence, Rome and Naples. In each city we had local guides who gave us tours of the most popular sites. We also did wine tastings at local farms, saw glass blowing in Venice, toured Verona, Pisa, Assisi and Pompeii, and spent a day on the Isle of Capri. Our tour manager, Alice (pronounced a-lee-chay) was terrific and we had a great tour group, making many new friends.

A selfie at Lake Como

The canals & gondolas in Venice

One of the magnificent tapestries in the Vatican Museum

In Rome at the Baptistry of San Giovanni

Amazing ruins in Pompeii

Overlooking the beautiful town of Positano

Inside the Colosseum in Rome

After returning from Italy, we spent a weekend in Iowa and went to the Iowa State – Texas Tech football game. Unfortunately, Iowa State lost 22-23 but it’s always fun to get together with long time friends.

The group at the Iowa State football game

Steve’s mom, Dolores, turned 90 on October 23. Many of her family including grandchildren and great grandchildren attended a birthday party at her facility in Grafton, Wisconsin on Nov. 9. Although her health had been failing, she enjoyed the day having her family together and meeting two of her newest great grandkids. Two days later she passed away quietly in her sleep on Nov. 11. We were all so fortunate to see her that weekend. She felt the love of her family and knew she could move on. Her services were Nov. 23 in Gurnee and her entire family was able to attend to celebrate her wonderful life.

Dolores's high school picture

Dolores Ann Keller Wilt

Nana's many grandchildren and great grandchildren

Which brings us to the holiday season. My brother, Bruce and his wife Barb celebrated Thanksgiving with us. It was great to spend time with them and they got to meet Xander and Annika. Bruce helped Steve and Alyssa cut down our Christmas tree (in the cold weather!) while Barb and I shopped in downtown Northfield. Fred, Vicki, Steve and I went to White Christmas at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre and enjoyed an early start to the season. We had a table right by the stage, which was a wonderful location, really close to the actors!

Barb and Bruce meeting Annika

We look forward to celebrating Christmas and New Years with our family and friends.

As 2024 winds down, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2025!