Christmas

Hi Everyone,
I know my mom sent the letter to the aunts and uncles but I posted it below for the rest of you. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year! We originally intended to spend Christmas eve in the cities and then drive up to the cabin to celebrate Christmas that Sunday as a family. The snow storm kept us home until Saturday, so we celebrated here and then only a few of us made it to the cabin. It was beautiful and well worth the drive. Mary, Joe, and I returned home on Monday and my parents stayed for a week. My dad did make it out ice fishing with the dogs and they were successful at getting one fish.

Mary leaves Thursday for Uganda so she should have an update with pictures to share when she returns in 3 weeks.

Hopefully many of you will be able to work in a cabin trip this summer! Todd, we will even arrange a bear sighting just for you! You just need to be willing to cover yourself with honey and run through the woods! Just send the weekend dates of your choice to my mom and she'll mark it on the calendar!

The Letter:

Dear Family and Friends:

As 2009 draws to an end, one has to ask, “Who’d have thought it?” We saw the rise of Susan Boyle and the fall of Tiger Woods, The Twins win the ALC Championship, Brett Farve became a Minnesota Viking, and the government pay us $4500.00 for a 1999 suburban with 240,000 miles on it.

Our Christmas photo this year shows what waits for us up north. Who’d have thought getting everyone together in one place for a family photo would be so difficult? Pat knows that the four kids are constantly coming and going because their messy carbon footprints are left through out the house. Frank also added to the logistics problem by spending much of his time in Denver. If the weather permits, we will spend a week at the cabin this Christmas and maybe have a day or two with everyone there.

Mary will be leaving January 7th for three weeks of visiting refugee camps in Africa. After two years of working with the representatives in the camps for the American Refugee Committee, she is anxious to see the field operations first hand. Who’d have thought last winter she and a couple friends from Japan would try ice fishing at the cabin for the first time? After knocking at the door of our neighbor’s ice fishing house and asking if they could use his ice holes when he was finished, they proceeded to the bait shop and bought three minnows. They still can’t understand the reactions they received.

John reports finding a police officers job is not as easy as he’d hoped. Each opening has at least 150 to 200 applicants. He still likes his job in security, and will be starting as a volunteer with the West St. Paul police reserves in January. Last winter he had an unfortunate accident on the job and ended up with five broken bones in his foot. Who’d have thought his mother would let him move back home and wait on him for a month?

Anna is still working at the Como Zoo and attending Graduate School at the U of M studying early childhood and special needs education. Who’d have thought she would have waited this long to realize her calling? Anna’s record is two out of three in wildlife management. She managed to revive and release a humming bird that flew into a window, rescued and released a fawn her dog chased into a tangle of fencing, but failed to determine what happened to the deer she hit with mom’s vehicle.

Joe is now in his second year of college. When asked what he is majoring in, he replies sincerely, “I’m going to school to learn about things I’m interested in, not necessarily to get a degree.” Who’d have thought this statement wouldn’t send his dad over the edge?

Frank is proud to report that he shot his first Canadian goose this fall. Who’d have thought the hardest part of this outing was to choose the right camouflage, so the geese wouldn’t peg him as a rookie? He and John were also lucky enough to experience North Dakota pheasant hunting with a guide from Barnes, WI (who’d have thought a boy who grew up in western North Dakota would need a guide, especially from Wisconsin?). The concept is to hunt in the morning, golf in the afternoon, and then drive to the next day’s location. Three days of hunting and three great golf courses made for a successful trip.

Mary, John, Anna and Joe’s main complaint in life, is that Pat and Frank spoil the two dogs. Who’d have thought the nine year old Brittany, Zoey, would show her appreciation by finally deciding to hunt this season? No one was more surprised than the six year old Lab, Nellie.

Who’d have thought Frank and Pat would reach their 30th anniversary last May? Frank rewarded Pat by making her captain of her own ship. A 14 ft. runabout, christened the USS “Mom’s Dinghy”. Frank was given the rank of cabin boy, and when asked if he could be First Mate, Pat replied, “Let’s see how the next 30 years go before we start handing out promotions.”

We can finally report, that the work on our Cabin is finished and more than meets our expectations. Unfortunately, the wildlife is also finding our property to their liking. This past spring, summer, and fall brought sightings, sounds, destruction, and reports of bears, wolves, coyotes, beavers, and cougars just to name a few non domesticated animals we share the north woods with. Lucky for us, our current contractor’s day job is that of a DNR officer. Because he actually completed our job we trust him completely. But who’d have thought he would convince us to crawl into a culvert to see a hibernating mother bear and her cubs?

It has been a busy year, with lots of good times and laughter, visits from family and friends, trips for weddings, reunions, and fun, and of course just taking life as it comes. Who’d have thought it would pass so quickly?

We hope everyone is healthy and happy and looking forward to what 2010 brings.

Merry Christmas and Wishes for a brighter 2010!

The tree measured at nearly 14 feet and the cieling is 15ft

Ps. Goooo Vikings!

-Posted by Anna