Christmas Letter 2003

Warm Holiday Greetings from the Reyersons!

2003 is almost in the books, and for our family will go down as a year of accomplishments, some good fortune, and lots of quality family time.

They say it's technically not "bragging" when you're bragging on your kids, so here goes. Collin and Adrienne are in the third grade, and academically are at or near the top of the class. Their teachers told us in October that they were reading and writing at a late 3rd grade level shortly after the school year began. Both are thought to be assets to their respective classes, although Collin is somewhat more "aggressive" in class participation (either by invitation or the other kind) than Adrienne, who generally waits to be called upon.
Both kids are in scouting (Collin is currently working toward Bear rank, Adrienne a 3rd year Brownie), and last month Collin shocked the Cub Scout world by coming out of nowhere to win the 2003 Pack 225 Space Derby. 36 Scouts entered a rocket, and Collin has the trophy that proves nobody was faster than he was in 2003.

Connie has been stocking up on sugar, butter, flour and things of that ilk, which can only mean that a period of very intense baking is about to begin. This is easily her favorite time of year. She's got the house decorated, she's playing the holiday music, watching the holiday movies, baking and shopping up a storm, and waiting for the first flakes to fly. In the midst of all this, she still has time to put in anywhere from 5 to 20 hours a week at the elementary school, helping out wherever she's needed.

With the help of our neighbors, we were able to cross a couple of household projects off the list. For starters, we put a brand new white picket fence, complete with a archway and a gate, around Connie's vegetable garden in the back yard. It was a lot of cutting, drilling, hammering and screwing, but it looks a whole lot better than the old wire fence, and is no less effective at keeping the rabbits out. Later in the summer, we replaced about 20 feet of sidewalk in front of the house. It was a very hot and exhausting job (25 bags of concrete X 80 pounds a bag = 1 TON of concrete), but with the help of neighbors Terry and Kenny, we nailed it! Terry and Kenny are the guys I told you about last year who helped me build the shed. They're made of the good stuff as far as neighbors go, and we're lucky to have them.

Back in August we relived what was an annual Wood-Reyerson family tradtition 20 or 30 years ago: we fished in Wisconsin for a week. What a treat that was! The four of us got with my folks and rented a cabin on a lake about 100 miles from the Twin Cities. We fished, golfed, ate and slept to our hearts' content the whole week, and while it was essentially the six of us, we had aunts, uncles and cousins dropping in just about every day, so it really did feel like one of those big trips up north with the whole family there. I was about Collin's age when we started going up north, and I have few childhood memories that are happier than how I remember those vacations. Hopefully years from now, our kids will feel the same way about their time at the lake with the family.

I've been told that it's better to be lucky than smart, and I've spent a lifetime clinging to those words like a piece of driftwood. But in February, I actually proved it by winning a trip to Las Vegas by entering a drawing at the Minneapolis Golf Show. Round trip airfare for two, 4 nights at the Mirage on the Strip, 2 rounds of golf, rental car, the whole nine yards. Since Connie is not a golfer, I had to find a different travel partner. Dad, as most of you know, retired from the creamery back in March after 34 years, but you'd be surprised how much trouble I had convincing a man with nothing but time on his hands to hit Vegas with me. But he finally caved in, so back in early November, Dad and I flew out to Vegas and turned that town upside down, and while Dad didn't set the blackjack tables on fire, he golfed circles around his hack of a son.

June of 2004 will mark my 15 year anniversary with Best Buy Company, and we're coming up on 8 years in the Twin Cities. That's hard to believe considering that Connie and I moved 6 times in the 7 years prior to moving to St. Louis Park. I don't see us moving anytime in the foreseeable future. Connie and I both like the idea of the kids growing up in one place, one house, and always knowing that as home. Years down the road, we'll likely move to a smaller town, but in the meantime, we're very thankful for what we have: a healthy family with a nice home and a couple bucks in the bank. What else is there?

Well that's just about it from here. If your travels ever bring you to the Twin Cities, please be sure to give us a call. St. Louis Park is just a hop and a skip from downtown Minneapolis, and we love to have visitors. Until then, warmest wishes for a safe, happy holiday from our home to yours,

Warren, Connie, Collin and Adrienne