Merry Christmas from the Reyersons!
ANOTHER year almost in the books. The kids are doing great, bringing home mostly A’s on their report cards, are about to trade their braces for retainers and are both as tall as Mom. Adrienne may be done growing, we’re not sure, but Collin is just getting warmed up. He is eating literally everything.
Last Spring, Collin was one of 16 recipients of the St. Louis Park Caring Youth Award. His Language Arts teacher Mr. Pollack nominated him for his work planting milkweed to preserve the monarch butterfly habitat on school grounds, and we were invited to City Hall to watch Collin receive a certificate signed by Governor Tim Pawlenty. No football this year, but he’s still a baseball player and had a fine summer at the plate to go with his very reliable glove. He’s also playing basketball this winter and we like watching him battle out there. I am also pleased to inform you that Ozzie the Lizard is still on top of Collin’s dresser basking under a heat lamp. 2 years and counting.
Connie and I have both observed that Adrienne is a 50/50 blend of our DNA: she looks mostly like Mom and acts mostly like her pop. A few months shy of her 14th birthday, Adrienne just adores babies, and got a few chances to perform some babysitting this year. She’s a natural, and watching her with young kids, I see a future pre-school teacher, although she’ll tell you that she wants to be a fiction writer. We’re just impressed that she’s thinking about that stuff…a lot of girls her age are far more fixated on the opposite sex. While boys are on Adrienne’s radar, she’s not going out of her way to capture their attention. Still plenty of time for all that nonsense.
What a year it’s been for Connie. Back in January, she was selected for jury duty. A bit apprehensive about driving and parking downtown, she took the bus back and forth and made her way around the big town quite nicely, finding the Hennepin County Courthouse with little trouble. Not bad for a gal who grew up in a town of 100. She served on a jury and had quite an experience. Connie still fills in at the elementary school here in St. Louis Park, and for a 7 week stretch this fall, she worked every day in Room #105, where the developmentally disabled kids are. And now with Christmas coming, she has transformed into a baking machine. Big shock, right?
For the second consecutive summer, we did not get in a week of fishing up north, but we did get on the road to connect with family. We spent a couple of nights in Davenport with Uncle Kurt and Aunt Jenifer, who moved to the Quad Cities not quite 2 years ago after 20 years in the Twin Cities area. Mom and Dad came down from Oelwein, as did Scott and April from Iowa City. The boys golfed, the girls shopped and we all went to the ballpark for a Quad City River Bandits game, which is not a bad way to spend a beautiful summer evening.
On the gridiron, my beloved Iowa Hawkeyes have had a roller coaster season, defeating Iowa State to go 3-0, dropping a few close games, then galloping into November with a full head of steam, shocking #3 Penn State at Kinnick Stadium. Was really something to watch the students flood the field after the game winning kick. Back on November 22, Collin and I had front row seats right behind the Iowa bench (about 20 feet away from Floyd of Rosedale), and cheered the Black & Gold to a good old-fashioned butt-whooping of border rival Minnesota, 55 - 0. We stayed around after the game, high-fived the guys, sang the fight song. Collin even got to touch Floyd! I can’t think of 2 or 3 sporting events where I had a better time.
Is there anybody besides me who is happy to see this election cycle end? What a filthy business politics is! There are so many crooks, it’s almost impossible to spot the few true public servants employed in Washington. I don’t trust any of them anymore, and while I’m thrilled we live in a country where the choice is ours, I’m not crazy about a lot of the choices. And don’t get me started on the collapsing journalistic standards of the news media. Regardless of which candidate you supported, if you watch much news, I’m sure you’ll agree that this last two years has been little more than an infomercial for Barack Obama. I didn’t vote for our President-Elect, but with the shape this country’s in, I’m sure as heck pulling for him now.
As far as holiday travel plans go, we have settled into a comfortable routine. We go to Iowa for Christmas (3 nights in Oelwein, 3 in Webster), and “Iowa comes to us” for Thanksgiving. Mom and Dad came up for their 5th consecutive Thanksgiving feast in St. Louis Park, staying for 3 nights, and weather permitting, we’ll be on the road to Iowa on December 22 to have Christmas with the whole family.
After moving 7 times in our first 8 years together, Connie and I have no regrets settling in St. Louis Park, buying the 3rd house we looked at, 12 years ago. Over the years, my job has taken me to a lot of big cities, but I still haven’t found one that I would pick over the Twin Cities area. Years from now, I envision a little house with a big porch in a little town, but for now, it’s a little house with no porch in St. Louis Park and we couldn’t be happier or more thankful.
Well, that‘s our year on one sheet of paper! If you’re ever in town, be sure to stop by. Our house is just a few minutes from downtown Minneapolis and we love to have visitors. We hope this letter finds you in good health and good spirits, and we wish you all a happy and safe holiday.
Warren, Connie, Collin & Adrienne
Last Spring, Collin was one of 16 recipients of the St. Louis Park Caring Youth Award. His Language Arts teacher Mr. Pollack nominated him for his work planting milkweed to preserve the monarch butterfly habitat on school grounds, and we were invited to City Hall to watch Collin receive a certificate signed by Governor Tim Pawlenty. No football this year, but he’s still a baseball player and had a fine summer at the plate to go with his very reliable glove. He’s also playing basketball this winter and we like watching him battle out there. I am also pleased to inform you that Ozzie the Lizard is still on top of Collin’s dresser basking under a heat lamp. 2 years and counting.
Connie and I have both observed that Adrienne is a 50/50 blend of our DNA: she looks mostly like Mom and acts mostly like her pop. A few months shy of her 14th birthday, Adrienne just adores babies, and got a few chances to perform some babysitting this year. She’s a natural, and watching her with young kids, I see a future pre-school teacher, although she’ll tell you that she wants to be a fiction writer. We’re just impressed that she’s thinking about that stuff…a lot of girls her age are far more fixated on the opposite sex. While boys are on Adrienne’s radar, she’s not going out of her way to capture their attention. Still plenty of time for all that nonsense.
What a year it’s been for Connie. Back in January, she was selected for jury duty. A bit apprehensive about driving and parking downtown, she took the bus back and forth and made her way around the big town quite nicely, finding the Hennepin County Courthouse with little trouble. Not bad for a gal who grew up in a town of 100. She served on a jury and had quite an experience. Connie still fills in at the elementary school here in St. Louis Park, and for a 7 week stretch this fall, she worked every day in Room #105, where the developmentally disabled kids are. And now with Christmas coming, she has transformed into a baking machine. Big shock, right?
For the second consecutive summer, we did not get in a week of fishing up north, but we did get on the road to connect with family. We spent a couple of nights in Davenport with Uncle Kurt and Aunt Jenifer, who moved to the Quad Cities not quite 2 years ago after 20 years in the Twin Cities area. Mom and Dad came down from Oelwein, as did Scott and April from Iowa City. The boys golfed, the girls shopped and we all went to the ballpark for a Quad City River Bandits game, which is not a bad way to spend a beautiful summer evening.
On the gridiron, my beloved Iowa Hawkeyes have had a roller coaster season, defeating Iowa State to go 3-0, dropping a few close games, then galloping into November with a full head of steam, shocking #3 Penn State at Kinnick Stadium. Was really something to watch the students flood the field after the game winning kick. Back on November 22, Collin and I had front row seats right behind the Iowa bench (about 20 feet away from Floyd of Rosedale), and cheered the Black & Gold to a good old-fashioned butt-whooping of border rival Minnesota, 55 - 0. We stayed around after the game, high-fived the guys, sang the fight song. Collin even got to touch Floyd! I can’t think of 2 or 3 sporting events where I had a better time.
Is there anybody besides me who is happy to see this election cycle end? What a filthy business politics is! There are so many crooks, it’s almost impossible to spot the few true public servants employed in Washington. I don’t trust any of them anymore, and while I’m thrilled we live in a country where the choice is ours, I’m not crazy about a lot of the choices. And don’t get me started on the collapsing journalistic standards of the news media. Regardless of which candidate you supported, if you watch much news, I’m sure you’ll agree that this last two years has been little more than an infomercial for Barack Obama. I didn’t vote for our President-Elect, but with the shape this country’s in, I’m sure as heck pulling for him now.
As far as holiday travel plans go, we have settled into a comfortable routine. We go to Iowa for Christmas (3 nights in Oelwein, 3 in Webster), and “Iowa comes to us” for Thanksgiving. Mom and Dad came up for their 5th consecutive Thanksgiving feast in St. Louis Park, staying for 3 nights, and weather permitting, we’ll be on the road to Iowa on December 22 to have Christmas with the whole family.
After moving 7 times in our first 8 years together, Connie and I have no regrets settling in St. Louis Park, buying the 3rd house we looked at, 12 years ago. Over the years, my job has taken me to a lot of big cities, but I still haven’t found one that I would pick over the Twin Cities area. Years from now, I envision a little house with a big porch in a little town, but for now, it’s a little house with no porch in St. Louis Park and we couldn’t be happier or more thankful.
Well, that‘s our year on one sheet of paper! If you’re ever in town, be sure to stop by. Our house is just a few minutes from downtown Minneapolis and we love to have visitors. We hope this letter finds you in good health and good spirits, and we wish you all a happy and safe holiday.
Warren, Connie, Collin & Adrienne
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