2018 Christmas Letter

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:45 NIV

Merry Christmas! It's hard to believe another year has come and gone. Another year of busyness and fun with the kids.

Probably the biggest thing for us this year was our opportunity to finally get to see Hamilton as the touring show came to Minneapolis. Over two years of listening to the soundtrack and a year of waiting as a season ticket holder paid off. The show was better than we could have imagined. There's so much to appreciate with the music, but seeing the set and choreography added even more to love. We wished we could have found tickets to go a second time while they were here, but we'll have to wait until next time. If it comes near you and there's any way to get tickets, we cannot recommend it enough!

The love of the Hamilton characters showed up in a school project this past spring. The whole school had a living history museum. Each student dressed up as a famous figure and then stood on their spot like an animatronic statue. Once a visitor pressed their button, they would come to life and recite their one minute biography. Elisha was Alexander Hamilton, while Izzy was Eliza, the Mrs. Hamilton. Zeke, however, got to shine as his favorite, Abraham Lincoln. He was one of the hits of the night with his awesome costume and great detail of the life and times of the 16th president.

This past summer, we camped in Glacier National Park in Montana for five nights. We hiked over 50 miles in our time there including a single 13 mile total hike out and back to a spot called Cracker Lake. The trail was amazing with some makeshift bridges made out of fallen trees or stones. We were the first ones to head out on the trail for the day which made for a cool experience. On our second to last day, we came across a waterfall (Virginia Falls) that was so beautiful that we went back to it on our way out of the park. We saw so much, but know that there was so much more that we didn't get to.

We haven't got to too many Twins games over the past few years, but we did go to the last game of the season this year. There was a strong feeling that it might be, our favorite, Joe Mauer's last game. It was clear from before the game that that would be the case. His kids were on the field beforehand and each at bat received an extra long standing ovation. He got a classic Joe Mauer double later in the game and even came out to catch a pitch in the ninth before being taken out for one last ovation. It was an awesome moment to be present for.

Not much is new with Ryan or Steph this year. They had a nice getaway weekend in Duluth to run the half marathon during the Grandma's marathon weekend. It was a bit chilly, but overall was a fun couple days hanging out with some friends. This fall Steph helped coach Elisha's cross country team and Izzy's volleyball team. Ryan is coaching Izzy's basketball team this winter.

Elisha, a sixth grader this year, continues to be quite the speedster in track and cross country. He even ran a couple real 5Ks this year too. He uses his speed in soccer and basketball. After finishing out his first season of traveling basketball last winter, we got a group together to continue playing into the spring. We were even able to get a former alum of our basketball association who won a National Championship in college and played professionally in college for a bit. It was a great experience for Elisha to learn from him. He continued playing a lot in the summer by attending quite a few camps. This winter he is playing on two school teams, one for grades 5-6 and another for 6-8. He is also again playing on a traveling team making the B team this year. It keeps him quite busy between all the practices and games, but he loves it!

Now in second grade, Izzy has continued with dance taking a ballet class and a tap and jazz class this year. Always the performer, she attended a theatre camp this summer ending with a performance of a musical version of the Wizard of Oz. She played a munchkin and had quite a bit of fun doing so. She skipped soccer this fall and decided to instead play flag football with a friend. They were the only two girls in the league, but that didn't stop them. Izzy even had their team's first thrown completion which went to her friend, and was probably the team's longest completion of the season. As of now, she wants to play tackle tomorrow. We'll see if that actually happens. As mentioned above, she also played volleyball, actually a couple times times this year. She is now working on her second season of basketball. It's another that she loves doing while she is out there.

Following in his siblings' footsteps, Zeke, in first grade, also played basketball this winter. His was more camp-type style once a week, but he made the most of it. He actually probably plays the most at home, almost always playing out some game on the Little Tykes hoop. The Timberwolves are usually one of the two teams and he'll choose some other NBA, usually one from which he knows a couple players. He'll then proceed to give us some play by play and summary after the game is over. The Wolves usually win. It gives him a good opportunity to practice his math He continues to amaze us with how quick he picks up all his new math lessons. Finally, he also played soccer this fall. He said he wanted to play soccer so that he could knock people over. Fortunately, that didn't ever seem to happen, whether the opportunity never presented itself or if he came to a realization.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May you always remember his blessings and gifts. Have a great 2019!

Love,

Ryan, Steph, Elisha, Izzy, and Zeke