Knowing the holidays are always a busy time of year I tried writing my letter before 2025 even began—ok maybe that’s just evidence of my need to plan things FAR in advance! Working on my 2027 plans already! Author’s edits (things I changed from the letter I wrote in December 2024) are underlined…
Family adventure—outdid the last grand adventure to Europe. Went on a Baltic cruise, wait, what? The author was apprehensive about the idea of a cruise and probably won’t go an another one, but justified this one by a) a non-tropical destination, b) the cruise adding 5 new countries and only 2 repeats, and c) it really started to make sense when the most economical plane tickets allowed for a layover in Iceland on the way there and when he realized the ending point in Stockholm was just a short flight away from Helsinki which was only a 6 hour drive away from no man’s land on the Russian border (2ndtime to the Russian border without crossing it off his list) which happened to be the best place in the world to see a wolverine, which happens to be the #1 must see mammal on his list because he was born in Michigan—Hail to the Victors!, he loved the movie Red Dawn as a kid, and who doesn’t grow up in Alaska hoping to see one? So what if they are baited, they are still wild, and you get to spend 2 nights bonding with your family in a hide? Of course that’s the trip he planned.
Highlights of the trip didn’t include the food on the cruise but did include pastries in every country, pierogies in Poland, waterfalls and glacial ice caves in Iceland, pub trivia and aerialists each night on the ship, the Christus statue and Emily’s pose with the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen, climbing towers and spires whenever possible, walking 20,000 steps daily, negotiating with a cabby to take us on an expedited tour of Berlin, finding wild boars on a back street in Gdynia where we were soaked to the core in all day torrential rains, cat statues in Riga, the Vasa museum in Stockholm, Andrew’s diagnosis of Acne by the cruise doctor after an infected pimple swelled and erupted badly enough that we felt bad for him, relaxing in a traditional Finnish sauna, Natali interrupting my wolverine picture taking to tell me she had left her bag, glasses, and wallet on the bus at a pit stop at 10:00 PM in rural Hungary only to emerge from the bathroom to find the bus long gone…thanks to a few generous strangers who drove her to Budapest, gave her a phone charger and suggested she use find my AirPods to track down the bus which serendipitously was parked overnight and she was able to sneak into the compound with new friends from the hostel and get all of her belongings including her passport so she could come home 2 days later! It wasn’t easy to take pictures for those five hours that I was texting and talking with Natali as she tried to find her stuff, but I still managed!
The big question of course is what species were added to the mammal list this year…the highlights: Dhole, Fishing Cat, Indian Rhino, Ganges River Dolphin, Asian Elephant, Sloth Bear (5th of the world’s 8 bear species), the aforementioned Wolverine, and grand-daughter—wait, what? Yup. In developments no one saw at the start of the year, our family grew by 3 and much to the editor’s chagrin that was without any new cats and yet I’m still limited to 2 pages for my letter—thank goodness for adjustable margins…
Natali (Miguel)—Swiped the right direction on some app called Hinge and met Miguel Mendoza (Construction Management) which led to dates ranging from mountain biking, snow-skiing, and rock climbing to a weekend trip to El Paso and Mexico to meet his grandparents and an engagement before separating for the summer which gave her time to plan her own wedding—thank you! Selected by Chick fil-A from 24,000 applicants as one of just 24 interns—the only one going to college west of the Mississippi! Cried daily seeing the cafeteria’s free milkshake machine at their corporate office in Atlanta—no thanks lactose intolerance! Made the author proud by taking the scenic route to and from Atlanta to cross off ND, LA, and AL and complete her 50 states (she wimped out and didn’t hit ND so she’s stuck on 49)! Got her first colonoscopy even younger than the author to eliminate the really bad stuff and just settle on IBS, hit the Chick-Fil-A drive through to get free food right after her wedding because she thought they’d “surprise and delight her” …honeymooned in San Diego, accepted a technical architect job at Sunrise Technologies (an IT consultancy) post-graduation next June.
Mack (Sophia)— brought a girlfriend home last Christmas, returned to his home state for the first time since leaving as a toddler to watch his Thunder beat the Celtics, got his SGA jersey signed courtside, then celebrated their NBA championship…completed an accounting internship at Woodgrain. Got married—welcome to the family Sophia (from Northern California, studying marketing) and Bailey (chocolate lab—wait, are we allowed to have dogs in the family?), became a dad—welcome Blake Avery! They are both on track to graduate next year… Decided against North Dakota for his honeymoon and 50th state and instead joined the previously booked cruise—doesn’t recommend sharing a cabin with your brother on your honeymoon.
Andrew—spent the last 3 months of his mission to Nicaragua in Puerto Cabezas on the Atlantic coast where he tried his best to stay out of the hospital and learned to speak Miskito. One sentence I definitely would have gotten wrong had I tried to write it in advance is, “Andrew spent the last night of his mission in a hotel room in Denver with a 17-year-old girl.” Wait, what? Yup. After his connecting flight from Denver was cancelled, we were thrilled he got home in time to still make the family pictures at Mack’s wedding. He’s a freshman at BYU adjusting to classes, dating, and crutches. May need to retire from soccer after reinjuring his shoulder, breaking his femur, and tearing his ACL (they did win the league championship that night but he’s more than a little bummed to miss ski season)—thank goodness his ROC pass gets him into BYU football and basketball games where there are special seats for people with physical limitations—he may get the crutches back out for next football season. One surgery down one to come in early 2026.
Kate—became an Elvis aficionado after visiting Graceland as part of a spring break trip with Mom and Lily to Arkansas to visit Uncle Spencer’s family, went on work trip with dad to NC, VA, and SC (37 total), Middleton High Salutatorian though she may have been the only senior of 94 recognized on awards night wearing shorts—not too worried about perceptions! Earned a scholarship given to future teachers though she may end up as a dance major, good thing they don’t have video of her wipeout in our room pretending to be Michael Jackson on point shoes. Held two different jobs during the year as a caregiver at an assisted living facility and at a daycare…only came home once during her first semester at BYU-I—guess she didn’t miss us too much.
Emily (15)—feels cooler singing the songs now that she finally saw Hamilton live…15-year-old trip to India w/ the author yielded 17 different tigers, and she actually liked the food despite an occasional vegetable slipping in! Enjoyed the unexpected half day in London on the way home after a missed connection—wants to go back after 3 hours of walking, selfies, seeing Phantom of the Opera, and no sleep…Worked in the parts room at Woodgrain, earned her Driver’s license on her first try, took a road trip with Natali back from Georgia to add 6 more states (41 total), was a natural on the stage playing Katrina in a production of The Headless Horseman at school, preserved a squirrel tail that mysteriously was left in our living room, and takes a weird delight in wrestling with cats that still have claws no matter how badly they shank her…
Lily (12)—couldn’t pick a destination for her 12-year-old trip so it might become a 13-year-old trip. OK, AR, MS, TN (35 total) what was her favorite part of the trip? Alternating weekly chores include cleaning up kitty cat killings but she didn’t find one of the dead mice until weeks later when it was rotting in her tennis shoes. Loves fluffy sweaters, acai bowls, rock climbing, being a flower girl, dancing on pointe shoes, playing piano for Jazz Band, memorizing European flags and capitals, and getting free Chick-fil-A by dressing up as their cow mascot for Halloween. Skipped part of the annual Yellowstone trip to hang out with Kate at college for a day. Can’t decide whether Aunt Lily or Uncle Bob sounds better, but never missed her turn holding Blake.
Lisa—made the most of two days in Oklahoma catching up with old friends. Happy to be playing 4-player games at home without excluding anyone, has to pinch herself to make sure she’s not dreaming when she remembers she has 4 cats, lots of powder skiing, continues to serve in the Meridian temple office…made fun of by the customer service guy for the cruise when inquiring about adding Mack’s fiancé to the trip…”No, I don’t know her birthday, and no, I don’t even know her last name.” “And you somehow have 7 kids?” “No, one of these is my husband.” For the first time in history, I may have been jealous of a customer service agent’s job, that had to be amusing! Enjoyed the wolverine snoring on the doorstep of the hide more than the revolving door of cats that invade her personal space during naptime at home. Appreciated visiting sisters in Ames and Boulder on not so random fall weekends—thank you Big 12 for having teams where they live!
Greg— might have splurged on his dream camera lens because it hardly counts if you don’t get a high-quality photo of your first wolverine (the editor prohibits animal pics in the letter). During a work trip to Brazil his mom suffered a severe stroke, has been inspired by her courage and determination as she learned to walk and talk again. Is learning the realities of “being tired in the work but not of the work” as he ministers in our ward speaking at funerals, to the primary kids, in sacrament meeting, teaching the adults and youth, hugging widows, supporting the youth at plays, concerts, sporting events, ice fishing, and backpacking, and jumping in a lake half-covered with ice on high adventure with the young men from church. After BYU finished #13 in football and basketball last year both are currently in the top 11—don’t pinch me! Attended two Cougar football victories in Ames and Boulder—see above! Tried really hard not to cry conducting a ring ceremony for Natali and holding Blake for the first time but…Wrote 70 pages in his journal not counting these 2!
Book Recommendations: The Let Them Theory, The Radium Girls, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Midnight in Chernobyl, American Serengeti, Being Mortal (repeat cuz I read it again)
Merry Christmas from the Eastons (Greg, Lisa, Natali & Miguel, Mack & Sophia & Blake, Andrew, Kate, Emily, Lily, Ditten, Shai, Baby, & Jean Luc)
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