Tough year for the Mets, but we're doing OK!

Happy holidays! We are little behind this year after an eventful December.

Dave just returned from Texas as the Ferris State University football team claimed its fourth NCAA DII National Championship in five years. Plus, we used some down time to visit a Buc-ee’s for the first time. 

Caroline has actually done the most traveling this year. She is a community director at Michigan State University, overseeing a team of graduate students and a small army of resident assistants at Case Hall.

She was accepted for a special week of training at the University of Washington in Seattle. She made time to visit the Space Needle and the first Starbucks after classes.

Caroline is active in a regional residential life organization, the Great Lakes Association of College and University Housing Officers. She earned a top prize for a presentation at a conference in Dayton, Ohio. 

She keeps busy with pottery classes and is part of a coffee club, where members gather in different places for fellowship and caffeine. She makes the most out of living in the state capital, volunteering at art shows and running in 5K races with her friend Matt. She’s excited about being the maid of honor at friend Jordan’s wedding in June.

Caroline and some friends visited Niagara Falls then Toronto in the fall, where they captured this epic image of a rainbow and the Maid of the Mist!

Andrew and Aubrey are living in Traverse City in Northern Michigan. They are international travelers, following last year’s Japan adventure with a cruise to celebrate their anniversary. Bonus: They were able to spend some time with Poppy and Grandma in Florida before the cruise.

Andrew is a social worker, helping people find housing in an increasingly challenging environment. Aubrey is a speech pathologist helping students in charter schools across the state.

Andrew and Aubrey made it to Florida in time for the annual pumpkin-carving event with grandparents, Aunt Jenny and nieces Katie and Ellie, and uncles John and Ray!

Caroline and Dave also spent time in Florida. Aunt Jenny and the nieces make sure there are plenty of activities, and we spent quality time with Mom and Dad.

We had many adventures in Florida, including seeing the Mets in spring training -- they played to a tie -- making ceramics, and going to the Vampire Penguin, which is pretty much the best dessert place ever. Also, some uncle convinced Miss Ellie to throw axes. 

Julie and Dave went on to what was intended to be a glorious baseball road trip to see the Mets play the Pirates in Pittsburgh's PNC Ballpark. What could go wrong? The Mets were riding high in first place; the Pirates were terrible; the ballpark is spectacular, and Pittsburgh is a great city!

We should have known where the weekend was headed when we tried to check in the hotel and found an hour-long line snaking through the lobby -- a Slovenian music festival was in town – only to find the hotel lost our reservations and had no rooms available.

We visited relics of Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The highlight for Julie was visiting the Alternate Histories shop. We've been buying cool prints and calendars from this store for years. We met the owner, who signed prints and books for us. 

After long rain delays in both games, the Mets actually got clobbered by the lowly Pirates all weekend. Pundits said the series was the turning point for the team’s disappointing season.

It might be better to go to games when the Mets are not involved. Dave went on a later trip to see games in Pittsburgh – again – and then two in Baltimore and one in Cleveland.

Baltimore is a lovely city and a non-baseball highlight was visiting Fort McHenry and helping to raise the flag - on the flagpole where Francis Scott Key saw the battered Old Glory still flying and penned the lyrics to “The Star Spangled Banner.”

Dave did get to see the Mets win, finally, when the team came to Detroit in September. 

Julie enjoyed her first full year of retirement. She jumped into a huge project: a much-needed renovation of the kitchen! Demolition started in late October, and the project is now in its final stages. The stove is still in the garage, but that seems to be the last phase. The room looks fantastic!

We have a new tradition of visiting Hotel Walloon, a beautiful inn located in northern Michigan, in December for some quiet time away. We had a very nice time at Ferris State's gala and our friend Steve Jessmore took this nice portrait. 

Julie enjoys meeting with her weekly knitting group. A local coffee shop has a designated table reserved for them each Wednesday!

Aunt Kristen introduced Julie to K-Pop with a simulcast concert with mega-star J-Hope of BTS. They had a blast and learned devoted fans bring gifts to share with other concertgoers. 

Aunt Kristen and Julie enjoyed going to see the J-Hope concert movie. Cookie is Julie's companion for all other shows. 

She also has to be the center of attention for Cookie, our 3-year-old cat who collects boxes, has lots of little toys, and likes to keep a routine.

Dave is in his third year as Ferris State’s associate vice president for Marketing and Communications. There are many fun aspects to the job. Now, we never reveal who is wearing the mascot suit. But let’s just say there are occasionally days when Dave and Brutus are not seen together. 

The kitchen project started before Halloween. We're getting closer to completion!

This year the job had some special adventures, including a partnership with iconic Pure Michigan hat manufacturer Stormy Kromer. The caps have been made by hand by craftsmen in Ironwood, which is way up on the western edge of the Upper Peninsula. The team, and Brutus, visited during the summer to watch special Ferris State caps being produced. 

The college football season is long when your team is good, and the Bulldogs are really, really good! My marketing team gets to be close to the action! That's us on the field against rival Grand Valley State and then at the NCAA DII National Championship on Dec. 20! 

We hope you are happy and healthy wherever you are this holiday season. We embrace our time together and the things we get to do. We know we are blessed even in challenging times, and appreciate our many friends and relatives. You are all very special to us. 

Please keep in touch as we move forward into 2026!