Friday, November 27, 2020

2020 Holiday Letter Blog

 Holiday Letter 2020

 

We debated whether it was worth summarizing 2020 in our annual Holiday Blog, but decided to forge ahead.  Despite the highly unusual year, we’ve made the most of it and its worth reflecting back on the highlights as a bit of self-therapy going into a holiday season defined by more “safe at home” time.   We hope that all of you have stayed well, you and your loved ones are healthy.

 

Q1

Blissful ignorance of what was to come, January and February were the standard hectic lives of two working parents with young children.  Blake and Leslie did a series of ski hills.  We are lucky to have a small ski hill about 10 minutes from our home, so Sundays we’d race from church, grab a quick lunch and get them out on the hill!  Leslie had a dance performance at MN Timberwolves game, we hosted the Kids 7th birthday- jump roping style, and we hosted a 2nd grade Mom’s night out fundraiser at our house in early February.  We participated in another school fundraiser that was a snow shoeing adventure and local ice harvest festival.  In the “adulting” category of activity we spent most of  January/February signing up for summer camps, mapping out week by week kids activities at MN Zoo, Church, sleep-away camp, YMCA day camp, I refuse to tally the amount of time in online waiting rooms for these registrations.    In the midst of it all we got away for a date night in January, seeing Ben Folds @ MN Orchestra.

As stay at home orders began we decided we’d likely be doing a lot of biking so Drew and the Kids got new bikes! And we’ve put quite a few miles on them so far.
















Q2

Many of you likely saw the daily whiteboard in Q2, striving for any sense of control and structure in days that tended to blend together with us all at home.  Like many households there was a lot of stress and a little sleep trying to balance work and childcare.  I’m sure appliances like the dishwasher also noticed the drastic change to family routine.  We managed to keep our sense of humor through it all, likely because we discovered an amazing new barista-style coffee maker.   Home haircuts were a grand experiment.   (We are all grateful that since June salons have been continuously open)

May brought a new element of fear as riots broker out through Minneapolis and got too close for comfort.  Some neighbors decided to head for their cabins.  We held tight at home but took precautions like having a friend about 30 minutes west prepared to welcome us, backing our cars in the garage and having “go bags”.  It was a new level of sleep deprivation as we all piled into one bed for a few nights too. 

June was a turning point.  Stay at Home orders began to lift and we decided to go ahead with our annual week up at Breezy Point up at Pelican Lake.  Of course that was modified too- We now own two units next to each other and while we’d planned on having out of state friends join us, we decided to defer that for another year.  The good news is we had a family from the kids school willing to join us spur of the moment and it was awesome!  The kids had built in playmates.  We got in lots of playground and beach time and it felt amazing to be starting at something other than the four walls of our house.  It was good for the soul.  It also gave us some confidence that we could find ways to be safe while travelling. 

We also Discovered the small joys right around us- including wading in Minnehaha creek less than a mile away.








Q3

We tried to re-imagine summer.  It was chaotic at times with most of the kids camps cancelled.  We were grateful their first year of sleep-away camp was not cancelled.  We got so much done the week they were gone including stripping and restraining both the deck and their playset.  We also did quite a bit of camping.  Yes, Krista doesn’t camp, but with COVID this year her dislike of sleeping in a tent was outweighed by COVID risk.   In July we survived cub scout family camp, even a rough night of thunderstorms.  That encouraged us that we could camp on our own and we did a long weekend trip to Mount Rushmore, or as Blake and Leslie call it “The Four Heads”.  

We snuck in a visit to Kentucky and participated in the Norton Commons golf cart parade and got some pool time.

Summer faded gently into fall with a delayed start to the school year in late September.  We were able to get the kids in school Mondays and Tuesdays, then had other childcare options Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays.  We appreciated every second of kids experiencing in person learning again.  We have a huge appreciation for teachers and recognize that’s not been our calling. 

 





Q4

The highlights of Q4 so far see to revolve around cub scouts.  Blake and Leslie built contraptions to keep eggs safe enough to survive a toss off of Edina Fire Department’s tallest extension ladder.  We had several iterations and at home practice and…. Both eggs survived!   They also build rockets to blast off in the neighborhood park for rocket day.   And of course, many of you reading this supported the annual wreath sales.  The weekend before thanksgiving we dressed up the van as a reindeer, piled in and spent the day delivering our orders. 

As we look to round out the year, the schools are once again closed to in person learning, we are all at home working/learning and we are navigating ways to live a meaningful life during a pandemic.  Like many, we are full of gratitude for our health, friends/family and all of our blessings.   The news of vaccines give us hope for 2021.  In the meantime we will enjoy the extra family time.  Wishing you and your loved ones a safe, healthy and happy holiday season.

 





Thursday, October 22, 2020

2020 Edina Pack 168 Wreath Fundraiser

Hi Local Twin Cities Friends!

We are once again selling wreaths and other holiday decorations to support our Cub Scouts, Blake and Leslie, who are part of Edina Pack 168.

Please check out our wreath brochure and options for payment, which is due at the time of your order. 

Orders must be received by Monday, October 26th.

You may contact Drew to place your order at henseldrew@gmail.com, or call/text me at (612) 810-7217.

2020 Pack 168 Wreath Brochure


Payment options:

1) Venmo

   Select @Krista‐Hensel


2) PayPal

henseldrew@gmail.com

Note: Please select “Friends and

Families” as the

payment option.


3) Mail/drop off/request check pick-up 

  • Make your check to “Edina Pack 168” for the order

amount.

  • Call/text for

pickup, or mail/drop off at:

5913 Ashcroft Ave.

Edina, MN 55424


Thank you!

Drew, Krista, Blake and Leslie