Happy Holidays! What a year 2017 has been for our family! We hope this joyous season finds you and yours happy and healthy. I’ll give you a quick rundown on each of us…
Campbell and Ollie relaxing on the pontoon.
Campbell is a Freshman already. She is finishing up drivers ed and is ready for her permit as soon as she turns 15 in January. She plays golf and volleyball, and is also involved in a few clubs at school. Campbell is co-managing the JV and Varsity boys basketball team this season and is loving the role. Upper School has been especially awesome for her so far. She has developed many new friendships this school year and is constantly Snapping, texting or Instagramming friends. As the oldest, she’s our overachiever and perfectionist. She’s also one of the coolest people I know.
Jack with a nice bass off our dock.
Jack is 13 and in 8th grade. He is our basketball and soccer player. Jack has blossomed in the past year and a half from a kid who wanted to be invisible at school into a kid who has tons of friends and brims with self confidence. He is a textbook middle child and is a much more relaxed kid than his sisters, which is both a blessing and a curse. Jack is also crazy funny. Sometimes I laugh until I cry over his stories and jokes. He is constantly jumping, throwing a ball and “breaking our ankles” (faking like he’s going one way, then cuts the opposite way and makes us alter our course). He spent many, many hours fishing off the dock this summer, catching and releasing sunnies and bass. Jack’s two greatest loves remain his phone and candy. We are so excited to see how Jack will continue to develop in both personality and height in the coming years. He’s shot up many inches already this past year.
Katie is a fantastic captain!
Katie is about to turn 12 and is rocking 6th grade. She’s still a little spit-fire and keeps us on our toes with her passionate personality. That said, she’s also the kid who will fiercely defend her friends and is so compassionate she’s brought me to tears on more than one occasion. She’s a fantastic reader and always has a handful of books she’s reading at once. She completed her ATV safety class and can’t wait to drive the 4 wheeler a lot this coming summer. Kate played Junior Olympic volleyball last winter and is excited for the season to start up again soon. She just told me today she plans to play volleyball, basketball, golf, tennis and maybe run cross country for school next year. If anyone is going to conquer it all, it’ll be Katie The Legend (yes, she has created that catchy name for her future 6’2” self).
Matt and a beautiful Lake of the Woods walleye.
Matt seems to always have something up his sleeve. If there isn’t a project or idea already in the works, he’s cooking a new one up. There’s no rest for the weary and he oftentimes reminds me of the Energizer Bunny. He captains our boat and fishes like a pro. He works hard and plays hard. In October, he and a buddy headed to New Mexico for an elk hunt. He came back without an elk this time, which is just fine – we have a lot of other meat in the freezer. Matt remains busy at the office. He’s constantly looking to make the practice better, more productive and more efficient. Thankfully, he has a great team and everyone works well together. I am so proud of everything he’s created there!
My annual birthday selfie – 29 again!
I went back to work part-time in February. I really enjoy what I do and love to be back at the office again. I’m still trying to find that elusive, perfect balance of home and work. If you’ve got any pointers, I’m all ears. I keep busy running the kids to and from school, and to their never-ending activities. It’s common for me to put 400+ miles on the family vehicle in a week and not travel farther than a 20 mile radius from home. I’m happy to play the role of #1 fan at all the kids’ sports. I still read as much as I can – over 150 books in 2017 already. I will always love camping and boating; the fishing we do is just an added bonus. I treasure family time and warm weather – I can never get enough of either one!
Alvin.
Ollie.
The dogs, Alvin and Ollie, are happy and healthy and finally get along. Ollie was trained in Northfield for a couple months this year and has the skills to be a fantastic hunter. He also went to South Dakota with Matt for a short pheasant hunt in October and did a great job. He loves the water! Alvin enjoys riding in the car and fearlessly protecting our yard from squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, deer and birds. Ollie is Alvin’s faithful sidekick, but is not nearly as diligent in his patrol.
Soaking up the sun and practicing our Spanish in Mexico.
We have many highlights from the past 12 months. Aruba has turned into our go-to place for a winter escape in February the past few years. All five of us enjoy a week of warm weather, relaxation, sun and sand. I took the kids to Mexico in March. It was an amazing trip! The Baudette area on Lake of the Woods continues to be our favorite camping and fishing spot. We spent many weekends up there last summer and are already looking forward to more memories there in 2018. We took a quick trip to Nebraska to see the solar eclipse in August. The total eclipse was one of the coolest things we’ve ever experienced. Matt and I also celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary in August.
A little slice of heaven on Bass Lake.
We are very excited about our cabin lot on Bass Lake, just outside Biwabik. We spent many hours playing and working there this past spring and summer. The campfires and pontoon rides around the lake are some of our favorite memories. We hope to build a cabin of our own on the property next summer. There is still an overwhelming amount of work to do, but we have a vision. If you’re ever in the area, please stop by!
We wish you peace, health and happiness in 2018. Enjoy every moment you spend with the ones you love. Soak up the memories. Share your love and talents with others. Count your blessings. There are so many things to be thankful for!
With warmest thoughts this Holiday Season and always,
~Stephanie, Matt, Campbell, Jack and Katie Jugovich
Just after viewing the total solar eclipse in Nebraska.