{peace} from the Carlsons 2022

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Our family continued to keep busy with school, work, and sports this year. The boys really leaned into winter with visits to several ice rinks, lessons in snow skiing, and sledding at Soldier Field. Tracy learned how to work our fireplace (only took 10 years!), to warm everyone up after snow adventures. That and their VERY SPECIFIC hot chocolate requests (we have three brands on hand so everyone is happy, though obviously Land O' Lakes is superior to the rest).

The boys continue having a blast in flag football, basketball, and running. Kiefer's football team won the JFL league championship (Winter); Chase's football teams won the CPS conference (Spring) and JFL league championship (Fall). Kiefer & Chase train with a travel basketball team and Chase's CPS team took home the conference title. They've both proven themselves as strong runners, with Chase qualifying for the Chicago City Championships, finishing with a mile time of 6:24; and Kiefer has been finishing strong in his many 5Ks this summer - his biggest struggle was waiting on Mom to catch up. School is going well for both boys and we just added a new Beta in the house (yay Kiefer)! Don't worry, we didn't know what Beta was either: www.betaclub.org. When Kevin isn't working or traveling to Atlanta, he has been going full coach mode. If there are sport punch cards, he definitely earned a free sandwich while coaching basketball, football (indoor and outdoor), baseball, and cross country. Tracy spends her downtime planning activities and travel itineraries. While many find joy through cooking or cocktail recipes, her tranquility rests in a detailed excel spreadsheet or google drive document.

Lowest point of the year was a (required) major renovation to the façade of our home, leading to a massive special assessment (which for the dollar amount paid, should be labeled a Supreme or luxury assessment). Determining what to slash from our monthly expenses included cancelling the gym membership and medical facials for Tracy...essentially sacrificing one physical exterior for another. With the renovations complete, we hope it will no longer rain inside when it rains outside. We adopted two kittens in September! Marshmallow and Cleopatra have been very entertaining with their zoomies and other antics. While they aren't the dog originally requested, one plays fetch, so we consider that a win-win. This year, the boys experienced their first beach vacation, which ended up as more of a pool-by-the-beach vacation. We kept hiking (and canyoneering!) our way through the National and State Parks, hitting up these stunners: Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon, & Mammoth Cave. The beauty of this world is incredible, and we feel so lucky to touch down on small parts of it when we can. We hope your 2022 was great and we hope to hear from you soon!

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