Happy Holidays!

Similar to our letter 3 years ago, this one is dedicated to our German shepherd dog Donjek. His death in May concluded a remarkable chapter in our lives. He and his mother, Kiva, spanned 16 years of our life, and they were an incredible pair of dogs. Donjek was the perfect dog for us. Whenever I think of him one word comes to mind – sweet. He was just so pleasant and amiable. When we first brought Lander home as a baby, Donjek ran from the room. He didn’t know what those little people were about. But later, when friends with small children (even babies) came, they could crawl all over him and he would just lie there – never even a growl when they pulled his hair. I remember him chasing rabbits when I jogged in the arboretum in Ames – he even caught a couple, but I just said “release,” and he let them go and off they ran, apparently no worse for the wear. He was big and barked just a couple of times – enough to keep the door-to-door types away, but there was never any aggression behind the bark. He was a great companion; he towed Mary and I and the kids when we went cross-country skiing, he backpacked with Mary and I (B.C., before children), and was the most handsome dog I have ever seen. Luckily, he went fast. He was playing Frisbee on a Thursday, and by the next Tuesday, he was on his dying bed and we put him to sleep. He was a very fine dog, and we miss him.

As in years past, the most notable thing about the beginning of 1999 was a trip to Arizona and Mexico. We had a great time seeing Brooke and Carina in Tucson, and seeing Jeff in Phoenix. We spent two weeks with Mom and Dad in La Cruz Mexico, which is just north of Puerto Vallarta. It is a small, sleepy fishing village. We rented a nice house on the ocean just outside of town. We had a private swimming pool and gorgeous views. My favorite time of the day was our evening meals. Mom packed two coolers all the way from Iowa, and this was supplemented with local fish, fruits, vegetables, and an occasional bottle of wine. We sat outside on the porch and ate and relaxed in quiet and privacy as we watched the sun sink over the horizon, with about 35 sailboats anchored off in the distance (La Cruz has a breakwater, and is a favorite anchoring place for sailboat “cruisers”). Once we did that, I had no desire to eat out. The kids could go off and putter while we just relaxed around the table. We also went sailing one day to the uninhabited Marietta’s Islands. We had a wonderful private beach with natural stone arches between various parts of the beach. Above the beach there were blue-footed boobies on nests, and we could walk right up to them. We tried snorkeling off the beach, which is usually good, but that day the water was a little cloudy. I had a very close encounter with a man-of-war. It landed on my back as I came out of the water – ouch. I thought I was being electrocuted, but it only lasted for a couple of hours. About half the time, we just enjoyed relaxing around the house – reading, sunbathing, and swimming in the pool. Other days we would venture out to various beaches to swim and boogie board. We are returning to La Cruz this year.

In March, Mariah turned 5 on the vernal equinox. She has begun violin lessons this year, and is trying very hard to keep up with her brother. She weighs about as much, and gives away only a couple of inches, so she is doing pretty well! When they wrestle, it’s a dead heat. Of course, her attitude is “take no prisoners,” whereas Lander is a gentler spirit, so that accounts for some of it. Tomorrow, she gives her first violin concert – a duet with Lander. Mariah continues to enjoy her ballet lessons too. This summer, we set up a trampoline, and she really loves that. Of course, it’s more fun when big old Dad is jumping too, just to make the bounces unpredictable. Mariah informed me that my beard is getting sprinkled with white. I reminded her that I am Dutch, and it is really blond. We talked it over and agreed that it was “light.”

Lander turned 8 in May. He continues his violin lessons and is really advancing recently. He is enjoying swimming lessons at the local athletic club too. Reading is still his passion. He is so easy to travel with! Just set him in an airplane with a book, and not a peep for hours. He loves the fantasy world of mice, badgers, weasels, stoats, and fights in the Brian Jacques’ books. He has read all of them at least 3 times (there are 9 or 10 books, each 300-400 pages). He has branched out to Hardy boy mysteries and some others. Because we are home-schooling, we are trying to get him to write more, but he is not so crazy about that.

We had a great summer again. We began on Memorial Day by taking the boat 110 miles up theYukon River with our friends Rob and Beth. I put a brand new, 4-stroke Honda 90 on the boat in April, and was really itching to give it a try. We caught lots of pike, and camped and explored. Lander did a little too much exploring, getting lost one evening but finding his way to the river where I was fishing with Rob and Beth. His mother was not too pleased (secretly, I admired his adventurous spirit, but I knew better than to say anything!) We returned downriver through howling winds and 3 foot waves (on a river!) – the pucker factor was pretty high. A couple of weeks later, we went down to Homer to visit Mom and Dad Schoder, and also Mary’s sister Ruthe and her husband Bill, and their family. I drug my boat down there and we took it out and had some excellent halibut fishing. One time, as soon as the bait hit the bottom, a fish was on - most were 20 to 30 lbs. - and it was a blast. Other days, we just motored over to a deserted beach to have a picnic. Next, I went out to the Prince William Sound to catch harbor seals. We had a great time catching seals, watching whales, sea otters, and sea lions in our time off. The highlight was one evening when I hiked from tidewater to the top of two mountains and back down – the views were stunning, and it was nice to hike hard for 5 hours after being on a boat for over a week. On other summer days and evenings, we took the boat out for picnics on the Tanana River. It is really an undiscovered treasure. For example, we had a nice visit from my Mom and niece Sierra. We all went down-river for about an hour to our favorite sandbar that we named “Donjek” beach, where there are several acres of private sand and silt, with big bunches of driftwood piled here and there. We took out the lawn chairs, built a fire, grilled up some caribou burgers, and watched the kids frolic in the warm summer sunshine. Colville (our new dog that is about 1 ½ years old) ran and chased us all. The kids even got wet in the glacial Tanana river, but not me!

In the fall, I went on three different hunting trips, each lasting only 2-3 days. Mostly, it is just an excuse to get out in the gorgeous fall colors. I flew my airplane way out to western Alaska twice with Rod (partner in the airplane), and we got a small moose and a caribou each. The other time, we landed in a remote mountain range called the Ray mountains, and got skunked. However, there is an undeveloped hot springs about 4 miles from the landing strip. Of course, we are very serious hunters, but, hey, if it just happened to be on our hike that day, if anyone flew over, we might have been seen soaking our bones.

Thanksgiving brought us to Anchorage again and a great Thanksgiving dinner with Anne and Mike. Mike, Tom and I waddled out of the house to catch a few basketball games at the Great Alaska Shoot-out too. It was cut short, as I HAD to go to a conference in Hawaii. Of course, Mary would not let me go alone, and the kids would not let us go, so we all went. We just got back on Wednesday. We had a great time snorkeling, swimming, and we stayed in a luxury hotel as part of the conference. I think Lander and Mariah might grow gills. It was fun watching them snorkel – it was the first really good snorkeling we’ve had, and Mariah did just great, going out for a half hour at a time. Lander started to dive to the bottom (10-12’) towards the end. Of course, when I got back everyone kept asking me about my vacation in Hawaii? I informed them that I was WORKING. I don’t understand why they rolled their eyes? (I DID give two talks, a software demonstration, and served as a panelist, just in case I send this to anyone at Fish and Game).

It’s been a very good year at work. I continue to enjoy my job at Fish and Game. I’ve also picked up some private consulting working on spatial statistical methods for a software company in California and a seed company in the midwest (good old Iowa boy in Alaska still works with corn hybrids!). Tomorrow I make my 4^th trip to CA this year. I also had conferences in Ohio and Baltimore, so I am now MVP GOLD with Alaska Airlines. Truth is, I’m pretty sick of the travel, but the work is very interesting and provides a little extra income.

In a little over a week, we are traveling back to Sioux Center for Christmas with my parents and siblings. We are all very excited about that. We have celebrated the holidays in Alaska since moving here in 1991, and it will be fun to have the whole family together this year. It’s been a very good year. I wish the very best for all of my friends and family in the new millennium. – Jay

Hello Friends:

Jay has filled you all in on all our family activities. My year can be summed up with travel, pneumonia and then painting, painting, painting, cutting saplings, woodworking, painting, sanding, painting, painting, photographing, framing, painting… get the picture? There was still time with the kids and the other “life” stuff besides all the studio work, but painting was the most prominent in my life since grad school. The Museum show opened November 7, and I was so well-supported by family and friends who traveled from afar to be there for me. It meant a lot. The work was well-received, and I did get a very good though tardy newspaper review. Good press is always welcome! The Museum bought one of the big paintings for the permanent collection, so look for it if you get to Anchorage. I am so fortunate to have had this opportunity, but I am glad it’s over now, and nothing is looming on the horizon besides trying to regain a steadier balance to life. May you be blessed as I am by great friends and family, beautiful surroundings, and time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. I hope our travels give us a chance to see you before too long. Happy New Year! Love, Mary