Wow. 2021 Rach could have never imagined all that 2022 would bring, in so many ways. Welcome to my second annual reflection where I write about our life because I’m a words person, never good at prioritizing family photos or Christmas cards.
Friends and family liked to make jokes about our constant jetsetting, but we had the time of our lives this year. And we have no regrets! If there’s one thing 2020 taught us, it’s that we don’t want to miss an opportunity for adventure, joy or togetherness. When an opportunity presented itself to do something new, we rarely said no. From visiting friends in LA to camping across the midwest to road tripping to Chicago and so many more adventures that I’ll dive into below, we feel so lucky 2022 got to be our year of travel and FUN.
We kicked off the year with one of my favorite trips of all time, where we went with both our families to Florida (did we mention how fun it is to have parents that love hanging out together?) AND got to witness my brother and Erin get ENGAGED on the beach at sunset. Can’t wait to welcome her into the family and celebrate them in 2023! Nic and I also spent the second half of that trip in Costa Rica, where we took a surfing lesson, hiked through the rainforest, relaxed and explored the jungle and beaches. One of the most beautiful countries we’ve been to, but a little too hot for Nic’s liking.
Nic’s highlight of his year was his newfound love for biking. He committed to doing a 150-mile bike ride in Northern Minnesota across 2 days (and trusted Rachel with the planning of it all – don’t ask about who forgot the tent). It fueled his excitement for continuing this hobby on a larger scale in the future (aka RAGBRAI 2023?). Of course, he hasn’t given up playing hockey twice a week or perfecting his pizza recipe. His big house project this year was building a shed which, turns out, is SUPER nice when you only have a one-car garage.
For me, I had two big goals this year: first, get my front teeth redone (laugh all you want, but it was TIME!) and second, go on a women’s trip through REI. I had always wanted to do a solo or group trip outside of my comfort zone, and a womens-only kayaking trip in the San Juan Islands was the perfect one for me – plus, I got to celebrate my 29th birthday with the coolest group of new friends. This year also presented the opportunity to coach – I took a JV dance team coaching job at Armstrong, which has been a blast this winter getting to dive back into the dance world.
2022 wasn’t all fun, however… we worked our butts off this year. We’re still at our same jobs – Jack Links and Colle McVoy – and loving our teams and the problems we get to solve every day. It might sound lame and corporate-y, but we truly love what we do even though it’s a lot. Nic’s year started with a highlight at work where he won Jack Link’s Commercial Excellence award, and my year ended filming tractors and watching the Rockettes Holiday Spectacular show at Radio City Music Hall in New York (dream come true!!!). I’m really proud of both of us for all our growth this year and amazed by the incredible opportunities that came our way.
This fall we took a family trip of a lifetime to Norway to explore the homeland with the Enersons. We started in Copenhagen before jumping on a ship to Oslo, which brought hours of walking around the city, exploring some of the world’s coolest museums, and seeing the Norwegian ballet. Nic’s highlight was seeing the town his family is from and discovering some of the places his Grandpa visited when he came in the 70s. I loved every minute of our biking, kayaking and boat tour of the fjords. We ended with a few days in the beautiful fishing town of Bergen before heading back home. So thankful we finally got to go on this trip, all six of us!
Perhaps most exciting of all was our decision this fall to start trying to expand our family. And just a few days before our trip to Norway, we found out that was going to happen. A few panicked moments of “What do we do next?” and a doctor’s appointment later, we found out we were due in May 2023. The last few weeks have brought every emotion in the book but most of all, we are STOKED for this new adventure.
We definitely feel like we have no idea what we’re doing. But does anyone? All we’ve ever heard is that nothing can prepare you for the journey of parenthood. All you have to do is the best you know how and love the crap out of your kid. That’s our plan. Keep Nordy in your prayers as she adjusts to not being the spoiled only child.
Safe to say 2023 is going to be the most interesting, intense and incredible year yet for us. 2022 is going to be hard to beat, but I can’t wait to see what’s next.
From our (growing) family to yours, we hope you have a RESTFUL, happy holiday season surrounded by those you love. Thanks for being part of our lives, from a distance or by our side. Thankful for you. Always!
Love,
Nic, Rach, Nordy & Baby E
Rachel Enerson 