Dear Lerhol Family and Friends,
Guess who had a first place finish in the JV Nordic ski meet yesterday vs. Edina, Wayzata, Hopkins and Eden Prairie? Yep, you guessed it SONDRE LERHOL. Even in some pretty challenging snow conditions. The snow was “slow” so I think this is when his size, great physical conditioning and strength really played in his favor. Congratulations Sondre…your American family is very proud of you and I know your parents and siblings in Norway are too. I am typing this at 6:30 am on Saturday morning and Sondre has already left the house for Nordic ski practice. So much for teenagers sleeping in! Not only is it early, it is REALLY cold out there too.
The Norwegian Machine
Today we (Scott, Sondre and me) are heading to Duluth, Minnesota for the weekend. Duluth is a beautiful city in Northern Minnesota on the shores of Lake Superior. My sister Katie and her husband Scott (picture below) are joining us too. This is where my Mom grew up the youngest of 6 children.
While we are there, we will be celebrating my Aunt Aileen’s (Leenzie) 90th birthday. Tonight we are having dinner at the Northland Country club with several relatives for a small celebration and tomorrow there is a birthday party at her apartment complex. Should be fun!
Historic Northland Country Club is one of the top 5 golf clubs in Minnesota. It is perchred on bluffs over-looking Lake Superior and is just spectacular. Minnesota is in the top 5 states of golf courses pre-capita…even ahead of South Carolina. Which is amazing considering our climate.
The Aerial Lift Bridge is a major landmark in the port city of Duluth, Minnesota. The span is a vertical lift bridge, which is rather uncommon, but it began life as an extremely rare transporter bridge—the first of just two such bridges ever constructed in the United States.[2] Originally built in 1905, the bridge was upgraded in 1929–30 to the current lifting design and continues to operate today. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 1973.
The Aerial Lift Bridge is a major landmark in the port city of Duluth, Minnesota. The span is a vertical lift bridge, which is rather uncommon, but it began life as an extremely rare transporter bridge—the first of just two such bridges ever constructed in the United States.[2] Originally built in 1905, the bridge was upgraded in 1929–30 to the current lifting design and continues to operate today. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 1973.
Sondre just finished his finals for his first full semester at Minnetonka High School. We are waiting for his final grades, but we are very confident he did well and likely is on the B honor roll. We will keep you all posted on the final grades. As I have said before, I cannot imagine going to school where English is not your first language and do this well.
Next weekend Scott and I are each going on little “mini” vacations with our friends. Scott is going to Vail skiing with all of his “guy” friends (Doug MIller, Jim Lieb, Jim Stewart and Tom Paulson) and I am going to Arizona with all of my girlfriends (Martha Miller, Noonie Lieb, Ginny Paulson and Robin Stewart). Martha and Doug Miller, have homes in both cities and are generously hosting all of us in the two cities.
Martha has been my best friend since grade school…and I have more fun with her and these girls than anyone else. We will do a lot of golfing, hiking and probably have a bottle of wine or two while we are together. There may be a Spa event in our future too.
Martha and me
Sondre is going to stay with my sister Amy (picture below) and her family for the week-end while we are gone. He has Nordic skiing, so it works our perfectly since they live in our neighborhood. We are really lucky because he has made some very good friends on the team and they pick him up and drop him off for all of the Nordic ski events. They are very good skiers and I bet they would LOVE to ski in Norway someday.
The following weekend Billy, Pam and Jackson will be in town from Virginia. This will be the first time we will see Billy in almost a year. The Navy has very strict communication protocol, so Billy is not able to say exactly when the ship will pull into port in Virginia, but we think it will be sometime next week. It is also the first time in many years that we will have all three of our kids in town at the same time. Sondre has only met Billy once…many years ago in Norway when he was just a little boy. We are looking forward to them getting to know each other. More too come….
Since I almost always find a way to put in a picture of my two favorite 3 year olds, I could not resist putting this one in. It is a classic…
Take Care and lots of love,
Alix and Scott
Jackson and Amelia playing dress-up. She looks like a Disney Princess and he looks like Elton John at a concert in London. HILARIOUS….this picture will come back to haunt him in his wedding video someday.
Congratulations, Sondre! We hope that we will get the chance to host his friends on Nordic Ski here in Norway sometime. Skitracks are close to our home...
ReplyDeleteSend regards to Billy when he finally arrives US - he and Sondre met when Sondre was less than 10 years. We imagine you all look forward to see him again! Who could imagine that Sondre would be a part of his family many years later?