Happy Holidays!
Can’t believe it is that time of year again. Time for the
annual Pederslie Christmas letter! I was talking to a coworker today as he
mentioned he had to write their Christmas letter. I had said that I came across
a previous one of ours and Shelby was only in first grade so…that means I have
been writing these for (takes out a calculator..) 16 years! Now surely it would
be cool if I had kept them all somewhere. You would think with me being a
scrapbooker I would have but.. can’t say that I did! Too many computers
throughout the years, no idea where I saved any of them…
Anywho.. I know they usually talk about a car or two Chad has bought, crafty
things I am doing, how Shelby just keeps getting older (but I stay the same
age!). This letter will not disappoint! There will be much of the same in this
one!
As per usual, I’ll start at the beginning of the year.
Unfortunately, this year started off on a sad note. My mom, Suzi, passed away
on January 6th. It was sad but also a blessing in some way. She had
been suffering from Alzheimer’s for the past two years. Though she always
seemed to be happy, it wasn’t fun to see her forget who people were or things
that had happened. I know she is glad to have her memory back and be hanging
out in heaven with friends and family that have passed before her.
January also saw us taking a camping trip up in Birch Bay. It was COLD! But it
was fun to bum around Bellingham. We also traded in my Sooby (2013 Legacy) for
Sooby Deux (2025 Crosstrek). See what we did there?? 😊
Subaru’s are so great. I loved my Legacy but it was getting to the point where
it would probably need more maintenance, and I wanted something that was a
little higher off the ground. I mean my car did great in the snow..if you could
get through the 2 ft drifts.
In February, Chad’s Grandma Joy passed away. Or as we always
referred to her – Grandma Montana (because he had grandparents in Snohomish 😊).
She was 94. We went to Montana in May for her memorial service.
Chad worked on his dad’s corvette a lot this year. It is a
1959 Corvette that his dad has had 54 years. It was up and running in time for
his dad’s 75th birthday. The older Corvettes have always been a
favorite of mine. It is so cool to have this car restored and drivable.
The end of April we headed to Oahu. This was our first time on that island. We
have been to the others at least once
(sometimes twice!). We enjoyed the island, but it was a bit too touristy for
us. Too peoply! We had a condo right downtown. Not on the beach but within
walking distance. Besides the fact that the garbage trucks came through at like
3 am EVERY morning, and the sliding door falling on me, we had a fun time. We
visited Pearl Harbor and went kayaking and just enjoyed the warm weather.
May is a bit of a blur. We got back from Hawaii, went to Montana over Memorial
Day weekend for Chad’s grandma’s memorial. Then at the beginning of June his
dad turned 75. Chad took his dad for a cruise around the block in the corvette.
I don’t know who was more excited, son or father. It’s been many years working
on restoring this vehicle. It was a big milestone.
The end of June was both a happy and sad time. We took a 2-week
camping trip through Montana, through Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Craters of the
Moon national monument and then to Pendleton OR where we met up with some friends
and then came home. We survived 2 weeks together in a tin can and are still
married/alive to talk about it! Chad turned 50 in the middle of our trip! We
were in Bozeman and he went on a fly-fishing tour.
Chad says I have to mention that we went to the National Museum of Military Vehicles
in Dubois WY. He says if you are visiting the Grand Tetons, you must check this
out. It’s worth the drive….
A few days after his birthday we found out that our good friend Kurt had lost
his battle with colon cancer. This hit a little hard because if it was not for
Kurt and his wife Chad & I may have never met. They set us up on a blind
date and the rest, they say, is history!
We are empty nesters again! Shelby moved out into an
apartment with two of her friends and took her puppy! She is in Bothell/Mill
Creek and seems to enjoy being on her own. She does visit regularly and allows
us to get our puppy fix.
Let’s see… Chad bought a dune buggy in August, and we went to Ocean Shores in
September for a long weekend. Whenever we are in that area we try to head to
Westport to visit my Uncle Rog. We also enjoyed driving through Aberdeen where
my mom and her family lived for a bit when she was around 17/18. It was kind of
surreal to drive by homes/buildings where they had lived or worked.
In October we went back to Ireland! We had gone back in 2018
and have wanted to go back. Chad had to go there for work, so we tacked on a
few days and I went along. I love Ireland and can’t wait to go back!
November saw us in Seaside for Shelby’s birthday. She turned
23! I am not old enough to have a daughter that is 23! I mean, I am only 29… it’s
a miracle! Chad also bought himself a 1967 VW Beetle. This was the same year/model
as his first car, and he had always wanted another one. Meanwhile, Shelby
thinks her dad is going through a mid-life crisis… 😊
And… that brings us to the end of 2025 (and to page 3 of
this letter!) Oh lordy… I hope you are still here and haven’t dozed off! I may
need to go back and reduce the size of my font, but then you would all need to
put on your readers to read it!
We are blessed to have the friends and family that we do. We wish you all Happy Holidays and a Happy 2026!
Chad, Steph, Shelby, Winston (dog), and Nova (cat)