Dear Future Genesee,

You belong to the class of 2035, and you (like me) are part of Generation Alpha – the largest generation in the history of the world. I know you will forge your own path, but currently, predictions say that people in our generation are 1) focused on family and friends, 2) advocate for the planet, 3) care about inclusivity, and 4) spend more time online. And look at that… as a 5 year old, you’ve already nailed 3 out of the 4… you just need to work on that environmental activism a bit.

I’m not sure how the world will look different in 12 years, but technology sure is a game changer. From air fryers, Apple watches, and self-driving cars (like Tesla), to virtual reality headsets, social media (Tik Tok is the thing today), and artificial intelligence (like the new Chat GPT), you are heading for a world that is hard to even imagine. And I, for one, cannot wait to see how you help to influence and shape that world!

As I write this, you are a fierce kindergarten graduate, who loves animals deeply, and I sure hope you finally got that dog you’ve been waiting for!? (Did we name it Artimus?) I mean, Bluey was a good starter pet, but it’s time to move on from a fish. You are also starting to dabble in sports and I think you probably turned out to be quite the athlete, am I right? But you LOVE the arts too, so I hope you hung on to both of those talents.

Currently, your favorite Mel-Min friend is Barron and I hope that friendship stood the test of time. Beyond Melrose, you also love to hang out with Chloe and Analia, so with any luck, school boundaries didn’t change that. Either way, you make friends to effortlessly and so I imagine your list has grown exponentially. And even though we bicker sometimes, I hope you looked up from that iPad once in a while to see a brother who adores you and will always root you on. In fact, I probably earned a spot on the top of your best friend list by now.

Anyway, congratulations on successfully completing kindergarten! Here’s to hoping you had much less homework in the years that followed.

Love your favorite brother,
Jaeger

This year’s tournament in Sioux Falls was a bit of a bust, but since we made a camping trip of it (because that’s how we roll), not all was lost for us.

It was a different story for those who attended the soccer games without the comfort of their kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom in the backseat of their vehicle.

Our first game was delayed due to lightning, which threw my team off a little and caused us to lose that match 0-2. But we redeemed ourselves that afternoon, when we beat the Interstate U12 Boys 9-0 on a new (soggy) turf field, which put us back on track to potentially play in the championship game. I even scored a sweet goal and may or may not have accidentally fell over when performing my celebration dance.

But then, with more wind and rain in the forecast, the tournament was abruptly called off on Sunday morning, which was a real bummer for my teammates that made the 4.5 hour trip just for those games.

We, on the other hand, didn’t mind getting home early and we also weren’t mad about that Scheels shopping spree we snuck in.

Canceled tournaments have their perks, I guess! But I sure would have preferred a trophy.

On April 16, I leveled up to nine years old.

I’m still your favorite rule-following, worrywart dude, but with improved cursive writing skills (thanks, Grandma!) and a love for solving math problems. However, I’ve also transformed into an up-and-coming microwave chef and an avid Xbox player.

At 9, I can impress you with my electric scooter riding skills and my Prime Hydration consumption abilities. But most days, you’ll find me dribbling a soccer or basketball, throwing the football around, snuggling with blankets, or drinking kiddie cocktails.

A couple of this year’s favorite gifts were my Air Jordan shoes and my Google Chromebook! But the gift I wished really hard for, didn’t come until 24 hours later…

…A SNOW DAY!!!

On April 17, we got to stay home from school because we saw an unprecedented 24+ inches of snow! It was a winter wonderland in April, and although magical, the heavy snowfall knocked over lots of trees and caused power outages across the region. It was a beautiful mess. Luckily, our house was spared from any major damage, so I was free to go about my wish-come-true snow day with pure joy.

On Easter Sunday, after discovering our Easter baskets hidden across the main floor, we then continued my birthday celebration at the Nicolai house. I won’t officially turn 9 until April 16, but since that weekend will be filled with soccer matches in Madison, we decided to gather a week early.

I am always so grateful to have a family that slows down to mark every milestone with the traditional lighting of the candles.

My 9th birthday party was full of action… that is, Action City Family Fun Center and Trampoline Park!

My parents drove me and a few friends up to Eau Claire for a night of laser tag, bumper cars, go karts, arcade games, mini bowling, and trampoline fun and it was just what my soul needed. There, I was welcomed into my ninth year of life with pizza, sports cupcakes, nerf guns, and Dairy Queen Dilly bars.

I may not have beat the claw machine, but I definitely won at having some of the best buds a boy could ask for, and a super duper birthday celebration to show for it!

This is the face of a tough guy who fractured his pinky playing basketball. So tough, in fact, that I waited three days post-incident to visit the doctor. Now I have to wear this finger splint for 6-8 weeks to help it heal. I’m super bummed that this will greatly inhibit my ability to unload the dishwasher.

Mom and Dad didn’t want to attend any more meetings with my principal, so Genesee and I got left behind on our annual family trip to Mexico. It was their first childless, overnight trip together since they welcomed me into the world 9 years ago, and even though they sent us happy pictures to keep in touch, I know there was true heartbreak on the other side of those smiles.

I, on the other hand, didn’t miss them one bit. I only sobbed during every FaceTime call to make them think I couldn’t live without them.

But really, Genesee and I were so busy being spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa that there was no time to think about how much I didn’t miss them. Still, I felt obligated to send multiple texts every hour to ensure them that I wasn’t depressed at all and was, in fact, overjoyed to experience new adventures instead, like separation anxiety.

Despite my feelings of abandonment, I was deeply concerned that my parents weren’t going to have any fun without us…. no extra butts to wipe, no waiting to eat until they cut our food, no breaking up our sibling bickerings… I mean, they probably didn’t even leave their room.

Of course, I truly wanted them to enjoy their first and last trip without us, so I took it upon myself to distract my parents from their boredom by getting homesick in the toilet and telling them every unnecessary detail. This was also the moment that I allowed Grandma to co-sleep with me, just to further exaggerate the pretend struggle it was to not be in my parents’ custody. I even asked mom and dad if they could catch an earlier flight home, to make them believe I was desperate to see them again.

Luckily, it was a short 5 day and 400 nights trip, and suddenly my parents were back in the Minneapolis airport, exactly when my precise “when-will-you-be-home” tracking device indicated.

It was no big deal to be reunited, but I did hug my parents extra tight and begged them to never leave us in such capable hands again, for their sake, of course. Because no child enjoys seeing their parents experience such a miserable and peaceful adults-only tropical vacation. Surely, they will think twice before traumatizing uninviting us next time. Or perhaps the babysitters might reconsider watching us in the future, given my performance.

Seriously though, thanks Grandma and Grandpa for keeping us safe, entertained, well fed, and well loved while our parents left the country.

It’s a winter-ful life, but we can no longer freeze the day because it is time for spring!

Ever since I made friends with that magician on the cruise ship, I’ve been really intrigued by magic. So, when mom saw a magic show coming to town, we booked our tickets and headed to The Pump House!

When the magician asked for a volunteer at the top of his show, Genesee and I waved our arms erratically enough to bring attention to our row, which put mom in a vulnerable position to get voluntold to go up on stage, where the magician performed a lie detector trick on mom. Unfortunately, we forgot to document this main event, but we all learned the truth of the matter: Mom is a good liar.

The extra magic part was that our whole entire family found ourselves up on stage at some point during the show and it was a blast! Because who doesn’t want to be the chosen one? (Answer: Mom. Mom doesn’t like to be the chosen one, but her stage fright appearance made for a good chuckle.)

Look who started dance lessons this month?! Genesee expressed interest in learning, so mom enrolled her in a 4-week introductory class at the Lunda Community Center.

Guess what part of dance lessons she likes best?

… the part where dance class ends and she gets to swim at Lunda’s water park.