Holiday Letter 2016

Happy Holidays!

The original plan for this year’s letter was to have each family member write his/her own section since we are scattered about the country. As the most studious family member, I (Tazia) was the only person to complete my section for the annual holiday letter. Since all the other family members failed to complete their tasks, I had to pick up their slack. My dad is trying to claim the credit, saying that he “delegated” the task to me.

Quinton still has not decided what he wants to do for a career. He is currently in his second year at the University of Nevada, Reno majoring in Wildlife Management and Ecology, though his plans for the future change on a weekly basis. Right now, he is considering transferring to another school to pursue a technical degree or possibly joining the military. I’m sure he will have more time to think about the future now that he is no longer involved in cheer; he got tired of the girl drama and has decided he wants to find a stable job. One thing hasn’t changed, though… Quinton still loves spending time outdoors. Every minute of his free time is spent hiking, fishing, and writing rap lyrics for his “upcoming album.” If he wants to get married, he will have to find a woman who enjoys the company of a rappin’ fisherman.

Mom has officially been a high school principal at Northwest CTA for over a year now. Although she hates the long commute to work each day, she loves the staff and students at the school. When she isn’t busy working, she spends her free time crafting, sometimes soliciting my father’s assistance. In addition to hosting several Pinterest parties for her friends, she has also attended several wine and painting classes. Her 25th Wedding Anniversary party is coming up in August, so I’m sure she will be spending the next few months planning the celebration. Her fingers are crossed that they will make it that long, as she keeps redecorating, remodeling, and rearranging the house to my father’s annoyance.

Dad still works at Southwest CTA as the Community Partnership Coordinator and recently finished his endorsement in Educational Administration and the Teacher Leadership Academy; he will be completing the leadership program for the school district in February. The experiences will help him in his continued role as the Executive Director for Nevada ACTE. His jobs keeps him busy networking, traveling, and active on social media. He was recently on the list of Top 100 Educators to follow in Nevada; you can join his 1,589+ followers by following @cstatucki. Dad’s hobby of geocaching has hit a new high. He has found almost 3,000 caches and has found at least one cache on every day of the year, most of which were found with our dog Silver by his side.

This has been a big year for me because I embarked on the most expensive journey of my life. Before I graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in May with a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs and Communication Studies, I wrote an original thesis, finished out my term in student government, and received the Sorority Woman of the Year award. After applying to graduate schools around the world, I moved to Washington, DC, to attend law school at George Washington University. While my mom is happy that I chose not to move to China, my dad is even more excited that he now has a reason to come to DC more often. My parents came to visit me in October and I enjoyed showing them around the area as a local. When I’m not FaceTiming my parents to see my cat or studying hard so that I can become a lawyer, I spend my time thinking about how much debt I am accumulating in student loans each day.
We managed to get in a few family trips this year, despite all of our busy schedules. When I graduated in May, many family members came to Reno to celebrate with me. After the ceremony, we headed to Lake Tahoe for a nice evening with Grandma and Grandpa Statucki. Later in the summer, we visited the rest of the Statucki clan in Colorado and stopped at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison on the way. Although it was the only national park we visited this year, it was nice to put another stamp in our national park passports. We also managed to meet up with mom’s cousin Barbie and her family for the Fourth of July. Because my brother and I live almost 3,000 miles apart, my parents took separate trips to see us during the school year. After visiting me in October, they headed to Reno with Grandma Lavonne to see Quinton, Tasha, and her family for Thanksgiving. It was a short trip though, as they had to return to Las Vegas to tailgate with Mom’s staff at the UNLV football game. Fortunately, the Fremont Cannon is back to blue.

Although Grandpa Blake passed away at the start of the year, I know that he would be very happy and proud of everything our family has done this year. On behalf of my family, we would like to thank you for your support during that difficult time. Your love and support is greatly appreciated. We hope you have a happy holidays and a wonderful new year.

Tazia, Tina, Craig, Quinton, and the pets.