After kindly letting my father write last year’s Christmas letter and since Quinton wanted to start the letter with “What’s up, B$%&#@?!”, it is now my duty to give you your annual dose of Statucki sarcasm and holiday humor.

I’ll mix things up this year and start with talking about dad. This year was a pretty big year for him. According to him, he did nothing. He is currently the President of Nevada ACTE and still hasn’t given me a position on the board. Dad and I have become closer as I spend some of my evenings editing his homework; he has returned to school to get his administrative endorsement. Though he doesn’t like his online classes, I’m sure he will love being able to earn as much money as my mother. In his free time, he still goes cycling and does some geocaching, but he is too busy with schoolwork and his duties as the state president to do it as often as he would like.

Mom has had a busy year of school work and housework. Her job as the Assistant Principal at East Tech and her Executive Leadership course keeps her occupied, but she recently finished her course and received a nice plaque in return for a year of hard work. She has also developed a talent for lip syncing, as she performed Katy Perry’s Roar for hundreds of her students earlier this year. When she isn’t at work, she is at home remodeling the house and Pinteresting away. This year, she redid the flooring, got shutters for the windows, bought a new fridge, redid the backyard patio, and is planning for the next few years worth of remodeling, to my father’s chagrin.

Quinton had a great “F&%$ing” year. After quitting one of the most aggressive sports, lacrosse, Quinton decided he would show off his “sexy-ness” as a male cheerleader. Though he loves his cheer team and hanging out with all the girls, I’m sure my mom’s failed attempt at waxing his chest gave him his doubts. In just a few short months, he has managed to become a NCA All-American Cheerleader nominee and an even bigger danger to the household furniture as he flips around the living room. Quinton, who was also nominated to be the Homecoming King, is in the Interior Design program at Southwest CTA and is in the process of applying to Oklahoma State University, Great Basin College, and the University of Nevada (located in Reno) to study mining engineering. He’ll probably end up in Reno with me, but I don’t mind because our shared apartment will be paid for by our parents.

2014 was a great year for me even though my mom thinks I don’t call her enough. I moved up the ladder and am now the Assistant Director of Programming for the student government and plan events for students to attend. Although I love event planning, there is one thing I love more: China. This summer, I spent 11 weeks studying abroad in China. I improved my Chinese, ate a scorpion, climbed the Great Wall, rode a segway around the 2008 Olympic Stadium, saw the terracotta warriors, and studied at local teahouses. Most of my family and friends are now convinced that I’ll marry a Chinese man, which is probably true. I plan to return to China in the near future, whether it is for graduate school or after I finish law school. I’m undecided as to which path I want to pursue, but I’m confident that you can all come visit my condominium in China in five years. For now, I’ll just enjoy the blue Fremont cannon and my beautiful new 2014 Toyota Rav4.

Unfortunately, the number of family trips this year was very few because of everyone’s busy lives. Quinton went ice fishing for Valentine’s Day and camping for a week in August with one of his best friends, who happens to be a teacher at my mom’s school; we still have the stinky fish in the freezer to prove it. For spring break, he also went on his first college road trip to Elko to tour Great Basin College. Over the summer, Quinton drove a car full of girls to San Diego for their cheer camp. While Quinton was ice fishing, my parents ditched my brother and I to go on their “first-ever, non-work related, children-free” romantic trip to Santa Barbara and the Channel Islands. They also ventured to Lake Tahoe later in the year for their annual NACTE summer conference; that trip was not child free, as Quinton decided to tag along. I missed out on all of summer fun because I was abroad, but now that I’m back I make frequent trips down to Vegas to see my family.

We would all like to wish you a happy holiday and a wonderful new year. In the words of my annoying younger brother, “Catch you on the flipside.”

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