2025 Solstice Letter

For anyone who didn’t get a solstice letter from the EFffffing Family in the mail.
(And if in future years you would like to get a copy snail mail style, shoot us message with your address and we will happily add you to the list!)

My Favorite Things
EFffffing Family Edition
By Kelsey Ernst

Biking down trails watching tricks at Bike Fest
Pool parties with friends, making birthdays the best
Laughing together with joy that love brings—
These are a few of my favorite things.

Hammers and tile dust from bathroom remodeling,
Choosing paint colors while the chaos is squabbling
Dreaming of showers that feel fit for kings
These are a few of my favorite things.

Costumes and spotlights and scenes oh-so-dizzy
On stage as the Wizard—life getting busy!
Rehearsing the lines as Kev swings the hammer—
These are a few of my favorite things.

Coffee with friends after long, busy workdays,
Family game time that brightens the long days,
A river that sparkles like silver and rings—
These are a few of my favorite things.

Road trips that wander through towns unexpected,
Snacks in the cupholder, playlists perfected,
Gawking at pitchforks and jumping in hot springs
These are a few of my favorite things.

Papers and pencils as school is restarting
Band and climb practice a nightly departing
Swapping the clothes every time our new washer ‘dings’
These are a few of my favorite things

But then…
Broken arms aching,
Flat tires breaking,
Teenagers who groan…

When I’m feeling stressed and a clean house feels tough,
I think of my favorite things—
And then I don’t feel so rough!

Annual Letter
Joyous Solstice!

If you’re reading this and thinking, “hey, I didn’t get one of these last year,” that’s not because we don’t like you—it’s because we didn’t send one. To say that December and January of last year were rough would be an understatement. We had our one and only bathroom remodeled, which meant that for a month we were using a port-a-john in the driveway (in upstate New York! in December!) and showering at the Y. Then, in January, our heat gave out and we alternated between staying with friends and staying at hotels until it was repaired enough for us to move back in. In the chaos of all of that, we weren’t able to get our act together enough to send out a holiday card. Consider this one a “double issue.”
Our big trip this year was to Bentonville, Arkansas, which is an amazing area for mountain biking and cycling of all kinds. We left our house at the end of April and didn’t return until early June. On our way down, we went to the first NICA NY mountain bike race of the season, where Rayleigh had her first podium finish in a NICA race (5th place!). Dillon had a great race also, but missed the cutoff for podiums. We continued west and spent a day at Ray’s Indoor Mountain Bike Park in Cleveland, Ohio. You should Google it. It’s incredible. It was our second time there, and we’re already planning another trip this winter. After Ray’s, we spent a couple of days at a Great Wolf Lodge for Grayson’s birthday, then continued on our way.
We rented a house for the month of May. Kelsey and the kids did homeschool in the mornings, and most days I woke up at 5am and worked until 1pm, then we all ate some lunch and hit the trails. We did everything from skills parks to jumps and drops and long rides. We all did the Back 40 Loop, which is 22 miles of singletrack, and it was the longest mountain bike ride that any of us had ever done. Kelsey’s forethought of stashing PB&Js and water refills ⅔ of the way through was clutch, as it gave us the boost we needed to finish the ride. The kids all learned how to do some monster jumps, and both Dillon and Rayleigh successfully rode “Drop the Hammer,” which is a 12 foot drop (you literally fall 12 feet through the air on your bike before landing). Kelsey and I didn’t attempt anything quite so impressive, but we leveled up our mountain biking skills nevertheless. Finally, we capped off the trip with Bentonville’s Bike Fest.
In July we all participated in the local youth theater’s production of The Wizard of Oz. Rayleigh did backstage, Dillon played the Wizard, Ainsley and Grayson were in the ensemble (Munchkins, Ozians, etc), Kelsey was the stage manager, and I helped build sets, including the Yellow Brick Road and Dorothy’s house. It was a lot of work and late nights, but well worth it.
In the fall, Dillon, Ainsley, and Grayson got into rock climbing at the local rock gym. They have also competed in a few competitions (“comps”), both for bouldering and top rope. We’re usually at the rock gym 4-5 nights a week now, and Kelsey, Rayleigh, and I help belay them.
We all participated in the theater program’s winter production, which is open to all ages. We performed “A Coney Island Christmas,” which I’ll forgive you if you’ve never heard of—we hadn’t either! Rayleigh, Dillon, and I all had lead roles (Rayleigh and Dillon played teachers in the school, and I played the main character’s father, a middle-aged Jewish man in Brooklyn in 1935), and Ainsley and Grayson had ensemble roles (schoolchildren) while Kelsey reprised her role as stage manager. It was Rayleigh and my first time on stage, and we all had a blast!
We hope that you are all happy & healthy this holiday season. 2024 & 2025 have been a wild ride, but you know us—we wouldn’t have it any other way.
—Kevin, Kelsey, Rayleigh, Dillon, Ainsley, & Grayson