Northrop Spring Break News from 2025

Dear Family and Friends, 

Life was different this fall and winter and I just never made time to write our yearly update. Now it’s spring break, and I decided it’s now or never! Some of you were probably hoping this habit of updates had run its course. Too bad for you, I’ll keep chronicling our sometimes mundane, ordinary lives. 

Gabe

Gabe is doing well at the University of Minnesota. He had an internship this summer in software engineering for a company in Eagan. Gabe’s coursework continues to be challenging, but his siblings call him an academic weapon for a reason. His bowling instructor thinks he has real talent!  He still loves his gaming and reading and collecting books. He and his girlfriend, Katrina, have had lots of adventures in the Twin Cities and appreciate all the free events the city has and enjoy going to the Gopher football and hockey games. Katrina graduated in December (yay!) and got a job as an early morning news anchor in Traverse City, Michigan. So, it looks like we will have a new travel destination as Gabe is currently looking for jobs there for when he graduates in May. He and his car Suub (Soob) have made a couple adventurous drives up there already. 

Ben

Ben finished his first year at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He competed in the shot put and weight throw during the indoor season and did well enough to qualify for the conference meet. Then, he injured his back at the beginning of the outdoor season and only got to compete in one outdoor meet.This summer he worked full time at Sargent’s on a landscaping crew. He was definitely tired at the end of every shift, and we are hoping to use his knowledge to help us spruce up our outdoor areas this summer.  He trained hard throughout the summer and fall, but has decided to focus his energies on things other than track and field throughout this school year. Perhaps he will give it  another go next season, but for now is focused on his classes. His girlfriend, Brooklyn, qualified for Nationals in the pentathlon and represented UWEC well in Birmingham, Alabama. She will be starting to apply to PT schools since she will graduate in spring of 2027. Ben has begun some of his education courses and clinical experiences in Physical Education. His comment after his first day with grades K-2 was, “Well, I got a lot of hugs.” :) He also is working part time at McDonald’s in Eau Claire and appreciates the half price food.

Lyndee

It seems crazy now to write about her senior year because it seems like all that happened a lifetime ago. She worked hard throughout the basketball season and had a successful track and field season. She qualified for Section in four events: shot put, discus, 100 m dash, and 4x100. She medaled in all the events at Section and was so excited to not only qualify for State in discus (while her brothers worked the event), but also to qualify again in the 4x100 and set a new school record in the relay. Though medals were out of reach in her events at State, every high and low embodies lessons to carry us through. She worked as a server over the summer and decided on Luther for basketball and nursing. She has a great roommate and a solid group of friends. She learned a lot throughout the basketball season and earned some time on the court as a varsity player. Our favorite game was the JV game where she had five massive blocks! Matt and I enjoyed having regular times to see her as we traveled to almost all of her games throughout the winter. Now, we are excited she is home with us on spring break and so proud of the work she’s put in both studying and playing basketball. 

Matt and Amy

Were we ready to be empty nesters? Of course not, how do you prepare for something you don’t know? This fall, we were both busy coaching CC and Football, so that helped us to adjust to a quieter household. It’s a weird mental shift to realize you actually can meet up with friends or go out to dinner with just your spouse. It’s been fun, too, as we found things to do and places to go that reminded us what life was like before we had kids. We spent time in Decorah, Eau Claire, and Minneapolis visiting the kids. Winter was very different without local games to attend, but we did love our Wednesday and Saturday road trips to watch the Norse Women play. Now we are back to coaching track and field. It’s Matt’s 30th year with the boys and my 9th with the girls. We are looking forward to another good season, though we are permanently bumped up to Class AA for True Team and MSHSL. Last spring, we both had successful seasons with the boys winning Sub-Section, Section, and third at True Team (AA) State. My team won Sub-Section, was runner up at Section, and 7th at True Team (AA) State. At the conclusion of the State meet, I totally lost it as I realized that the era of coaching our own kids was over. We are grateful that we had our kids along for the ride throughout so many years on the course, the field, the gym, and the track. 

We had a tough fall as our family suffered multiple losses. We lost my step-brother Patrick in September and had his memorial service before Thanksgiving. Both of Matt’s grandmas passed as well. We celebrated Lois in October and Dolores in November. We are so grateful for their lives and to have had them as part of our lives for so very long. But even when lives are long, it still never feels like enough time together. We know that many of you are dealing with loss and grief as well and we wish you peace and happy memories. 

Travel

Our major travel was an amazing trip to Italy with Seth and his family. We spent time in Rome, in Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast, and ended in Naples. Rome was my favorite place as a history nerd. Matt played songs from “Gladiator” as we walked up the steps at the Colosseum

. The kids and Matt loved boat cruises and swimming in the Mediterranean. I loved the coffee once I figured out what to order. We sampled loads of pizza, pasta, and aperol spritzes. Though not Italy, we also made trips out and back to Granite Falls to see my dad and Karla and celebrated my Dad’s 90th birthday last June. We love having Mom and David close by so Mom and I can get in our TJ Maxx and Marshall’s shopping trips and the lovely brunches we get served a la David. We also got in a trip in January to Omaha, where we met up with Courtney and fam and watched Lyndee’s team play at Nebraska Wesleyan.

Pets

Here’s the 2025/26 rundown–Dash -We made the difficult decision to let Dash go in October. He was in a lot of pain and having trouble walking. He was the best dog and we miss him immensely.  Cat #5, Sunny and Cat #6, Luna aka Chubs and Tubs lived in the basement throughout the winter, but also still like the laundry room and the garage most days.   Goldie - 3.5 years old - still wicked smart and not as  naughty as last year.  She and I hope to get back to regular runs now that the snow is almost gone. She must have short term memory issues as she always thinks it is time to and brings us her bowl to emphasize the point. Fergus (Gus)! - turned 2, has sneeze battles with Goldie, misses his girl (Lyndee) now that she’s at college, and his favorite places to be still are on the couch looking out the window and on top of whichever human happens to be sitting on the couch. He would love to have morning coffee with me, but for now settles on licking the air above my cup as a consolation prize.  Both Goldie and Gus have established their sleeping areas on our bed - good thing it’s a king size or one of us would be relegated to the couch. 

We hope you forgive me for the fact that life changes took over and this update is so delayed. 

It’s not that I didn’t have time, I guess I just didn’t want to do it until now. :) 

Love, Matt & Amy, Gabe, Ben, Lyndee, Goldie, Gus, Sunny, and Luna