Santa's not-so-little Elves
Happy Holidays from the Asmundson Family! The year has seen much excitement, much travel, and many dear and friendly faces. We hope that you and your family are doing well and continue to do so in the New Year 2005.
Ruth began her tenure as mayor of Davis on March 30th and the whirlwind has yet to slow down. Ruth helped pass local measures S and P and through her work with the League of Cities, California Proposition 1A . She hosted several international delegations from a variety of nations including Japan, Montenegro, Korea, and China. Ruth also appeared on TV and in print in Asia after granting interviews to China CCTV and Shanghai News. In September her family and friends surprised her with a 60th birthday party. In October Ruth flew to Inuyama, Japan to join in Davis' sister city's 50th City Anniversary Festival. And although Vigfus is no longer with us, Ruth attended his 50th Davis High School reunion and had a great time.
Alinia and Omen have finally moved back to Davis from New Hampshire. They are currently looking for employment (project management and computer engineering respectively) around Davis. While moving over the summer they toured the Great Lakes and drove cross-country to Seattle. Omen then headed home to Southeast Alaska to put up a satellite internet system for his parents and finally visited Glacier Bay. During the autumn Alinia enjoyed assistant coaching an Under-14 Girls AYSO soccer team 'Citrus'. (If you are ever at a loss to do something on Saturdays in the fall please volunteer as a referee for AYSO.) She turned 30 in October and went skydiving for her birthday. Alinia and Omen both joined Ruth on her tour of friendly central Japan.
Irena finishes up her dissertation this year on international trade in pursuit of her economics Ph.D. at Stanford. She is currently on the job market and hopes to be an assistant professor next year. She moved into a great house in Menlo Park and has enjoyed giving dinner parties as well as playing soccer on the Big Happy Team, practicing yoga, and attending the opera. This fall she taught at the Stanford Sophomore College and plans on teaching in the spring as well.
Wilfred has taken time off from working and returned to Richmond to fix up his and Jonas' house. In August, he traveled to Charleston, SC to attend the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity's centennial anniversary celebration. In November, he and Irena attended their 10th year high school reunion. In December, he will travel to the University of the Philippines Los Baños for the opening of their renovated Chemistry Department lab which is dedicated to Wilfred and Jonas' late father Artemio Cartano. Wilfred spends his free time honing his skills on the golf course and Sierra's snowy slopes.
Vigdis still travels as often as she can get away. She spent January in India enjoying the friendly people and beautiful sights and in August she traveled to Costa Rica before flying to Washington, DC for her Peace Corps reunion. This summer she taught eighth grade science in Davis and this fall regularly attended the opera in San Francisco. Vigdis is currently working her way through the multiple subject teaching credential program at UCDavis while student teaching a Sacramento fourth grade GATE class.
Jonas continues his work with Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) in New York City concentrating on performance-based jazz education. In October, JALC opened the world's first performing arts center specifically designed for jazz. He also performs with two semi-professional choruses and plays ultimate frisbee with various NYC-based teams (even traveling to Hawaii last February). Recently Jonas started tutoring under-resourced students in Harlem on the SAT.
Sigrid is in her third and final year at UC Davis Law School. After spending the summer interning at the prestigious law firm of Best Best & Krieger ("BBK"), she accepted a job offer to practice public law with them starting next year. She will join their Sacramento office and will officially become the only Asmundson to have never lived outside of Davis. In the meantime, she enjoys her 2-day-a- week class schedule and spends her free time hiking and snowboarding in nearby Tahoe, Oregon, and the Olympic range in Washington.
Lyman entered seventh grade this fall at Holmes' Jr. High School and had a good time playing on the seventh grade B basketball team. Leigh is in fourth grade at North Davis Elementary School and began playing the viola this year. In August they traveled to the Northeast with their mother Hazel to see New York City, Boston, and their favorite destination Hershey, PA. They eagerly anticipate their Christmas present of snowboarding as we all had a great time snowboarding last year.
Please visit us when you are able. The door is always open and we welcome the chance to sit down with friends.
A Joyous Christmas and a Happy New Year,
The Asmundson Family
This file last modified Wednesday, May 6, 2015.