Wait, it’s December already? Time flies when life is so busy. I hope you are all doing well and looking forward to a meaningful Christmas season. I hope you enjoy learning about the past year in our world…
Amy and I are still busy tracking down the kids. The nest is not quite empty; Jack is a sophomore at Michigan Tech University and Alyssa started her senior year of high school. We started the year in the middle of Alyssa’s Show Choir season.
The kids performed a dinosaur themed program, singing songs such as “Rule the World”, “Skyfall”, and my personal favorite, “I Am a Paleontologist”.
Here is a video clip of Alyssa’s solo…
We visited Jack in the middle of the winter at MTU to give him a break from studying and buy him some nice restaurant meals. Amy and I took advantage of Houghton’s 300+ inches of annual snowfall and went skiing while we were there.
Jack studies Civil Engineering and somehow gets along well with his three roommates, even if they are all Physics majors! He stays active with MTU’s swim and water polo clubs, and just returned from a team trip to Cleveland for a tournament.
Amy performed some music this year. Here is her performance with the “Sounds of Silver” flute choir in their annual performance. This piece is called “Traffic Jam” and you can hear horns beeping, radios singing and traffic congestion. See if you can find Amy in the back of the group!
In March Alyssa had an opportunity to travel to Ireland with the Bay Port High School Band. The trip included some music education opportunities, plenty of sightseeing, and the group performed a concert at St Canice’s Cathedral in Kilkenny. I was able to join the trip as a chaperone, and they let me play along with the band on the St Canice organ for one of the pieces. Here are some pictures from that trip…
Trixie is now eight years old and spoiled as ever. How can she sleep like this?
In June we took a trip out east to Acadia National Park. We flew into Boston and visited the Balch House in Salem on our way up to Maine. Amy and the kids are direct descendants of John Balch (1595-1648) so it was fun to visit the home he built as one of the first English settlers in New England.
In July Amy and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary with a special night out. We both have new jobs this year. After working part time for several years in the Ashwaubenon school district, Amy now has a full time role as an elementary music teacher for Green Bay Area Public Schools. I finished up a 13 year run as IT Director at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and have moved into a software consulting role at a company called Alchemy, where I’m able to work out of our home.
I have a second new job, playing organ for a different church this year. Here I am performing a concert at my new parish, St Anne’s Episcopal Church in De Pere. This concert was titled “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”, with all the music related to baseball, and especially focusing on the history of organ music in baseball stadiums.
Speaking of baseball, in August we went to see a Brewer game for “Stranger Things Night” shortly before sending Jack back to college.
This fall Alyssa was Drum Major for the marching band. Here is a clip showing part of the performance from the state marching band championships at UW-Whitewater. Alyssa is on the podium directing the group, and don’t be alarmed with the ending. She is supposed to be killed by the “man-eater” spider from the color guard.
Alyssa has decided to attend the University of Iowa next fall, studying Radiation Sciences. She will try out for their marching band this summer. Here she is with Grandma Kathy during a college visit…
Just last week, Alyssa and I treated Grandma Pam to the Packers/Bears game from the indoor club seats at Lambeau. It was an exciting game, with lots of long passes for Packer touchdowns, and an interception to seal the Packer win at the end.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!
Peace,
J.D., Amy, Jack & Alyssa
December 13, 2025
J.D. Kopp 