This month…. Meet the DeLormes
Kristin, Gary, Makai (23) Kira (19) DeLorme along with Kristin’s mom, Barb Bogden, fill out this month’s featured household in Birchwood Point, along with Darcy the dog (2) and Jazmine and Hobbes, the cats. They moved into their house in late October of 2018, and it is their 3rd home in Madison. Kristin and Gary met 34 years ago and grew up in neighboring small towns and while they loved where they came from, they couldn’t wait to move to Madison while Kristin was attending UW-Madison.
Their two families, the DeLormes and Bogdens, became close, and spent a lot of time together in the early years of their relationship. They still like to have big family gatherings, though the pandemic has slowed that down the last few years. Gary taught high school math for 35 years and is now retired and does handyman work. Kristin works at Memorial HS as the librarian and tech and loves it. Makai is finishing his degree at Whitewater this winter, and their daughter, Kira, is going back to UW-Madison soon to start her sophomore year. DeLorme means “of the elm” (we think). They do love trees!
Their move to our neighborhood came when they decided to find a house that would fit their family and that would also have a separate living space for Kristin’s mom. They looked for an existing home for some time, but just couldn’t find one that fit their needs. They have a good friend who works for Veridian, and he helped them build a house that worked for the whole family. “We also wanted to be in a neighborhood that was in Memorial High School’s attendance area, since Kira was a sophomore there at the time, and I had just started working there as the Library Media Technology Specialist. Birchwood Point checked all the boxes! We love that we are in a beautiful and quiet setting just outside of the city. We love that Madison has so much to offer—lakes, vibrant downtown, varied neighborhoods, great food, and decent climate (most of the time).”
Their family plays games, cards, and watches movies. Anything that brings them together and includes some laughing. “It sounds simple, but we try to eat dinner together as a family whenever we can. Our lives are so busy and it can be hard to do, but we really make an effort to make time for that. We cook together when we can, too. Gary makes the best dinners, Kristin makes the best desserts.” Relaxation has changed as the children have become adults. “We have a homemade brunch, then play games or read. We also like to go on short adventures—hiking or ziplining.” They listen to almost everything, from classical to pop, but if they all have to agree on something, hits from the 80s always work.
They just returned from a trip to Utah and agree their favorite vacation is hard to choose, but they all agreed that their favorite vacations were the ones they took up north every summer for 13 years while the kids were younger. “We went every June for a week to the same rented cottage in St. Germain until the kids were in college. Gary’s brothers also went and brought their children, so it was a great time with the cousins and families all together, fishing, playing cards, boating, eating, and just enjoying time together.” Another favorite memory was the time that they drove to Disney for spring break, when the kids were 7 and 10. They don’t mind being stuck in the car together (currently filling out this questionnaire while driving back from a Utah vacation!) and they had so much fun at the parks.
They really do love our neighborhood and you will see them out and about with Darcy dog and taking part in our Neighborhood Association gatherings and events. “It was hard to leave our last home and neighborhood. We had lived there for almost 17 years and I worried we might not fit in as well in a newer neighborhood with a lot of young families. But we have found the neighbors here to be from all walks and stages of life, and it’s so fun to see all of the new additions to families around us.”
