For the sake of posterity

Tyler and I failed to send out our annual Christmas e-letter in December. I thought I'd write something up and send out a New Year's letter instead. Since Tyler didn't even read it until the last day of January, that didn't happen either. I guess only my faithful blog readers will get to see the run-down of 2009 for the Squires:

Happy New Year from the Squire family! 2009 was a great year for us. In May we went on a vacation to Disneyland with some friends. Ada was in heaven. We will have to go back when she and Kate are older. We have enjoyed being a family of four and spending time together.

Tyler:

Tyler continues to enjoy his job at Spectrum Engineers. He had opportunities to travel to Milwaukee twice and Wyoming for his job. He also passed the test to become a LEED AP, which is a big accomplishment. His job and church have kept him busy all year long. He had the opportunity to teach a nine-week finance class at our church, which went very well. He sat in the MUSS for every Utah home football game even though he hasn’t been a student for over a year-and-a-half. He lost 20 pounds and then gained most of them back.

Alison:

Alison enjoys being a stay-at-home mom, though she loves getting away once a month to attend book club. She started a joy school with two other moms. She teaches once every three weeks and enjoys preparing lessons and helping Ada and her friends learn. She also participates in a babysitting co-op where she watches other people’s kids in exchange for them watching hers. She ran her first 5k and would love to participate in more races. She had the opportunity to attend one rock concert, see two plays, and go to three movies in the theater. Maybe she can get out a little more this year.

In October we left the kids behind and took a much-needed vacation. We flew to Florida where we went to Everglades National Park and on a day cruise to the Bahamas. We then went on a five-day cruise to Key West, Cozumel, and Belize and had the time of our lives. We wish we could afford a cruise every month! While at home, we’ve spent time watching sports, reading, and most recently playing Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Ada:

This year Ada turned three. She learned how to use the toilet and started attending school. She loves preschool and joy school and is learning a lot. She has made lots of friends in the neighborhood. She refuses to wear pants because “girls wear dresses”. She is obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Disney Princesses, and the color pink. She has a great sense of humor and makes us laugh every day. She loves feeding our pet fish and frog every day.

Kate:

Kate celebrated her first birthday. She learned how to crawl, walk, and talk. Her favorite things to say are, “What’s that?”, “Who’s that?”, and “I want…” She is so sweet and happy but has a mischievous side. She loves to torture her sister by taking her toys and throwing them down the stairs. She loves juice, music, books, and giving hugs. She also loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and watching our fish. She loves to climb and make messes. She still takes antibiotics every day. (This has already changed. Yay!)

When Ada and Kate aren’t fighting, they love spending time together. Ada can make Kate laugh like no one else can. They love to chase each other and run around the house laughing. We’re excited for this year where Kate will be able to play more things with Ada.

We hope everyone had a great 2009 and will have an even better 2010. The last decade has been good to us: Tyler graduated from high school and served a mission, we both graduated from college, we met each other and got married, we had two beautiful daughters, and we bought our first house! We are so grateful for all the Lord has blessed us with.