It has been another exciting year with many changes, many ups, and some downs, but busy as usual.  Since the kids are practically adults now and the parents are acting older than our years, we are making the kids share in the responsibility of writing this letter.  So enjoy everyone’s updates in their own words. 

Katy’s Update

2019 was a year full of adjustments for me.  On December 20th of last year my dad passed away after more than 2 years of being on hospice.  Of course this was and is horribly sad but it was also a little bit of a relief for him to be out of pain and for my mom to have a break from 24-7 caregiving.   We had two lovely memorial services (Jan in OR & March in CO) and we’ve had lots of visits with Grandma Kay all over the country (including a spring break road trip from Atlanta to Chicago where the kids got to meet 22 relatives), which has been a wonderful treat!  I now have 3-part-time job’s (Business manager for my sister Beth’s practice & as a Yoga teacher at two studios).  These jobs have offered me the flexibility to get out of house amongst adults, teach yoga which I’ve wanted to do for many years while still being able to basically be a full-time mom.  However, after 9 years of being home full time it’s been an adjustment for the whole family!  I continue to volunteer at both kids school on a regular basis, am Molly’s Girl Scout Troop Leader, enjoy my urban farming with the garden and chickens and have started working with Molly on some sewing projects. My goal for 2020 is to move into teaching level 2 yoga classes at Core Power and to do almost nothing on mine and Jon’s trip to Jamaica in January! 

Jon’s Update

Since these updates were written in the order presented here, I have almost nothing to say. With all the changes with the kids and Katy, it was important that I had a very stable (read: boring) year. But it wasn’t really. I am still at Ball Aerospace working the same proposal I was last year. With any luck, next year’s letter will mention how we won that proposal and I am gainfully employed until I retire. Nothing much has changed around the house (for once) and there are no major plans to do anything (best laid plans…). We of course enjoyed all the travel mentioned above and are currently thinking about the big trips for next year. Couple trips not mentioned above (other than like 20 biz trips for me). We did Tucson, AZ at the beginning of the year for our annual Xmas trip. Katy and Molly went to Washington DC with the Girl Scouts (got culture and stuff). Caden and I went to Pennsylvania with Grandpa David to visit his brother (while the girls were in DC). And we did a “quick” road-trip to Arizona for Thanksgiving to visit with Grandma Myra’s family (and our new baby cousin Aria). Love being places! Very much looking forward to Jamaica with just Katy (kids hate us for it). Goals for 2020: Win a big proposal at work, trick the kids into liking me for another year, stay happily married, and don’t start any projects I can’t finish.

Here is to all our friends and family wishing you the very best 2020! Best wishes for a peaceful and prosperous 2020!

Jon, Katy, Caden & Molly

Molly’s Update:

“I’m 9 years old, I’m into horseback riding, swimming, American Girl Dolls & Girls Scouts.  I’m in 3rd grade at Louisville Elementary School.  My teacher is Mrs Kowalski.  I like to collect erasers (I have 31!) and Hatchimals (I have 65!).  My favorite part of the year was going to Disneyland for my 9th birthday!  My favorite place there was Fantasyland because I felt like a princess!  My favorite rides were Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain because I like rollercoasters now!  My least favorite rides were the Incredicoaster and the Haunted Mansion because they were creepy and terrifying.  My goals for the New Year is to be able to do a lap in a posting trot on my horse Tamale for a horse show in February—my 1st one!”

Caden’s Update

I’m now 12 years old and am in my first year of middle school. It has been a big switch but I’m getting used to it. This year I’ve done a lot of soccer and my team had a 6-2 record, I got a PB on the BoulderBolder of 57:59, I climbed the tallest mountain in Colorado MT Elbert, I am doing some skiing right now, and I am planning to start wrestling. I also did 5th grade camp this year! This summer we did some really awesome vacations; first we went to California with my dad for his work while he was working me, my sister, and my mom spent A LOT of time in the pool 8 hours in one day. My dad was at work for three days while he was there we mainly were in the pool but we did other stuff too like we went to the Intel museum and a movie that was really fun. After my dad was done with work we went up to Healdsburg and did some really fun stuff like we went to see Armstrongs Red Woods State Park the trees.  There were enormous trees most of them I couldn’t see the top. That trip was really, really fun but that wasn’t the only trip we did this summer we also went to Disneyland.  This was awesome we did so many cool rides like millennium falcon run, space mountain & thunder mountain and the Incredicoaster.  By far my favorite place there was Star Wars Galexy’s edge. You feel like you are actually living the life of Star Wars.  I got to custom make a light saber there too!  I also really enjoyed the other lands. After Disney Land was over we got to go to Washington State and stay at our neighbors lake house where we had a lot of fun playing at the lake and playing games and doing puzzles (though my mom didn’t enjoy the puzzle part). We also went to this ice cream place where the very smallest scoop was the size of a double scoop at a normal ice cream place. My goals for next year are to make it in to advanced math, do a rail in skiing, be undefeated in soccer, and to do a half marathon.