2009 Family Letter that got lost among other documents

I misplaced this letter earlier but I still wanted to post it here since I love using this blog as a kind of journal. So, don't feel like you have to read it. :) It's all old stuff. :))

2009 - Life unveiled

Working for Western Nut Co.

At the Manheim Steamroller Concert

Limerick, Ireland

David's Graduation

Dahlee's Graduation

It's December, a time when many find themselves looking back at what the year had in store for them. With Christmas just around the corner and a new year waiting at the door, we realize that another year of our life has passed. With many events woven throughout the year, David and I don't need much time to remember the good and the unexpected that our little family experienced over the past 12 months.

After a fairly uneventful winter semester and two easy spring and summer terms spent mostly working and finishing up our degrees, both David and I graduated from Brigham Young University in August. David received a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics.

The years spent at BYU finally came to an end and with them the chance for a new life. The beginning of this new life, we decided, was going to be spent in Ireland, as David learned with much excitement and anticipation that he was accepted into the Master of Ethnochoreology offered at the University of Limerick. Ethnochoreology is the study of folk dance as it developed in each country throughout the world. David's desire to choreograph and teach has developed during the last few years at BYU, while David took many folk dance classes, taught some of them himself and choreographed for SPAC, the team we toured with the year before. We left for Ireland during the last week of August. We stayed in Limerick for two months, spent making phone calls to the US, using up most of our savings and being frustrated with a system that didn't work. After experiencing many things that went wrong, we felt strongly that the best thing to do was to return to Utah and start over. It was during this hard time that we strengthened each other. We were content to return to our friends in the States but we also knew that a part of us was going to break off and be scattered somewhere between Europe and America.

Back in Utah, we started looking for work and eventually found some seasonal jobs. I work for Western Nut Co. at University Mall and David works at the Borders bookstore helping with pretty much everything that goes on in the store. They are fun jobs that we enjoy and are happy to have but we continue looking for full-time work to be able to take care of ourselves when these jobs will be over.

At this time we're looking forward to celebrating Christmas and even if there won't be many gifts under our tree, we are happy to have each other, with our love and our hopes together, ready to accomplish many great things. We are hopeful for the New Year, to make more plans, be better and learn more, and most of all to spend many more great times together as a family. We hope to hear from all of you about what your 2009 brought to you and hope that it turned out to be an excellent year for you and your families.

Love, Dahlee and David Thomas

2009 Highlights

- February: Celine Dion awesome concert in Salt Lake

- May: trip to California for aunt Sherry's funeral

- August: graduation and Ireland

- October: returned to Utah

- December: work with Western Nut Co. and Borders, visit to the Hogle Zoo, beautiful Manheim Steamroller concert in Salt Lake City