Happy New Year! (2024 year in review)

Dear Family and Friends, Happy New Year! I hope this finds you all well as we ring in this new year! I am amazed at how quickly 2024 seemed to have flown by. This year presented some physical challenges for me, many of which I think I conquered 😊, but most important of all, this has been a year full of wonderful associations, great experiences, and amazing new memories. 

I started out in January with a big toe that was still healing from a break a couple of months earlier, and I was also still dealing with tendon issues in my wrist, which ultimately landed me in surgery in early January. On the same day I had my wrist surgery, I also began teaching Water Law at BYU Law School again. My students were delightful and it was a great semester. In mid-January, I had the opportunity to attend my nephew Hugh’s All-State Band performance at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City. I had participated in All-State Band for two years, and it was one of my best high school experiences, so it was great to see Hugh having this same opportunity. I also had my annual January beach day at Santa Monica!

Just after surgery

My classroom at BYU Law School

Sporting my new cooking apparel I received for Christmas in 2023 :)

With Hugh at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City

Santa Monica Beach

Playing Backgammon at the beach

In February we celebrated my dad’s 80th birthday for three days with all of my siblings and their spouses and many of the grandchildren. It was SO fun to all be together. In February I also had a mini-reunion with some of my classmates from Spanish Immersion. Some of us were in Kindergarten together, but we all started Spanish Immersion in first grade together at Cherry Hill Elementary in Orem, Utah. Friends forever!

Thomas siblings

Thomas siblings and parents

Thomas siblings and spouses, parents, and many of the grandkids

Spanish Immersion mini-reunion

In March I had some beach time in California and celebrated another birthday with a family pizza party at Brick Oven in Provo, Utah. 

Still working on my rockstar image at Playa del Rey 😄

With niece Sylvia at Brick Oven

Birthday cake action shot!

In April I went back to Los Angeles to visit friends and see Micky Dolenz in concert at the legendary Troubadour! 

With friends Echo and Lisa waiting in line at the Troubadour

Echo and I singing and dancing as Micky Dolenz sings “I’m a Believer” at the Troubadour

Lisa and I hiking in Fryman Canyon near Los Angeles

In June I got to see the amazing Sarah McLachlan in concert at the Utah First Amphitheater in West Valley City, UT. 

During most of June my I was dealing with a serious spinal nerve impingement in my neck. Following intense physical therapy, in July I reluctantly got an epidural injection, which did finally provide me the needed relief after three weeks. Hooray! In even better news, in July we had a farewell send-off for my niece Ellis who was soon to serve an LDS mission in Taiwan. I was also back on the beach, swimming in the waves for the first time in forever on the California coast. It was exhilarating and also left me shivering for a bit afterward, but it was totally worth it!

Hanging with Ellis (center) and her friends

Playing backgammon while warming up after my ocean swim

In late July through early August I developed a head cold that eventually left me in a serious asthma flare. Thanks to great doctors and modern medicine, I was finally able to calm that down. At the end of August I traveled to parts of the Midwest, and I attended Utah Symphony’s opening concert for this season.

Having fun in a beautiful garden during my Midwest vacation

Chihuly glass sculpture at Abravanel Hall (home of the Utah Symphony)

In September I was back on the beach again! We also had a send-off for my niece Piper who was soon to serve an LDS mission in Singapore.

Beach time! (I got so sunburned in the fog later that day, ugh!)

In October I attended the J. Reuben Clark Law Society Leadership Conference at Aspen Grove in Utah. I am currently serving as the Chair of the Law Society’s International Service and Outreach Committee, and during the conference I was asked to give a short presentation about our committee and how we can better provide both legal and non-legal service around the world. I also attended a session of the LDS Church’s General Conference in Salt Lake City with a couple of my good friends from the Law Society. At the end of October we celebrated the grand opening of the Provo River Delta Restoration Project. I was lead legal counsel on this project for over 10 years, and it was one of the rare occasions where I actually got to see and experience the completion of a significant project that is meaningful to me both professionally and personally. Hundreds of people worked on this project across federal, state, and local agencies, and I’m so grateful for those associations.

 

Service Committee Presentation at the Law Society Leadership Conference

With Angel and Elizabeth at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City

Provo River Delta Restoration Project schematic

Provo River Delta Restoration Project (reflection of Mt. Timpanogos)

Random selfie in my office at the Bennett Federal Building in Salt Lake City (end of Oct)

In November I spent at day with my friend in La Cañada Flintridge near Los Angeles where we went to see the Martini House from our favorite Movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at Descanso Gardens. At the end of the month I also went with my sister Christina and her family and in-laws to Luminaria (Christmas light displays) at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, UT. It was the first time for all of us and did not disappoint! 

Martini house!

Light tunnel at Luminaria

In December I spent a beautiful day at Griffith Park in Los Angeles. We also had a cookie decorating extravaganza with some of my family a few days before Christmas. 

Travel Town Railroad in Griffith Park

 

The beginning of my blue spruce! ;)

And so as we say farewell to 2024 and begin this new year, in the words of Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge, “I am prepared to bear [its] company, and do it with a thankful heart.”

I wish all of you love and peace and joy in 2025.

Love,

Susannah