A Belated Update...

Hi Everyone!

2009 has been a great year, full of so much excitement! Work is keeping me very busy and has me traveling around the US - Philadelphia, Houston, Memphis, Cleveland, New York...

At the end of May, David and I took our biggest road-trip yet. We traveled to Kentucky to visit my family and then drove to Chicago to visited our good friends, Paige and Dylan. It was great to visit our family and friends. The trip to Chicago was jam-packed with excitement. We spent one day in city walking the streets of Chicago and visiting the Sears Tower (now the Willis Tower), the Chicago Art Museum, Macy's, and attending a Cubs game at Wrigley Field. We also ventured to Wisconsin to see the Harley Davidson Museum and Factory and experienced the tasty, cheesy goodness that is "Cheese Curds."

On July 19, 2009, we celebrated our first anniversary in Atlanta, GA. While in Atlanta we visited the Hard Rock Cafe, the Georgia Aquarium, Pitty Pat's Porch, the World of Coca-Cola Museum, Piedmont Park and the world-famous fast-food joint, The Varsity. One of the best and most surprising parts of this trip was tasting the 365-day old wedding cake. While the cake was intact and looked pretty, we were both prepared to spit out the small pieces we ate. However, much to our amazement, the cake not only looked nice but it tasted great. According to everything we were told, this is an anomaly!

With just a few more months until the end of the year, we are looking forward to much more excitement. David is finishing his last three classes at UNF and will be graduating in December. 2010 looks to be a great year!

Be sure to check out our pictures and stay tuned for more Senn Family news!

Best to all,

Sarah

Rocket Man Meets Piano Man

David and I had the concert experience of a lifetime!  Elton John and Billy Joel came to Jacksonville to kick off their nationwide concert tour "Face 2 Face."  All I can say is WOW!  Seeing Elton John has always been a dream off mine and was an item on my "Bucket List."  To see Elton and Billy in concert together went far beyond anything I could have imagined.  

Being only 23, many people have asked why I am such a huge Elton John and Billy Joel fan.  It's simple... Every child wants to have a hobby- something to do when you get home from school and to keep you busy on rainy days.  While I love watching sports on TV and always have, I've never been coordinated enough to play.  So, I had to find something that I would be good at and that was playing the piano.  My grandma bought me my piano when I was seven, and I've been playing ever since.  I was always fascinated by musical artists like Elton John, Billy Joel, and Little Richard because they made the piano do so much more than make noise.  They made it sing.  My very first CDs were Elton John and Little Richard.

As I've grown up, I have come to appreciate not only the musical technique of artists like Elton John and Billy Joel, but the meaningful lyrics woven into every tune.  I've always dreamed of hearing them in person.  On March 2nd, that dream came true.  David, my mom, and I went to the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena to see a spectacle of lights and to hear the cultivated talent of two men who are revered by all.  As the two pianos rose from the floor in a fog, I knew this was it. 

In the opening sequence, Elton and Billy played together.  One of my favorite numbers of the night was "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me."  As the two played and sang at the top of their lungs, a barrage of spotlights lit the room as if the sun was setting right before our eyes.  I'm not going to lie- it brought tears to my eyes.  Each artist played for about an hour and the two came back together to finish out the night with "Benny and the Jets" and "Piano Man."

It was a great night... one to remember and one that we'll never forget!  Check out a few photos I snapped during the concert.

Twas the Season!

December is always a fun month, but this year it was even better.  Not only did we celebrate Sarah's birthday, but we experienced our first Christmas as a married couple... which of course means three family Christmas celebrations and a lot of traveling.  It was so exciting to decorate our first Christmas tree together.  We got to hang "Our First Christmas" ornaments.  Those are the kind of memories we will cherish forever, since we'll only have one first Christmas together.  To document this milestone in our lives, we decided to take pictures of each Christmas tree we saw.  Unfortunately, our cat, Hemingway, couldn't travel with us for the holiday, but we were able to get a picture of him with us in front of our tree.

On December 23rd, we left for Alabama to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with David's family.  For his mom's side of the family (the Bolich clan), everyone gathers at Uncle David's house.  Uncle David is an amazing cook... rather, chef.  You never know what he is going to make, but there's always some sort of tasty confection baking when the family arrives.  Christmas Eve is always the prep day for the big Christmas dinner, and it is also Aunt Claudia's birthday.  Uncle David prepared a feast for Christmas day... turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes... the works.  After the Christmas dinner, it was present time.  For the Bolich family, it's a tradition to have a different family member play Santa Claus.  As the newest member of the family, Sarah was unanimously voted to assume this role.  David was the elf.  Check out those hats.  What a statement!!

After opening presents with the Bolich family, Mama and Papa Senn, Mary Catherine and the two of us, drove just down the road to see the Senns.  Grandma and Grandpa Senn made a tree out of a sassafras branch.  Grandpa spray painted it white, and Grandma decorated it with stockings that she made for each of us.  What a great idea!  We really enjoyed spending time with the Senn family.  Being out in the rural country of Alabama can be a refreshing break, especially when you live in a city like Jacksonville.

We left early on the morning of December 26th in route to Winter Haven to visit Sarah's parents.  Barksdale family Christmases are different from most because Sarah's family is so small.  Granny and Pappy were once again able to fly down from Cleveland to join us for all the festivities.  It's certainly a nice treat to see them when we can, being that they live so far away.  We were able to spend the next few days with Sarah's family before heading back to Jacksonville.  

So we survived the holidays... we spent a lot of time in the car together, and we were able to visit with many of our family members.  A married couple's second Christmas isn't usually considered a tremendous landmark, but for us it will be.  It will be another year when we get to spend time with our family members, and we'll get to decorate our Christmas tree together once again.  

Sarah got a job in Jacksonville!

Our future in Jacksonville is now a bit more certain.  After applying for over 40 jobs and participating in countless interviews, I finally got a job with the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists in Jacksonville, Florida.  I will be working as Public and Media Relations Assistant.

David and I are so excited!  By getting this job, David will be able to finish his Communication (advertising) degree at the University of North Florida and I will gain professional public relations experience.  

Thank you all for your prayers!

Grace and Peace,

Sarah