The past few weeks have been flying by for us. With Riley, school, sickness, traveling, visitors, coaching, and more - we alternate between surviving and having a blast. Here is a look at what we have been up to recently!
1. My twin sister Alli came to visit! Allison spent the month of October with us while she completed an away elective at UF and Shands. We had an amazing month, running together, hanging out with Riley, and just getting to spend time together. Needless to say, the month went by entirely too fast, and I miss Alli so much. I am so looking forward to living near each other in the future. Thanks for such a great month, Alli. You are an amazing twin sister - and, I cannot tell you how much it meant to me to get to spend a whole month with you. You rock, Maestro!
2. Tower of Terror 13K race! Alli and I ran a 10:00pm race at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The race was a blast, and we had a great time trucking through the park in the dark. It felt so good to be back in shape and racing again. Thanks for getting me motivated, Alli. After the race, we hung out with Mom, Aunt Lynne, and Uncle Jim in the park. We went on the Tower of Terror and a few other rides in the middle of the night. So much fun!!
3. More running fun: My first ever half marathon! I decided that since I was already training for a 13k, I might as well train for a 13 miler. The race, on the Gainesville-Hawthorne trail, was amazing. I finished in 1:56. The course was beautiful, too. Shawn and Riley came to cheer me on. Definitely a fun morning!
4. FCIS Presentation in Orlando about GOLD! Irene and I traveled down to Orlando, stayed at the beautiful Omni Hotel, and presented GOLD (Girls Overnight Leadership Development) to a packed crowd. The presentation was a huge hit! Everyone who came seemed interested and engaged the whole time. We are in the process of planning for GOLD 2009 now, too. Hopefully, our presentation will help other schools start similar programs and help even more eighth grade girls develop their leadership potential in high school.
5. NCTE Conference in San Antonio! From Orlando, Irene and I flew to San Antonio for the annual conference for English teachers where we met up with Lucinda. The three of us had a busy and fun weekend, learning new teaching strategies, picking up free books, and checking out the Riverwalk and the Alamo. As a teacher, the conference is so motivating and inspiring. It is wonderful to be around so many other men and women who teach and to learn the latest in lesson plans, units, and assignments. And, the long weekend was also a nice chance to relax and get away for a bit - recharge before the holiday rush. I had a blast getting to know Lucinda better on the trip. And, I am so fortunate to work and travel with one of my best friends, Irene. It was awesome hanging out, sharing hotel rooms, chatting, watching old school movies on TBS, waiting in line for hours for free books, eating McDonald's french fries, listening to Christmas music, going to see Twilight at Midnight, looking up pictures of the characters from Twilight on the Internet, drooling over Hugh Jackman, discussing pregnancy and kids, sharing memories, and just getting to spend so much time together. Irene, I never could have jammed my bag into the overhead compartments without you! Thanks for being such an awesome friend and travel buddy!
6. Back to Texas for Thanksgiving with Shawn's family! After returning from San Antonio, I spent 26 hours in Gainesville before heading back to Dallas with Shawn and Riley by car. We have had a wonderful Thanksgiving, eating lots of great food, playing two killer games of Monopoly (both of which I won!!), and hanging out with everyone here. Riley has been busy, too, crawling all around, gooing and gaaing, and making all of us laugh. We are so thankful to have such a beautiful, sweet, and happy baby!
Okay, so now that I have covered the major events that I have been up to, Riley has reached a couple of major milestones.
1. She has two teeth!!
2. She is crawling!!
3. She is eating Stage 2 Foods!!
Go, Riley, go!! Wahoo!!
Shawn has been busy, as well. His cross country team just went to the State competition and finished 11th! He is also coaching middle school boys basketball now. His team lost their first game on Tuesday, but I am confident he will lead them to a successful season. I am excited that he has the chance to reach out to even more kids with his amazing coaching ability. He is such a wonderful source of positive energy, fun, and support. Yeah, Coach Harding!
In other family news and events, both Grandma (my mom) and Grandpa (my dad) have come down to visit in the past month. I got to hang out with my Mom and Riley while she was in town, and we had a terrific time shopping, eating at Olive Garden, walking, and spending some quality girl time together. My Dad also came down to hang out with Riley and Shawn while I was in San Antonio. The weekend sounded like it was a lot of fun and full of brownies, dirty diapers, and Kate Beckinsale! Mom and Dad, thanks for taking time to come down to visit us this fall! It means so much to me and all of us!
Great Grandpa also came up to visit from South Florida for a weekend with Anita. We had a great time, went to see an Oak Hall volleyball game, ate at Olive Garden, watched Serendipity, played cards, and had a very nice and relaxing time together. Fun, fun!!
Okay, what a marathon! That's all for now. Time to let the turkey and coconut cake settle! Happy Thanksgiving to all!
