Dr. Alli returns to Florida!

Last Friday, I drove up to Atlanta to spend the night with Alli while she was interviewing for residency at Emory. Then, we drove back down to Gainesville to hang out over the weekend before Alli had to interview at UF on Monday. It was awesome seeing Alli and hanging out with her. I totally owe her one, too, because she got me through my first ever 20-mile training run! I never could have done it without you, Maestro. It was tough, but we survived.

When we were not running, we played Wii and Upwards, hung out with Riley, and chatted. The weekend was over way too fast, and I miss her so much already. I feel better just knowing she is in town, even if we are not hanging out at the moment. With her close by, I feel complete, whole. Thanks, Alli, for that feeling and leaving NYC to visit us for the weekend.

Riley chilling in the grass before Alli had to leave.

Me and my twin sister!

Aunt Alli and Baby Riley! Too cute!!

Oh, and I had to show-off the cake Shawn got me for my birthday. It was a beautiful and delicious cookie cake! Yum! Thanks, hun!!

A New Camera and A New Year...

Greetings!

It has been awhile since I have blogged, but getting back into the swing of things since Christmas break has been tough. Hard to believe it is already Martin Luther King Jr. Day!! So much has happened in the past few weeks, so I will just recap the highlights and upload some new pictures of Riley!

• Spent Christmas with my family in Virginia. So many people and so much fun! What a wonderful holiday. Thanks to everyone for making it so special, but especially Mom and Dad. Our first Christmas with Riley was wonderful, and we are so happy we could spend it with you!
• Traveled to PA to visit friends. While up north, we caught up with Paul and Jamie and checked out their new home, Heather and Charlie and saw their place for the first time, hit Primanti Bros with Rob, Judy, and Paul, and celebrated New Year's Eve with the Fords and their new baby. What a whirlwind trip!! We are so fortunate to have such great friends who let us camp out for a night, play their Wii's, and eat their food! Thanks! We love you guys!!
• Came back to VA for New Year's Day. A short return trip, but still great to spend time with the fam.
  School started! Back to the old grind, which meant basketball for Shawn, tutoring for me, and an ear infection for Riley.
• Running like crazy. My plan is to run the Gainesville marathon in February, so I have been logging a few miles, though mostly on the weekend. Fortunately, Alli is coming down next weekend to run a 20-miler with me. Twelve tomorrow...fun, fun, fun!
• Two new teeth!! For Riley, of course!
• Our very own Wii!! Yup, Shawn and I gave in and bought our first game console together. We enjoy playing games together, and we both have a blast with the Wii. Maybe I will final improve at Mario Cart if I practice more frequently!!
  

So I think that brings us up-to-date. As far as New Year's Resolutions go, I have been thinking about them more in terms of goals for myself for this year. Here are my top three. Drumroll please...

1. Run a marathon.
2. Get something published in print.
3. Give Riley a sibling. Yup, we are ready to go again already!
I will keep you all posted about my progress on these three goals. Now, for the pictures...

Shawn and Riley hanging out!

Me and my baby!

Riley and Grandma and Grandpa in VA.

Flying BABY!!

Just the two of us. Our first picture with the new camera.

Here's wishing everyone a great start to 2009.