December 1st

It's December 1st already? WOW! Where does time go? We decorated for Christmas this weekend and have a beautiful tree this year. Tonight it's finally cool enough to enjoy a fire in the fireplace! (Hopefully that will last.) I finish my last class tomorrow, have all of my qualifying exams due on Monday, and have only 4 more classes to teach before the semester ends. There's lots to get done after that though; writing exams, giving exams, grading exams, preparing for the class I'm teaching next semester . . . oh, and my oral defense on the 13th. It will all soon be over though and the holiday festivities will be upon us. We adopted a family again this year with the Gaters and soon get to spend time shopping for those children and then wrapping all the presents. It always amounts to a fun time! Before we know it we'll be on the road to VA for Christmas (and maybe we'll get to see a little snow again this year)! Happy December Everyone!

Press Release

I just wanted to share the press release about Mark posted on the City of Gainesville's website. (Click on the picture and it will open in a full window to read.)

Mom and Dad's visit to FL

A few weeks ago my parents came to visit. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed a lot of time outdoors biking, walking and soaking up the sun. We went back to the LaChua trail, a favorite for all of us and saw lots of birds, many many alligators and a few wild horses.





Mark also got a sewing lesson from Mom on Nana's old hot pink sewing machine and he now has another new hobby!


We all had a great time (including to dogs)!

(Piper and Bailey "helping" Dad take a nap)

Mark's First 13.1

He's caught the running bug! Last weekend Mark decided to sign up to run his first half-marathon . . . THIS WEEKEND! His training consisted of a 6 mile run on the same trial last weekend. He ran 4 miles on Monday and 3 miles on Wednesday. Rested Thursday and Friday. To have enough energy for the race, Mark had plenty of pasta with his chili on Friday night. On a chilly and dark Saturday morning, Mark, Gater and I headed over to the Hawthorne Trail for the Tom Walker Memorial Half Marathon. It was much cooler than it's been for months (43 degrees and breezy). After checking in and getting Mark's bib, we returned to the car to stay warm. With 15 minutes until the race, we heading to the starting line.




Mark went to the back of the pack, not to get run over by the majority of runners. Gater and I walked down the trail about a 1/2 mile from the start and waited for the race to begin. After the pack passed, and we cheered Mark on, we headed back to the car and drove to the half way point. As Mark cruised into the turnaround, he didn't even slow down at the water station since he had his hydration system full of H2O.


Gater and I then headed to the next water station where we could see Mark run by. Once again, no time for stopping.



We then made our way to the finish line. Gater headed down the trail to be the first to see Mark and give him the last bit of motivation to finish strong. Mark finished in a time of 2:14:08 (his actual time, official time is more since he was in the back of the pack to start).


After finishing, Mark was given his finishers medal and then posed for a few pictures.



Other than his legs hurting a little (or a lot) and hungry, Mark was doing fine. He grabbed a few things to eat at the refreshment table and then we headed home. Mark is already scheduling his next race, maybe a 25 K? Look out Cheaha, here we come!!!!

Introducing, for the first time in public . . .

Mark Siburt, the new Gainesville City Arborist!

I'm so proud of him! :-)

And for those needing a pick-me-up, enjoy this video.

Happy Birthday Mark!

Fall in FL

It's finally Fall, and the weather is beautiful! Still hot in the mid-afternoon sun, but the humidity is down and the nights are getting cooler. I want to spend every waking hour outside! But, since that doesn't happen I am very happy that my new office has two windows!!! I might spend 12 hours a day at work these days but having a window makes it much more enjoyable.

Last weekend Mark, Bailey and I drove to Richmond, VA for Alex(my cousin) and Bret's wedding. They got married at a beautiful outdoor ceremony at 10:10am on 10.10.10. Then, they had their reception that evening again at 10:10pm on 10.10.10. It was a really long drive (12.5 hours) up I-95 but we got to stay with Erin and Sean and see a lot of our family.

Erin, Sean and Bailey hanging out on the porch.

We got there Friday night and spent the day Saturday at the Richmond Folk Festival and then hanging out at the Walker/Busch B&B. We relaxed on the porch while the dogs played, had a yummy steak dinner complete with brownies and mint chocolate chip ice cream(a requirement for every rendezvous), and then sat around the bonfire.


Sunday Mark and I went into Richmond. After the morning wedding we spent the day with Mom's family setting up the reception and taking a quick stroll through the Folk Festival again before heading to the reception.

Alex and Bret getting married

It was a beautiful ceremony and gorgeous day!

Proctor sisters after the wedding ceremony.

Donuts for the "cake"

Becca and Alexei on cake duty

The final product, ready for the reception.

The reception site, a renovated old bank. Very cool place!

And Monday, we drove home.

This week I head to the DC/Maryland area for an Audiology meeting. I fly up Tuesday and back Wednesday so it will be a whirlwind trip in the middle of the week. Mark is very busy being the interim city arborist and we're spending the weekends watching football with friends, trying to catch up on lack of sleep from the week, and doing homework(well, that's just one of us). . . that's about all to our life in FL right now :-). Life is good, but flying by!