Running Like Crazy

As most of you know, Richard and I decided to try to run the Mercedes Half-Marathon this February in Birmingham. (That is 13.1 miles!!!) We didn't really know where to start, but we picked out a training schedule online and started running. We have done a good job of sticking to the schedule and getting all of our runs in. Yesterday, we made it up to 12 miles! That is the furthest that either of us has ever run!! It was a bit of a struggle, but we were able to make it through it. The race is only two weeks from today!

Throughout this training process, Richard and I both have managed to injury ourselves. Richard did something to his left foot, which has been giving him some trouble. We think part of the problem was his running shoes. It seems better with his new shoes, so hopefully it will continue to heal before the big day. And I managed to do something to my left knee. We were on a long run one Saturday and I was getting tired and apparently wasn't picking up my feet enough. The sidewalk was uneven and my left toe hit the sidewalk and my face was about a foot from the sidewalk. Somehow I managed to stay on my feet and not hit the ground. Needless to say, our training hasn't been injury free, but it hasn't stopped us from training so far! Say a little prayer that everything heals before race day!

BCS National Champions!!!

Yay!! WAR EAGLE!! The Auburn Tigers are National Champions!!

Even though Richard and I weren't able to make it to Glendale, AZ, we were still able to celebrate the big win! We watched the game with a bunch of our friends and there was definitely lots of screaming at the TV. As soon as the game was over, we headed to Toomer's Corner. By the time we got to Toomer's, there were already several thousand people rolling the trees! I have never seen so many Auburn fans as excited as we were last night! Here are some pictures of the celebration!

We Are Back

We finally made it back to Auburn and I finally found a minute to do some catching up since I haven't posted in a long time. We had a wonderful break and got to spend some much needed time with family and friends. Before we left to go home for the break, we were able to catch a basketball game in the new arena. Even though we didn't get a win, it was really neat to be able to see the new arena. The student section has seating down front and center. Richard was even able to snag a free T-shirt for me!

This was a picture from our seats before the game!

Over the break, we were able to make a trip up to the Lodge, which is a cabin up on some of my grandparents land. Richard was in heaven with the fire and all his camping accessories. There

was definitely not a shortage of flashlights or knives. I was able to roast some marshmallows,

so I was a happy camper too! It was a quick, but fun little trip!

This was the pretty sunset that afternoon and the roaring fire!

Richard's sister, Taylor, and I were able to continue a tradition that we started three years ago. Each year we have put together and decorated some type of gingerbread structure. The first year it was a cute little gingerbread house. The second year it was a gingerbread village, which was quite challenging and this year, a gingerbread train, which turned out really cute!

We also got to enjoy some snow on the day after Christmas. We were headed to my Grandparents for another Christmas get-together. My cousins called and told us to bring some clothes to play in the snow and we just laughed at them. As we got closer and closer, we realized that they weren't kidding! Luckily my aunt had some old clothes and we were able to play in the snow all afternoon! This sounds really crazy, but my uncle had an old truck bedliner that he

hooked up to his gator and pulled us through the pasture on it. We had a blast!!

This was taken at my aunt and uncles house that day after Christmas!

We were also able to take a trip to Gatlinburg for New Years' with my cousins and their wives. When we got to Gatlinburg, there was about 4-5 inches of snow on the ground, but luckily none on the roads. We stayed in a cute little cabin way up in the hills. When we got everything unloaded, we realized that nobody remembered to bring playing cards. We ended up going down the mountain to a local grocery store where we paid $12 for four packs of playing cards! (We won't forget cards again!) On the way down the mountain, we had a run in with a skunk! None of us had ever smelled a skunk this strong before. We had to buy some Febreeze and used almost half the bottle in the truck before we could get the smell out! We were able to head out to Cades Cove where we saw about 25 deer and 13 or so turkey. We were able to ring in the New Year and watch some fireworks on New Years Eve. It was a good trip with lots of laughs!

This is all of us in Cades Cove at one of the old home places. Thank goodness for timers on cameras!

This little one was posing for the camera!

Richard and I have also signed up for the Mercedes Half-Marathon in Birmingham this February! We kept up with running over the break and this past Saturday, we made it up to 9 miles! We still have a ways to go, but think that we can do it!

We are very excited about the game tomorrow night and are hoping that this Winter Weather Storm doesn't cause the power to go out! We are hoping that our Auburn Tigers can pull out a win! WAR EAGLE!!!!!