Merry Christmas and Year in Review

Greetings from the Midwest!
So, it has been quite the year for Scott and I and I also can’t believe that I am actually doing one of those Christmas "year in review" updates, but given all the wonderful events of the year, it deserves to be recorded.

Here is the rundown in prose and in pictures.

In March, we had a great little getaway in Hilton Head Island, SC. We rode bikes on the beach, explored the island and had some tasty, fresh seafood meals. Also in March, we had a nice time with Scott’s parents when they came to visit us in Atlanta for an extended
weekend and a visit Calloway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia.

In April, we had Jessica, Scott’s sister, visit us in Atlanta for a long weekend. It was wonderful to have her with us and we all had a great time exploring fun restaurants and the Atlanta Dogwood Festival as well as playing with the dog in the backyard.

Then we were off to the Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park, Colorado for Memorial Day weekend. We had a great time exploring and hiking in the park. Of course, true to form, Scott and I had snow and hail fall on us (just as it has on all the other hiking trails that we’ve ever been on regardless of time of year!!) It was beautiful there and we were lucky to be able to cross Trail Ridge Road (It is the highest continuous motorway in the United States, with more than eight miles lying above 11,000' and a maximum elevation of 12,183'). There were snow drifts that were still well over 30 feet high during the last week of May!

Then in June, my mom had surgery in Atlanta from which she has thankfully made a very speedy recovery and was discharged from the hospital at the end of the week. She then recouped under the care of my dad, my brother, Scott and me for the following week before returning to Indiana. Since then she has been doing very well and getting back to normal (or even better than normal). We are all very thankful for how well she has done.

Then in July, we just relaxed in Atlanta, joined a kickball league and had a blast!

In August, it was off to Banff, Jasper and Yoho National Parks in the Canadian Rockies. In Yoho National Park, we hiked the Lake O’Haha circuit. Lake O’Hara is the most incredibly beautiful place that either of us has ever seen and we are looking forward to our next visit. (If you are interested in seeing more incredible pictures, just like the attached, just ask and we will be happy to show you all 900+ that we took!)

During September we were off to Florida to attend Crystal’s and Pete’s wedding, which was absolutely lovely with the backdrop being a beautiful, sunny Florida beach.

October was a great month!! I had some positive interviews with some pharmaceutical companies and was focused on making my next step in my career change. Although this was an important transition and happy news, it was overshadowed by even more exciting happy news. On October 26, 2008, Scott proposed (and, of course, I said yes). We are both so happy and lucky. We are very much looking forward to spending the rest of our lives together.

November was also a very eventful month. I received job offers from each of the companies that I had interviewed with and now had the “difficult” decision of which great job to take. I was very lucky that the job that was my favorite was also in the best location. I accepted the position of Associate Medical Director of Clinical Affairs at Baxter Healthcare in Deerfield, Illinois (just outside of Chicago), with a start date of December 1st. In the middle of November, we were very happy to be able to attend Lis’ and Courtney’s wedding in NYC, which was absolutely beautiful and perfect. Then one week later, we packed up enough for living in our corporate housing and drove up to Illinois. For Thanksgiving, we continued our trek north and went to Berlin, Wisconsin to spend the holiday with Scott’s parents and his brother, Brett.

In December, I started my new job and love it. While getting adjusted to my job, we have also been looking for a new house and looking forward to getting settled here in our new home. In the meantime, we can still be reached through our temporary address at:
301 North Riverwalk Drive, #214
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
Or via our cell or email:
Monica 678/641-7076
mmarlowe99@yahoo.com

Merry Christmas!! Happy New Year!! Happy Holidays!!
I hope that you had a great 2008 and will have an even better 2009!