A Trip to the Zoo

Last weekend Ly wanted to go to the zoo to see the pandas. Alan agreed - and even said he had no problem pushing her around in the wheelchair, as long as she agreed to see the other animals too. Ly laughed and brushed it off, thinking that there really wasn't much else to see besides pandas. 5 hours and 3 stops off at the pandas later, Ly realized she was wrong. She saw elephants fight over hay, a tiger fall into some water, and birds strutting their stuff for the ladies.

Needless to say, both Ly and Alan enjoyed their little outing - Ly got to see the pandas do what pandas do - play, eat, sleep, take a bath, eat some more, and play in the dirt less than 1 foot away from where she was sitting. Alan, on the other hand, got to actually enjoy the other animals the zoo has to offer - without his wife sprinting from the car to the pandas and back to the car again.

Medical School Interviews

As everyone knows Alan is currently in the process of applying to medical school -- it is certainly an arduous process. But today Alan has his first medical school interview, which he is sure to rock. It is very exciting to say the least -- and the first of many more to come!

So yay for being one step closer to medical school =)

Goodbyes

Sadly today Ly's dad flew back home to SD. Apparently 24 days with his daughter in the DC area are more than enough and no matter how much Ly attempted to bribe him (shoefly pie, scrapple, movies, game nights, etc.) he could not be persuaded to postpone his flight (again...once was enough)...something about missing his wife and wanting to sleep in his own bed. Anyway the Lees were very sad to see Rory go and are very grateful that he was here to help out with Ly's surgery.

Pennsylvania Dutch Country

Today Ly+Alan took Ly's dad to go visit Pennsylvania. Our first stop was Hershey where Rory was enamoured with the Hershey kiss lights and the chocolate factory tour. Everyone enjoyed the tour - especially Alan who ended up with nine pieces of candy at the conclusion of the tour. After the stop in Hershey, Alan drove everyone up to Lancaster County for what had to be the highlight of the day. Ly's dad grew up in Northern PA and since he arrived in DC would not stop talking about the following things he wanted to experience while on the east coast: Snow storms, scrapple, goods potato chips, and shoofly pie. While we had the snow thing covered, we were a bit lacking on the food parts - hence the trip to Lancaster County. While there Ly + Alan watched in amazement while Ly's dad discovered all his favorite childhood treats in an Amish market. After Ly's dad mini feast in the market, we drove back to Hershey for dinner at a yummy restaurant and then back home for an evening of games.

Somehow Ly's dad managed to convince a nice Amish lady to give him a "sample" (aka piece) of shoofly pie for free which he promptly ate while roaming the marketplace.

Ly's dad with his scrapple, which he bought and stored in a cooler and then cooked at home. He even made Ly try a bite of it. Which she did because she is an excellent daughter (she hated it)

Holiday Recap 2009

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, Ly + Alan never got around to posting some of their favorite holiday photographs and memories. So here they are -- better late than never, right?

We went to see the holiday lights at the Washington DC Temple and it was awesome. Not only were the lights beautiful, but we enjoyed spending time together reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas.

Our stockings Alan made for everyone on Christmas eve.

All the presents waiting to be opened under our tree.

Look, Santa still comes even when you're married and there are no children in the house! He even ate all the cookies we left out for him.

Apparently Santa also has a sense of humor because he left Ly's stocking on her wheelchair for her to find Christmas morning.

Ly, Alan and Ly's dad with their stockings Christmas morning

Ly's Christmas Quilt Alan's mom made for her...what a great gift! So thoughtful and it certainly provided much needed warmth and comfort during their hospital extravaganza.

While we wish we had some photographs of New Years Eve, photo taking was not high on our priority list while living in the hospital. We did, however, manage to watch the ball drop on the TV in Ly's room. Nevertheless 2010 promises to bring with it all sorts of good thing for the Lee family...moving, med/grad school, weddings, trips, and maybe just maybe Ly will get that puppy she always wanted.

Welcome Home Lyanna

Sunday afternoon Lyanna was discharged from the hospital. She is very excited not to be awaken at 6:00AM for the daily morning blood draw, not have her blood pressure checked every three hours round the clock, and to be free of supplemental oxygen. Her pneumonia has cleared enough for her to come home and her new pain medicines are finally working.

Welcome home, Lyanna, we're all so glad your safe and on the road to recovery.