Greetings from central Indiana! We hope you all had a fun Halloween!
On Tuesday the 13th, I woke up after only 3 hours of sleep (after having worked all night the previous night) with an awful sore throat. I went to Minute Clinic, thinking that I had strep throat. I did have a fever, and even though my strep test was negative, they put me on antibiotics anyway because I didn't particularly want to wait for the results of a throat culture. I called in sick from work that night since #1 I was still contagious and #2 I woke up from a nap that afternoon with a horrible headache and body aches on top of the sore throat. Even though I got my flu shot a few weeks ago, I am pretty sure that I was ill with the flu...not fun at all! I had to call in sick that Thursday as well.
That Friday, I was feeling well enough to drive to my parents' house to do some laundry. We were still without a functioning washing machine (the one that we had ordered previously came to us badly damaged, with a crack in the barrel that caused water to leak on the laundry room floor) and we really needed clean clothes. It was nice to hang out with my mom that day, and to have some clean laundry! When Dad got home from work that night, the three of us went to Don Pablo's for dinner.
Now, about that washing machine...
After we sent back our damaged washer, the Best Buy store said that they would order us a brand-new (not floor model) version of the same washer. We chose to have it delivered Thursday, November 1st, because we were contemplating going out of town and knew that we would be back by then. All seemed great and I eagerly awaited the arrival of the new one.
Come Wednesday morning (Halloween), I received a call from Best Buy. I thought it was going to be the delivery company calling to tell us what time our washer would be delivered the next day. However, it was the gentleman who sold us our original (broken) washer. He said that he had talked to the delivery company and that they could not deliver our washer the next day because it was a discontinued item and there were no more in stock. I was floored because the manager I had spoken to said that our washer had been ordered and that there would be no issue getting it to us! Apparently, there is a warehouse in Chicago where all the discontinued items are stored. As they are set to be delivered, they are removed from the warehouse. However, they don't "hold" any of them once they are ordered and our name was not on one of them because their system is more of "first ordered, first delivered" method. That means, if we had asked for them to deliver it sooner, we probably would have gotten one. Silly me, I thought that them ordering one meant that we definitely had one with our name on it!
Anyway, we got it worked out that we could get a similar model for the same price as the original, brand-new, in-box, and that it would still be delivered the next day. Thank goodness, because I really needed to do laundry again!
This was the first year that I did not have to work on Halloween, so I enjoyed handing out candy to the neighborhood kids. My favorite costume was the little girl dressed as a garden gnome!
The weekend before Halloween, I carved a Perry the Platypus (from the Disney show "Phineas and Ferb") pumpkin. I loved hearing all of the kids who came to our door comment on the pumpkin! It turned out really good, I think :-)
Did you all exercise your right to vote today? Matt and I did! We also exercised our right to lock the car keys in the car...
After voting, we went to Best Buy to return a washing machine hose that we didn't end up needing. After that errand was done, I realized that I had locked the keys in the car! I tried calling a coworker who lives in Avon, but she didn't answer. Then we decided to walk across the street to the polling place where we had just voted. I knew that there were still workers there (we had just left and the polls had just closed) and since everyone who voted at that location had to be from the same precinct/live in the same general vicinity, I figured that someone would live close by and would be able to give us a ride home to get a spare key and Matt's car. Thankfully, a high school student who had helped run the polls that day offered to give us a ride both home and back to Best Buy (it was on her own way home). This was definitely a wake-up call that I need to get the phone numbers of some of our neighbors in case anything like that ever happens again!
Have a great rest of your week, and enjoy our Halloween pumpkin pictures!
Here is a quick catch-up blog post to get everyone up to speed on what has been going on with us!
June
Eric started his job at the Dunes Learning Center at the Indiana Dunes as a camp counselor. He had a great time with the kids all summer!
I had my first experience with a kidney stone, causing us to miss the wedding of one of Matt's friends. I woke up in excruciating pain, so Matt and I got to hang out in the local ER for a few hours. Luckily, the stone passed quickly, but I still experienced some residual pain for a couple weeks afterwards. Word to the wise: don't get a kidney stone!
We celebrated our second wedding anniversary on June 12
On the 23rd, I had my dance recital. It was a lot of fun and it was nice that my Matt, my parents, and Matt's parents were able to attend.
On the 28th, we attended the Cirque du Soleil "Quidam" show at Banker's Life Fieldhouse. I got a great deal on tickets through work and we had really good seats! The show was impressive, featuring bits of comedy, dancing, and of course the ever-popular ribbon/trapeze work! Before the show, we were able to go to Outback Steakhouse and have dinner using the gift cards we received at Christmas.
July
We did absolutely nothing exciting for the 4th of July. We watched the downtown fireworks on TV.
I made crab legs for the first time, and they were delicious!
Eric came home for the week of the 4th and it was nice to be able to go to dinner with him and see the movie "Men in Black 3." Unfortunately, he was suffering from an infection in the heel of his foot, but with some good antibiotics it healed with no issue!
We had an appraisal done on our house and were able to refinance for a lower interest rate. Yay for being grown-ups!
Dad suffered a small bowel obstruction and had to spend 8 days in the hospital. After a very successful surgery, he is now feeling great, thankfully!
August
Dad helped us install new light fixtures in our house! It is amazing how much more updated they make our house look!
Our former German exchange student, Alex, and her boyfriend, Andi, came to stay with us at the end of August. After a few days at Niagara Falls, they arrived in Indy on August 28th. They stayed with Matt and I for a few days and we had a great time! We went out to dinner at TGI Fridays after picking them up from the airport. The next day, we had a cookout with some old friends from high school where we ate yummy food and played the fun game "The Game of Things." On Thursday, we played Monster Mini-Golf, ate frozen yogurt, and went to the Colts vs. Bengals pre-season game. On Friday, they packed up their stuff to go stay with my parents for a few days and we took a little trip to Westfield High School to visit some of our old teachers.
Matt's cousin Amanda and her husband Matt welcomed their second little bundle of joy into the world! Liam Marshall Raybuck was born on August 31st.
September
We went to Kentucky on the 8th and 9th to visit with Matt's family. On the evening of the 8th, we went to a Cincinnati Reds baseball game with our college friends, Ben and Emily. On Sunday, we got to meet baby Liam!
My parents went to Hawaii so that my dad could run the Maui Half Marathon. While they were gone, we took care of their dog, Rambo. Rambo and Thor got along great and it was very cute seeing them play together. Rambo is at least 12 years old so it is funny to see him play with the very rambunctious Thor!
Dad did great in the half marathon, placing 4th in his age division!
We had a big storm that caused us to lose a giant branch off of the tree in our front yard. We had very high winds and quarter-sized hail during the storm and the three of us spent the good portion of the evening hunkered down in the bathroom (since we don't have a basement). I did watch the storm on the front porch for a while, but Matt made me come inside after a little while because it was crazy out there!
On a lazy Sunday where I thought I was just going to be hanging out and doing housework, I ended up getting a text from my friend Katlin. She commented that we hadn't seen each other in a while so I went to her house in Westfield to see her for a couple hours and to go out to dinner at Panera. Afterwards, I went to Fishers so spend some time with some girls from work, drinking wine and watching the movie "The Lucky One."
October
Our washing machine has been giving us trouble so I had a repairman come out to look at it at the beginning of the month. As it turns out, the machine needs a new transmission and gasket, which is apparently a $480 fix! I said, "no way!" and continued cursing at the machine every time the wash cycle ended and all the clothes were still dripping wet.
Mom and Dad celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary on the 6th! Wow, you guys are old! :-)
On the 5th, I drove up to Michigan to have a girl's weekend with my cousin Allyson. We had a great time "oohing" and "awwing" over the baby animals at the Toledo Zoo, tearing up as we watched our favorite princesses skate around during "Disney On Ice," and laughed at the ridiculousness that is the movie "Cabin in the Woods." Thank you, Roelofs family, for your hospitality!
Matt celebrated his 28th birthday on the 18th. Wow, he is old, too! :-) We went to dinner at Red Lobster (his favorite) and then had birthday cake and opened presents at the house.
We were planning to go to south-western Kentucky (Mammoth Cave area) for a weekend trip on the 19th, but Thor was feeling under the weather. He is back to his old self now, but we ended up postponing our trip until next weekend.
We just ordered a new washing machine yesterday! I am very excited because we are upgrading to a high-efficiency front-loader that has gotten rave reviews on every website we looked it. It is the last machine that they have at Best Buy (the floor model), meaning it is about 50% off the retail price. We weren't really looking at front-loaders because of the high price point, but with the discount this one is only about $100 more than the standard white box top-loaders we were looking at. Merry early Christmas to me (and to Matt because he won't have to listen to me complain any more)! Our new machine will be delivered this Wednesday!
Well, that should effectively bring you all up-to-date on the happenings in the Draper household! We are loving the fall weather and I am very excited because I am actually off of work for Halloween this year, making it the first year that I will be able to hand out candy at our house!
Until next time, take care!
Stacey, Matt, and Thor
Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms on May 13! We hope that you all had a fabulous day! I worked on Mother's Day, but Matt and I were thankful that we were both able to talk to our moms on the phone :-)
On Thursday, May 17, we celebrated my 24th birthday. I had to work all night on the 16th so I spent most of my birthday sleeping! I had to work on the 17th at 11pm but Matt and I had enough time to go out to dinner (at Noodles and Company) and dessert (frozen yogurt at Orange Leaf). Matt also started a Pandora bracelet for me. A Pandora bracelet is a charm bracelet that you add all sorts of little beads to. I have been joking with him that he should never again have to wonder what to get me for a birthday/anniversary/etc...all he has to do is add a bead to my bracelet!
On Sunday, May 19, Matt and I attended a concert at Klipsch Music Center outdoor venue. We saw Brad Paisley, as well as Scotty McCreery and The Band Perry who opened up for him. For those of you who don't know, all of them are country singers. Alex and I got to see Brad two years ago and he was just as good the second time around! Scotty McCreery was the winner of the last season of American Idol and he did a nice job. The Band Perry was good as well. Usually whenever I go to shows at Klipsch, I sit on the lawn, but Mom was nice enough to buy us tickets in the pavillion so we got real seats!
Here is a little taste of what we saw at the concert! This song is called, "Ticks."
Well, looks like this going to be a short post. Have a great rest of your week!
Hello, friends and family! Welcome to the latest installment of the Draper Diaries. I hope that your glasses are the correct prescription because this post is extra long to cover the wonderful-ness that is Disney World!
Our blog begins a week before our departure to sunny Lake Buena Vista, Florida, so don't put on your sunglasses just yet!
I have been wanting to paint our guest bathroom for a while, and I finally did it. The Purdue bathroom is now bright yellow and has new towel bars as well. It still needs a little bit of a touch-up, but for the most part it looks pretty good!
The yellow guest bathroom
On Saturday, April 21, Bob and Sheila came up for a visit. They arrived in the mid-afternoon, after a day filled with tornado relief efforts with a group from their church. After they got here, we went downtown to attend an Indiana Pacers basketball game. It was "Family Night" at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and our ticket prices included admission to the game, a hot dog, a bag of chips, pop, and a t-shirt. The game was close the whole time, although the Pacers only led the Sixers once during the game. The game ended up going into overtime but unfortunately, we lost in the end. However, if you follow the NBA, you would know that the Pacers are currently in the playoffs and have won their series against both the Sixers and the Magic. On to the next challengers!
After the Pacers game
After the game, we came back to the house and ate dessert. I had made a red velvet cheesecake as well as a gluten-free Boston Creme Pie. The cheesecake was very heavy and unfortunately, lacked the flavor that I was going for. The Boston Creme Pie was very good, though!
The next day, we went to church and then picked up Chipotle for lunch. Matt wanted to look at internet routers at Best Buy (ours only seemed to be functioning about half the time) so he and his dad went there while Sheila and I took a short trip to the Old Time Pottery store. Old Time Pottery is basically a wholesale discount store on drugs (think Big Lots, but more beefed up). Sheila was able to find some artificial flowers for some planters at their house and I got a spring-themed flag for the front of our house.
We had a nice visit with Matt's parents and it was good to see them!
The next week was full with anticipation for our big Disney trip. I swear, my days at work dragged and dragged and dragged leading up to it!
On Sunday, April 29, my dad was kind enough to pick us up and take us to the airport bright and early. He also was able to get Thor and take him back to the Seitz house so that he and Mom could take care of him while we were gone. Our flight left at 8:00 am, we had a layover in Atlanta, and we arrived in Orlando at about 1 pm. After our arrival, we headed to the Disney Magical Express terminal where we were taken by bus to our hotel on the Disney property. A nice service that the DME provides is that someone picked up our bags from the baggage claim and delivered them right to our room a couple hours later!
We stayed in the All-Star Sports Hotel. It was quite busy when we arrived because apparently there had been a cheerleading competition that weekend. It was a little loud the first night with all the cheerleaders running back and forth to each others' rooms, but a lot of them must of left on Monday morning because it was a lot more quiet after that!
When we booked our trip, we indicated that our vacation was to celebrate our upcoming 2nd anniversary and my 24th birthday. We got special buttons and the check-in cast member (what Disney calls its employees) even gave us this cool picture frame!
The building that we stayed in--"Touchdown Hotel"
We had planned to go to the Disney Marketplace for dinner on Sunday night but we both fell asleep pretty quickly after arriving to our hotel. We ended up taking a nap and then just eating at our hotel's food court. They had a pretty good selection and Matt fell in love with their pizza.
On Monday, we started our day at the Animal Kingdom park. We loved riding the roller coaster "Expedition:Everest" and the ride wasn't busy at all so we were able go two times in a row! One of the big thrills of the ride is that the track switches a couple times...it starts out going forwards, then you travel backwards (in the dark!), and then forwards again! Another draw of the ride is a big animatronic Yeti that "attacks" the car at the end. We also enjoyed Kilimanjaro Safaris, where we saw lots of animals including lions, wildebeast, flamingos, hippos, rhinos, giraffes, and elephants!
Matt in front of a dinosaur statue outside of the ride "Dinosaur"
You can see one of our favorite rides, "Expedition:Everest" behind us
After Animal Kingdom, we got on a bus to Hollywood Studios. We had a dinner reservation for the Sci-Fi Drive-In Theater restaurant. At the restaurant, you sit at tables situated in vintage "cars." There are twinkling lights above you in the dimly-lit restaurant and you watch previews and short films from the 50s. Most are old sci-fi movies featuring crazy creatures like giant lizard men and cat-women from outer space.
After our meal, we were able to ride a couple rides before heading over to the big outdoor theater at the front of the park, where we watched the show "Fantasmic." The show takes place on a big mountain-themed stage surrounded by water and the premise is that Mickey Mouse has a crazy imagination and he lets his imagination run so wild that Disney villains enter his dreams and threaten him. The show uses a lot of fireworks, as well as clips from different Disney movies projected onto screens made of water. It is a bit hard to describe, but the show is really cool! If you click this link and then click the box that says "video," you will see clips from the show. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/hollywood-studios/entertainment/fantasmic/
The Tower of Terror ride at night, after the Fantasmic show
On Tuesday, we went back to Hollywood Studios and ended up spending the whole day there. We had both ridden Tower of Terror before, but we had forgotten how fun it is! Other highlights included Toy Story Mania (an interactive arcade game), Rockin' Roller Coaster, and Star Wars.
We ate dinner at the Pizza Planet restaurant
We met Phineas and Ferb!
Posing with Lightning McQueen and Mater from "Cars"
On Wednesday (our last day in the parks), we started the day at the Magic Kingdom. The first attraction we went to was the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor, which is an interactive show. The premise is that the monsters from the movie Monster's Inc. used to use human screams to power their city, but after finding out that laughter is more powerful than screams, they are trying to collect laughs instead. They have set up a comedy club and all the humans were invited so they we could help power their city. While waiting in line, they invited us to text jokes to the phone number given for the opportunity to have them used in the show. It was amazing to see how the "monsters" on the video screens interacted with everyone. They could ask questions and talk to specific people and the people would appear on special screens next to the stage. Matt happened to wearing a red and white striped shirt that day and he ended up appearing on the screen, with the monster saying that he "found Waldo!" Also, they used a joke that I had texted in the show. My joke was:
-"Why were the kids not allowed to see the pirate movie?"
-"Because it was rated ARRRRRR!"
In front of Cinderella's Castle in the Magic Kingdom
After the Magic Kingdom, we went to the EPCOT park. We were able to get a few rides in (including Mission:Space, a realistic space flight training simulator) before dinner at the Coral Reef Restaurant. One whole wall of the restaurant is a huge fish tank and we enjoyed watching the fish as we ate dinner.
Matt about to go through space flight training on "Mission: Space"
EPCOT at night...so pretty!
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and we headed home on Thursday. Our flight was scheduled to leave Orlando at 9:50 am and the Disney Magical Express bus picked us up at 7 am. We arrived home around 3 pm and Dad picked us up and brought Thor with him. Thanks again for the ride, Dad, and thanks again for watching Thor for us!
When we got home, I was looking forward to running the Mini Marathon (13.1 miles) on Saturday, May 5. Unfortunately, I began experiencing sharp pain in my left chest whenever I took a deep breath after we arrived home. I was hoping that it would go away by race day, but on Saturday as I was driving downtown for the race, I realized that it was probably not a good idea to run. The pain was still there and pretty severe when I breathed too deep, and the temperature and humidity were supposed to be exceptionally high that day. I decided to use my better judgment and sit out of the race.
However, Dad and Eric both ran, finished, and did great! It was Eric's first half marathon and despite the less than optimal conditions, he did very well. Congrats!
Happy birthday to Dad and cousin Amy on May 8!
Here is a video that we took in Epcot, outside of the Finding Nemo ride. We just loved the seagulls!
Well, I guess I have already broken my New Year's Resolution. I had said that I would update the blog at least once a month and I completely missed March! To make up for that, I have broken this blog into two parts for your convenience.
March
Towards the beginning of the month, I met up with my friend Katie for dinner at Red Robin. She and her husband Craig live near my parents so I drove up there for dinner and to see their house. I had seen their townhome right after they had finalized the purchase, but before that had moved in and decorated it. It was nice to see it all decorated. They did a great job and it is a very cute little house! I also got to meet their puppy, a Corgi named Rondo (after a player on the Boston Celtics basketball team). Katie and I both agree that Rondo and Thor need to meet soon for a playdate! As always, it was very nice to meet up with one of my oldest friends.
The day that Daylight Savings Time began this Spring was a little strange for me. I was working Saturday night into Sunday morning, and it was odd to see us completely skip 2 am! It was nice to only have to work 11 hours that night instead of 12, but I can't say it was nice missing out on that extra hour of pay!
I can't really say that we did anything fun on St. Patrick's Day because I worked all weekend. I did, however, get to wear my cute shamrock scrub top that day! IU Health is in the process of changing the dress code, so this was the last time I got to wear my St. Pat's shirt at work! We will be wearing all red and black uniforms starting sometime mid-year.
Thor took a nap on St. Patrick's Day
Happy birthday to Grandma Ward and to Grandpa Seitz, who celebrated their birthdays in March!
On the 23rd, Matt and I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go to the midnight showing of the movie "The Hunger Games." I had read the trilogy that the movie is based on last summer and Matt had just finished the first book a couple weeks before the movie came out. The theater was pretty full, but not as busy as I had anticipated. The only other midnight premiere that I had ever been to before was one of the Harry Potter movies and "Hunger Games" was not nearly as busy. The movie was good, and stayed pretty true to the book. We are already anticipating the next movie in the trilogy, which I think should be out in Fall 2013.
During the weekend of the 23rd and 24th, Matt and I went down to Matt's parents' house. Matt spent some time watching March Madness basketball with his dad while his mom and I went to a camp in Ohio for a scrapbooking weekend. We arrived on Friday evening and scrapbooked until about 1 am. We spent the night in bunks in a cabin, followed by an 8am wake-up, followed by more scrapping until 8pm that night. Sheila worked on pages featuring pictures from Gatlinburg, she and Bob's mission trip to Laos, and Virginia Beach. I was able to both start and finish my book with pictures from my trip to Nicaragua in 2009. We enjoyed the games that the organizers had, and our table even won prizes in the "Wheel of Fortune" game! The puzzle that we solved read, "Housework only comes before scrapbooking in the dictionary." All four of the table-members won mini-scrapbooks and alphabet stickers!
After church on the 25th, we went over to Matt's cousin Amanda and her husband Matt's house to celebrate their daughter Stella's first birthday. Unfortunately, we were only able to stay for about an hour because we had to get home so that I could work that night. We did get to see her open presents and eat her cake, though, which are the most important parts anyway! Also, Amanda and Matt will be having their second child in September! Exciting stuff :-)
Happy 1st birthday, Stella!
Matt's brother Rob has a new job now and moved to Louisville, KY, in March. He is now a web designer for Papa John's Pizza. Congrats, Rob! An added bonus of the new job is that Rob now gets to be closer to his girlfriend Leanne, who also lives in Louisville.
Matt's cousin Andy and his wife Push welcomed their first baby into the world on March 27th! Their baby boy, Gyan Kenneth Marshall, looks super-cute in the pictures and we can't wait until we can meet him! Congrats, Andy and Push!
Happy day of birth, Gyan!
On the 29th, Matt had a Dr. appointment in Lafayette so afterwards we stopped at Dog n Suds for dinner. Dog n Suds is an old drive-in restaurant and we love their hot dogs and root beer! Yummy!
On Saturday the 31st, Dad, Eric, and I participated in a marathon relay called the "Circular Logic Marathon." We participated as part of a team and each ran a varying number of miles in order to complete the whole 26.2. The race took place on a one-mile loop through a park in West Lafayette, so I spent the night at my parents' house and Dad and I left bright and early to drive up there to pick Eric up. The race was very cold and a bit windy, but all three of us still ended up meeting goals that we had set for ourselves. As we are all participating in the 500 Festival Mini Marathon on May 5, it was a nice training run. Eric ran 10.2 miles (his goal was 10), I ran the next 7 (my goal was 6), and Dad ran the last 9 (which he practically sprinted!). Our team, which we called "Team Road Rage," finished the marathon in about 4 hours and 7 minutes. Afterwards, we went to Route 66 Diner and enjoyed delicious cheeseburgers smothered in peanut butter, a classic meal at both Route 66 and Triple XXX restaurants, local to West Lafayette.
Just keep running, just keep running...
Go, Eric, go!
Dad on the last lap of the relay
We had a good time tailgating next to the trail once we were done with our laps
April
Mom was on Spring Break the first week of April, so on Monday the 2nd I went up to Westfield to have lunch with her and to go shopping. She and Dad will be going to Hawaii in September and she wanted me to help her pick out some cute clothes and accessories for their trip. She got a really cute hat to wear on the beach, and I am in love with a t-shirt and long skirt combo that we picked out! The shirt is hot pink and the skirt has bright pink, turquoise, and orange in it...perfect for Maui! I was also able to pick out some new shoes for work (we have to wear all-black shoes now) and we went to Don Pablos for lunch.
We had a pretty low-key Easter because I had to work all weekend. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to Easter service because I was not feeling well, but we did quickly exchange Easter baskets, which was fun. Mom and Dad invited us over for Easter dinner, but we opted to just make a meal at home instead, which turned out to be a good plan since I was sick.
On Wednesday I finally went to Minute Clinic because I still felt bad and could hardly swallow because of throat pain. Lo and behold, I was diagnosed with strep throat...yuck! I was supposed to work that night but had to stay home since I was still contagious until I had been on antibiotics for 24 hours. I also worked Thursday and Friday night, though I definitely would have preferred to stay home. Luckily, after a lot of rest, Penicillin, and Tylenol, I am feeling much better now!
We don't really have a whole lot planned for the rest of the month, as we leave for Disney World on April 29. We did just talk to Matt's parents, though, and they will be coming up for a visit this upcoming weekend. We are planning to go to an Indiana Pacers basketball game with them on Saturday, which should be a lot of fun!
Whew, don't you feel better now that you are all caught up with the happenings of our lives?
Last week, we found a robin nest on our front porch. Soon, we will have little baby birds!
I am so excited because Matt and I are going on vacation to Disney World from April 29 until May 3! We will be staying at the All-Star Sports Resort and will be touring all four Disney parks during our stay. I can't wait!
My dad wanted to help contribute to our Disney fund, but of course he wasn't about to just give me the money without a little work. For $100 towards Disney World, I agreed to record myself doing the "Platypus Walk" dance and post it on my blog and Facebook.
For those of you who aren't under the age of 16 (mentally or chronologically), the Platypus Walk is a dance on the Disney Channel that comes from the cartoon "Phineas and Ferb." The title characters are on summer vacation and every day they come up with new, fun ways to spend their break. They also have a pet platypus named Perry who is a secret agent (Agent P) and while his owners are off inventing fun things to do, he sneaks away to foil the plots of the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz.
So, here is the video! And if any of you want to pay me to do something silly, let me know! I have no shame :-)
We are sad to report that our two chinchillas, Ewok and Obi, have succumbed to a mysterious illness. They both passed away last week, within 48 hours of each other.
We have been starting to add "finishing touches" to some of the rooms in our house. It will be two years in April since we closed on it (and Matt moved in) so even though all of the major things are done, we are enjoying adding some little decorative elements. Last week we hung a picture in the guest room as well as hung some curtains. We also added a decal above the bed in the master bedroom. Last night we worked on our bonus/sunroom, which at one point was a screened-in porch (that the previous owners added drywall to before we bought it). My treadmill has been in there for awhile but we are turning it into an actual fitness room now. We put a rug down in the middle of the room and moved Matt's stationary bike in from the office. The room had previously been a bit of a storage space for boxes and other odds and ends, but we are now going through and getting rid of some of the stuff. We still want to add a TV to the room, as well as a bit more lighting and maybe some free weights, but we are excited about the progress!
New curtains in the guest room
Above the bed in our room
Tonight (Tuesday) we went downtown to take part in some of the Super Bowl festivities. Dad had given us tickets to the NFL Experience, which is taking place at the Indy Convention Center all during the two weeks leading up to the big game. There was a lot of memorabilia from all of the different NFL teams, displayed in very clever ways. One of the coolest things was a "locker room" featuring different players jerseys, socks, playbooks, cleats, and even favorite kinds of sports drinks and bubble gum! Another highlight was that all of the teams had large headless mannequins on display so that you could pretend to be a player from your favorite team. The Colts mannequins were the most popular, of course, but luckily they had at least 5 scattered around so the wait wasn't too long to take pictures! We also got to see the Vince Lombardi trophy and a bunch of Super Bowl rings. There were a lot of games to play and a lot of good historical information about the different teams. The whole thing was set up like a large interactive museum. We had a lot of fun!
Something that I forgot to mention last week is that I decided to sign up for the Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini Marathon on May 5 instead of the Flying Pig in Cincy on May 6. This will be my second time running the Mini (the first was in 2008, which Matt ran too!). Dad is also registered (as always) and Eric has signed up to run his first ever half marathon! We have all been training hard and on March 31st we are registered for the "Circular Logic Marathon" as a relay team. The course is a one-mile loop through a park in Lafayette (near Purdue) and the three of us will take turns running the loop. The relay is complete when we run around a total of 26 times, meaning that we will each run about 8.7 miles. Our team name is "Team Road Rage." It should be fun, and a great training race!
Let me begin by wishing a happy birthday to Grandma Seitz on January 6th and Matt's brother Rob on January 19th! We hope that you both had great days!
On Saturday, January 14, we traveled down to Gatlinburg, Tennessee to celebrate the long weekend (Martin Luther King Jr. weekend) with Matt's extended family. We stayed in a giant chalet on the side of a mountain that boasted something like 8 or 9 bedrooms, large living areas with televisions, Pac-man, two hot tubs, and other amenities.
In front of Cataract Falls
On Saturday we enjoyed eating at Mr. Gatty's Pizza Buffet and making a trip to the outlet mall in Sevierville. On Sunday morning we went hiking on a couple different trails within the Smoky Mountains National Park. Afterwards we enjoyed a great meal of barbeque pork, chicken, etc. at a local BBQ restaurant. That evening, we explored the little shops in downtown Gatlinburg and prepared a large family meal of tacos with all the fixin's!
Matt found Nemo!
On Monday we sadly had to say good-bye to our cozy weekend home, but after check-out Matt, his parents, and I went to brunch at the Pancake Pantry restaurant and then spent several hours at Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. I was afraid that the aquarium might be a little hokey because downtown Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge has a lot of Ripley's attractions like mirror mazes, museums, wax museums, and arcades that seemed a lot like tourist traps from the outside. However, the aquarium turned out to be wonderful! The best part was a long moving walkway (like the ones at the airport) that takes you through an extensive acrylic tube, allowing you to be immersed in the underwater environment with sharks, stingrays, and lots of cool fish! Oh, and I of course loved the penguin exhibit, too :-)
Cue the "Jaws" theme
When I went to my dance class the next day (Tuesday) I was pleasently surprised to learn that there are four new students in my adult tap class, bringing our total to 7 people!
Dad will volunteering at the NFL Experience event in the "Superbowl Village" in downtown Indy during the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. The event will feature numerous music acts on multiple stages, opportunities to kick field goals and play games, and ride an 800-foot zipline high above the action of the Village. Unfortunately, the zip line sold out before Matt and I were able to get tickets but my parents and Eric got theirs in time so I am excited to hear what they think of it! As a volunteer, Dad got a couple of free tickets to the NFL Experience and he has given them to Matt and me so next Tuesday the 31st we will get to see all the excitement of the Super Bowl within downtown. We are really looking forward to it!
Speaking of the Super Bowl (which is also Eric's 22nd birthday!), I have to work that whole weekend so I will see very little of the action. However, seeing as the Patriots will be competing in our city for the Vince Lombardi trophy, the only thing I care about is that they LOSE. Oh, and I believe that the child in the video below echoes my sentiment:
That is all for now! This post has taken me entirely too long to write because I am trying to type around this:
Ever tried to type with a 16-pound dog in front of your face? Not easy.
In case you all are curious about my rekindled love for tap-dancing, here is a video of my classmate Shena and I dancing to "Ay yi yi, It's Christmas!" by Ricky Martin at our holiday recital.
Oh, and I am aware that it is darn near impossible to hear us tapping. Big stage + only two sets of tap shoes = not much noise! There are actually three of us in the class so maybe when Jeanie joins us for the end of the year recital, we will have the "oomph" we need so everyone can hear us! You can look forward to a performance of "Black Horse and a Cherry Tree" by KT Tunstall in June :-)
I usually do not make New Year's resolutions, but this year I am making an exception. I plan to update this blog at least once per month, which may not seem like a lot compared to how often others update theirs, but I am taking baby steps here.
Secondly, I will be training for and completing my third half-marathon. I plan to run the Flying Pig (Half) Marathon in Cincy on Sunday, May 6th. I am really bad with keeping up with my running if I don't have a set goal, so here it is.
Matt's New Year's resolution:
Help more with the dishes! There was another one as well, but I will write it into my next post. I can't remember and Matt is sleeping right now.
Since Matt and I both are trying to turn over new leaves (so to speak) in this coming year, we had to ask Thor what he plans to do as well.
He just gave me his best sad puppy-dog eyes that said, "I'm perfect already! Why do you want me to change?"
We had an enjoyable Christmas seeing lots of family. I had to work December 23rd but was off for the 24th, 26th, 27th, and 28th. On Christmas Eve we traveled to Northern Kentucky and spent a couple days celebrating with Matt's family. The "first" Christmas on the 24th was spent visiting with Matt's grandma and grandpa Draper, uncle Mike, parents, brother Rob, and Rob's girlfriend Leanne. Good food and fun was had by all.
After celebrating at Matt's grandparents' house, we went to his parents' house and opened presents with them, Rob, and Leanne. Then it was off to bed!
Matt and I went to church on Christmas morning, followed by lunch and a get-together with his mom's side of the family. We did a "Bad Santa" style gift card exchange and we ended up with one Best Buy and one Outback Steakhouse giftcard! Not to shabby :-)
After some visiting and board game-playing, we got on the road and headed home to replenish our duffel bags with clean clothes and to rest up for an early start on a road trip to Michigan on the 26th. Thor stayed in Kentucky with Matt's parents for an extended vacation while we were out of town.
We left Indiana at a little before 8:30am on the 26th and arrived at our destination in Michigan at just a little after 1pm. We had a great time on the 26th and 27th with Grandma and Grandpa Ward, the Schlauds, and the Roelofs! We opened stockings (once again, Grandma, thank you!); took family photos; played pool, foosball, and board games; and just had a nice time visiting and catching up. As all the cousins get older, it becomes harder and harder to get everyone in one place at one time. We missed my cousin Justin and his wife Abbey, however. They were celebrating with Abbey's family while we were in Detroit.
In other news, we have a new addition to the Draper clan.
Meet our new baby chinchilla--Obi!
Sadly, Matt's chinchilla Chewy passed away in mid-December, leaving our other chinchilla Ewok lonely and friendless. On January 3rd, however, we found a new friend for him in little baby Obi! The two are not living in the same cage just yet (there was a bit of a power struggle when we first introduced them!) but we hope that they will be a little more accepting of one another soon!
That is all for now! We hope that you all have a safe and happy start to 2012!
