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.
- 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!
- 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.
- 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."
- 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
