Hi everyone!

It has been a busy couple of weeks since I last posted!

On Monday, May 5, I got together with a couple of friends from work for a nice walk around a local park, followed by dinner.  We decided on a Mexican restaurant, completely forgetting that it was Cinco de Mayo!  We were a little confused as to why the normally quiet restaurant was so busy when we first arrived, haha!

On Wednesday, May 7, Matt and I attended the Nickel Creek concert.  The band has been on hiatus for the past seven years and now they have reunited with a new album and tour.  We had wonderful seats, about 9 rows from the stage in the center.  They put on a great show, and we are looking forward to seeing them again soon (preferably sooner than seven years from now)!

We had great seats!

Waiting for the show to begin

Happy birthday to Dad and cousin Amy on May 8!

On Friday, May 9, Matt and I drove up to the north side of town to celebrate my birthday a little bit early with dinner.  We went to a fairly new Outback Steakhouse location near their house.  While there, they surprised us by telling us that they are sending Matt and me to California to meet my running buddy Anthony and his family!  I was so excited that I started crying happy tears in the middle of the restaurant!  We have not finalized any plans yet, but we are looking at a couple different weekends in September to fly out there to spend time with them and for me to push Anthony in his first 5k!

Out to dinner at Outback for my birthday

Happy Mother's Day on May 11 to all the moms who are reading!  We hope that you all had a lovely day!

Saturday, May 17, was my birthday and I decided to celebrate by running another half marathon.  I ran the Geist Half Marathon in the town of Fishers on the north side of Indy.  I was aiming for a finish in 2 hours and 30 minutes and the race provided "pacers" to help people meet their goals.  The "pacer" I followed was holding the 2:30 sign and he was an experienced runner who is good at maintaining the pace necessary to complete the race in a given time.  The race was pretty hilly, but I did a good job on sticking with the pacer for the first 10 miles.  There was a large hill around mile 10 that finally did me in and I was unable to maintain pace any longer.  I ended up finishing in 2 hours and 34 minutes.  So close!  I was proud of my time, however, since I shaved 7 minutes off my Mini Marathon time! 

I finished my seventh half marathon!

 While I was running the half marathon, Matt ran/walked the 5k.  It was a beautiful day for a run, and after we were both finished, we refueled a little bit before heading home for a nap.

We went for a birthday meal at IHOP and Matt gave me some cute cowboy boots!  Thank you to everyone who called, texted, wrote on my facebook wall, and sent cards!

Happy birthday to Sheila, who celebrated her birthday on May 18!

On May 18, I headed off to Denver, Colorado, with three other Riley PICU coworkers so that we could attend the NTI (National Teaching Institute) Critical Care Conference.  During the conference, we attended lectures given by other nurses who are at the forefront of critical care nursing.  The conference was from 7:30 am until 5:30 pm each day.  In the evenings, we were able to explore Denver a little bit.  On Wednesday May 21, we had "nurses night out" where we received free entry to Denver Zoo and the Denver Science Museum.  We got home on Thursday evening.  It was a neat experience, and Denver is a very nice city.

Hanging out in a helicopter

Yesterday (Friday), Matt and I were able to hang out, get some things done around the house, and go see the movie "Godzilla."

We hope that you all have a lovely Memorial Day weekend!

Love,
Stacey, Matt, and Thor