Catch-up edition, part 2!

Hello again!  I'm going to bring you all up to speed on our lives from June-September so that we are all caught up and ready to start fresh with October for the next post!

June
-Happy 6th anniversary to us on June 12th, and happy 2nd anniversary to Eric and Sarah on the 21st!
-We went to the Hendricks County Rib Fest on the grounds of our church.  We brought Thor along, which was probably a silly idea given that it was over 90 degrees!  We were signed up for the "Rib Run 5k," but we only ended up walking one mile out and one mile back.  Poor Thor was so hot and tired, and we had to carry him part of the way!  We did try some pulled pork and funnel cakes, which were pretty yummy!

In front of the hot air balloons at Rib Fest.

Matt and Thor after the Rib Run!

-Matt and I attended an Indy Eleven professional soccer match against Mexico's Pachuca team.  It was a blazing hot day and we both failed to wear sunscreen and we ended up getting pretty burnt!  It was so hot that they ran out of bottled water during the second half! The Eleven won in an exciting match.

July
-After a shift at work, I drove to Brownsburg (one town over from Avon) to run a 5k.  I forgot that I had to work when I registered for the race.  Oops!  It was an enjoyable run around a town where I had never run before.

12 hour night shift + 5k run = a tired Stacey

-We went on a fun and exciting vacation with the entire Seitz family at the end of July/beginning of August.  We traveled to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and we stayed in the same house that we stayed in during the summer of 2012.

-We enjoyed being right across the street from the beach.  It was nice to be able to spend a couple hours down by the water each day.

On our last day there, Dad and I went running on the beach and then jumped into the ocean with our running clothes on!

-The house also has a lovely pool and going for a swim in the beach and then coming back for a swim in the pool was perfect!

-This is the fourth time I have been to Hilton Head, and it is nice to have a feel for the area.  We know a lot of the good restaurants and shopping in the area.

-Some of us went deep sea fishing, which ended up just being a nice 4-hour boat ride.  No one in our group caught anything (except I hooked the rocks a few times), and the other groups only caught a couple small sharks.  After fishing, we enjoyed lunch at the famous "Salty Dog Cafe," which was delicious!

-Some of group also took an evening trip to Savannah, Georgia, for a haunted bar crawl.  It wasn't very spooky, but it was a nice little walking tour around parts of the city.  It was also nice to celebrate cousin Allison's 21st birthday!

-One of the most fun excursions was a 2-hour catamaran boat tour.  We got to explore some of the marsh land and drive our little two-person power boats near the Harbor Town lighthouse.

-Thank you to Bob and Sheila for taking care of Thor while we were away!  We stopped at their house for a couple days on our way back from vacation for a nice visit.

August
-I had surgery on my right ankle for tarsal tunnel syndrome.  I have been having trouble with my ankle for just over a year which caused inner ankle pain as well as numbness, tingling, and cramping in my arch and toes (think carpal tunnel syndrome, but in my ankle).  The pain and discomfort were so unpredictable and continued to get worse instead of better, and I exhausted all conservative treatments including cortisone injections.  Not only was it difficult to run, but I was also in pain during every day life.

Little known fact: doggy and narwhal snuggles have magical ankle-healing properties!

-Thank you to everyone who sent emails, texts, cards, and care packages!  I was essentially on "bed rest" for a while and had to sit with my leg elevated at all times.  It was nice to have things to break up the monotony!  Also thank you to Bob and Sheila who stopped by on their way home from Branson, MO, and took us out to dinner (my first excursion out of the house since surgery), and to my parents who came over to help us do some cleaning around the house!

One week post-op

September
-I was on crutches and not allowed to bear weight on my ankle for three weeks, which was quite inconvenient.  Now I am in a walking boot and walking better, but am not completely pain free.  It will be a little while before I am able to run again, but physical therapy is going well and the incision is healing nicely.

It is boot season!

Five weeks post-op. It looks so much better!

-My dad was selected as a Mini Marathon ambassador!  He will spend the next several months leading up to the race (in May) trying to motivate people to register for and to run the race.
-Matt had surgery in September to fix some vericose veins that were causing some problems.  He is currently 2 weeks post-op and is feeling much better and almost back to normal.
-We decided to retire our Purdue shower curtain in favor of something that looks less like it belongs in a college apartment.  We are hoping to finish re-decorating the guest bathroom by the end of the year with a new paint color and a new mirror.

-This past week, I have been busy getting everything set up for my clinical rotation next semester, as well as for heading back to work next week. After 6 weeks off, I am ready to go back and take care of the kiddos!  I will be doing my Advanced Assessment clinical at a clinic that is sponsored by our church, called Hope Health Care.  It offers free and low cost health services to people who do not have health insurance.
-Yesterday, I drove up to Westfield and my mom and I went out to lunch.  Back at the house, we visited and also put together team t-shirts for a marathon relay that my dad is doing tomorrow.

Hanging out with Teddy.

 -My parents are building a new house in a different neighborhood in Westfield.  It will definitely be weird for them to move, since they have lived in their current house since 1998!  I was able to walk through a house with the same floorplan as the one they are building though, and it is going to be very nice.
-We are sad to announce that Matt's parents' dog Aladdin passed away.  Aladdin was a super sweet boy and we will miss him!

Wow, we are all caught up!  Yay for procrastination (I wrote this instead of studying for Pathophysiology...)!

We hope everyone is doing well!

Until next time,
Stacey, Matt, and Thor

Playing catch-up

Hello, faithful Draper Diary readers!  Again, I prove to be quite a slacker when it comes to this blog, but in my defense, we keep pretty busy around here!

I continue to work full-time at Riley Hospital for Children in the Pediatric ICU and go to school part-time through Ball State University to earn my Masters degree in Nursing so that I may become a Family Nurse Practitioner.  I am currently in my third semester and somehow still have a 4.0 GPA (we will see what happens after this semester...Advanced Pathophysiology may break me)!

It looks like the last time I posted was in February after the Super Bowl, so I will do my best to break down what we have been doing since then.  Obviously, I will not remember everything, but I take a lot of pictures, so maybe those will help jog my memory.

February:
-I ran a very cold Valentine's Day-themed race in downtown Indy between shifts at work.  I worked Friday night and then ran Saturday morning!  The run felt pretty good, probably because I couldn't feel any of my extremities.  If I remember correctly, it was around 8 degrees!

I call this photo "Runner's High."

-Matt and I went to a very exciting Purdue basketball game.  We went up a little early and ate dinner at the Student Union (Matt got his favorite pizza, and I got a burger from Pappy's Sweet Shop).  The Boilers ended up beating the Michigan State Spartans.  Boiler Up!

-Eric and Sarah came to visit, and it was nice to see them and their energetic puppy, Maz!

March:
-I went to a concert with some friends from college.  It was nice to see everyone and to listen to some good music (country singer David Nail).

-I guess we didn't do anything else in March?

April:
-I got a promotion at work! In the IU Health system, all registered nurses start out as "RN Associate Partners."  There is a program called the Career Advancement program that nurses can go through, where they demonstrate that they go above and beyond to be involved on their unit and within the system.  I created a professional portfolio that was reviewed, and then I had an interview.  I was ultimately promoted to "RN Partner"!  There was a nice ceremony where my managers presented plaques to myself and another co-worker in the PICU.  After the ceremony, Matt and I went out to dinner to celebrate before I had to work at 11pm.

-Eric, Dad, and I went down to Lexington, Kentucky for the "Run the Bluegrass" race.  It took place near Keeneland racetrack, and were able to see the race horses practice in the morning as the sun rose.  It was paradise for this horse lover!  Dad and Eric ran the half marathon, and I ran the 7-miler as my ankle/shin/foot continued to give me trouble.  The race was gorgeous, but very hilly!  At mile 6, there was someone offering free beer (which is actually pretty common at races), and for the first time I actually drank it.  I'm not going to lie, I'm not much of a beer drinker, but it sure hit the spot!
-The night before the race, we met up with other "I Run 4" members for dinner, including the founder, Tim!  It was so cool to connect with so many people who make the running group what it is.  There were about 60 of us at the race!

Hanging out with the I Run 4 founder, Tim Boyle.

Watching the horses practice before our race began.

We eat hills for breakfast!

My cutest cheerleader, Anthony!

The whole group of I Run 4 runners at Run the Bluegrass!

-Matt, Mom, Dad, and I drove to Cleveland, Ohio, for the wedding of my childhood friend, Hilary.  Hilary and I have known each other since preschool and it was fun to see her marry her husband Daniel!  I do not remember what Daniel does, but Hilary is a Physician Assistant at the Cleveland Clinic.

May:
-Mom and Dad got a new dog!  His name is Teddy and he is super sweet.  They picked him up on the way home from the wedding in Cleveland.  Dad likes to call Ted his "birthday dog" because he was Dad's birthday present.

-The Mini Marathon tradition continued.  Dad and Eric ran the half marathon, but I ran the 5k (darn ankle).  At the finish, I saw the Indianapolis Colts quarterback, Andrew Luck!

3.1 miles = done!

Eric, Sarah, and me before the race

Andrew Luck!

-At packet pickup the day before the race, I was able to meet Meb Keflezighi, a silver medalist marathon Olympian and both a Boston Marathon and New York Marathon winner!  He is in his 40s and continues to be an elite athlete, but is so down to earth and nice.

-After meeting Meb, Matt and I had dinner with our friends Emily and Ben.  Emily was my roommate for two years at Purdue.  They were in town for the Mini, and it was nice to catch up with them!
 -After the Mini, we continued the tradition of eating way too much good food at Bub's Burgers!  Yum!

-Matt and I went to see the Broadway show "Phantom of the Opera" when it was in Indianapolis.  It was amazing!  There was a seat mix-up, so we ended up sitting in the 6th row for the second act.  It was so good!

-I received a full scholarship (conference fees, hotel, airfare, and a stipend) from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses to attend the yearly NTI (National Teaching Institute) conference.  I attended a couple years back when it was in Denver, and this year it was in New Orleans.  Matt tagged along and we were able to use frequent flier miles so that his flight was free.  We enjoyed exploring the city, especially because the conference took place over my birthday!
-Matt's parents were kind enough to take care of Thor while we were gone.  They even had him "Facetime" me on my birthday!

In front of a helicopter at the conference.

Jackson Square.

Crawfish boil!

Facetiming with the pup.

 -Matt's cousin Amanda had a baby, so we enjoyed meeting baby Fletcher for the first time and getting to play with big brother and sister, Liam and Stella. Congratulations on your beautiful family, Amanda and Matt!

Baby Fletcher!

I think I will end there for the night.  I will pick up with June for the next post!

Love,
Stacey, Matt, and Thor

#18 wins!!

Hi everyone!

We hope you all have been doing well.  I started working on my Master's degree in Nursing at the beginning of January and have been trying to find the best way to balance home, work, and school.  So far all is well.  I am taking 5 credit hours this semester and both of my classes are online.  The thing I like best about my program is that all of the classes are online and that I never have to go to any campus or physical campus.  When I begin clinicals next year, I will be "studying" with different physicians and nurse practitioners at their own practices.  Self-study with online classes has been very flexible and I am able to fit in my different readings, power point presentations, discussion board posts, and assignments when I have the time.  Assignments are generally due on a two-week rotation so as long as I get everything done within that time frame, I am golden!

Did you all catch the Super Bowl last night?  We did, and are so happy that the Broncos won, giving Peyton Manning another championship!  Even though Peyton is no longer an Indianapolis Colt, everyone here still loves and him and wanted to see him win again.  Peyton is truly a class act and if speculation is correct, he will get to retire on top with a Super Bowl win!

I was a bit disappointed in the Super Bowl last night.  The game was boring (save for a couple great plays by the Broncos defense), and advertisements were uninteresting (winner: Doritos ultrasound commercial), and the halftime show was also yawn-worthy.  But at least #18 got another ring!

Happy 26th birthday to Eric on Friday!  On Saturday, Matt and I went up to Fort Wayne with Mom and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa to visit Eric and Sarah.  They were great hosts and we enjoyed seeing their new house.  We had a nice lunch at Outback Steakhouse and then came back to the house where we ate ice cream cake and enjoyed a card game called "Exploding Kittens."  Thanks for having us!

On Friday, Mom and I went out to lunch and to see the movie "Room."  "Room" is told from the perspective of 5 year-old Jack, who lives in a place called "Room" with his mother.  His mother had been kidnapped at the age of 17 and she and Jack live in a shed in her captor's yard.  It tells the story of their lives, their escape, and their integration back into society.  I had read the book (which was very good), and the movie is up for several Oscars.

I am training for a few races coming up.  Progress has unfortunately been slow, as I have been battling a frustrating injury (tendinitis in my ankle) for several months now.  The injury required a "boot" for several weeks, as well as physical therapy and now a brace.  I am finally able to run again, but with restrictions, which makes it difficult.  I am most excited to run the Run the Bluegrass Half Marathon in Lexington, KY, on April 2.  I have been wanting to run it for several years now, as it starts and finishes at Keeneland race horse park and the course winds past many beautiful horse farms.  I was not planning to run it this year because of my ankle, but the running group that I am in with my buddy Anthony ("I Run 4") is having a meet-up at the race and I really want to attend.  Several members of the executive board will be there, including the group founder, and the race director is putting together many perks and photo-ops for members.  Eric and Dad will also be joining me for the race.  It should be fun!

That is all for now!

Until next time,
Stacey, Matt, and Thor

Happy New Year!

Welcome to the Draper Diaries, 2016 edition!

It has been several months since I last updated the blog, so I will use this post to quickly bring you up to speed on our life.  Luckily I take a lot of photos, so I will mainly let them do the talking for me!

October
-At the beginning of October, Dad, Eric, and I participated in the "Back on My Feet" Marathon relay.  In the relay, we took turns running a 2.2 mile loop.  The goal was to run a total of 26.2 miles (a full marathon) between us.  We came up a bit short of that goal due to some nagging injuries and one member's wrong turn, but we had a fun time dressing up as Star Wars characters and cheering on the other runners.  It was a bitterly cold day that featured rain/sleet towards the end.  I completed a total of 8.8 miles, went home to take a nap, and worked a 12-hour shift that night.

 -Dad and I both ran the Indianapolis (half) Marathon at Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park.  It was an absolutely beautiful day for one of my favorite races.  The leaves were at the peak of autumn color and the weather was perfect.  I finished the race with my strongest half marathon time of the year, despite the fact that I had been battling a very sore right shin for several months.

-I was sad that I had to work on Halloween, as I think it would have been fun to wear my Princess Leia costume while handing out Halloween candy to the trick-or-treaters!  We did have a "spirit week" at work, including "Tutu Tuesday," which was my favorite day to celebrate!

I fully embraced Tutu Tuesday

-Thor was in the Star Wars spirit as well.  Needed a hair cut he did, yes!

Thor was channeling his inner Yoda.

 -Matt celebrated his 31st birthday on October 18.  We went to see the movie "The Martian" at the IMAX theater.  Mom and Dad also celebrated their 31st year of marriage on October 6.

November
-I ran yet another race, the Monumental Marathon.  I started the day fully anticipating running the full 26.2 mile race, but ended up stopping and riding the "sag wagon" to the finish line after the half marathon (13.1 mile) distance.  I had been battling a frustrating shin injury for several months and despite efforts by physical therapy to get the injury to calm down, it proved too painful to continue.  Full marathon #2 turned into half marathon #13 instead.  It was a beautiful day for a run and I did enjoy the miles that I put in.

-We celebrated Thanksgiving in northern Kentucky with the Draper/Fortner side of the family.  We enjoyed a nice meal at Matt's Aunt Karen's house.  It was a quick trip as I had to work the next day, but it was good to see everyone.  We were even able to see Hailey, who continues to recover from her bone marrow transplant.  We were able to visit with her a bit from the front porch of her house.  Her immune system is still rebuilding itself so that was a safe distance to allow us to talk, but to keep our germs away!

December
-Matt and I went to see one of my favorite singers, Jon McLaughlin, in concert.  It was my third time seeing him and he was wonderful, as always!

-We also enjoyed seeing the a capella group, Straight No Chaser, perform.  For my mom's birthday, she and Dad took me and Matt, Grandma/Grandpa Ward, and Eric/Sarah downtown to see the show.  Afterwards, we went and had a nice meal at Buca di Beppo.  Happy birthday Mom, and happy birthday to Grandma Draper as well!

Dinner for the birthday girl!

Grandma Ward's first photobomb.

-We went down to Kentucky on December 19 to celebrate Christmas with Bob/Sheila, Rob/Leanne, and Grandma/Grandpa Draper.  We had a nice time visiting, eating catered Buca di Beppo, and opening presents.

-Happy birthday to Leanne on December 23!

-We were lucky enough to celebrate Christmas with many different family members.  The Schlaud family was passing through Indy on December 23 so Matt and I went to my parents house to have dinner and to visit.  We also played an enjoyable and entertaining game of "Pie Face," a Russian-roulette style game where you may be unlucky enough to receive a heap of whipped cream to the face!  We also all wore our best and tackiest Christmas sweaters, with Grandpa taking home the top prize.

-I worked on Christmas Eve, so Matt and I spent a very low-key Christmas at home.  I slept about half the day and the rest was spent watching movies on the couch.

-On December 26, we went back to my parents house to celebrate Christmas with Mom/Dad, Grandma/Grandpa Ward, and Eric/Sarah.  We opened presents, watched TV, talked, and colored in coloring books.  We also enjoyed a delicious ham dinner and opened presents!

Eric and I accidentally wore matching shirts!

-On December 27, Matt and I headed back to Kentucky.  We got to see "The Nutcracker" performed by the Cincinnati Ballet.  It was a beautiful performance!

-I seem to have picked up a nasty cold sometime over the holiday, so New Year's Eve was spent at home napping the day away!

We wish everyone a very happy New Year!

Love,
Stacey, Matt, and Thor