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