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