SD Week One

I’ve been in the US for just over a week now, and what a week it’s been.   Here’s a quick re-cap:

Monday –Went for a nice, long walk in the trees.  Then, I went to garden club with Mom and Aunt Beth.  We learned about holiday flower arrangements.

Tuesday – Went shopping in real, live stores.  I spent most of my time at Barnes and Noble sitting on the floor of the children’s’ section.  A few hours and way too many dollars later, I emerged with Christmas and birthday gifts for my nephews and baby gifts for several of the new or soon-to-be moms in my life.  I made a stop at one of my favorite places, Juice Stop.  Mmmm… Juice Stop, I have missed your fruit smoothie goodness.

Later that night, I joined Dad as we cheered the Tea Area Titans on to victory over the Vermillion Tanagers.  The game was fun to watch, but when did high school students get so young?  Surely, I didn’t look that young when I was in high school.  Maybe the better question is, do I really look that old now that I’ve been out of high school for almost ten years?

Wednesday – Had a special visit from my Aunt Chris, Cousin Amy, and Amy’s adorable little boy Roman.  Check out lots of pictures of Roman and family here at Happily Ever After...

Thursday – Studied, avoided studying, cooked dinner, avoided studying some more.

Friday – Test Day!!  I left Mom and Dad’s house bright (or really dark) and early to make the one hour drive north to Brookings, SD.  When I arrived, it was still dark. 

When I emerged 9 hours (we got an hour for lunch), it took everything I had not to set fire to my box of books.

 Honestly, the test wasn’t that bad.  It was pretty much what I expected from the practice tests.  We’ll see in January if I did well enough to pass.  I made the hour long trek back to Sioux and joined the rest of my family for Aunt Beth’s 50th Birthday party.  This party was just family.  It was a great chance to see all of Mom's side of the family - even my Uncle Tom made the trip in from Iowa.

Saturday – Spent the morning visiting more family including my Cousins Misty, Karen, and Anne.  Saturday night, we gorged ourselves at the church’s annual Turkey Supper.  We finished up the night with a wine tasting featuring wine from three local vineyards.

Sunday – Beth’s official birthday party.  I spent the day taking pictures of all the guests and making sure the crock pots of nacho cheese, cocktail weenies, and meatballs never ran out.

What a week, and it’s only going to get busier from here.  I’ll leave you with a sunset picture I took out of the car window on my way home from Brookings on Friday night. 

I stopped the car before I took the picture, don’t worry!  Oh... and Happy Halloween!