Summer vacation

I am officially on summer vacation! This is how I have celebrated/will celebrate:

Finals, food, photo shoot:

I finished my last final on Saturday around noon. The other SLP girls and I then climbed up on the rooftop of Shevlin Hall (it's a low roof around the back of the bldg) and took funny pictures (I'll post 'em soon) to celebrate finishing our first year of grad school. Then we went to the Library (a bar, not a place with books) and got drinks and apps to celebrate.

A friend's wedding:

Saturday evening, I went to my friend Bill's wedding, which was very fun -- lots of good dancing, including "Shout," "YMCA" and my favorite of the night: "The Beer Barrel Polka." I think it's kind of a Minnesota thing to have polka music at weddings...probably a German or Scandanavian thing. Anyway, polkaing really is an aerobic workout -- I was breathless! Anyway, Bill and Valerie's wedding was really simple and nice -- it took place in a park with about 50 guests or so gathered around as the two of them exchanged vows and rings in a short and sweet ceremony. Then we all headed inside for food, dancing, etc. I've known Bill since 5th grade, and it is so nice to see that he is happy. P.S. Valerie made her own dress! She sewed it herself. All of it! I am so impressed with her. I have lots of pictures from the wedding and will get those up here soon as well.

Roadtrip!

To celebrate the end of my first year in grad school, I am going on a road trip with Eric starting this Wednesday. We're driving through South Dakota, staying overnight in the Black Hills near Mount Rushmore. Then we'll head down to Fort Collins, CO to visit Eric's friend from high school and his wife. After hopefully doing some hiking around there, we'll head to Denver to meet up with some of Eric's friends and my friend Sam and her boyfriend Bob. I'm looking forward to hiking, going to a Rockie's game and exploring the sites! We'll be meeting up with some of Eric's work clients as well. Then Monday afternoon, we'll probably start the drive back to Minnesota and aim to get home on Tuesday. Should be a great week! Check back for photos...