An Awesome Weekend in the Middle of Chaos

Jason's brother and his family surprised him (I knew though ... oh how hard to keep a secret) for his birthday this weekend, and it was SUCH a nice break for me from my study schedule (it's always nice to see those two little nephews).

They arrived on Saturday and we all got to catch up. Saturday night, we toured through the Enchanted Forest light display up at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park (I just saw on the website that you can buy cheaper admission passes at Safeway - if only we'd known). What an awesome sight ... it was a drive-through tour, which was nice (especially touring in their new mini-van). The nephews were SOOOO cute looking at the lights.

Sunday we made some sugar cookies and did some hard-core decorating and checked out the Mendel Art Gallery, where we took in some festive harp music by harpist Chris Lindgren, the nephews got to paint on the snow, and we caught the Woodrow exhibit by artist Graeme Patterson.

We tried to do a little Christmas shopping, but we were bad hosts and couldn't find an appropriate store that was OPEN on Sunday. I guess Jason and I don't shop a lot. While we probably won't REALLY start shopping any more, it's a good reminder that we really should be doing our best to take in the Saskatoon experience in general (we wouldn't have done any of the fun stuff this weekend without the visitors). It's hard to remember that we need to take breaks in the middle of getting things done to really enjoy where we're at, but maybe that can be our New Year's resolution.

All in all, it was an awesome break from studying, and SOOO good to catch up with those guys.

The only downside is that I've developed a sore throat, which I blame on stopping to enjoy myself in the middle of exams. I usually don't have such a big break between exams, and don't stop until I'm all done, and THEN get sick. SO ... I'm trying to stall the inevitable and get through the last one before the sickness takes full hold.

And now ... I'm back in the crux of it all ... back to studying, flowcharts, CANS, casebooks, notes, and spreadsheets. One test left, and it's one that I'd really like to do well in. Oh Health law, hopefully we'll get to know each other REAL well over the next two days.

It's Days Like This That Keep You Going ...

... through the winter, that is. It is GORGEOUS outside ... by Saskatchewan winter standards. Only -11 degrees Celsius, the sun is shining ... I had to take a picture of the sparkling snow (SO GORGEOUS) in my front yard - so hard to capture .... but here's my attempt:

I Didn't Watch It, But I Can Hear The Horns Honking Outside

Saskatchewan Roughriders Win the Grey Cup

Seems that the score was 23 - 19 ... there should be a lot of shiny, happy faces in class tomorrow.

A friend of mine from class (and her fiance) made the trek out to Toronto for the game ... I'm so happy their trip was SOOO worth it ... and I can't wait to hear about their trip!