This Weekend!

Hey everyone! I had an absolutely fantastic weekend which isn't quite over yet, so I thought I'd tell you all about it!  Since SMC students didn't have class on Friday (due to the research day), my weekend started on Thursday night.  A few of my friends (Alex, Emma, and Vick) had a surprise birthday party for our friend Caitlin.  It took a lot of planning and a bit of stress, but we managed to pull it off!  We all worked together to get supplies, make cupcakes, and set up Eddie's lounge upstairs in Alliot.  Earlier in the afternoon, Vick, Emma, and I made cupcakes in the Center for Women and Gender which is a cute little house right on campus, fully equipped with a kitchen and various rooms for hanging out or studying.

So delicious!

Victoria washing dishes - future housewife?!

Once the cupcakes were done, we secretly brought them back to Vick's room and then went to dinner with Cait.  Since Emma and I go to Zumba every Thursday, we had to pretend that's what we were doing so Cait wouldn't suspect anything.  So we actually ate in our Zumba clothes and then pretended to leave.  Cait had plans to go to Ben & Jerry's with her friend Danny, so Emma and I waited until she was off campus, and then we proceeded to change into regular clothes and go decorate Eddie's.

Alex, Vick, and Emma blowing up balloons!

As we were finishing up our decorations, we spied Cait and Danny through the window of Eddie's, so we all prepared for Cait and Danny to walk through the door.  So nervewracking!

We learned later that when Cait saw the door, she actually said to Danny "We shouldn't go in there, someone's having a birthday party!"  But Danny encouraged her to go in anyway, and we all surprised her.  She was so excited and so were we!

The rest of the evening was spent opening presents, eating delicious cupcakes, and just hanging out.  It was so much fun!  One of the most exciting presents was the remote-control balloon shark that Alex, Emma, Vick, and I got Cait.  She decided to name it Karen, and you can see her flying it here!



So crazy and cool!

One of my favorite pictures from the night:

Danny, Alex, Shawn, Emma, me, and Cait

Overall, it was probably the greatest start to a weekend I could've asked for, but that was only the beginning!  Like I mentioned before, classes were suspended on Friday for a research day.  This means that a lot of different research was displayed, as well as my favorite part, some dance performances.  Alex is currently taking a dance class, so Emma, Vick, and I all went to watch her perform.  I'm sure she'll blog about it soon, so look for that!
Friday also marked the beginning of Family Weekend.  My parents didn't end up coming because I've seen them for the last two weekends in a row (since I went home for Easter and then went to Boston/home last weekend).  However, Alex and Cait's parents came!  I had met Alex's parents in August, so it was nice to see them again.  I had never met Cait's parents, so it was great to meet them because I've heard so much about them!

Saturday morning was really awesome, because I got to give my FIRST TOUR EVER!  Saturday was an Accepted Students Day, so all tour guides (new and old) were there to help out.  Cait and I gave a tour together, which was so fun.  The families on our tour were awesome and made me so excited to continue giving tours in the future!
After our tour, I did some homework and then went to Emma's chorale concert.  The theme was 100 Years of Broadway, which was awesome! Check out a video here:

Afterwards, Mike Check, one of the a capella groups on campus, performed as well.  They were awesome!

Following the Mike Check concert was the Dean's List Reception, specially for students who made the Dean's List last semester.  It was a very nice way to recognize students for all their hard work!

Alex, me, Cait, and Emma

After the reception, more fun awaited!  Alex's parents were nice enough to take Vick, Emma, and me out to dinner.  We went to The Three Tomatoes in Burlington.  It was absolutely delicious and it was so much fun to spend some time getting to know Alex's parents.

Since I had such an awesome time this weekend, today has been dedicated to homework.  I have a lot to do with finals coming up, but I'm happy with my progress - the library is so great for getting lots of work done!

It's almost time for dinner, and then Alex, Emma, and I will be going to Lit Choir at 5:30 to practice and then perform at Mass at 7.  I'm so excited!

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and thanks for reading my blog!
~Merrill