Hi everyone! So I just took a midterm for my survival analysis class today and I have to say that I may, just may, have studied a little too much for it. The only good thing about that is that I really think I actually understand the material. I'm not claiming to have done well, but I think I couldn't have studied more to expect the types of questions we had. It was a hard, but fair test. He believes in making 15% of the exam basically impossible to challenge the "smarties" in the class. We'll see how I end up!

So back to my header...I am leaving tomorrow morning for South Carolina to visit my grandparents. They have lived there my whole life and since I grew up in Wisconsin, I didn't get to see them that much growing up, but every summer, without fail, they drove up to visit us for a week. My mom (and dad when he could) would take the week off of work and my entire family would enjoy trips to the park or zoo or playing miniature golf with my grandparents - it was a week of fun! While I noticed every year that my grandparents were getting a little older, it really didn't hit me until this past summer when they didn't make the drive that they are, well, old. They have missed a few summers here and there, but this past summer my youngest brother graduated from high school and that should have guaranteed their presence; but they no longer feel healthy enough to drive. I decided then that it is time for ME to start making the trips more regularly. I have gone to visit them or met them in various fun places (Myrtle Beach, Orlando) but it was always in addition to the summer visits. I meant to make the trip this summer, but it never seemed to happen, so when semester started, I looked at my midterm schedule and planned the trip for after as a "treat" to myself for getting through one more roadblock of graduate school. So tomorrow I am leaving the backpack and grad school and everything here in Minnesota to go spend a whirlwind 48 hours with my grandparents. I am so excited to spend time with them and my uncle and aunt, who also live down there and who are expecting their first child in January! Spending time with family is a sure way to rejuvinate and tackle the rest of the semester.

I hope you all have a great weekend - take a little break this weekend, you deserve it!