7 days of Christmas...continued!

Day 5: Christmas day is traditionally our low-key day with just the immediate family. It's a glorious day when we sleep in, open presents, watch movies and relax. The highlight for everyone (except Dad) is staying in pajamas all day, so to spare you, there will be no pictures from day 5!

Days 6-7: The O'Connor Christmas was in Indiana at Dan & Jess' this year. We made the 6-hour drive to Indianapolis to spend the weekend with Mom's family and celebrate the holidays. And the pattern of overeating and laughter continued...luckily, everyone was able to make it except cousin Derek. (We missed him dearly!) The long drive made some of us a little crazy (see photographic evidence below) but we still managed to have an amazing time!

5 Kennedys + 1 vehicle + 6 long hours

Cousins + Aunt Jeanie...love it!

Ashley and her mini-me...Shea

Aunt Amy and Daner...too cute!

The ladies playing horserace, the calm version :)

Daner and Shea Shea, my buddies

Regan was excited about the telescope loot!

Guitar Hero and Wii were a big hit throughout the weekend. The highlight might have been watching Dad get in there!

Get it, Aunt Judy!

Check out that form...a professional bowler!

It was a whirlwind of a week, but a great one. I hope you all enjoyed the holidays as well. Now it's time for me to get to working off all those Christmas cookies and wine! Thankfully, Ash is around to help me stay "motivated"...

7 days of Christmas...

The past week was full of preparations, celebrations, family and gluttony for the Kennedys. Christmas lasted for 7 days and I'm hoping I can work off a fraction of the calories I took in over the next year! I've included a not-so-brief summary for you all to enjoy!

Days 1 & 2: Cookie-baking with the O'Connor ladies...yes, we took two days to bake enough for everyone!

Auntie Sheila and Mom, ie the Peanut Butter ball rollers...
Can't tell they're sisters, can you

Dane, Rachel and Ali working quality control!

And in between the cookies - after lots and lots of anticipation and excitement - Ash made it home from Spain!!

We wanted to welcome her in her new language of course!

Look at how cute our little European is :)

Day 3: The Kennedy Cousin Christmas party was graciously hosted by Katie and Jeremey. They've done an amazing job renovating Grandma and Grandpa's old house, so it was great to see. The night was full of good company, weird coincidences, lots of laughs and reminiscing...including, but not limited to: Ms. Betty W. and the County Fair. Can't wait for next year!

Days 4: A long-standing tradition -- Christmas Eve with the Kennedy family! It was great fun to see the whole family together and catch up. Of course there was way too much food, laughter, gifts and (yes) caroling. Good times all around.

Dad and his sibs

The traditional piano recital had a Hawaiian flair this year thanks to Mia

Cutey Keana

Lady Kennedy Cousins - missing a few

Princess Sophie and her pearls

The night would not be complete without goofing around...

Grace hiding from the camera

One word: Payback :)

Days 5-7 coming soon!

Wisconsin bound!

I'm headed to the airport for the long holiday break. I'll be in Wisconsin through January 7th! Missing my SC friends, but can't wait to see everyone back home!

Holy snow!

Just got off the phone with Dad and he had finished clearing about 5 inches of snow off the driveway this morning. They're expecting more snow the rest of the day...first big storm of the season!

The weather in Columbia today: cloudy with a high of 67 degrees...

Thanksgiving Recap

The trip home for Thanksgiving was glorious...full of relaxing with family and friends. Despite being the lone DMK daughter home for the weekend :(, it was it was still a great time. The playdate with Rachel was a blast (lots of stories and wine), seeing some of the Kennedy clan was energizing (and made me excited to see everyone over Xmas), spending time at home Mom and Dad was great and seeing roomie Caitlyn was so exciting. All in all a great break before the craziness of the end of the semester! Here are a few pictures from the weekend...enjoy!

Keeping the tradition going...

An intense game of Scrabble...

The dessert table (before all desserts had arrived)...

Oliver, Emma, Matt, Claire

Rachel (my playmate:), baby Kingston and Aunt Bev

Me and baby Kingston...he's adorable!

Uncle Tim, Aunt Sue, Mom, Dad...housemates for the weekend

Claire and Grace

The lake on Thanksgiving morning...

Mom and Dad at the hockey game...they broke the losing streak!

Me and Caitlyn back on our stomping ground

Cait, Ryan, Steve and me...visiting our favorite spots

It was great to see everyone over the short break. I can't wait to spend more time with you all over the holidays!

So close...

I have two papers to turn in tomorrow and then I will be done with my first semester as a grad student. How crazy is that? It seems like the semester has absolutely flown by! Of course, what finals week would be complete without some type of sickness...this semester, it's a raging cold :)

The final countdown:
10 days 'til I'm back in Wisconsin
2 weeks 'til Asher is back and the fam is reunited
2 weeks 'til Christmas celebrations start
Can't wait!!

Headed home

Tomorrow I will be heading back to Wisconsin for a long weekend. I am so so excited to spend time with family! This morning I daydreamed about Thanksgiving morning all the way to work. Fun fun :) I can't wait to hear Rachel's entertaining stories, cook with mom, hang out with dad and the rest of the Kennedy clan, and spend time in Madtown with Caitlyn!

Wishing you all a great holiday weekend. I hope you eat lots of delicious food, find some great deals and enjoy the time with friends and family. For those I won't get to see...I'll be thinking of you and can't wait to see you in December! Happy Thanksgiving, Tricia

Excitement for the weekend

Amy and her friend, Nicole, are driving down to Columbia for the weekend! We have no major plans, so it should be lots of fun showing them around and relaxing. We're also heading to Charlotte on Sunday to meet up with Erin Jensen Gray. Can't wait!

Evidence of how quickly I've acclimated: I told Amy it was going to be cold here this weekend (so she could pack accordingly). "Cold" is now 50 degrees and sunny. Stumbling across these gameday pictures was a nice reminder...

Late in the season in Wisconsin...

Late in the season in Carolina...

Have a great weekend!

Not-so-fun Study Break

So I spent my Sunday break at the Student Health Center this afternoon...a throwback to elementary school days because I have pink eye. In both eyes. Yuk. Eyedrops four times a day will be a challenge with my whole dislike of putting things in my eyes. Off to disinfect my apartment and wash my linens...any other suggestions??

1st Conference!

This past weekend was tough not being back home with the Kennedy clan, but luckily, I had plenty to keep me busy here in Columbia. I attended/worked my first conference sponsored by the National Resource Center! We sponsor six conferences each year, but the Center hasn't hosted a conference in Columbia in a number of years, so it was pretty great to be a part of one in our "hometown".

The conference this past weekend was the 15th National Conference on Students in Transition and we had about 275 attendees - college administrators, educators, student services and student affairs professionals. This conference focuses primarily on transitions outside the first year, like the sophomore year, transfer students and the senior year experience. Working the conference meant very long days followed by early nights before starting over again the next day. And, since we were in Columbia, it also meant seeing lots of familiar faces from the USC campus and my program -- which was very refreshing and energizing!

I was exhausted after the conference which makes it hard to imagine the Annual Conference in Orlando. It's our biggest one with close to 2000 participants and lasting 5 days! It will be an experience, that's for sure!

Favorite memory

Grandpa Kennedy passed away on Wednesday and many of you have already shared the thoughts and feelings we are all going through. He will be terribly missed but I can only imagine how happy these two are to be together again. Remembering how much they loved each other and their family is what I'll always hold on to.

Happy Election Day

It may be overcast and a bit rainy, but there are already long lines at the polls here in Columbia. Several of my coworkers waited in line over an hour having arrived at their polling locations right at 7 a.m. I hope you all have pleasant waits in line today!

There are actually no classes today at the university or local schools because of the election...it is a big, big day! (It would be nice to have the students around because I'm sure they would add to the energetic atmosphere) No students = a quiet campus and office = productivity (hopefully!). I'm putting in a few hours at work before heading to Charleston for the evening with some friends.

I hope you all enjoy the energy and excitement today brings...happy election day!!

I'm in love with Asheville

Last weekend I had my first introduction to Asheville, NC when I traveled north for my cousin Erin's wedding. The city is amazing -- beautiful sites, cute shops and mountains. I can't wait to go back. The best part about the weekend by far though, was seeing my family!

Mom, Dad, Uncle Tim & Aunt Sue were all in Columbia on Thursday so we met up with a bunch of my HESA friends. (Special thanks to Mary and Spen for playing tour guides while I was still in class!!) I'm glad they were able to finally put some faces with the names of people in my world down here.

Friday we made the short trek north and arrived in time for the welcome reception. I got to see a bunch of the aunts, uncles and cousins, the bride and groom, and - at long last - sister Amy! Highlight of the night: Rachel being asked if she was married to our cousin, Brian...bring on the jokes about the South :) (Sorry, Rach)

Saturday was a bit chilly for the wedding, but beautiful nonetheless. The ceremony was outdoors and amazing. They had a bluegrass band for the music...the wedding had so much personality, I loved it. And look how gorgeous Erin is!

After the ceremony, they hosted a cocktail reception under this beautiful tent (complete with heat lamps...yes, it was cold!). My family members worked very hard to stay warm which meant the wine and beer was flowing freely...I think it's safe to say we all had a great time. Here's a shot of the Kennedy clan that made the trip. We clean up nice, don't we?

Some more pictures from the day...

Kennedy ladies (minus Simran and Erin)

Amy, Dad and me

Erin protecting her cake from the uncles

With their quilt from the aunties...adorable

Results of the squash soup incident...awesome

Amy, Aunt Sue & Mom

All in all, a great weekend...so refreshing to see my family! Congratulations Erin & Jason!

New addition

Cousin Kimmy finally joined the blog family! More adventures in Spain...check her out! http://marikimi.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday!

To my always and forever roommie! Sending my love to Michigan...Have a great one, Caitlyn :)

Randomness in the past 24 hours

Since returning to Columbia yesterday, I have yielded to a pedestrian on horseback and witnessed a student in a neck brace riding in the back of a pickup. Seriously folks, I don't even live in the country...downtown Columbia!

More about the wedding and weekend with the fam soon...happy Monday!

The countdown is on

Just three days away from Mom, Dad, Uncle Tim and Aunt Sue's arrival in Columbia! And five days until Erin's wedding in Asheville...to say I'm excited is an understatement!

Only a few things to do before I get to enjoy time with family:
1) Class facilitation in Org, Admin and Gov.
2) Paper for assessment class
3) Reviewing 77 proposals for Annual Conference

Busy busy :)

Fall Break

So today is the first official day of fall break here and despite not having an exciting trip planned, I am so so happy for a long weekend. It's amazing how quickly days fill up with classes, work, practicum and reading so a respite from that craziness is very welcome!

We started the break last night with a get-together at a local establishment which was a lot of fun. It was quite the crowd of HESA folks and was really great to catch up with friends. Despite taking classes and working together, it is rare to have real quality time during the busy weeks. And I've already made my first trip to the airport of the weekend...this morning, I took roommate Melissa as she's flying home to Michigan for break.

These next few days are sure to be packed full of excitement...a haircut, working on a project, meetings, reading...the list goes on and on :) Don't worry though, I will spice up the weekend hanging out with friends and relaxing. And the State Fair is happening this week and I can't wait to go. The fairgrounds are literally down the street so depending on the quality of fried food, multiple trips may be in order!

Day in the life: One of the prettiest spots on this campus is the Historic Horseshoe. This is the Maxcy Monument in the middle of it...enjoy!

So scary it's funny

So normally, I stay away from anything political but Sarah Palin has sucked me in. I'm no political buff, but the thought of this woman running the country scares the crap out of me. At least we can all get some laughs, right?? Thanks, Tina Fey...

Wisco Connections

Driving home from church on Sunday, I found myself behind another Wisconsin license plate...very rare down here so I was quite excited! My friend, Lauren, and I shared a laugh when we noticed the moo cow bumper sticker mixed in with the other clutter. (Dad-- you would have loved all those stickers ;)

Another reminder of home came yesterday...a new editor started in our office and we got to chatting about how she ended up in South Carolina. She's lived on the west coast for a long time, but she grew up in - of all places - Wauwatosa! After discussing some Wisconsin fare and traditions, she let me know about a great place to get custard. Unfortunately, its not in Columbia, but it is in Asheville so I'm thinking a stop is in order when we're there for Erin's wedding!

Small, small world...have a great day!

Photographic evidence

The rumors are true, folks...I really did wear a dress to the USC game this past weekend. And I actually have photos to prove it. Before you all get too disappointed in me, I want you to know I thought very long and hard about the wardrobe choice. I even tested out the shorts and t-shirt option on our porch that morning before ultimately deciding on the dress. And as much as I hate to say it, I'm so glad I went with the dress. It was RIDICULOUSLY hot that day...up over 95 degrees! Tailgating and watching a game in that weather was a new experience. (Disclaimer: Graphic material) I should have known it would be a long day when I had sweat through my dress (for the first time) before arriving at our tailgate spot. Yikes! Here's a bunch of the girls in my program who went for the dress option:


These were taken early on in the tailgate...before a ponytail was an absolute necessity and the term "hot mess" was an understatement.

Roomates Melissa and Emily, buddy/coworker Spencer and me

Some favorites...Spring and Jenn

This girl cracks me up...Mary :)

Caitlyn- This one's for you...

PBR SIGHTING!!!!

My first glimpse of "Cocky" in the stadium...isn't he cute?

Not quite as ferocious or entertaining as Bucky, but what can you do?!?

Despite the heat, it was a fun day and great introduction to SEC football. Although, nothing quite compares to the Badgers being in the top 10! All of you attending the big game in Michigan next weekend better cheer hard :)