Coming to a Quick Close

While its been a fun ride, the last weekend before finals has come to an end. The study window that has been looming over our heads for weeks has finally opened...and there's a really cold, unwelcome draft emanating from it.
On the brighter side of things, yesterday was the long waited for P-Day! Yes, it rained, and yes, it was about twenty degrees colder than it has been for the past couple of weeks, but it still came out to be one of the funnest days I've had yet here at St. Mike's!
I vividly remember looking at St. Mike's, deciding I wanted to go there, hearing P-Day mentioned a whole lot, and never quite fully understanding what it was. So for those of you incomers who don't know, P-Day is the Saturday of the last official weekend before finals. Events go on for the majority of the day- the "trike race" (a spirited race on tiny scooters, either to be watched or participated in!), inflatable obstacle courses and games, lots and lots of free food, live music, and a comedy show!
On my very first P-Day, I had pizza, fries, crab rangoons, ham and cheese crepes, and, once again, Ben and Jerry's all for free, failed miserably at the inflatable obstacle course, soaked my socks at the inflatable slide, and very quickly exhausted myself! But first, I heroically woke at 7:45 AM to attend a few presentations at the Academic Symposium, where St. Mike's seniors present their final research projects. Needless to say, it was a very full day!

Photo-ops in the long line for food tokens.

One of the many inflatable games...you decide who the victor is! 

Can't wait to see all you incomers at next year's P-Day, I know it'll be a great first, just as it was for me!

Happy Easter!!!

To those of you out there who celebrate, happy happy HAPPY Easter!
Oh, the perks of a Catholic college- Friday and Monday off! St. Mike's is coming to the end of a quick little Easter break, and it's insane to think that after just a few finals, packing, and of course P-Day, I'll be done with my freshman year of college! Time FLIES.
As always, I'm beyond super excited to be headed back up to St. Mike's tomorrow (I feel like I say this every time...), and I'm surprised at how sad I am to be leaving in just a couple of weeks.
I've heard of a couple of friends who will be coming up to St. Mike's in the fall as freshman- SO excited! And to the rest of you who also made the right choice in choosing St. Mike's, I'm equally as excited to see all of you in the fall! I hope you're just as excited too.
So, to wrap things up: a little peek of today's Easter goodies...

 Easter basket finds...malted milk ball eggs! Whoppers, anyone? One of my favorites.

One of Auntie's many dessert creations: red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, covered in Cadbury Eggs! (Needless to say, my eyes were bigger than my stomach on this one. God bless holiday food! Gotta love a good excuse to stuff your face.)

In other news, I'm all packed up and ready to go for tomorrow morning...comin' in hot, St. Mike's!

PS, I can only hope that all you incoming freshmen will share my enthusiasm for this place come fall-time! See you soon!!!

Home Stretch!

As the semester is coming to an end and the weather has begun to warm up (thank god!), there have been lots of things to do!
Earlier this week, I made it to Church Street for Ben and Jerry's' Free Cone Day! Even though it rained a little on our way over, we managed to get lucky and it stopped just in time. The line extended through most of Church Street, but it was worth it! Especially since we correctly answered a trivia question that bumped us to the front of the line...if you ever need to know which Ben and Jerry's flavor is the most popular in Japan, it's Cherry Garcia!

After a brief wait in line on this cold, soggy day, we finally made it out with our free ice cream...what better ice cream is there?

In other news, it's hard to imagine as students have begun to lay their blankets out on the lawn and whip out their guitars that it snowed under a week ago...if there's one thing I've learned about Vermont, it's that you never know. Sundresses one day, flurries the next. Even though it was brief, it certainly sent a panic through campus on Tuesday morning. 

Thankfully, that came and went, and I think it's safe to say that Spring has officially sprung! Though this past Friday was a bit of a stressful one with class registration for next Fall looming over our heads, we made it a good one with a trip to the Champlain waterfront, my favorite place in Burlington! 

It's always a gorgeous day at the waterfront...the only struggle is deciding which lake shot to Instagram! #SoManyChoices

 

Somebody spotted Champ, the Champlain lake monster.

 

 

We also made a quick stop into SkiRack, because it's never a bad idea to drool over the latest models. 

Wasting time before catching the bus...camping wine glasses, anyone? Always fun finds at Outdoor Gear Exchange.

 

As hard as it was to tear myself away from the sunny campus, we had to make one last Smugg's trip on Saturday to get in some Spring skiing before putting away all the hand-warmers for the season. 

 

A little sticky, but it was a beautiful, warm day. It was the first time in a long time that I had no layers constricting my head movement...so freeing!

I swear I could see Lake Champlain...and farmland...and across the entire state. Thankfully, it wasn't a crowded day, so I could stop and take all the pictures I wanted without a judgmental eye or  catastrophic crash.

Fun find of the day...a crafty wind chime made from ski poles!

I'll certainly miss Smugg's in all of its skiing glory and photo ops...but I'll happily trade it in for the beach just for a little while! 

It was a fun week accomplished before the stress of next year's housing and final exams hit, but we'll all make these next couple of weekends at St. Mike's worth our while for sure!

 

 

Fun in Historic Jericho

If you're ever venturing up to the Smuggler's Notch area, you'll pass through an adorable little town called Jericho. This week, I made it up there with my freshman seminar class on a field trip (yes, those still happen at St. Mike's)! We visited the snow-making crew at Smugg's and heard the tales of their trade...it's definitely a much more difficult job than most of us would think! Later on, we visited Old Mill Park and the Snowflake Bentley exhibit (only a 30 minute drive, and well worth it!) where we witnessed the original copies of his iconic crystal photography.

Bentley ventured out into snowstorms with a piece of black velvet and a feather, selecting the perfect snowflake, holding his breath, and capturing it with his microscope and camera contraption before it melted! He made a life of this, never marrying and living with his mother- that's passion!

Some of Bentley's original handwritten letters.

A quilt made by his mother.

The beautiful gift shop! 

 

I definitely recommend stopping by after a day at Smugg's, or even if you just happen to be in the area! (It's also very close to Snowflake Chocolates, I mean, if you're into that kind of thing...) 

In other news, the weather seems to have turned, although I'm not quite sure if I should get too excited just yet. As of now, however, campus seems to be turning green! Skies have been blue, and clouds have been few! A few muddy puddles aside, campus has been gorgeous!

The view from good old Lyons 411!

It was amazing seeing so many families at the Accepted Students Day yesterday. There was quite a bit of enthusiasm for such a cloudy day! I take that as a good sign. Can't wait to see every one of you in the Fall!