weekend update

the quick version, my weekend was spent watching hockey with my family.

my parents and brother were in town (the first from Florida, the later from Chicago). I hadn't seen either since the first week in February, so it was good to see them again. thursday night, we hung out at my parents house, watching hockey with my aunt & uncle and 2 cousins. it was a low-key, but fun night. the gophers beat scsu in overtime to advance in the wcha final five.
friday, i got to leave work early since it was Good Friday. i took the opportunity to get paper for wedding invitations i'm making for a friend. after that, i went to the Y for a decent run (2.25 miles, i'm getting better, folks). then i headed home for a quick shower & change, before heading to my sister's for family night #2. we ordered super yummy pizza and again watched hockey. we played hockey with the mini-sticks in the basement with my 1.5 year old nephew. he had a really great time. oh, and thursday was angie's golden-bday celebration with the fam. so between periods my nephew, jack, and i opened gifts. my family went all out for the golden bday, giving me a very cute shirt and matching bracelet. then on to the surprise gift, which was a sapphire necklace they bought in st. maarten when we were on our trip. although not a perfect match to my earings i bought (they tried to talk me into the earings that matched the necklace, but i didn't know that at the time), the necklace is a perfect accompaniment to the earings, and a great keepsake gift from the fam of my golden bday. the gophers beat colorado college with a crazy overtime goal, which ricocheted off a defenseman and the goalie's shoulder for the game-winning goal. it was a huge upset, since the gophers didn't have a very good season and weren't projected to do much. this put them in the championship game on saturday.
saturday, i woke-up early, thanks to my nephew. i ran some errands and picked up my aunt & uncle's dog, who i'm watching for the week. i spent the day on the couch watching tv with the puppy, just relaxin. (and lamenting the continuous snow-fall that just wouldn't stop). i made the nearly 30-minute drive south again saturday night to my sister's for the championship hockey game. (my 3rd day in a row driving down there). the game was really good, lots of good family time and laughter, unfortunately the gophers lost - despite the good fight. they took 2nd in the wcha, which is great. they advance to the ncaa tournament next weekend. I see more hockey-watching in my future.
sunday i again spent with the fam, for easter. it was pretty low-key.
i know, an exciting hockey-family-weekend! : )
hope everyone had a good easter, is surviving the winter-blahs, and is doing well.