Surprise!

This weekend I ventured home for my little brother’s graduation, and even though the surprise was ruined a couple of weeks ago (thanks mom! 😉) he seemed happy that I came all the way home to celebrate with him. And of course, since this will probably be the last time I’ll be home before my sister gets married in August, we celebrated the future bride with her bachelorette party and bridal shower this weekend too. It was a very busy, but memorable weekend!

It started early Friday morning when I arrived in Sioux Falls at midnight and after getting a few hours of sleep, Molly and I spent the entire day preparing food and cleaning her apartment for the guests we would have for her bridal shower on Saturday.

When all was ready, we kicked off the bachelorette party that night by doing an escape room – which I had never done before. We went to escapades in Sioux Falls and did the Paris Heist, where we had to attempt to steal Kim Kardashian’s wedding ring and escape before the “cops” showed up. Man, they do not make those things easy!! We had 60 minutes to do it and made it out with 4 minutes to spare. It was hard, but I’d definitely be down to try it again in the future!

After the escape room, we went out to a nice restaurant and then went to the hotel that Tanner’s parents were staying at and went swimming and hung out in the hot tub and played some games. It was a night full of laughs for sure!

Saturday was crazy busy. We started with Molly’s bridal shower and I was technically the one putting it on so I was directing everything and keeping things moving. It was fun, but I’ve never been to a bridal shower before, so I didn’t always know what I was doing. I think it turned out to be a good time and everyone else seemed to have fun too. It was great to meet Molly’s friends and her new family members, and it was awesome to see my family members whom I haven’t seen in a while as well. I loved celebrating my sister and it makes me all the more excited to watch her marry the man of her dreams in a few short months.

Right after the bridal shower we hurried on over to Augustana to watch my brother walk across the stage for his graduation. Other than a very dry, 45 minute keynote speech, it was a wonderful time to watch my brother graduate with his friends. I’m very proud of him and I know he’s got a bright future ahead of him!

Finally, today we went to Parker, SD to attend worship at my uncle’s Luthern church. It was great to see him in action as I’ve never seen him preach before, and it was a new experience for me too because it’s been years since I’ve been to a Luthern church service. It was very relaxed compared to the Catholic Church and I really liked that! Hopefully I can catch more of his services when I’m home in the future.

After church, we came back to Watertown for the evening so we could pick up Zeus. And even though I get to spend less than 24 hours in my childhood home and snuggling with my puppy, some time is better than no time at all. We were both very happy to see each other!

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend even if it was short and went way too fast. I don’t get to come home very often anymore, but I treasure the time I do get to spend here and I always look forward to it. I had a lot of people ask me this weekend if I was ever planning to move back and I honestly don’t know. It’s certainly possible someday. But I’m also enjoying getting out in the world and experiencing new places. Maybe I’ll venture on to a few more states before ever coming back to SD. Maybe I’ll never move back. I don’t know what God has planned for me, but I do know my time in Virginia isn’t over yet. I may not always love VA, but I’ve grown quite attached to it, and it has quickly become a second home to me.

I head back to VA tomorrow (Monday) and I’m excited to see Nate, but I’m also going to miss my family. Talking to them on the phone is great and all, but it just isn’t the same as actually being here. Hopefully these next few months go quickly and I’ll be back home before I know it!

Happy Memorial Day weekend, and I’ll see you next time! 🙂

Megan Reiffenberger