Remember me?

I know it's been awhile.  The good news is that I finished up third semester about 3 weeks ago and my summer has officially started!  My friend Nicole summed up third semester quite nicely here.  I have to say that one of the biggest 
benefits of starting nursing school when I did is meeting some of the most amazing girls I know.  I have made some great friendships and I hope that we are all able to stay in touch after graduation.  It's so nice to have a bunch of girlfriends to help you through the rough spots of nursing school!  

My mom gave Aaron and I the best Christmas present ever this past year.  She gifted us a week of her time to watch the girls so that we could get away.  It's the first time we've had that much time alone together since before Maddie was born.  In fact, the last time we took a vacation that long alone was in March of 2000!  We had a week "vacation traveler" package at a Westgate resort and decided on Orlando, Florida when we found a great deal on airfare.  I had never been and Aaron hadn't been since high school.  We bought 6-day park hopper passes and had a great time!  Our trip started on May 8th and we returned on May 15th.  I think my mom had a good time with the girls, in spite of a cold that had her feeling pretty crummy.  Thank you so much, Mom!  

I am currently compiling a list of things to do and places to go this summer with the girls.  We are going to Jackson Hole at the end of July with my family, and will be hosting a friend of Aaron's from his mission for a bit this summer.  He's coming all the way from Scotland!  I met him when Aaron and I were dating and we found him online last fall.  We're really excited to spend some time with him again.  

Fall semester starts on August 26th.  I don't even want to think about it right now!  The fourth semester of the program is rumored to be pretty brutal.  It's only 16 weeks between me and the NCLEX (licensing exam) and I know it can be done.  This summer I'll be going over the Kaplan NCLEX review book and reading over some of the units that are more difficult for me so that I'm hopefully ready for the last of it.  I'm also still doing my internship at the newborn ICU once a week.  I really enjoy it there.