Graduation Weekend #2

I've been MIA for the last week because I have been studying 24/7 for the NCLEX, the nursing licensure exam. I'm not telling anyone when I'm going to take it in case I don't pass, haha ;) I just don't want to deal with everyone's sympathy if I don't make it. BUT I am going to pass and I have post-its all over saying just that! So hopefully I can psyche myself into passing!

This past weekend we had another graduation in my family. My cousin Scott graduated from Duke University's Master of Engineering Management program!

Scott has an apartment up there so David, Marley, and I stayed with him and Kylie! Aren't they just the cutest couple? :)

Saturday was his hooding ceremony and he was so funny! He was half way across the stage before they even called his name :) We were definitely proud of him and to top it off, we found out earlier Saturday that he had an internship set up that will (fingers crossed!) hopefully turn in to a full time job! Yes!

*I love this one...mom fixing the hood before the ceremony :)

*I love this one too...mom looks so happy and proud!

We went out to dinner at a mexican restaurant after the ceremony and it was so delicious! Although, we had to pay for chips and salsa...what kind of mexican restaurant do you have to pay for chips at?! We were all really exhausted so we went back to Scott's apartment and watched Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and hit the hay.

*And just because he is so handsome... :)

*And just because this is probably one of the best pictures of us!

We got up early Sunday for brunch at Bob Evans--Scott's request :) Then we headed to the Duke Chapel for the diploma presentations.

It was beautiful inside the chapel, but the serenity didn't keep people from whooping it up for their family graduates! It was a great ceremony and a wonderful weekend.

Gosh, we sure do have a lot to celebrate in this family! So proud:)

Nursing Graduation :)

Warning: This is a long post with a lot of pictures!! :)

This past week was all about graduation from nursing school. Tuesday was the Pinning Ceremony and Wednesday was Blessing of the Hands, which you can read about here. Thursday, the nursing girls had a "Bachelorette Party" for the three nursing girls who are getting married this year.

*Me and Van, the 2 September brides!*

*The whole group! Love you girls:) *

We went to a new restaurant called San Antonio's. I loved it! And actually, now through May, everything on the menu is $5!! (I think it's a marketing ploy for the restaurant, but most of the entrees range from $13-$22, so $5 is a pretty good deal!) So needless to say, I will be going back there a few times in May :)

Saturday was graduation day! My future in-laws came in to town to help me celebrate and I'm so thankful for their support--and the fact that they are letting me marry their son! ;)

We got to the school about 8:30 am and grabbed a row of seats! I got a couple of pictures with my family and then a few with my friends. Then it was about time to line up.

* Me and my handsome granddaddy*

*Me and Les before graduation!*

*My family all in a row, there to support me!*

The nursing girls were in the back of the line so we were last to graduate. Word at the graduation is when they announced the Presbyterian Nursing School graduates (we all stood up to be recognized), we were the loudest group there! We were so thrilled to be finished and relieved to finally be at this point! As we walked across the stage, we were given our diploma and then hooded. (Colleges and universities used to hood their bachelor graduates, but most have stopped. Queens still does and it was a great experience!)

*Receiving my diploma!*

*Getting hooded by my grandmother's friend, Dr. Chris Allegretti. It was such an honor to be hooded by someone I know and look up to!*

Once we were all finished walking, the graduation was pretty much over. After the recessional we all went to meet our families. I was so excited!

Then we got a slew of pictures with my family :)

*My favorite aunt. I sure do love her!*

*My wonderful, supportive mom :) I love her, too!*

*Such a supportive fiance! :)*

*My wonderful cousins!*

*My incredibly supportive, wonderful grandparents. I wouldn't be anywhere without them!*

After graduation, Leslie's family held a graduation luncheon at their house.

*Me, Les, Vanessa, and Seana at Leslie's graduation luncheon!*

They are some of the kindest people in the world and we all really enjoyed getting to spend some time relaxing, eating, and enjoying each other's company! Once we left there, we made a pit stop at Vanessa's house because her family was throwing a graduation party there as well! We were pooped, but my family dinner was that night :) We had a great dinner outside on the deck, opened presents and spent the evening hanging out.

If you've made it this far, congratulations! :) Sunday we made breakfast for my mom and David's mom and that pretty much sums up our week. It was such a wonderful weekend and I am so thankful for all of the support and love from my family and friends through this experience. Now...if I can only pass NCLEX! :)

Graduating...

Today, at 10:00 am, I will be GRADUATING nursing school! I am so excited!! :) I'm sure I'll do a full length post all about this special day later!! :) Have a wonderful Saturday, everyone!

Graduation Week

Man, I have SO much free time now that I'm not constantly working on nursing stuff! I've already cleaned my room and my bathroom and re-watched the royal wedding (I know, I know. It's weird. I don't care!). And now I'm working on updating my blog! Monday I took my last nursing final (and to brag just a little...I ended up with at 97 on it!!) and that was the start of graduation week! When we left the exam, we all felt like we still had a million things to do for school! It hadn't actually hit us that we were completely done with nursing school! Lucky for us, the school had some things planned for us.

Tuesday afternoon, we had the Pinning Ceremony. The pinning ceremony welcomes new nurses into the field of nursing and we receive pins from our faculty. It was a really nice ceremony and Leslie won the Senior Nursing Award!! I was so proud of her :)

*She also had to give a speech and she did AMAZING!*

*My grandparents came to the Pinning Ceremony. They are always so supportive!*

*Receiving my pin! I'm letting my hair grow out for my wedding...I can't wait to cut it off! Ha!*

Yesterday, we had the Blessing of the Hands Ceremony. It was such a beautiful ceremony and I think it really hit home with us that we were through. We have made such wonderful friends over the last 2 years and it seems too soon to leave them!

*Getting my hands blessed by one of my favorite professors! (Photo courtesy of David O'Neal)*

*I sure do love these girls! (Photo courtesy of David O'Neal)*

Tonight, all of the girls are getting together to throw a "bachelorette" party for the three girls who are getting married! I think it is really just an excuse to get together again ;) But whatever the reason, I'll take it because I am going to miss these girls so much! Saturday is graduation and I think it is going to be bittersweet.

David's family will be coming up for my graduation and we are having a family party Saturday night! I am so looking forward to it! I just hope the weather cooperates! :)

Just a Few More Hours...

...and I will officially be done with nursing school! I have one last final tomorrow at 9:00am and I am more than ready for it to be done :) We have our class picture following the final and after that, I will be packing up those scrubs and putting them far, far away! (Until I get a nursing job, ha!)

But I just thought I'd update before going to bed! (After all, I don't have any more nights to stay up late before school!)

Thursday night, I spent the night with one of my nursing friends, Leslie, (who also happens to be a bridesmaid!) and we got up at 4:30am on Friday to watch the festivities. We kept saying over and over how glad we were that we decided to get up and watch everything live! We made a pot of coffee and just thoroughly enjoyed watching this fairy tale come true! I'm marrying a soccer boy so I was loving David Beckham :) His hair looked mighty nice combed to the side!

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I also think Prince Harry is just the cutest thing (Chelsy Davy is so not, though...) and I thought it was so adorable how he turned around to see Kate walking down the aisle! And he seemed to have done a wonderful job keeping his brother relaxed on his big day :)

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And Kate looked phenomenal. She is so beautiful and I really don't think the Queen could have asked for a more perfect woman for the future King of England to end up with.

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I almost cried when Prince William told her she looked beautiful.

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She held herself with such grace through the whole experience, but I loved her response when she first came out on the balcony, "Oh, wow!" They were all there for her!

I taped it, and yes, I've watched it all over since then :) (And since my semester officially comes to an end tomorrow, I will have ample time to watch it again and again throughout the week, I'm sure!)

Still on the same topic, my mom and I went to the mall Friday afternoon and look at what we saw:

Yes, even here in America, people were dressed up like the Duchess of Cambridge :)

But, I think even more exciting was the fact that my mom and I got locked in to Pottery Barn Kids with Usher! He was in town for a show and happened to be in PB Kids when the whole mall realized he was there. They kept wanting to take pictures of him and he was not happy about it so the poor lady who owned the store shut down and wouldn't let anyone in. So we had to stay put until they took him out the back way. I didn't get a picture of him because he was, well, angry, haha! I posted on FB that I saw him and one of my friends said, "no picture, then it didn't happen!" So, I saw him a while later and took a picture of him then! Unfortunately, it's his back, but by that time he had the mall cops taking him wherever he wanted to go :)

Oh! And an update on the baby bunnies: they all hopped the nest early last week. David was a little upset, but I told him that he had been a good daddy to the babies and they were going to do well out in the world ;) Kate Middleton got to marry her Prince, and I can't wait to marry mine :)

Have a great week, everyone!