master diem/m.d./nicole devries, msw

This summer is flying by. I remember feeling like it was never going to come, because I had so many things I was looking forward to! I finally graduated from grad school! SO excited about it! I finished up my internship last week, and although it felt so great to be done, it was definitely bittersweet. I'll miss working with my patients and the other students and especially my supervisor. She was awesome, and I learned so much from her in the last year. But I'm glad to be getting so much time back; I can't wait to actually cook dinner for Eric and clean the house every once in a while! I've got to give him lots of props for keeping the house together during the last year.

So I wasn't planning on walking at graduation, but I'm so glad I did. It was great closure for me. And I could really feel good about my accomplishment and celebrate with my family.

At graduation w/ Jason, Brit, & Eric

Speaking of family, Jason & Brit get married on Saturday! That's crazy. It's so weird that my little brother is tying the knot, but I'm really excited for them. J & B are perfect for each other. This week will be busy with lots of wedding stuff: making the slideshow, picking up my dress, writing a speech, getting nails done, setting up the reception hall, and helping Brit move into Jason's house. I helped her clean out his basement and kitchen last week, and we took out and put all of their new stuff away, which was a blast; they got some great stuff!

This past weekend was Shelly's birthday, and I got to hang out with her to celebrate on her big day! We both bought LivingSocial deals for indoor rock climbing, so we did that, which was a blast. But then Shelly tossed her cookies, so we decided to put the kai-bosh on climbing! So then we sat at McDonald's for a long time and just chatted and ate (haha, I know, right?), which was such a good time. But it's always a good time with Shelly! I'm glad she was feeling well enough to eat ice cream & french fries with me!

Then we spent some time at the lakes this weekend. So much fun :) Eric's family is really funny in that they all have nicknames for each other... actually each person probably has about five of them. I started out as "Diem" because Eric's uncle (Fig) knows some of my cousins, the Diemers... even though I've never even been a Diemer! Kaitlyn coined "Nicole-in-law" because they have a sister Nicole already... Then it became "General Sherman" then just "Sherm," which I don't even want to get into the story behind. Something about an ancient tree in California and gas... But now that I'm a "Master" Fig's calling me "Master Diem" & "M.D." All I can do is laugh :)

Even my brother made it in on the nicknames! He went from Jason > Malibu > Replacement Devo > Meat & Potatoes > Permasmile > Smiley... Other family nicknames include: Sister Cole, Slackdog, The Hooter, Bart, Fig Bella, Virgil, The Boy, Bear, and on the list goes...