A Summer Update

I think all that needs to be said: I'm surviving my first Arizona summer.  Should be an adequate update, right?  It's true-I'm not only surviving my first summer in the heat (and humidity) of Arizona, but I'm also training for a 1/2 marathon and once again flying solo again.

Here is our quick update-but actually kind of a long update.  Don't feel like you need to read it all.  I just haven't posted anything in several month.

Jay spent the month of May in Phoenix for his final rotation of his 3rd year.  It was a surgical rotation and one again he loved it!  He took the following week to finish up his 3rd! Wahoo!  One step closer to graduation.  The weekend he finished his surgery rotation, I flew to Colorado to see my sisters for a quick 48 hr trip.  We celebrated Heather's 40th birthday in Estes Park.  I came home to find that Jay had borrowed a carpet cleaner and moved all the furniture and washed the carpets while I was away!
A week later we took a quick weekend  trip to Portland for our 1 year anniversary over memorial day.  Despite being a short trip, we loved leaving work and school behind for a few days.  We love Portland/the Coast and love seeing family there.  (Oh and we like shopping there too...Columbia outlet always seems to call our name).  And somewhere in there at the end of April beginning of May I got called to be the second counselor in the YWs Presidency.

hiking at the Oregon Coast

Estes Park, Colorado with my sisters.  

Right now our anniversary seems ages ago.  Jay spent the entire month of June studying for Step 2 boards.  Last year he took boards 2 weeks after we got married.  He was determined to do better this year with extra time to study and less distractions, but studying 10 plus hours a day is mentally painful.  After 2 separate 9 hour test, his 3rd year testing was behind him we were on our way to the Northwest yet again for the 4th of July.  During the month of June I attended a nurse practitioner conference in Las Vegas.  It was a quick trip, full of great classes, and a beautiful hotel but the best part was catching up with friends.  I met up with Michael, a fellow EFY counselor from 8 years ago and Jann, a graduate school class mate who now lives in Vegas.  It would have been great to have Jay with me in Vegas, but he took one of his exams while I was gone.  Also, as a surprise for my birthday he deep cleaned the entire house.  I'm really enjoying coming home to a spotless house.

hiking in Mt Lemmon

Speaking at Girls Camp on dating and marriage.

birthday dinner with Marcus and Theresa

Jay and I got to take our first actual vacation since moving to Tucson during the 4th of July.  We flew back to Portland with another couple and spent a week playing.  We ran on the waterfront, wandered around Saturday's market and the farmer's market, ate at the food pods (multiple times), spent a day at the coast, went paddle boarding on Lake Union with Sheri, camped at the San Juan Islands, spent a day kayaking around Soucia Island, enjoyed fireworks with family, went berry picking, and spend hours catching up with family and friends.

hiking Ape Caves in Washington State

Seattle, WA

Kayaking in San Juan Islands, Washington

Crazy Yoga moves on the Portland Waterfront

Sucia Island Ferry.  It took us from Orcas to Sucia. 

We love hiking in the NW with all the beautiful trees!

Lake Union, Seattle  Paddle Boarding with Sheri

And with Jay

While in Portland, we found out that Jay's rotation in Tucson for the month of July fell through.  We were left scrambling for a last minute rotation.  Thankfully, a surgeon in Utah that Jay rotated with last year allowed him to come spend a month completing a surgical ICU rotation. It has been a hard reality for us to face.  It is another month Jay is away from home and the change happened in a matter of days.  We flew home from Portland on Saturday at midnight.  Jay caught a flight to Pennsylvania for a practical board exam Sunday morning.  He drove back to Tucson on Monday night and 10 hrs later his car was packed and he was on his way to Provo, Utah.  After he finishes his rotation in Utah he is off to Michigan, Pennsylvania, possibly Colorado and possibly Missouri for audition rotations.  I'm learning early on the life of a doctors wife.  We definitely try to make the most of the time we actually do get to spend with each other.  I'm flying up to Utah for a family reunion and will get to see Jay in between shifts at the hospital.  We are also running a 1/2 marathon together that weekend if I can survive the altitude change.  My goal is just to finish.  I've been waking up at 5 am on Saturday for long runs but it is still 80 plus degrees with 65+% humidity here in Tucson.  It is brutal.  On week days I run on the treadmill at the gym.  Thanks to the food network channel I can stay entertained while on my treadmill.

And that my friends is our update.