Our New Toy

Jeff has been eying these adjustable weight dumbbells for several months. He's excited to have them and I am too! My goal...to have Madonna-like arms by the end of the summer (well, maybe not that extreme--she is a bit sinewy)!

Not too exciting...

I know I've been neglecting this little blog 'o mine but, really, we haven't been up to anything that exciting! I suppose we should be grateful for our relatively uneventful life!

After Jeff finished his first year of dental school, he started two days later with the second year. He's in desperate need of a vacation (2 more weeks!)--Kyle and Kim are hijacking him again this year for half of his time off. They are going to put him to work laying some tile in their bathrooms. All I have to say is that they better return him promptly this time, with all of his digits in tact, and without a weapon (gun)!

Work has been keeping me busier than usual but, with all good things (grant proposal, papers, new employees, community work). I'm grateful that I am able to work and that I enjoy what I do. I am definitely in need of a vacation at the moment but, two work trips to Denver and San Antonio in June will have to do for now.

As evidence that we are still here, alive and kickin', here are a couple of pictures of Jeff making fast work sanding his mouth mold (I'm sure there's a technical name for it that escapes me). I think his professors intended him to do it by hand but, he's a practical and handy guy.

Cheap Southern Fun

Dad and Betsey were in town this past weekend for a quick visit before they returned to dreary Idaho (seriously, still snowing!). We had beautiful 85 degree weather so, we decided to introduce them to a north central Florida treasure, the Itchetucknee River! It's a spring fed river (fun factoid--it produces 230 million gallons of water every day) and is a fun, cheap way for us southern folks to stay entertained and cool.

Jeff prefers to traverse the river in a tube.

He really tried to stay somewhat dry when he mounted his floatation device but, he promptly flipped right off the back of it.

I prefer the yacht of the floatation devices--72 degree water is a bit chilly for my taste.

It was a great way to spend the afternoon! We had a fun couple of days and can't wait to have my Dad and Betsey back in Florida soon!

One Down, Three to Go

Jeff officially finished his first year for dental school on Friday! Yay! He worked really hard this past year and did so well--I'm so proud of him!

The first picture was taken Friday, the second on his first day of school. Can you tell he spent a lot of time in the library? A little more pale, a lot more tired, and maybe just a little softer...

This year went fast for both us us, which means we'll have to figure our where these Toblers are settling sooner than we may think! It's all very exciting though. Three years to go and only one year of classes left! Congratulations, love, the first year is over!

A Quick Trip to Palm Bay

We spent a quick weekend (or part of the weekend, anyway) in Palm Bay last week with the Chad Tobler clan. Jeff's mom was in town to help celebrate (or mourn...depends on who you ask) Chad's return to the workforce so, we went down for a day and two evenings of fun.

Violet showed Jeff how to use an iTouch...




We were able to spend most of Saturday outside, which was a real treat for me! Mostly I've been enjoying the spring sunshine from the confines of my office. So, it was great to get out and get some vitamin D!

We enjoyed a sunset walk on the beach, even though we were on the wrong side of the state.




Little Violet was sure not to leave me behind. When I started lagging behind, she would yell "Em-eee, Bien," which I quickly learned was "Amy Come" in Spanish.





We found a Violet-sized hole and buried her in it. I'm sure she still has sand in all of her cracks 'n crevies.



The boys grilled some delicious ribs for dinner. Jeff, as always, enjoyed himself (although not cleanly).

Excellent

Read these. Immediately. I have not enjoyed a book series so much since, well, the Twilight saga, and frankly I'm a lot less (or not at all) embarrassed about really enjoying these!

The last book in the trilogy will be released in August. You have my permission to wait until then to read them if you want to get 'er done all at once.

A Weekend on Pine Island

Jeff was on spring break last week and to celebrate we spent the weekend on Pine Island with my Dad and step-mom. Pine Island and its neighboring city, Matlacha (pronounced Matt-Lachay), are interesting places--very colorful, kind of random, but so fun!

We had beautiful weather on Saturday and Sunday and it was a welcome relief from the cold and clouds (to those of you up north or out west, yes, I understand that this is all relative).

We explored the island by bike (beach cruiser, baby! Have I ever mentioned I'm not really good at riding a bike?) and car and found some great treasures--some beautiful, big homes amid trailer parks, some funky and delicious restaurants (if you get the chance to eat at the Sandy Hook, do!), and some small biker bars with great names (e.g., Ragged Ass).

Jeff found some coconuts while out and about...

Any trip to visit my dad would not be complete without a great cookout--steak, chicken and fresh gulf shrimp. Yum! Since the shrimp were fresh, they came as God made them. Dad and Jeff made them suitable for eating. Ashley and I avoided this processes like the plague. Neither of us enjoys seeing our food with a face.

I didn't get a picture of it but, Ashley made quite the entrance on Friday night. She drives a big, four door, Titan that makes sure nothing gets in her way--including the string of lantern lights marking the parking area next to my dad's motor coach. Once she clipped one, she decided to just keep going and flattened the rest of the string. We all had a good laugh about it!

One of the things I love about Jeff...

So, Jeff woke up early this morning to drive to Palm Bay, Florida where he will spend the weekend with Chad and company. I am always nervous when Jeff has to drive somewhere "foreign" alone. He just doesn't have a good sense of direction. And while he's been to Chad's house on numerous occasions, I was still nervous.

He called me a couple of hours into his trip and says, "I was thinking of you. I see the cruise ships and the Tiki Bar!" (one of my favorite places for crab legs and sweet potato fries). I thought this was really sweet and felt bad having to tell him that he has in deed gone too far (maybe 30 minutes passed his turn). I promised him that in just two short months (when my t-mobile contract is up) I will buy him an iPhone, equip it with the GPS application (I'm the IT department at our home in addition to navigation) and then neither of us will have to worry any more about him getting lost.

I've Always Loved Football Players...

Jeff and his buddies are in a flag football league and boy do they take it seriously! The games usually monopolize our Saturdays--the intense focus before, the game itself, and the re-hashing of all of the great (and missed) plays, as well as the new aches and pains, for the remainder of the day. It really is fun for all. Jeff enjoys it and the wives and children usually attend so, I get some good girl time in every week! Plus, it's so nice to be outside when the weather is nice!

They have a good team and are looking forward to the playoffs!

My thoughts on Valentine's Day...

I agree with Ashton Kutcher. Shouldn't we show and celebrate the love in our lives 364 days out of the year and then have 1 day where we let out our frustrations with the people we can't stand? Seems like a much better idea to me.