Tobler Christmas 2010

Jeff and I spent a week in Vegas for Christmas this year with Karl, Jan, Jake, Steph, Clark and Rachel. We kept really busy and had a great time!

After an afternoon at the temple with Karl and Jan, we made our way to Ethel M's chocolate factory and walked through their Christmas light display. I have to say, I was really impressed! The lights were beautiful and the free chocolate sample really complimented our visit!

The next day, we did the annual Tobler Family Graham Cracker House Build. Jeff and I usually host one of these before Christmas but, this year, we were just too busy. Our friends, the Copelands, kept the tradition alive in Dallas for us. We sure miss them!

After 7.5 married years together, we've got our system down. I do the glue whilst Jeff builds and then he does the glue whilst I decorate!

Look at that structure! This year, we opted for a two story house with walls reinforced with toothpicks--brilliant!

Our finished product--solid as a rock!

We had a couple of nights out on the town. The first, we went with Karl and Jan to have dinner and see Jersey Boys. It was fantastic! The music was so great and we really enjoyed our complimentary upgrade from the balcony to the center of the orchestra section!

Of course, no trip would be complete without a meal at In and Out! Yum! The excessive calories are totally worth it...

For the first few days, I made myself at home in Jan's kitchen. My goal was to master the famous cinnamon rolls, as well as a light and fluffy dinner roll. Is there anything better than the smell of baking bread!?! I think not, my friends.

Diets be damned! The nice thing about cooking for the Toblers is that they eat it all and enjoy it! Of course, this also means their palates may be less discriminating but, this year, it worked in my favor with my slightly over done (Crispy) Christmas Quiche.

The other nice thing is that the clean-up crew is cute and is a good kisser. ;-)

My time in the kitchen was very productive, yielding cinnamon and orange rolls, apple pie, dinner rolls, (Crispy) Christmas quiche, chicken and sun-dried tomato penne, pear salad, and my Christmas cupcakes. I love to cook so, this was a great way to spend my first few days! However, I was happy to relinquish my apron to Clark, who is master of the orange chicken.

(Yes, we went to the gym every day--did it help? Jury is still out...)

Any kitchen adventure wouldn't be complete without a spill, break, burn, cut or other injury. This time, the zester struck both me and Jeff! There was a little bit of me in the orange rolls and a little bit of Jeff in the quiche.

Christmas day was very relaxing and we were so happy for Clark and Rachel to arrive!

Jeff spent a lot of time doing this...

Or this... (playing poker on his iPhone. Yes, he's playing Jake, who is sitting next to him. Oh the miracles of modern technology...)

Of course, no Christmas would be complete without the giving of Gator apparel.

Do you want to see what pure joy looks like? Take a look at Jan with her new baby--a fancy Canon DSLR camera!

One afternoon, we drove out to see the new bridge that bypasses the Hoover Dam. We had seen them working on it during our last trip to Vegas and were excited to see, and walk across, this feat of human construction.

800 feet down...

Given that Jeff and I are slightly afraid of heights, we high-tailed it off the bridge shortly after taking this picture...

(Yes, I'm wearing faux fur. It's in this season and so fun! Don't believe me? Ask Rachel Zoe.)

...But not before stopping to straddle the Arizona/Nevada state line.

Our last day in Vegas (or the day we thought was our last) was a busy one! We ventured up Mt. Charleston in search of some more pleasant scenery. We found it, and some snow!

The other purpose for this trip was to take this picture. Apparently, there is a Tobler Elementary School in Vegas. Jake and Steph gave us all "Tobler Tigers" t-shirts to support this little school and our namesake.

After returning from the mountains, we did a quick change and then headed out for one last night on the town--dinner, the Vegas Show, and the Belagio gardens.

We had a bit of trouble getting home but, were so glad when we made it! We've spent the last few days relaxing, doing a few chores, and enjoying each others company! We had a great Christmas and hope you all did too.

(This is Clark's official pose. No kidding, Rachel has pictures of him in this feign-urinating pose all over the world.)

Our Halls Are Decked

Jeff and I picked our Christmas tree up on Friday night. It definitely did not feel like Christmas time! It was quite warm and humid and it definitely did not feel right!

Fortunately, the rain brought a cool front that made it feel like Christmas time the very next morning. So, I opened up my windows, cranked up the carols, and decked our halls!

Hey, Dad, do these glittery ferns look familiar!?! I found these at an Old Time Pottery while visiting my Dad a few weeks ago. When I saw them, I couldn't wait to turn them into my new Christmas centerpiece. Of course, when I bought them, I was covered in glitter, and when I put this together, I was covered (again) in glitter! My Dad, being the great guy that he is, mounted the display bins to dig out the very last green, glittery fern when I bought them...he was covered in glitter too. :-)

Look! Santa has all ready brought me a fun, handsome (sleepy) man for Christmas!

Giving Thanks

We made our annual pilgrimage to my mom's for Thanksgiving and it was another great time--lots of fun and delicious food!

We had only one kitchen fire...

Fortunately, it was contained in the oven and was just a bit of flaming apple pie goo!

We all pitched in to make our delicious feast. I made the rolls (again). We couldn't remember exactly when this became my task but, I think I've been the bread-girl for the last 13 years and I've about got it right!

Dave fried the turkey and it was delicious!

Even Jeff pitched in, cutting the pears for the salad and looking extra cute in his blue polo.

We played a nice family game of Texas hold 'em,

which Jay won,

and we all took very seriously. (For the record, Jeff says he had to smile like this so that he could keep his chips over his eyes.)

New to our Thanksgiving gathering this year was the Turkey Games! We had a five-event Wii tournament that featured the downhill, ski jump, hula hoop, obstacle course and archery. Of course, doing this soon after eating several thousand calories made it all the more interesting!

At the end of the 5-rounds, Greer was crowned the wii-nner of the first annual Turkey Games. Her prize...$40 (it was a $5 buy-in) and bragging rights for the next year.

I have much to be thankful for this, and every, year. Not the least of which are all of the yahoos above. I've been incredibly blessed to be surrounded by good people, at home, at work, at church and to have the opportunity to love, and be loved, by my sweetheart. I'm grateful to be able to work and provide for our little family. I have a job that I love (most of the time) and am engaged in work that provides many opportunities to leave the world, and people, around me a little better. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and Savior that know, and love, me and are there to give me a spiritual hug when I'm feeling down and direct me to the good things in life when I seek Their counsel. I'm grateful that Thanksgiving is a holiday that reminds us to focus on the good and recognize the great blessings we receive. It's the perfect way to set the tone for the Christmas season!

When we have free time...

(which has been quite rare lately) we fish! Jeff took me on a romantic fishing date a couple of weeks ago. Nothing says love like fish, stinky shrimp, and aggressive seagulls!

This was Jeff's sad face after we ended our fishing date. He was sad about the score:

Amy - 3

Jeff - 0

A beautiful end to our fishing date...

For reference, this date was the second week of November--it's this time of year that I love living in Florida!