A Twin Babymoon & A Shower

I've officially had my last big trip before the baby comes! Last week, Ashley and I (Jay joined us later) took off to visit my Dad in Bloomington, ID (population 251). Unfortunately, Jeff couldn't come so it was a babymoon with my twin! It was just what I needed before I get back to work and start the fall semester--teaching, writing grants and papers, growing a human, somehow expelling that human from my body...it's going to be a busy one!

My adventures were quite limited this trip. So many of our usual activities just aren't a good idea with our little lady inhabiting my body; that, and there just didn't seem to be enough oxygen up there! So, I took it pretty easy and just enjoyed the beautiful scenery and some cooler weather.

We had a nice dinner at Coopers in Bear Lake West one evening. It sure was pretty up there!

 

 

We spent a couple of days on Bear Lake (or Burrrr... Lake, 70 degrees is just not very warm!)

The first day was beautiful. We had a hot day with calm water.

  Ashley braved the cold water to do some skiing

And my Dad showed us how to get 'er done on the knee-board. Can you believe he's 57?

The second day, the wind was blowing and there were white-capped waves so, we just enjoyed a nice pizza lunch on the lake with our friend Jimmy (Buffet).

It was a little chilly when the water splashed into the boat so, we took cover under what ever we could.

Jay had never been camping before--a tragedy that Ashley quickly remedied. They took the 4-wheelers up the canyon (I drove--again, no fun for me!)

 Ahh...young(ish) love. So sweet...

We helped them set up camp before they took off to hike up to the glacier lake.

 

 

After we set up camp, my dad took a look at the crick (or "creek," depending on where you're from) and said, "There's a fish in that hole, and I'm going to catch it on my first cast."  Surrounded by skeptics, he swung his line in...

...and 15 second later pulled out a trout! Jay was mighty impressed!

 

What was more impressive was that he did it again right after that! And then he set his pole down and ran down to town for a meeting and when Jay picked it up, there was a fish on the end of that one too! There are either a lot of hungry trout in that crick, or my dad is the trout-whisperer!

 

Also, since it was Jay's first time in the woods, my dad had to have a little fun with him.Jay was so excited when my dad pointed out a lady-elk (I'm sure there's a technical term for it...) standing off in the bushes. He led Jay and Ashley tip-toeing through the woods only to find that it was, in fact, the lady-elk decoy that my dad had set up earlier. We all had a nice giggle about it. It was pretty funny watching them creep up on it. But, had we known how Jay responded to encounters with cows...there could have been many more, easily achievable giggles!

 

That evening, we had a traditional camp-fire dinner, along with an assortment of camping goodies--banana boats, smores, and dutch-oven cobbler. It was all delicious! 

Did you know that Jay was a Seminole? I know, it's sad. Jay's enjoying the renewed life of the 'Nole football team. The Gators are going to be rebuilding this year but, we'll have to have another 8 years of bad football before we rival the slump that the 'Noles just came out of. Hopefully, it won't take that long!

 

The best part about this camping excursion was that before bedtime, me, Dad and Betsy all headed back to the house to sleep in the comfort of our beds and with the convenience of a plumbed bathroom a few feet away. Ashley and Jay toughed it out in the 40 degree weather!

Our time in Bloomington ended with an evening at the rodeo. It was great fun! Lots of delicious fair-food, great people watching, and mutton-bustin' to boot!

We rejoined civilization in Ogden, UT--meeting up with family for lunch on the river at the Oaks...

...and preparations for a baby shower!

 

Jay even got in on the fun!

We also had some more great news to celebrate...some nuptials on the horizon!

Ashley, my mom, aunt and cousin threw a baby shower for me and my cousins wife, Kate. We are both expecting little girls later this fall.

 

Dessert anyone? You can imagine how quickly this table was cleared! Cupcake? Don't mind if I do...

 

 

 

It was a great party and I felt so special to have so many of my family come and support us and celebrate our little lady. Jeff and I are amazed at the number of people around us who are so excited for us. We feel so loved!

The Bump Appeareth (21 Weeks)

At long last, our little girl has made herself manifest. Over the last 2 weeks, my belly finally "popped" and I have gratefully moved from looking like a girl with a beer-gut, to one that is obviously pregnant.

Our little girl keeps getting stronger and stronger and we frequently enjoy feeling her kick and move about. I bought her first little dress and a few other items this weekend and we can't get over how small they are! We've both been caught lingering in her closet looking at her little clothes... I also made some cute little flowers for her hair--I tell you, the fun is endless!

Now that I'm half way there, here are a few of my thoughts on pregnancy thus far:

1.  Thankfully, I haven't been sick at all, only extremely tired. When I'm at home, I'm awake for about 4 hours before I need a nap and if I could get away with it at work, I would definitely crawl under my desk for an afternoon snooze. I keep waiting for that 2nd trimester burst of energy that I've been reading about but, it evades me. I am anemic so, hopefully the iron supplements will help me feel less like a zombie.

2.  My taste-buds have definitely been changing. Some days certain foods sound great, and others, they make me wrinkle my nose. Fountain soda tastes better than canned and eating salad has become more of a chore than enjoyable.

3. The weight gain and change in my ability to run and exercise like I'm accustomed to has been hard. I've worked so hard over the last two years to be able to run a few miles and enjoy it (most of the time). Now, I run and the 12 pounds I've gained so far feel like 50 and my hips and knees hurt the whole time. But, I just do the best that I can and think about our sweet little girl and that takes the edge off. :-)

4. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to be a mom and to share this journey with Jeff. It is humbling to realize the depth of our new responsibilities (which we are only now starting to grasp) but, I'm so looking forward to growing with Jeff in that way. I'm looking forward to having something more important than my work and am grateful that I'm in a position that's so flexible that will allow me to work when and how I want.

5.  I cannot wait to see Jeff as a Daddy--from the first shock of what fills the diapers to those fun and tender moments as he interacts with her--there isn't much that would make him more attractive to me than he all ready is but, I'm sure this will!

What a blessing it is to have this little lady in our lives. We can't wait to have her in our home in just a few short months!

20 Weeks Later...

...We know that It's A Girl!

We had our anatomy scan today and were greatly surprised when the nurse said right away...It's a Girl! Jeff and I, both, were sure that it was a boy but, we are extremely excited about our little lady! She's a healthy 12 ounces and "looks perfect." I think Jeff was in shock for most of the day but, he came home tonight and asked how his girls were doing so, I guess that means it's sinking in!

For our most interested followers, check out the video of our little miracle:

She's a sleepy-head, like her mommy. We woke her up and watched her try and get comfortable enough to fall back to sleep. You can see a big yawn in the video and her right had seems to hang out by her face a lot--we're thinking she's a thumb-sucker!

It's now time to start shopping! I'm really looking forward to that! (Especially since maternity clothes shopping is the pits!)  And teaching Jeff all about tea parties, Disney princesses, barbies, etc... :-)

A Thump for Daddy

Jeff was finally able to feel the baby kick last night. It was weird and wonderful. Only a few more days until our "it" becomes "baby girl" or "baby boy!"

A Birthday and a New Coat

Friday was Jeff's 25th (again) birthday. And we had extra reason to celebrate--it was his white coat ceremony too!

The white coat ceremony marks the half-way point of dental school and represents the transition from classroom learning to clinical care. Jeff gets to spend the next two years in the clinic, which we are both looking forward to (8am-5pm, clinic closed on Fridays--almost like real life!).

A couple of girls in Jeff's class made these cakes for the occasion. It's kind of an interesting story--they requested $500 of class funds to make them, which they (crazily) received. While they were neat conversation pieces, I don't think they were worth $500--no one even ate them!

Here's my handsome hubby getting his new coat. I was (and still am) so proud. It's been a long road. We both remember sitting at a friend's white coat ceremony 5 years ago thinking, "someday, this will be us." And finally, it was!

Jeff and his buddy Sean. Sean frequently requests life advice from Jeff during sim lab.

The UFCD class of 2013--two more years!

A bunch of my family came up to Gainesville for the afternoon to support Jeff. We both really appreciated it and we can't wait to have them all back for graduation (did I mention it's just two more years away?).

Jeff and a couple of his buddies, Don and Dennis. Don't they look so smart and professional?

To continue the festivities, and those for Jeff and Greer's birthdays (they are the same day), we retreated to one of our favorite asian restaurants and proceeded to stuff ourselves on sushi, Ichiban shrimp, homemade apple pie (for Jeff) and cookie cake (for Greer).

For Jeff's birthday/white coat gift, my mom, Dave and I got Jeff his much desired, and long-awaited for, handgun. It was a great surprise!

The reason for his surprise was that I was, and still am, uncomfortable with firearms in the house. It's a public health safety thing (my chances of getting shot at home just went up!) and I really don't like that we have a small armory (okay, not really) in our house. Jeff claims it's for home protection (not really, since everything is locked up--a bat would better, I think) and food storage (squirrel or armadillo anyone?) but, I'm not convinced. However, I realize that a handgun inside my home was inevitable and I figured, why not get the cool-wife points and surprise him?

Buying the gun was an interesting experience. I felt so Republican trucking into Gander Mountain in good 'ol Ocala to pick up my gun. Minus my dress and stilettos, I almost looked like I belonged. When I picked it up, the guy handed it to me for my inspection--I just held it and pretended like I knew what to do with it. I'm sure both of the guys working the armory, and the hillbilly buying a gun next to me, were all convinced that they'd see me in the news soon--the lady who shot herself while trying to dig her gun out of her enormous handbag...

But, Jeff has assured me that all will be well locked up and out of the reach of our newborn baby come November. He's happy, I'm now "cool," and when the next hurricane hits, we'll have all you can eat squirrel to sustain our lives.

Keeping with Tobler tradition, birthday boys (and girls) get a box of their favorite sugar cereal. This year, I have pledged not to eat Jeff's entire box...(but the baby might)

Doesn't he look so distinguished? I'd let this cute guy work on my teeth any day...

Remembering a Good Man

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to spend the weekend in Indiana with my family remembering, and celebrating the life of my step-Grandfather, John Hackett. He was a pretty amazing guy, very well accomplished, but mostly I enjoyed hearing about how his sense of humor and how he was really interested in developing the people around him.

A couple of years ago, a sculptor created this piece in his honor. It's called the "self-made man." Aside from being a really cool concept, it is a great tribute to him.

The services (both church and graveside) were very nice. One of the most memorable moments of the church service was when little Mekoya (our 4-year-old cousin) started snoring very loudly during one of the more reverent moments. It provided some much appreciated comedic relief and everyone thought that Grandfather would've gotten a kick out of it.

While the circumstances of our visit were not the happiest, we did manage to enjoy some quality time together--mostly at this fabulous ice cream place, Zaharakos. De-licious!

As part of their antique collection, they have this scroll-playing organ which plays some fun circus-sounding tunes. It was pretty neat to see--Dave called it "the original iPod."

Three Peas in a Pod

Last week Ashley and I were able to spend the day with our long-lost triplet, Carly! It was so good to see her. My undergraduate experience was so great and a large portion of that greatness was due to my friendship with her. It was fun to spend the day catching up and reminiscing. Of course, it made us all feel old when we thought about how long it really has been since our days of coffee-table dancing, evenings with the golden girls, and solving all of our (and the world's) problems over a pint (or gallon) of ice cream and/or some peanut m&m's.

Of course, it was glaring obvious how far we'd come over lunch as we were entertained by Kai (Carly's cute little man) and all checking our smart phones for things we had to attend to at work--Ashley's the tax director for a large real-estate investment company, Carly runs a skilled nursing facility in California, and I'm a lowly professor. How did we all get so old and responsible?

Our reunion took place at Islands of Adventure and we enjoyed some time in Dr. Seuss land...

...and Hogsmead/Hogwarts!

No trip to Hogsmead would be complete without a pint of frozen butter-beer!

Looks like a milk ad doesn't it?

Of course, it is all fun and games until someone (Carly) gets shat upon. I tell you what, nothing says "you're my friend" like cleaning pigeon feces off somebody.

 

It was a quick visit but, so good to catch up with good friends. It's so refreshing to be with people that know you so well and have been with you through some major periods of personal growth. These two have always been, and continue to be, a great blessing to me and hopefully it won't be 8 more years before we can get together again!

One of us was on vacation...

Every year I attend the conference for the Society for Prevention Research. This year we were back in DC and my trip coincided nicely with Jeff's two week break from school. So, I  brought myself a man to keep in my hotel room! Jeff kept himself busy while I was busy working--sleeping, working out, walking the city, a few trips to Au Bon Pain (which was more fun before we realized they put the calorie count on the pastry bins), and hanging out with a buddy from his mission.

Taking a cue from Adam Richman (Man vs. Food), every evening we went on a culinary adventure. There was one noteworthy failure and a major triumph. Our dismal failure was to little Mexican place called Oyamel. We looked at the menu in the window and thought, OK, let's give it a try. Well, as we ordered our aqua frescas and a few dishes to share, we quickly realized that this was a tapas restaurant (although, this was *not* clear on the menu). Generally, I think Toblers do not do well with tapas (especially these Toblers). Each plate contains about 5 bites and is usually just enough to leave you more hungry than when you arrived. Well, 30 minutes and $50 worth of (what we consider) appetizers later, we left and had to stop and pick up a sandwich to satiate our hunger. It was a great, and expensive, disappointment.


Our triumph was a little place called Luke's Lobster. It was so good that we ate there twice. They are famous for their chilled lobster sandwiches--heaps of chilled lobster atop a buttery, toasted garlic bread with a little bit of mayo and seasoning. My mouth waters just thinking about it. Our first visit, we had the lobster sandwiches and on the second, we went for the Noah's Ark--one of everything on the menu.

 

Add to that a cold bottle of sasparilla and some kettle cooked salt n' vinegar chips and this little lady (and baby, and baby-daddy) we're mighty happy.

On our last evening there we were able to take a nice long walk down the mall and re-experience some of the DC highlights.

Our nation's capital 

The Washington Monument

The White House

And a squirrel that didn't let his stylish finish his color job

Seriously, what a crazy looking squirrel! Jeff and I were laughing all the way down the mall at the hosts of tourists taking pictures of the squirrels--like they've never seen a squirrel before. And then we ended up taking pictures of this one, and now putting it on our blog. I guess if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Jeff once caught a fish...

...this big!

It's a 30 lb. black drum fish and I don't think Jeff's grin could be any wider.

8 Great Years!

8 years ago today, I married my sweetheart and very best friend. Best thing I've ever done.