What were you doing on Thursday?

What ever it was, I'm sure it was likely more enjoyable that what Jeff was doing! Thursday afternoon was Jeff's injection teaching lab at the dental school. Yes, the dental students learn to give injections on each other--no simulation before, just watch a few videos and have at each other (supervised, of course). Jeff was texting me these pictures throughout the afternoon and I immediately felt better about the paper I was working on...

Tommy (a.k.a. Sean) went to work on Jeff first...

Five injections later, Jeff looked like this...

And then it was his turn...

So, do you feel better now about what you were doing on Thursday afternoon?

Where did January go?

Hello, my long-neglected blog friends/family. I realize that I have not been very forthcoming with my posts so far this year. My sister, Ashley, contemplated sending me a note saying, "please do something fun so that you can update your blog and I can read it." The truth is, we haven't done a whole lot since the holiday break and we both were just struggling to get back into the swing of things at work/school and get settled into the new year. Our holiday-hangover lasted well into January and we were both happy when February 1st rolled around.

To summarize January:

1. Cold

2. Diet

3. Studying (Jeff)

4. Writing grants (Amy)

5. Spring cleaning

6. Depleted brain cells (see number 5 above)

7. Diet relapse (both)

8. Diet recommit (1.5 participants)

9. Flag football (Jeff)

One noteworthy item in January--after two years as the young women's president at church, I was released. This was a bitter-sweet thing for me. I was, and am, sad to not have those weekly interactions with the girls and my fellow leaders that have been so uplifting, inspiring and rewarding. Conversely, I feel a great sense of relief to not have all of the meetings, activities, etc. to worry about. The demands of my job increased exponentially last year, and will likely continue to increase, and I'm grateful and excited that the girls have a fantastic new leader to serve them as they deserve. 

So, at long last, we did (and I documented) a fun activity! This weekend, we headed south to visit my Dad in Fort Meyers. The company was great and we really enjoyed spending some time in the sun!

Of course, every time we visit, games abound...

New this trip was a visit to Sanibel to go fishing! We squeezed into our car and headed to the beach in search of some bait, sun, sea creatures and fun!

Now, we new it would be chilly but, I think we really underestimated the wind-factor. Can you see my teeth chattering? Do my lips look blue?

Burr.... (Also, where did my butt go? I must have left it in my other jeans...)

At some point, I left my camera in Ashley's care. Of course, it's always fun to look through the inevitable self-portraits that follow.

Holy mackerel! (Ha, ha, it really is a mackerel)

Ashley tried her luck for a little while and then returned to Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games.

Jeff, being the avid fisherman that he is, stuck out the cold and used all of his bait. The rest of us sought shelter and warmer temperatures off the pier. To reward his efforts? A pin fish...

And, that was it. Poor guy. At least he looked so cute while trying!

After our fishing excursion, and time in the sun, we found a delicious fish lunch at the Lazy Flamingo. (As if we didn't eat enough breakfast and didn't have a large dinner planned...note the diet relapse and recommitment issue I mentioned about January, still struggling there)

Me and the two most important men in my life. 

Of course, no gathering would be completed without a good ol' low-country boil! Y.U.M.! Dad and Betsey had not experienced the deliciousness of the boil yet. I think we converted them.

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.)