Hopewell Furnace

After Christmas, the nice weather lingered for a bit and permitted us the opportunity to go exploring.  There's a state park not too far away, and within the state park is an old iron plantation that has pretty much been restored and is now a National Historic Site.

This place is called Hopewell Furnace.

This little plantation is a self-guided tour, and there are audio recordings you can listen to when you enter most of the buildings.

It was a really cool place to explore, and I bet in the spring or fall it's even more beautiful. I mean the weather was nice so I could manage to take a few photos, but my fingers were still freezing so I had to keep them in my pockets for the majority of our walk about.

The Christmas season here in PA

We moved into our new place on December 1st.  Once again, Clark and I proved that you don't need men from church to come over and break their backs moving sh*t that isn't theirs.  We moved ourselves out of the storage unit, and even though we scheduled professional movers to unload our belongings from the truck into the house, we ended up doing it ourselves.  They were going to be 3-4 hours late after all.  

Moving in December is less than ideal.  Decorating the house for Christmas is rushed, and the will we, won't we of deciding to get a real tree ultimately becomes a: not this year.  We tried to make the place as festive as possible anyhow.  

 

This Goodwill tree has lasted the entirety of our marriage.  Though, we are prepared to get a real tree next year as we both miss the nostalgia of real Christmas trees from growing up.

On the Saturday before Christmas, we ventured into Philly for some holiday fun.  Only, walking around Macy's to see the Organ light show and walking around Christmas Village on the Saturday before Christmas was not a good idea! Macy's was an absolute mosh pit.  No joke, it was like a rock concert.  In years past I guess we've always gone downtown to do these things on weekdays.  Lesson learned.  Next year we most definitely will skip Christmas festivities in Philly on any Saturday prior to Christmas!

Walking to Christmas Village, we spotted Santa on a motorcycle!

The Christmas tree that's always erected in the middle of Christmas Village.

 Another Christmas tree at city hall.

On Christmas Eve we went back into the city to attend Christmas Eve mass at the Cathedral-Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.  It's become something of a tradition for us.

Christmas day was very relaxed here in Phoenixville.  The weather was actually quite nice (in the 50's) and we just bummed around the house in our pajamas nearly all day.  We enjoyed talking with all our family and watching hours upon hours of tv.  

Though we really don't mind quiet holidays, we're really rallying for company next Christmas.  I think my parents are 40% convinced....I guess going from one cold weather location to another during Christmas isn't very enticing.  

Raising Awareness

Clark grew out his stache for men's health in November.  We took some pictures around December 5th or 6th to document what he contributed to raising awareness for men's health issues.  I thought he would shave the hair off right on December 1st.  Nope.  He wanted proof that he could kind of grow a mustache (I think he secretly liked it), and we didn't get around to taking pictures until the 5th or the 6th. So, he got to keep his stache around a little longer than necessary.

Almost too many pensive, wistful photos were taken.

It might not be full and luscious, but hey, it's definitely a Tobler mustache.

He misses having hair above his lip to tug at.

Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving came around right at the end of our long stretch of living at the Comfort Inn.  During this time, when the room was feeling just a little too stuffy or small, we'd drive down to Costco and lounge there.

We found some pretty comfortable chairs on display, ones that we monopolized for minutes on end.  We have no pride...or shame...and we were semi-homeless. So whatever.

But Thanksgiving granted us the opportunity to travel down to Delaware to see my brother and his family.  Though I am still curious as to what the Thanksgiving breakfast would have consisted of at the Comfort Inn.  Their normal buffet spread was pretty good...so would Thanksgiving have been any different? More pumpkin-y options? I guess we'll never know.

My brother and his family just moved to Delaware, and will likely be there for several years.  Which is very good for us since all of Clark's family who lived on the East coast no longer live near us.  Anyway, they bought a home, but their furnishings had not yet arrived.  So we celebrated Thanksgiving in an empty home and ate Thanksgiving dinner on a card table.  It was different, but it was so nice to share the holiday with family.

Their daughter Livia and their dog JJ gave me tons of opportunities to practice with my 50 mm lens. I think I captured some good photos of the kids.

JJ's body in the background.  That dog is always trying to be the center of attention. This picture would be perfect if JJ's butt wasn't making a cameo!

Money shot.  She's just so darn adorable!

You wouldn't know it from these pictures, but this dog is a ball of energy.  I don't really like dogs, but I have a soft spot for JJ.  He's just so cute.

Somewhere in there we had a delicious Thanksgiving feast. Somehow, even with very few kitchen utensils and necessary cooking tools, Dagmara made it possible.  Thank you Dagmara for being an amazing cook.  Your abilities never cease to amaze us.

Photos of the cook were not granted, so instead I took a picture of the very festively set table!

There was so much space indoors that we played some football in the living room.

That weekend we drove to the Philly Idea. To keep Livia entertained, I game her a bottle of Ibuprofen to shake.  Better than a toy? Maybe.

And look at these kangaroos! Perfect toys for children as they have sewn on eyes so they aren't a choking hazard.  Perfect stuffed animals for Rachel and Clark, too. 

It was so nice to spend time with family over the Thanksgiving holiday, and we look forward to many more visits in the future!  We're extremely thankful to have found a home to rent in Phoenixville so that we don't have to live in a hotel.  Though living out of a hotel might actually be the cheaper option.  I have to make my own breakfast at home now.

It's so hard to say goodbye....back to Pennsylvania we go

When we initially "moved" down to Houston to conduct the "full house experiment" in early September 2014, we had determined that we would likely be staying until late November/early December.  Those plans were thwarted when I got a great job lead and had to meet with a potential employer up in Pennsylvania mid November.  So, we knew before we left for Costa Rica that as soon as we got back, we would have to leave Houston within 2 days.  

When we got back from our Central American vacation, Janet surprised us with a delicious curry dinner and a little birthday celebration (since we would be leaving literally a day before my birthday). It was beyond sweet!  Janet might literally be the most thoughtful person I know.  She's always thinking about others, putting together cute gifts for people.  Thank you, Janet and family for the sweet birthday party and for the cute gifts! We now own some magnet dolls and kid books---just in case we ever have any children visiting :)

The next day we had a lot of family bonding time in the Tobler home.  Lucia and I played several games of Sequence; Clark looked on in a perplexed manner.

That night we attempted to get one, just one, good picture with the kids.  

And we read some bedtime stories together.

The next day we packed up our car and had to leave.  We almost took Benicio with us, but we ran out of room.

Saying good-bye was pretty emotional.  At least for the female adult Toblers.  THANK YOU so much, Chad and Janet, for your unyielding generosity, hospitality and overall desire to have us live with you.  It was a successful experiment; we will always treasure these two months we spent with you and the kids. We love you all very much!

 And here are some photos I took of the kids during our last days with them.

Lucia, dressed as a pirate/Florida cheerleader/ballerina.

Mr. Benicio Vidal

These two cuties being nice to each other...kind of

Miss Violeta, in her Florida cheer leading uniform after school!

Oh, and the costume changes did not stop.  Lucia then put on her shark costume.  Too funny!

Benicio emulating his uncle. (I think these last two were actually taken before Costa Rica, but I couldn't not post them.)

Some snuggle time with the little guy.

And so we left, driving from Houston to Oxford, MS on the first day.  We got in late, so the next day--my birthday--we got to walk around the Ole Miss campus.  Not too shabby of a way to spend my birthday!

The football stadium, under construction.  I think they may be putting in parking garages but I'm not entirely sure. 

Ahhhh, The Grove.  I saw The Roots, Jason Mraz, and some other acts play here.  I also tailgated here with my friends/teammates before the few football games we were able to catch (due to traveling for cross country). So much nostalgia....such great memories made on this campus!

Fall in Mississippi. I'm pretty happy we didn't entirely miss the leaves changing this fall.

Hefley Hall.  The female dormitory.  Spent two good years here.

Self explanatory. 

 After our self guided campus tour, I insisted that we go to Handy Andy for some of the best bbq I've ever had.  When I first visited Ole Miss on a recruiting trip in high school, the coach took me to this place and I think this food is what may have convinced me to attend Ole Miss. I'd been telling Clark about this place for about 10 years.  He finally had an opportunity to see what my fuss was all about.

I mean, just look at it. Best birthday meal ever.

Later that same day we drove up to Nashville where we had a lot of people to see! Two of my childhood friends live there with their little families, and the next morning we got together for breakfast!  From left to right: Clark, me, Lesley, Whitney, Vaughn, and little Marlo. Lesley left her husband and little daughter Avery at home.

 Whitney and Vaughn actually have a store front at the Nashville Farmer's Market where they have a bakery!  It's called the Sweet Stash, and it's legit.  Whitney is quite the baketress, and I'm still drooling over the pumpkin whoopie pie and variety of cupcakes she gave us to sample!  Thank you again for trying to give us diabetes!

Damn that glare.  These cupcakes are both beautiful and delicious.

And that afternoon we headed over to the Nashville Tobler's home!  It was so so good to see Jake, Steph and Ethnie, and to finally meet the little big man Duke.  I say he's little because, well, he was only about 15 months at the time.  But that boy is a tank.  He gonna be a football playa.

Jake let us ride around on his scooter.  It was freezing out though, so we didn't last too long.  But wow, what a rush!  That thing may have gotten up to 25 mph with us both on it!

Clark was having a real good time.

 Discussing gas mileage, steering mechanism, etc. But not really.

Ethnie didn't take too long to warm up to us after her nap!  She's such a sweet little thing!

 Duke didn't either. Clark said he felt like a sack of potatoes.  In related news, Clark's back hurt later that night ;)

The two youngest Tobler brothers.

Counterfeit parents.

Steph spoiled us with some delicious yakisoba and then made me a cake for my birthday! I felt so dang spoiled...two sisters-in-law gave me a little birthday celebration this year...what more could a girl want? Seriously, it made me feel very special.  THANK YOU so much for having us and spending the afternoon/evening with us! And thank you Steph, for these photos.  We should have taken some to prove you were also there! I'm sorry I didn't think of it sooner.

So on we went the next day as we left Nashville for Fayettville, NC.  Thank you to my dear friend Lesley for hosting us and allowing us to sleep so comfortably in their guest bed room!  

We passed through the Smokey Mountains and Asheville, NC...which was so gorgeous to see in the fall.  

This visit we finally captured some family photos for the NC Toblers.  It's something we've tried to do on numerous occasions in the past but it always got put on the back burner.  Well, this time Kim and I made sure it happened!  I think we got some good ones of this good looking group.

Awww, just look at those adorable little faces!

And Clark had to sneak in to one just for good measure.

Thank you for letting us stay with you again, Kyle and Kim! We always have such a great time with you all, and we're so happy we were able to spend time with Joanne as well! You're just a quick 8 hours away, feel free to come up to visit us anytime!

So....then we drove from Fayetteville to Pennsylvania. To wrap things up, we lived in a hotel for over a week and I met with a dermatologist who has since decided to take me on as a provider at her office.  We now live in a Philadelphia suburb called Phoenixville and are 5 miles from Valley Forge.  

Clark thinks we're closer to the moon than Philadelphia though, that's how far we are from the city.

(It's 33 miles to Philly city center)