All graduated! (well.....almost.)

June 1st was Clark's graduation ceremony!  

The only catch is, he is not yet done with school.  He is in the throes of his final semester, and the ceremony took place during the second week of his final semester....on a Wednesday.  How crappy is that for graduate students working ever so hard to obtain their degree?!  Hey, no only are we not going to have a ceremony when you finish your program (because lots of schools nowadays only have one ceremony per year, typically taking place in May), we aren't even going to have it in between semesters AND we're going to have it mid week! Good luck celebrating, suckas!

Rest assured that this wife is going to be contacting the dean as soon as Clark has his degree in his hands.

Nonetheless, it was a great ceremony and it was so soooooo nice having Clark's parents there for the celebration!  

The ceremony was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, so we parked just north and walked to see the Philadelphia Temple prior to circling back and walking Clark over to the convention center.  He had to be there 2 hours early, so Karl, Jan and I walked across the street to the Reading Terminal Market to get some nourishment prior to the ceremony.  We indulged in a Hatfield Deli corned beef sandwich and some Beiler's Bakery donuts.   Basically, these are our go-to places at the Reading Terminal Market, and we wanted Karl and Jan to get a taste of our favorite establishments. Clark and I have discussed branching out from our favorite eateries, but it hasn't happened yet. After a bite to eat, we walked back to the convention center, talked for a bit, and then were finally allowed to go upstairs to stand in a line so that about an hour later we could proceed into the graduation hall. Lots of waiting, but it was worth the wait!

Waiting for the graduates to arrive!

Standing in line and waiting to have his name called. 

We sat on the wrong side of the stage, but luckily there was a screen right in front of us that gave us a great view of what was going on on stage!

All graduated! (well.....almost.)

My handsome Master of Science in Nursing!

Two of Clark's closest friends from his program, Angela and Roz.   Angela refers to this trio as the Oreo. I love it!

We enjoyed a delicious meal at Maggiano's after the ceremony, then walked around downtown taking way too many pictures of Clark in full regalia. The LOVE statue has been temporarily moved to City Hall, due to renovations at LOVE Park.  So we had to get pictures with it in it's temporary location.  The NCAA rugby championships were taking place that coming weekend, so all teams involved were getting team pictures in front of the LOVE statue.  The professional photographers were nice enough to let us sneak in between teams and took some group photos for us as well.

 Congratulations, Clark! Keep your eyes on that increasingly bright light at the end of the tunnel and finish strong!  I'm incredibly proud of you and know you will accomplish great things with this degree! I can't believe the end is in sight!

'Rents from Vegas Come for a Visit

Clark's parents finally came for a visit.....together!  We've lived here in PA for nearly 5 years and finally we convinced both Karl and Jan to visit at the same time! Well, actually Clark's graduation convinced them to come out, but graduation details will be a separate post.  About 2 years ago Karl came for a visit without Jan.  Then last Thanksgiving, Jan came for a visit without Karl, but we all met up with Karl and the North Carolina Toblers in North Carolina.  I know Matriarch/Patriarch Tobler are very sought after so we were really excited to have them up here together for several days of fun!

We picked them up from the airport and immediately drove down to D.C. We knew D.C. would be all abuzz since it was Memorial Day weekend, but I had no idea just how busy it would be.  People were everywhere.  Motorcycles were everywhere. And it was hot.  Lines for museums were quite long so we focused on doing a walking tour of the Memorials.  My only regret is that we weren't able to make it to Arlington National Cemetery.  That place has got to be the most humbling, most awe-inspiring place in the United States. To gaze upon seemingly endless white grave markers....well....one cannot see this site an not reflect on the price others paid for our current freedoms.

The next morning we were prepared for more D.C. craziness.  However, traffic seemed to already be a nightmare so we decided to drive to Capitol Hill instead and enjoy browsing stalls at the Eastern Market and eating at the Tortilla Cafe! 

On our way home we stopped to view to Susquehanna River in Columbia, PA. What a gorgeous area.  We were going to do the Turkey Hill factory tour, but apparently it is nothing like the Tillamook Factory tour and they don't just let you do it for free.  We also drove through Intercourse, where there were so many Amish people out and about in their buggies.  Everything was closed since it was Sunday, but it was so neat to see so many buggies out on the roads!

The next day, Memorial Day, we took a walk/run around Valley Forge wearing our unifying Team Tobler running shirts!  I'm kind of a self timer master and we captured this gem at our favorite place in the whole park.  We then went home, had a lazy afternoon, and grilled up zucchini, hot dogs, and tried a new corn on the cob recipe. It was just delightful.

Tuesday we drove out to Longwood Gardens, something Clark and I have been wanting to do for a while.  The grounds were beautifully manicured and there were so many different types of flowers. We all loved the bonsai trees on display, but I didn't end up with any pictures of them.

The next day would be Clark's graduation, so we'll leave that for another post!

It was so much fun to have Karl and Jan here and I'm glad we at least gave them a taste of what D.C has to offer.  Thank you so much for spending several days with us prior to Clark's special day!  We loved having you guys and just wish you could have stayed longer!

The Valley of the Sun

Several weeks ago Clark and I flew out to AZ for a long weekend.  

It was much overdue. It had been six years since we had last seen our house and our friends.

Six. Years.

We took care of the "business" aspect of the trip the day we arrived and then had plenty of time to play.  Interestingly, right after we went to our house, conducted some biznuss and dropped 7k on a new a/c unit (because our money ain't gonna spend itself!), we drove to the grocery store we used to frequent and Clark mentioned how weird it would be if we were to run into anyone we knew.  Sure enough, we ran into one of his closest friends from nursing school! I love how sometimes we are reminded just how small this world really is.

We toured ASU's campus a few times and bought way too much swag. We ran South Mountain. We ate at ALL of our favorite restaurants. We saw all our favorite old friends.  I even got to swing by unannounced and see my old college coach!  It was a pretty great quick trip and made me realize how much I miss the desert.  

First stop after picking up the rental car..... In-N-Out! Always so, so good.

First of several tours of ASU's campus.  The library is still the same, but campus has definitely been upgraded.  Solar panels everywhere and long board racks for all the students who long board to/from class.

Palm walk is always so inviting, even in the relentless Arizona sun.

The Gilbert, AZ Temple.  We drove into and out of the parking lot in a matter of minutes, but we just wanted to prove we've seen with our eyes that it is finally completed!

Pita Jungle is probably the restaurant I've missed most since moving from AZ.  These are their blue corn nachos. Always tasty and I have convinced myself that the only thing bad about them is the cheese.  We went to the restaurant in Gilbert, and Clark had major culture shock as we sat down.  Let's just say, the diversity was lacking at this particular establishment, and Clark mentioned that he doesn't remember ever eating somewhere so "white."

Clark's nursing school friend, who we ran into our first day back in the Valley. Erin was so gracious and invited us over to swim that weekend. We definitely took her up on her offer.

My friend's husband owns his own limo business. So you'd better believe we rolled into old town Gilbert in this rig! Both Clark and I had never been in a limo before. I guess we both failed to live out the high schooler dream and we never took a limo to a dance as teenagers.

Dinner in old town Gilbert with Chris and Heather.  

After running South Mountain.  I don't know how we used to do it in college.  Those hills are no joke. 

We stopped by a store in Guadalupe we used to love going to, and browsed tons of pottery from Mexico.  We found this ?fertility? statue.  Clark really wanted to get it.  I told him I didn't think it was worth the $70.  Then he said, well if we don't get pregnant quickly you'll know why!  

Shoot, did I curse us by not buying the fertility statue?!?

We took a drive out to Tortilla Flats with some of our friends and stopped to take in the scenery along the way. 

 

 Louie and I discussed life and running, and somehow he remembered I once had a 509 area code. 

 

Near the downtown ASU campus, where the nursing school is now located.

Chicken and waffles never, ever disappoint, and Lolo's does it better than most. Last time we ate here was following Clark's nursing school graduation in 2009.

 Kevin and Desirae just had a baby the day before, but were still willing to visit with us for a bit.  It was so great seeing them and seeing how big their family has gotten!

I also want to mention that we saw our good friends Becky and Trevor, but we failed to get a picture with them. Actually, following their visit was when we decided that we should try to take pictures with all our friends, since we have no idea when we'll be back again.  We're so grateful for everyone who took time out of their lives to visit with us!  We love you all, we love Arizona, and hopefully it won't be too long until we come back (either for a visit or possibly to live!).