I lost motivation this past month....

Yep, sure did.
Maybe it's the fact that it's summer and I'm a little depressed we can't go on any cool vacations because of school/Clark's enslavement @ the country's greatest hospital (I just threw up a little bit in my mouth because it's really not. Just talk to Clark.) Or maybe it's the fact that summer semester isn't nearly as stressful as last semester and I'm just trying to enjoy every moment of carefree life rather than seek solace through cathartic blogging. I don't know.

Nevertheless, things have been happening around here.  We had more Australian visitors.  Apparently they are the only people who want to visit us. We watched the fireworks on the 4th as they exploded over the Art Museum.  We also took an impromptu trip to Baltimore.  We took some pictures around Philly with some friends.  We've been hunting for the perfect place since our lease is up at the end of August.  We found it and it's just on the cusp of West Philly.  Ahhhh, so exciting!

Instead of dragging on and describing these happenings with my stale writing, I'm just going to post a bunch of photos, and maybe (most likely) a comment or two.

We visited Kyle and Kim during Baltimore's Sailabration.  The Inner Harbor was packed, with probably a minute percentage of ship enthusiasts.

If this isn't considered "capturing the moment" then I don't know what is.  Too cute!

Inner Harbor.

The kids got hot and ran through some misters.  I should have joined them, but I would have been the oldest by at least 22 years.

On the train ride home, Greta showed off her skill of applying pretty pink lip gloss.

We've also had some pretty amazing rain storms here.  I love them.  Not only do they bring cooler weather, but they are just so intense!  

We went out one Saturday and took some photos with our friends, the Geilmans.  It was a little bright so in most photos I have either both eyes or one eye closed. Guh. The downside of a sunny day.  Here's a sample of a few that made the cut.  Can't wait to see what Megan can do with photoshop!

We showed them the Woodland Cemetery, and decided to take some pictures just before heading downtown.  

...But then things took a turn for the worse. I won't even bother to post the rest!

We stopped at the Reading Terminal Market for some Hatville Deli goodness.  Sure do love their corned beef sandwiches. I think Ben and Megan liked them, too.

I just had to post a photo of Ben and Megan.  They are too cute and so much fun to be around!

Selecting containers of Wasabi peanuts.  Gotta stock up when we stop at the market.

On the 4th we watched fireworks from a park near the Art Museum.  Pretty dang spectacular, if I do say so myself.  The point and shoot doesn't do the display justice, but there were so many instances where I was like this must be the finale, and then it wasn't.  I love when that happens.

We tried to show our most recent Australian visitors a good time by spending the first full day of their visit having a Phun Day in Philly.  Oh, we are so clever. It actually happened to be the hottest (pretty sure I'm correct) day of the year.  Our day started off with a stop at the Waterworks.

Waterworks and the Art Museum.

I don't think I could ever get tired of this view.  Pretty awesome.

The line to take a picture with the Rocky statue was unexpectedly long, but we made our visitors wait in line.  Who visits Philly and doesn't get a photo with Rocky? 

Swimming is not permitted in fountains throughout the city, but I guess when the temperature exceeds 100 degrees, law enforcement has mercy on the citizens.

How novel! A plug hanging out right near the Art Museum.  I had no idea...

Unfortunately, our Aussie friend Courtney (sister of our friends Jade and Levi) succumbed to the heat and we had to head home for a bit. Lesson to all: ALWAYS stay hydrated in hot weather.  This is advice coming from a future NP.  Yeah, I would listen to me.

After Courtney recovered, we drove downtown to visit Love Park, Game Pieces Plaza, Macy's, the market, the Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall.  Can you read the sign below?  It says NO SWIMMING.  

But let's be honest.  When it's 100+ degrees, the rules go out the window.

We couldn't help ourselves either.  The water was so refreshing!

Please note that Independence Hall no longer has scaffolding surrounding the top.  If this doesn't get people to want to visit us....well, I just don't know what will.

The next day we wanted to take them to Amish Country.  However, the shops and little village in Intercourse is actually closed on Sundays so they opted for Atlantic City instead.  We were happy to oblige, as this may have been their only opportunity to see AC. 

Clark and I strolled all the way down to the carnival.  It was a long way but we cooled of a little with some Rita's.

Threshold to the overpriced rides.  We stepped through just to say we've been on the Steel Pier.

Clark and I decided that if we were to drive all the way to AC, it would be a sin not to take advantage of the beach.  So after our incredibly long stroll along the boardwalk, we managed to change in the Versa, and hit the water.  Don't make fun of my outfit.  Salt Water sandals go with everything, don't they?

We almost didn't make it onto the beach due to this Caribbean jam band.  

Clark could hardly pull himself away.

Mr. Clark, lookin' good with his farmer's tan!

We were actually impressed with AC this time around.  I think we'll make an effort to go back for a full day of swimming and sun bathing. 

And that, my friends, has been the last 25 (26?) days in review.

Atlases don't lie, do they?

May I present: the Clark Tobler family theme song.   

Amazing.  I can't believe the views have nearly doubled in the last two weeks. I love up-and-comers. Fingers crossed we can see them at the Electric Factory in early August.  But their show will be right in the midst of my studying for finals...what to do, what to do.


Today we were supposed to go on a bike ride along the Schuylkill River, but that didn't happen.  So we went on a walk around University City instead.  And we ended up in Barnes and Noble so Clark could wash his sticky hands off in the restroom.  The ice cream cookie he got from WaWa retaliated on him.  We ended up in the discount book section as per usual, and as I perused the world atlas I found the following photos:


Oh MY GOSH.  We have the fraternal twin to this photo.  Cause in ours, the boat is heading in the opposite direction, back to the terminal.

See!?  I think ours is actually better, and it's not because I'm at all biased.

And here we have a picture of a lake in Canada.  The caption describes exactly where it is, who took the photo, etc.

And here is a photo of colorful houses in Denmark.  Only the atlas wants you to believe otherwise.  Read the caption.

On our walk, we saw several of these public pianos.  It's a pretty awesome project, which sadly ends today.

And that, my friends, is how we spent part of our Saturday.  

Hot Shorts

Clark is in desperate need of running shorts.

He has one lonely pair which does not get washed regularly since I refuse to spend $3 to wash a single pair of shorts (or even a small load for that matter).  I'm not just cheap, I'm economical.  What a waste of electricity and water that would be. 

So Clark told me I needed to find him some more running shorts for less than what he paid at Dick's Sporting Goods.  

GLADLY.  Clark is a dude and has no idea how to shop for a good deal.  To Amazon I went, and I'm pretty sure I found the shorts that will help him achieve all his running goals:

Dang, Clark's gonna be getting cat calls from men and women alike if I order these.

The only question is: blue or red?

Petticoat Experiment: complete!

The breakdown of the Petticoat Experiment:

# of days a skirt/dress worn: 29

# of days nice pants (i.e. NOT jeans) worn: 2

# of habits almost formed: 1

# of times my skirt almost flew over my face while riding a bike to/from school: 6

Justification for wearing pants: I'm doing my women's health rotation at a community clinic which serves a lot of women with STDs and HIV.  Let's just say I feel more comfortable having my legs completely covered on days that I know I'm going to be exposed to vagina juices. The speculum has dripped on my pants once already....ewwww.

 Yes, I said vagina on the blog.  If you are female, then you have one, so don't be so shocked.  And if you're male, you most likely love someone with a vagina, so you shouldn't be shocked either.

ANYWAY

I consider this experiment a success, and I don't think I'm going to stop wearing dresses and skirts on a daily basis.  I've almost formed a habit of leaving the house looking semi-nice, so I want to keep it up.  I do love my jeans, but I'll try to keep those stored away until fall.

An Appropriately spent Memorial Day...

In Valley Forge. 

I'm so grateful to all the past, present and future men and woman who serve to protect this great nation of ours.  You make it possible for us to visit wonderful sights like this.

Lazy Sunday

Last Sunday we decided to take a stroll through the cemetery near our house.  It's the same cemetery I love running through.  It really is so gorgeous, and as Clark stated, "They sure don't make them like they used to."

I'm getting into a bad habit of only taking pictures on my camera rather than lugging our DSLR around.  Though these photos are less than crisp, it's so nice to not have to try hard to be artistic. Instagram is basically programmed to do it for you.

Guess who broke out her wedding jewelry and is now going to make a more conscious effort to wear it more often!?? (It's me, just in case you really are stumped.)

After our leisure stroll through the charming Woodland Cemetery, we took a drive out on highway 1, realized we were almost out of gas, and turned around before we even left NE Philly.  Dang it.  Next time we'll make it further.

Uncovered Art

So last week we were in our psuedo-office, organizing important documents and shredding outdated, no-longer-important documents (because this is what we do for funsies nowadays).   I came across this folder and thought to myself: we haven't had Sprint as our cell phone carrier for years.  Why have we not thrown this out already? 

So I opened this folder, only to find:

A drawing of a smiling stick figure holding a star. There weren't any Sprint documents, just this cute little drawing by my husband, and several blank sheets of printer paper.  He doesn't remember doing this.  Oh, how I love his silliness.  

It gave us a good laugh, anyway.  And for the record, Clark does have advanced, artistic abilities beyond that of a six year old.  

D.C. Temple and birthday celebration

Clark and I finally paid a visit to the Washington D.C. Temple.  It's so lovely and much bigger than I expected. Aren't the gold spires just awesome?

Afterward we drove over to the Eastern Market specifically to have dinner at the Tortilla Cafe.  I saw it on an episode of Diners, Drive- ins, and Dives and my mouth literally watered when this restaurant was featured.  As for the Eastern Market: super lame.  It's probably better on the weekend but it still doesn't compare to the Reading Terminal Market in Philly.

We shared a pupusa platter and a tamale platter.  I had never had a pupusa and let me tell you, I am sold.  They were delish.  Everything was really tasty.  I also tried a plantain for the first time.  Where have I been all this time?

Scott and Dagmara were able to join us for dinner since she was able to get off of work early. The benefits of having a nice boss :)  Since Scott's birthday was the following day, we decided to make this a celebration and treat them to dinner.  

After dinner we made a stop at Krispy Kreme.  Scott decided that he would rather have donuts than a cake for his birthday.  To each his own.

On Scott's birthday we toured Arlington National Cemetery and witnessed the changing of the guard.  I remember when Clark and I watched this same ceremony five years ago when we toured the cemetery with Kyle and Kim.  It's such a humbling and beautiful ceremony.

From the cemetery we walked to the reflection pool, which is still under construction (it was under construction back in November).  Funny thing is, Clark and I have yet to see the Washington Monument reflect off the water in the pool.  Five years ago we visited and the pool wasn't filled with water. Guhhhh.

We were so happy we were able to make a quick trip down to D.C. to visit the Temple and see Scott and Dagmara, and celebrate Scott's birthday!  Thank you guys for letting us stay with you on such short notice. Hopefully next time we visit, the reflection pool will be filled!