Another LV Trip!

We love to visit Las Vegas, even if it means traveling from one miserably hot city to another! Mom and Dad Tobler are always so hospitable and we love to enjoy good eats and treats when we're together! And nothing beats thrift store shopping and Mt. Charleston!


The free haircut was definitely a bonus



Mom Tobler did not want to leave the pool water. Nothing beats a pool on 100+ degree weather days! And I'm not quite sure what Clark is doing...



We LOVE Mt. Charleston. We can't visit Las Vegas without hike on Mt. Charleston.



See why we love it?



Clark striking his usual pose... but may be leaving nature a little surprise this time ;)



This will make our future Vegas trips that much more enjoyable! A bridge being built to bypass the Hoover Dam!

Blonde Ambition

Months and months ago I decided I wanted to donate my hair to Locks of Love and go blonde. I was blonde 4 years ago, and I loved it. It only lasted six months though since I was under financial constraints as a college student. So last night I made the big change.

The Before Picture (Please just take note of the length, not the fact that I just rolled out of bed)



My locks of Love



The After Picture



Wait, who's that hottie? Definitely not me.

There will be no pictures of me with the "new do."

The cut is fine but I am extremely depressed about the color. I asked for BLONDE. Not dirty. It's way too streaky and you can hardly see the blonde. What do I do now???

This is the blonde I was going for, the blonde I surely did not end up with.



I think I deserve my very own personal carton of ice cream. That can always cheer me up.

Celebrate!

Happy Jelly-Filled Doughnut Day!


This website cracks me up. A different food holiday for each day of the year. Check your birthday holiday out! I wish mine was National Fudge Day or National Cheese Souffle Day but alas mine is National Indian Pudding Day.

My Little Cyclist

For the past year and a half I have forsaken my awesome road bike. After my collegiate running career ended, I bought a bike in order to do triathlons. After only a couple of triathlons I decided I couldn't hack the swimming portion of the race and decided to once again focus primarily on running. So my bike got the shaft for a loooooooong time, the tires went flat and it collected dust.

Now, however, Clark has decided that he wants to start cycling. We went out and bought some cleats and he transferred the clips that were on my cleats to his. He practiced clipping in and out while holding onto a wall. He didn't seem to get the hang of it at first which gave me high anxiety. He wanted to go out and try out the cleats at midnight--which I have no problem with--but I was fearful for his safety. I specifically told him to clip out BEFORE he stops; I didn't want to have an emergency room situation on my hands. So he went outside and he had a couple of practice rides up and down our street. The second time he forgot to clip out before he stopped and toppled over. I have a tendency to overreact but luckily very little harm was done. He practiced a few times and now I think it is safe to say he has the hang of it.







Happy riding Clark!

Unwelcome Visitor

**shudder**




Trust me, pictures don't do it justice. This was a monster. And I almost cried. The last time we had a spider this big in the house I did cry. Luckily I have a husband who is brave enough to spray Raid and shower cleaner on suckers like these.

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We Did it!



Let the movie watching begin!

Graduation Celebration

Our quick three day trip to Los Angeles turned out to be a blast. The first night we arrived we experienced our very first earthquake. 5.0 on the Richter scale. We stayed on the 15th floor of a hotel and I swear the room swayed. The next day we experienced the amazing coasters and rides at Six Flags. Afterward we ate our second meal of Chicken and Waffles in less than a week. Our third day we just had to see the ocean and made it out to Venice beach, the Santa Monica Pier and Malibu.

Ohhhhhhhh yeaahhhhhhh



These pics were taken at the end of the day. We decided not to take our camera on the many intense roller coasters.

Me, Clark and Nick.


Clark, Nick and Tomas. I don't know why Tomas is standing so far off.



A picture with the X2 in the background. Way intense.



A picture of the Superman, Goliath and Colossus.



Aside from Clark getting a little nauseated on the Batman I think we all had a super fun time! I hope we're able to go back again soon!

The next day we spent some time down near the water.

It may look a little chilly. Since we are acclimated to the Arizona heat we do consider 70 degree weather 'chilly.'


Clark flashing a....butterfly sign?!





"I want to be big." Name that movie.



Santa Monica Pier.



Stopped to take this photo in Malibu



We had a lot of fun and we're glad Tomas and Nick could join us!

He's a Graduate!

Last Friday Clark officially graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in nursing!



Obama spoke at commencement on the 13th. Clark and Mom Tobler braved the heat and had to be at Sun Devil Stadium 4 hours early in order to participate in and watch commencement. I think the high was 103 that day...



The School of Nursing held convocation two days later on the 15th. He did it!



What a handsome graduate!



Posing with the graduate.




We celebrated Clark's achievement at an awesome restaurant we've been wanting to try. This place may look a little 'ghetto' but it was PACKED. It was not fun waiting for seats in 100+ degree heat. But it was worth it!



Mmmmmmmmmmmm!



Later that day, after a much needed two hour nap, we took a trip to Guitar Center so Clark could pick up his much anticipated gift!



I love you, Clark! Congratulations and let the job hunt begin!

Our Highly Anticipated Packages Arrived!

We are stimulating the economy little by little....



An abundance of cardboard packages, oh what could all of this be!?


That's right, a drum set for me!!


I am so lucky my husband is willing to help me put together the drum set AND teach me! He's pretty fantastic at playing and at being an awesome dude.


Testing it out.... I'll probably be a professional drummer in a month or two ;)


This is one smokin' hot drum set! (minus cymbals)


(Disclaimer: Though Clark already has a drum set, we had to purchase another one so I could learn properly...I am left handed and Clark is right handed so if we only had one set we would constantly be changing the placement of the drums and cymbals. That would be no fun. Having two sets will make learning so much easier now.)

The "I Have Nothing Better To Blog About" Blog

Why hello out there! We are kickin it here in Gilbert as per usual, trying to keep this Sabbath day as holy as possible. It was fast Sunday at church today since our Stake Conference is next weekend. I broke our fast a little early (totally by accident, I swear) when the lady I teach Sunday school with offered me a homemade chocolate chip cookie and I accepted without any hesitation. I started munching away and only when I had a bite or two left did I realize that I had totally forgot about Fast Sunday! Ehhhh, I thought, the cookie is almost gone so I might as well eat the last two bites! I don't like wasting food, it is a pet peeve of mine. And now Clark is studying. Are we righteous or what?

In other news, our awesome neighbors introduced us to caffeine free diet Pepsi.

Have you tried this yet!?? I can't believe how good it is. The thing is, I totally prefer Dr. Pepper or Mountain Dew, but I cannot have caffeinated beverages after 5 pm or else I am up allll night. I'm like a little kid with a sugar high except I'm not bouncing off the walls. My brain just won't shut down. So, now I can drink soda late at night and not worry about being up all night on a night I don't have to work.

Also, we have just discovered this awesome yogurt at Fry's (Kroger).



12 g protein and only 4 carbs and 80 calories! I have never been one to count carbs and I could care less how many carbs/calories are in the yogurt, but 12 g protein!? I sure do love me some protein! This is definitely better than the regular yogurt which has only 8-9 g protein and the lite yogurt tastes nasty so we never buy that anyway.

So our awesome neighbors who introduced us to ceffeine free diet pepsi also presented us with a couple of cacti for our anniversary last month! We wanted to show you one of our little babies. She is pretty cute, for a cactus:


Alas, the hot weather is finally taking it's toll on our beloved Halloween pumpkin. This pumpkin has lasted since October. We had the intention of carving it but never got around to it. Now we'll just have to see how long it takes us to make the effort to throw it away or throw it in our compost pile:


Our backyard: slowly but steadily progressing. Doesn't look like much, does it? Just you wait, it is going to be a tropical paradise soon. As you can see we are just trying to sift the rocks to clean out the sticks and random debris so we can plant grass seed. We may have to resort to sod. I am getting sick and tired of looking at a dead backyard. I want green and I want it now!


Now here is our pride and joy: our little garden starting to grow! We are so pround of these cucumber plants! Each day, one by one, they sprout up!

And our lovely tomato plant!


We're first time gardeners, so give us a break. It may not look like much, but we sure feel like proud parents!

Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas about what to do with our backyard? Right now we are just clearing the rock and dumping it near the back fence wall or transporting it to the front of the house. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

And here is a shot of Clark...nice face by the way

We're Hangin In There

Uggghhh...it is currently 97 degrees outside! Tomorrow it is supposed to reach the triple digits. I don't know how I'm going to handle running and training in this weather. I don't know how I did it last summer. All I know is I now have to go running when the sun is just about to set or I feel like I'm going to die. Clark hates that I run at night time but I have only one other option, and it's an option I hate to even consider: running on a treadmill day in and day out. The only days I run on a treadmill are the days I go into work. And I only do this because I don't want to pass out running under the relentless sun and heat at 4:00 in the afternoon. But treadmill running for 1+ hours is not my cup of tea. I would much rather be out in the elements when the sun is down...

oh the joy of AZ spring and summer weather.

In other news, Clark is just weeks away from graduation!! Still hunting for a local job in the PHX valley, we're praying something comes along by summertime. The economy has affected the healthcare industry for new graduate nurses HARDCORE. But that won't effect us celebrating Clark's achievement; here we come Six Flags! FINALLY!

We bought the most awesome bookcase off of Craigslist. Seriously, so stoked. That is why I am blogging about it- it is just that cool. The people wanted $100 but we got it for $60 and they were sweet enough to include delivery! Here is a photo of our great find:

Nice, right!? It has the vintage look I adore and specialty furniture stores around here sell similar bookcases for $400+. So, I do feel good about this purchase.

Over Easter weekend, Clark went up to SLC to celebrate a wedding that got postponed until August. He had a really great time seeing his parents, brothers, relatives and old friends. I was a little disappointed when he returned home, he had taken only 5 pictures the entire weekend and none of them were of family!! Here's a picture of his blood blistered thumb after jamming with his old mission companion Thomas Miller:


As you can see, Clark was playing so hard that he literally developed a blood blister over his entire thumb. The other pictures he took were of his thumb as well. Close ups. I guess he was thoroughly impressed. I was hoping for some pictures of our beautiful niece Violet, but NADA.

We just turned our A/C on for the first time since October. I was hoping to make it through April before we had to turn it on.

I just received my updated passport in the mail today! So we are all set to go for the Tobler family cruise in August! Can't wait! I already bought a pretty dress for one of the "formal" nights-- that is how much I am looking forward to the cruise! It is a sexy red little number, you can look at it here it you want.

We've been working really, REALLY hard on our backyard and we even planted a little garden! We will post pictures a little later when things are looking more presentable :)

Well I hope that you all are doing well and not suffering from the heat as we are. Just make sure to drink plenty of water this time of the year!