Rachel E. Tobler, MSN, NP-C

Closure is nice. 

I finally feel like I'm all graduated, even though I technically graduated last December.  Hooray for Family Nurse Practitioner graduates, class of 2012!

I experienced a baby hunger pain recently

Yes, it's true.
And it's not easy for me to admit, being that Clark and I are still probably 2 years out from attempting to try and start a family.  But getting to hold and cuddle my sister's newborn (her fourth child) every day of my visit, I got a little baby hungry.
I mean, how can you not fall in love with those chubby cheeks!?  Maddilyn Jane, Auntie Rachel loves you!

While in Pasco, I threw my sister a baby shower.  It was a post-baby baby shower so her friends could actually meet the pretty little creature that she pushed out of her body.  We also had a successful thrift shop trip to Goodwill, and we went hiking on the Hanford Reach.  I learned how to shoot a child's bow and arrow (way more fun than I anticipated) and got to select some amazing bowls from my father's growing wood turning collection.  But let's be honest. Most of my time was spent at my sister's house  getting some quality cuddle time in with Maddi.

This one had the potential to go on our wall until I looked at it on a computer and noticed how fuzzy it actually is.  Damn. I mean, my Mom does not keep her eyes open in photos very often. This is rare!

Baby shower treats.  Not too shabby of a spread.

Dad getting in some snuggle time with Maddi.

Cole and Chase expertly shooting arrows.

Sometimes Cole needed a bit of assistance.

But not very often.

Teya trying to escape her mother's grasp.

Katie's cat had kittens, too! New babies everywhere!

Cole and Teya giving their little sister some love.

Diaper change without tears.

My sister still looks beautiful even though I know she's exhausted.  She's a wonderful mother, sister and friend.

Dad creating some Argentinian cups on the lathe for a friend. He truly is a man of many talents.

I sure love my family. I love to visit them, and I think they love when I visit, too. Maybe next time Clark will not be chained to his terrible job and be able to join in on the festivities.  And maybe next time Viera's Bakery won't be out of maple bars.

Philly In Bloom

Well, trees aren't really in bloom anymore, but I did make sure to capture some of the beautiful blossoms over the course of a couple of weeks.  I even took the point and shoot on a 10 mile run with me...I'm just that dedicated to springtime beauty.

2013 Gettysburg North-South Marathon

Clark debuted!
The course was extremely hilly through mile 20, but we all stuck together and crossed the finish line holding hands. Aside from being 40 minutes off target, we executed our plan perfectly!

Please don't ask for our time because it is completely irrelevant.

 I have never laughed so much during a race in my entire life. I've never been able to enjoy ALL the water station stops, too, so that was a bonus.  I had way too much fun.  Despite Clark's permanent facial grimace from mile 18-26.2, he had a blast, too.  

We're so glad that we got to enjoy this beautiful course with Kyle and Kim.  You guys are the best! Let's get ready for Baltimore, which will be more of a....competitive racing environment.

Time to Shine FREE concert

Penn's Time to Shine campaign has been extraordinarily successful, bringing in over $4 billion to improve campus buildings and facilities, and aid grad/undergrad students in their educational pursuits (though I'm pretty sure I didn't reap any of those benefits, DANG IT).  This campaign also recently held a concert on behalf of it's success, probably because it raised too much money and the leadership thought welp, we should probably do something nice for the Penn community with some of the excess funds.  So you know, Train and John Legend came and played at Penn Park.  It was pretty awesome. I was stoked on the free food.  The barely 21 year-olds were stoked on all you could drink free alcohol.  Honestly, shouldn't the university have some sort of system intact to ensure that these youngsters only get a couple of drinks at school sanctioned functions?  Cause let's be honest, barely 21 year-olds are obnoxious drunks.

I don't regularly check my school email anymore, but we have friends currently enrolled at Penn and they alerted us to this event.  In fact, they registered us for the event so we wouldn't miss out.  Clark had to work, because when does he not have to work when something exciting is going on?  But I tagged along with our friends to see these artists.  Even if one doesn't like Train or John Legend, it is always cool to see live shows.  And as our friend Jeff said, who doesn't like Train?

Thank you, Amber and Jeff Jack, for helping us not to miss out on this exciting event! 

My Heart Aches for the Southwest

We recently returned from a quick trip to Las Vegas.  Let me tell you, Las Vegas has never looked so beautiful!  Maybe my heart is just aching for the Valley of the Sun, aka Phoenix, but gosh dang, those mountains surrounding Vegas looked spectacularly different (in a good way) than they did to me 20 months ago!  I wonder how I would react now if we visited SLC, where the city truly is butted up against rugged mountains? I guess things just look different when you haven't seen them in a long while... 

We had a blast with Clark's family, got to visit with his 90 year old grandma, and finally met our sweet little niece who is now 14 months.  Somehow, I neglected to get any group shots, and we specifically brought our camera in order to get photos with his grandma.  Ohhhh well.  I'm pretty sure she's still got another 10 years in her :)

We did make sure to capture our hike on the Calico Tanks trail at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.  No Vegas vacation is ever complete without a hike to Red Rock or Mount Charleston. Additionally, we made sure to take pictures of food.  I swear we ate nonstop and my stomach was bloated THE ENTIRE TRIP, starting with our first stop at In-N-Out. Which was right after we were picked up from the airport.  We wasted no time, that's for sure. 

Pass on the crawfish, just go straight for the shrimp, my friends. This meal was too messy, so no photos of boiled shrimps with their heads and tentacles, sorry. 

On the Calico Tanks trail.  

I just couldn't get enough of the red rock.

It was a little hazy but the Vegas strip could be viewed from the turn-around point.  

Clark got to hold Jake's newest gun, which he was very excited about.  I'm honestly not sure what type this is.  I told Clark to stand out in the yard for a quick photo, but he was all: Rachel, there are police all over the place!  It's true that the police and the SWAT team were just around the corner taking care of some business, but they were far enough away that Clark wasn't likely to look suspicious hanging out in a yard with a big gun.

We finally got to eat at Hash House a Go Go, which is a Man v Food establishment we've been wanting to try for years.  The portions were just right for the Tobler appetite.

Clark got the biscuits with sausage gravy.

Karl got a platter that included a bacon waffle, eggs and potatoes.

I opted for the fried chicken breast with bacon waffles.  

These were truly portions meant for the Clark Tobler family.

Thanks for letting us come visit, Mom and Dad Tobler!  Time just passes too quickly when you're having a great time!