Wedding Pictures ?!?!

Jakob and I have been anxiously awaiting our professional photos. Susan and Krister are in the process of moving into a new studio and just got done with a bridal expo, with 5 weddings ahead of ours it has been quite the wait. We are happy to say that we got some teasers yesterday and are thrilled with the results. As much as I didn't want to have two separate days for the wedding and the reception it was wonderful! I wouldn't have done it any other way. The morning of the reception was so relaxed we didn't have to rush anywhere which was fabulous, especially when it came to family photos, and we were able to hit up 7 different locations. I can't wait to see them all!

I really wanted some pictures with Balloons. I know it kind of screams happy birthday but I thought that they gave some flavor to these pictures.


Susan toted us up to this parking garage and took some pictures of my fabulous red shoes. These were really random but we had the time to kill.

Upon arriving at Fort Edmonton the girl said if we waited 10 minutes that we would get in for free! Susan set us up right outside of the doors to snap a few shots. Originally we were going to take pictures inside of the fort (It's very old-fashioned and such), but upon seeing the Farris wheel I could NOT resist! They guy who was running it said we could hop on and I was super stoked. I adore this one. There was a carousel & an old train which took up the rest of our time in fort ed. Ahhh. The canola field. Yellow, yellow, and more yellow.

Date Night

Jakob and I went to the strip on Monday night to shape hunt. We are trying to spell out "TOBLER" with random shapes from places that mean something to us such as St. Albert, Salt Lake and Vegas. It was a ton of fun searching for the far simpler things in life, things that go unnoticed. We were just about to begin our adventure when we ran into these guys.


These ants had a line this thick from floor to ceiling. Jakob decided to cause turmoil in the little ants line and they went bazerk! It was really neat to see how Jakob broke the line at the bottom and it changed everything all the way to the top.




Next stop the botanical gardens at the Belagio. I think that they are beautiful! Last time Jakob and I went to the strip, it was fall, I didn't take many pictures. I defiantly made up for it last night!
In case you were wondering yes, we will have a windmill and waterwheel in our back yard someday. But we are here to find shapes...

How about a "T"?


An "L"?

I'd like to buy a vowel. An "O" please?

As you can tell there wasn't much success but we did learn one very important thing.

Clearly.
We headed into Cesar's Palace to get our daily does of porn.

Enough said. Some fine couple took a moment to capture a picture because, let's be serious, self portraits can only take you so far.


It was a fun date. Though it is far easier to see shapes when the sun is up. This date is to be continued...

Trashed Treasures

I was talking to my G-ma today and she was telling me how a lady from Calgary Waste Management phoned and asked her about our garbage experience. They had wanted to put it in the paper. For those that don't know, that is 3 hours south of Edmonton. I have no idea how they found out, or why they are still talking about this (even though it is pretty rad!) since it all happened back in July. For those that are also very confused at this point, these are the events that took place.

WARNING LONG STORY!

Back in July the day after the reception, Jakob, Duke Jessica and I were coming home from our gift opening rather late. I had thrown my clothes for the next day, car keys, digital camera, and the disposable cameras from the reception into a garbage bag to take to G-ma's where we were all staying. When we got home I set the bag all tied up on the steps and went downstairs where we watched a movie. We finally went to bed around 3 and while going up the stairs I tripped over the bag. I should have picked it up then but I left it for the following morning.

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I have never been an early riser and after a crazy weekend Monday morning was no exception. I got up at 11:00. I went into the hallway to pick up my bag so I could change to my surprise, there was no bag. Big shocker there. G-pa had thought that it was garbage and took it outside with all of our wedding pictures in it. I raced around trying to find him only to realize that the trash had already been picked up by the city. At this point I was devastated! I had just lost my new camera, the keys to the car, and all 6 disposable cameras. Needless to say I didn't want to talk to anybody. My G-ma is a champion though, she phoned the Waste Management (WM) manager and asked if we could go hunting for my bag. Jakob and I had been prepared to claim defeat, it was gone and I was okay with that. I didn't want to get my hopes up. So G-ma threw us in the car, grabbed a pitch fork and we drove to the dump. The truck was supposed to pick up the trash at around 9:15 a.m. and is dumped every two hours, it was 1:00 now and they compact the truck so they can fit up to 8 tons of garbage in them. If he had dumped it would be under 80 tons of garbage or more from just that part of Saint Albert. AKA not very good odds. The man driving the truck wasn't answering his phone so we couldn't tell what he had done. And if it was a white truck then we would have lost it for sure. My Saint of a g-ma phone up the G-pa to ask what color the truck was. Of course he didn't know, (do you know what color your garbage truck is?) So he went knocking on doors to see if he could find out. I am truly blessed to have so many people love and care about me enough to go to all of this trouble to find a silly bag. Seriously how many people would go knocking on their neighbors doors asking what color the truck is or drive to the dump to find a lost bag? I'm blessed I tell you. Anyways they said they would phone us when they had more info.

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At this moment I said a prayer. I know most people are thinking, no Steph don't get religious on us, but I did. My answer was patience. Seriously, that is one of the many things that I do NOT have. But I said okay. We went home and were there no longer than 20 minutes when the phone ran. Yes epic! Everyone had given up accept for G-ma, bless her soul. They told us that they had found the truck, but he had not dumped yet, a miracle in itself because he should had dumped twice by now. They had isolated the truck and had him dump it on a concrete pad. So we drove there ready to look through 8 tons of garbage. On our way up the hill to the site we could hear 4 men over the radio saying that they were going to come help us look & they already had 5 guys looking. Their compassion was amazing. So we start hunting. They knew about which part of the pile our stuff would have been on so it was game on. It smelt SO bad! If you want to know awkward, you should sift through peoples trash! It's amazing the things you will find!

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We were only hunting for about ten minutes when a guy called he had a winner just when 4 totally intact cameras fell out. Jakob said that was it and nothing was broken or crushed. It was a miracle! I was SOOOOO HAPPY! Fist pump for praying! The manager took a picture because he said that it was impossible. I know dramatic right?

G-ma, knight in shining armor, Myself and Jessica


Our Hero that found our bag!


Jakob and I

Anyways, the lady speaking to G-ma said that it was impossible and she couldn't believe our luck. It's very rare that anything good happens when it comes to recovering things, never mind small things like cameras and clothing which should have gotten squished. It was a happy day and I'm looking forward to seeing if it gets published in the paper. THANK YOU WASTE MANAGEMENT!! These men are far more than they are made out to be! I tip my hat to you!

heart < 3

SQUIRREL!

Over the past year, Mom Tobler has proved time and time again that the more patient you are the better deal you will find. In Canada I was never a real hunter. I would figure out what I wanted, go to the store find it, buy it, and throw a few other things in the cart while I'm at it, regardless the cost. Marriage, however changes a few things including my spending habits. I have since learned of a thing called "The Hunt." I have learned to shop fliers, look on Craigs List and (my favorite) garage sale. On Saturday mornings we are up (the earlier the better) and searching for garage sales. It amazes me what people are willing to sell and Mom Tobler has a gift for bartering. We get such a thrill when driving down the road and suddenly one of us yells "Squirrel" (click here to see UP movie trailer for details). It is such a rewarding feeling laying out our purchases for the day on the island to take count of our findings. I am a convert! This is my conversion story.

About a month ago Mom Tobler found these beautiful bookshelves for $25 a piece. I absolutely adore them! The beginning of something wonderful. Not two weeks later we stumbled across a BEAUTIFUL dark wood bar stool table. It was a set for 4 and the square tabled had a lief in it to seat 6. It was far cheaper than the one Jakob and I had gotten 3 weeks prior. I love our table but a little extra room for guests would have been perfect. Further proof that patience pays off.

Donations are also ALWAYS appreciated. Our coffee table has been made into an entertainment center until we find one we like.

This lamp has a leather lamp shade and is very sturdy. We have needed a floor lamp for quite some time. We got this beauty for $10.

The Joy of the day! A brand new printer, fax & scanner. Jakob and I were planning on saving up for a printer but today we made a friend who was starting his own business and needed a faster printer. We got this baby for $10! We are thrilled!

Our little home has it's fair share of secondhand items and each one has a story. It's always funny to have friends come over and ask where we got some of our things. It's even funner to tell them the story behind each one of them! I am a convert and I can't wait till next weeks hunt!

OCD In Overdrive

Slowly but ever so surely I am running out of things to do. Who ever had said that being a trophy wife was where it was at was greatly mistaken. Thank-Yous have been sent, work is slowly picking up, and the laundry the never seems to end has abruptly finished. I am board and and slowly running of out things to clean in our little apartment. I had decided that I was going over board when I took every dish out of our cupboards, washed it by hand, dried and replaced it into it's original spot. I think I am developing a OCD problem. But what else is a girl to do? One can only watch so many movies in one day. :) And cooking for a party of one really isn't all it's made out to be.
I would continue to work on paper work, however we have hit a little speed bump which I would like to take a moment to vent about. I apologize to those who may take offense. I am currently resisting (for lack of a better word) immigration and trying to wiggle my way around taking an HPV vaccination for fear that if an "oops" happens there may be fetal development complications. Upon phoning my lawyer to discuss my options they suggested a) suing the government, which I will defiantly NOT do. OR b) find a doctor that says that the drug is not safe given our "situation" and can be put off until a later date. Needless to say, I opted for plan b. Yesterday I spent an entire afternoon, prior to washing everything, phoning through the entire list of "immigration certified" doctors seeing if I could talk to but one of them. I understand that there are sick people in the world and that doctors, of all people, are very busy and a phone call is probably the farthest thing from their mind, however to me (the very person on the other line) It was very important. Out of the 25 doctors I had phoned, not a single one had contacted me back. Today is a day for another try, perhaps I will get some luck. I am simply tired of being regarded as an "immigrant" or "alien". I am a human being with concerns as a future mother. Perhaps that is why my OCD has kicked into over drive, hopefully everything will sort itself out properly or I will find something else to clean.

AMAZING!

On September 3rd, my incredible husband took me to go see Secondhand Serenade. It was fabulous! He sounded great and it was quite a lengthy concert. I unfortunately wasn't able to take any pictures because they made me check in our camera, but it was fabulous. I felt bad for Jakob as I stood there drooling. There is nothing hotter than a man that sings romantic lullaby's and can play both the guitar and the piano, even if he is wearing tight red pants. :) I am looking forward to their new album coming out. They played with 3 other bands at the House of Blues. Rust, who was from Tennessee, they were pretty good. Some very confident individual, he was super annoying, however, he had a good stage presence. And Parachute, these guys were really good! I had never heard of them but I was impressed! It was a super fun night and I can't wait until they come into town again!!

Check them out here. It's just youtube but there are quite a few of their songs linked to this page.

Time to Comment

I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing more frustrating than sitting in public washrooms, which are messy and gross to begin with, and having garbage toilet paper that is so thin it rips 3 times before it comes off the roll. I understand the situation but please allow the roll to at least rotate. There is nothing more embarrassing than knocking on the wall and asking your new found neighbor to steal some paper. I have an appreciation now for the roll on our wall! THANK YOU CHARMIN!

September Already?!?!

Jakob and I had a fun filled week including, sleep overs, cuddling, and lots of laughter. My Cousin Jessica decided that she would spend a week with the newly weds. It was so nice to see her, and to have some company while Jakob was working and at school. I didn't take many pictures but here is what I did manage to capture. Mr. Duke was a constant companion throughout the week. It is always an enjoyable time having Duke around, accept for when it comes to grocery shopping. He has the worst memory and had to call his mom twice to see what exactly it was that he wanted.

And he clearly had some encouragement from a little lady.

No fear, we found it! Apparently this is the key to traditional "Duke Scones." Unfortunately when we got home we forgot to put the dough back into the freezer. Over night it had risen and exploded out of the bag! Live and Learn.

Later that night the boys took us to Freemont street. It would have been really cool aside from it was 6:00 in the evening. Definite lack of darkness. It was fun to dress up and have some fun though.

Clearly we haven't gone out in awhile :)

Jakob and Dukas take one look at this thing and decided that it was time to act like hippies. Jessica and I had no clue what "Woodstock" was so a peace sign seemed to fit best. Dukas however took a slightly more drastic approach. Don't ask me what Jakob is doing. :)

Jakob found his very own cowboy.

I quickly changed his mind!! Cowgirls are far cuter.

This is how one looks after hitting up a 7 11 and getting a Slurpee and mixing it with Red Bull. We have decided to call it the "Rush". It defiantly made our night of swimming far funnier than necessary.

Chef Duke cooking a fat saturated scone. I wish we would have taken a picture of the bread post explosion.

And that raps it up for the first week of September! I can hardly believe that Christmas will be here in 3 months?!? This year has flown by thus far, but we have had some amazing times and made some amazing memories. It was so nice to have Duke and Jess visit with us for the week. I look froward to her next trip. Good luck at BYU Idaho!!

Flu

I am so far behind with our blog that I'll simply start from today and work backwards. For the past week or so my lower back has been terribly soar, however I assumed it was for not eating right with Jessica (my cousin). However, I'm sure trying to, (on several occasions) squish 4 people onto a queen sized mattress while watching a movie on our computer that we'd like to think is a T.V, may have attributed to it. On Saturday after Jessica left on her way to BYU Idaho, I went upstairs to visit with Duke and Jakob and WHAM! It hit me hard! I had a fever and my mid and lower back were screaming in pain. I don't like to take pills but at 10:30 I succumbed to the temptation and slept soundly for the night. Over the next 3 days I took an average of 5 baths a day, ran a consistent fever that peeked at 103F, I had chills, and I ached from head to toe. On Monday evening we went to Mom and Dad Toblers for dinner, accompanied by the Dunsmoore's. Without health insurance, Jakob and I opted for phone call to Dr. Dunsmoore (their son) who said I had the flu and it would take 4- 5 days to get over it. Yes, it is the flu.

It has been the longest five days of my life, however today I feel awesome. I can stand and I am moving finally. I can't think of anything worse than being confined to a bed on a seldom seen long weekend. I so grateful to have a husband to take care of me and that forces me to drink plenty of fluids. Jakob and I have both decided that I will be the worst pregnant person ever! My favorite part of it was the 4 day rats nest that grew in the back of my head. It was a dog to brush out I only wish that these pictures would do it justice.

Modest Is Hottest

How things have changed! This is photograph of a beach scene in 1922. City officials declared that bathing suits must be no more than six inches above the knee. The city official in the photograph was responsible for enforcing the ordinance. My favorite part about this picture is her facial expression.