Visitor Fun

Gus and Stella came over to play one afternoon and we had fun! We stared off with balloon races. We will have to do this again when they are a bit older. So much fun!

It stated to pour so the kids headed outside to check it out. 

And to stick their hands in the rain.

It was a fun afternoon but it's always nice to get back to just you and your littles, especially when you have one as cute as this. (P.s. E is cute too, she just didn't want to take pictures.)

It's Offical...

We are moving to Kansas City, KS. Jakob has found his dream job and we are off on another adventure. I can not believe that Jakob is finished school! Those nine months flew by! We have really enjoyed being in Nashville and I have made some friends that I will cherish for a life time. I can not describe how much I love our ward and how much of a blessing and support they have been these past nine months. This being our first time being away from family, our ward became my family and I am so thankful that the Lord put such amazing people into my life that I could serve and who have served me. 

At first I was rather skeptical about Kansas but now I am excited. New adventure, new chapter, and hopefully finding a new place to call home for awhile. We just signed papers for a house and will be moving in 16 DAYS! Holy Moses! These 16 days are going to FLY. Here's to starting a new adventure!

The Doctor is In!

 The other day E was playing Dr. She covered a chair so that it was "comfy" for her patients, then she lined up her toys that were sick and sat them on the chair one at a time.

 She had a great beside manner, chatting with her dolly and telling her "It only hurt a minute! Little poke okay Anna!" 

 She then would say "Anna!! You were SO brave!" Which is what we tell her when she goes to the Dr.

Then they went down for a nap because "they were sad and sad babies go to bed." It was the cutest thing! There may be hope for the Jakob Tobler family after all. Jakob can't stand the sight of bodily fluids, and I would never have the patience to hit the books but Dr's and nurses, dentists and occupational therapists are in Jakob's family so we shall see. That or shell just be a princess like her Mama. ;)

Going Private

After going back and forth a lot I have decided that I will be making my blog private. Like I have said before, this blog is my family journal which means I share a lot of my personal information from day to day. To keep our family safe I have decided to make this blog private. My craft and recipie blog will remain public. If you wish to still follow me please send your e-mail to me at stephanie[dot]lauren[at]live[dot]com so that I an add you to my reading list. I will be going private next week. Thank you to my followers for your support. 

Easter Sunday

 Easter. This was my first holiday officially alone. We were with family for both Thanksgiving and Christmas and so it being both conference and Easter it felt very strange not being surrounded by family. To make up for that I tried to make it as festive as possible and it turned out to be a very nice day. 

 I was seriously tempted to make the kids coordinating baskets with their names on them but they are so big to store and with a move (possibly) on the horizon I decided to go with simple. E got an Anna doll, Elsa pillow case with her name on it, a kinder surprise from Canada and play doh in her basket. Her box was also part of her present since her previous suit case that Aunt Nancy gave her for her princess dolls was too small to fit them all. She now puts her clippy dolls in the big suit case and all of her other "treasures" in her old one. She loves having a place to hide all of her most precious belongings.

 Manfred got a G.I Joe similar in size to E's clippy dolls. He was pretty excited to have something of his own that was special like sisters. He also got a batman pillow case with his name on it, a kinder surprise bunny, a small car and finger puppets. As a Tobler tradition the Easter bunny hides their baskets so Jakob hid them for the kids to find in the morning.

 I hid a basket full of eggs around the house since it was sprinkling outside. Duke found one egg and that was it... he was perfectly happy. 

 E had a bit more fun with the hunt. 

 Then Elsa got a turn to help find eggs!

 Duke found his basket in the cupboard that he usually plays in. 

 E's was in the toy box. She needed a little bit of help. 

 For breakfast I made Bunny bum pancakes....

 And homemade pretzels. They were super simple. I used this recipe.  I made mine with all white flour. I learned to turn the broiler to low and watch very carefully as they burn QUICK! The dough was very heavy so I may try letting them rise next time but start to finish this recipe took me 30 minutes to make. Very yummy.

 For lunch we had our treats inside of eggs.

 The kids thought this was pretty cool! 

 Check out our little bunny!!!

 Then we called Grammy and Pa to Skype. They had an egg hunt all ready to go and they took E out to explore the yard for eggs. 

 E would see and egg and shout "There Pa!!! A Blue One!!" It was the cutest. 

 Then E saw the turtle and she was pretty worried that Walther was going to eat all of Pa's eggs. Thanks for the egg hunt Grammy and Pa. It made you guys feel not so far away! 

 Then I attempted my very fist holiday meal. Ham seemed pretty safe and it still wasn't warm after I cooked it. It turned out okay, not bad for my first attempt. 

Hands down my favorite part of this Easter was being able to listen to our prophet and the leaders of our church speak. I am so thankful for this gospel and for our Savior and his atoning sacrifice. I am thankful for eternal families I know that we will get to be with our families forever. I am thankful for the scriptures and for the wisdom and guidance that they hold. I have often turned to the scriptures with questions and I know I have gotten answers. They are truly the word of God. I am thankful for prayer. For the peace that it brings in trying times. I know that my Savior lives and because of him We will be able to return to our Father in Heaven again. Happy Easter everyone!

Easter Photo Shoot

 As most people know, I like to take pictures. Okay, I'm obsessed. Before we were living the life of students I would have professional family photos taken twice a year plus my own mini shoots that happened every holiday and then our day to day. My camera is always out. So it may come as no surprise that I wanted to take some Easter pictures of the kids. I wanted a NICE picture that wasn't photo shopped (like our Christmas card) because lets be serious, taking pictures of kids is ridiculous. Professional photographers who actually get nice shots of your kids are worth. every. penny. Let's just say it was a major flop...

 ... this is the best picture I have of the two of them. Duke is actually looking and E is sort of smiling with her fist full of leaves. It was the moment. One day I will have a picture worthy of the wall, one day. I did happen to get a few cute individual photos though.

 I know I biased but dang, this girl is precious! 

 This is the perfect Duke smile. You can almost hear his laugh that comes from his toes with that smile!

 What most of Manfreds pictures looked like, running, blurry, or of the back of his head. 

 Seriously, she's perfect!

 Passed out with a basket tummy full of jelly beans.

Now, what would any photo shoot be without 267 outtakes. Here are a few of my favorites:

Isn't that just depressing?

She looks like she's going to eat him. :)

 

It's wasn't the perfect shoot but it was fun!! Now, onto Easter!!!!!!!