Catching up....

I am behind on blogging due to the move and I have so much to catch up on....during October we spent a lot of time packing and saying good-bye to our friends. Just before leaving California, we had a pot-luck style dinner with some of our closest friends from church. It was so funny to see all of the babies & kids running all over the place, because when we first met everyone no one had kids yet. God has truly blessed us!

The Moms with the kids....

....and the Dads

We celebrated Brooklyn's first Halloween at the end of October but unfortunately Olivia was sick so we spent most of the day laying around. We had big plans of going to see Dora the Explorer (Olivia's favorite) live, but had to give away our tickets when Livie woke up with a high fever. I think I was even more devastated to miss the show then she was! (lol) So, we took the girls trick-or-treating around the block and then enjoyed a delicious homemade dinner that Brian's mom cooked for us (she flew out to spend Halloween with us and accompany the girls and I to Chicago).

Olivia picking out a pumpkin before Halloween.

Every holiday I get both of the girls a book-it is a little tradition I started since Olivia was born. Brooklyn decided to taste her first Halloween book!!

This year Olivia picked out her own costume....CINDERELLA (of course) & Brooklyn went as the cute little pumpkin that Olivia was on her first Halloween, which was so adorable I couldn't resist using it again:)

On one of our last nights in San Clemente Brian & I had a date night while my Mother-in law watched the girls. We went out to dinner at a local restaurant named Sonny's and then took a walk on the beach. It was very chilly down by the beach so I didn't last very long, but it was so breath-taking to walk along the beach at night in the dark with all of the stars twinkling in the sky and the sound of the waves crashing-it was the perfect way to say good-bye to San Clemente.

Another family photo shoot

Just before leaving California we were able to get one last shoot in with our FAVORITE photographers and good friends, Hayley & Travis Collins. They do amazing work & we are definitely going to miss their talented picture taking skills. Hayley took our pictures down by the beach, because we figured it would be awhile before we would be living so close to the beach again. There were so many good pictures that I loved them all (along with my new blog pic)!! But here are a few of my favorites....

My 25th Birthday!!!!

(Forgive me for being two months behind! lol) On October 28th we celebrated my 25th Birthday!!!! Since Brian had to work until the afternoon, the girls and I went to one of my favorite places....shopping on Del Mar street in downtown San Clemente. We had fun walking around and shopping in the little boutiques. Then, after Brian got off work we enjoyed a nice family dinner at Selma's, which is one of our favorite pizza places in San Clemente (its Chicago style pizza-go figure!) Oh how I will miss Del Mar :(

My family has always made a big deal out of birthdays. So, when we got to Chicago we went out to a local Mexican restaurant and celebrated my Birthday with my family. They put me in a sombrero and everyone sang to me! lol

The joy of moving

Moving is quite the process and I have been dying to get back to my normal organized ways (lol). I have been so BUSY between unpacking, Christmas shopping, & preparing for Brooklyn's 1st Birthday party that I haven't had any time to keep up with blogging so forgive me for my excessive posting in order to catch up on the last couple of months. Brooklyn is growing like a weed!! She is walking and talking now!! It is crazy how fast time flies. I have a lot of pictures and videos to post from the past two months, but in the mean time I just had to post this picture....

We were literally living out of suitcases! lol

So long California

After 6 long months of waiting and trusting in the Lord, we found out....WE WERE MOVING TO CHICAGO!!!! On October 4th, we found out that Brian was chosen for the MECEP program of the Marine Corps. It is such an accomplishment for Brian to be one of the marines chosen out of hundreds of applicants who applied for the program this year. Now that he was selected, we will be moving to Chicago for about 3 and a half years while Brian attends college before moving again to his next training school and duty station where he will then be an officer. He was also accepted to Loyola University and will be majoring in Theology. We are so proud of Brian!! We are so excited to embark on this incredible journey that lies ahead.

Olivia & I baked Brian a cake to celebrate his achievement:)

For the past 5 and a half years, I have lived in California and it has been amazing!! It's where Brian and I lived together for the first time, had both of our children, and made many memories together as a family. I am so excited to move back to the Midwest and be close to our family and friends there. But, it is going to be sad to leave the life we have built in California. We are going to miss all of our friends....we love you guys~keep in touch!!

Seaworld

In the middle of October we went to Seaworld along with two of our friends, Matt & Courtney:) Seaworld supports the military by giving active duty military and their families a one day free admission per year. It was our annual trip to the park and we had a blast!! It was really cute to see how much Olivia enjoyed it at this age compared to last year.

Olivia is so brave!! She couldn't wait to pet the Bat Rays!!

Brookie enjoyed her first time @ Seaworld & especially liked the dolphin show.

Since our last trip, they added a whole Sesame Street themed section for the kids with rides, which Olivia loved.

Playing a game with Daddy that was impossible to win! lol

Biggest Loser Continued

Brian's Biggest Loser episode aired last night so I can finally post the Biggest Loser photos!! We had to sign Privacy waivers stating that we would not reveal any of the outcomes from the show or the contestants that had made it to the week that Brian filmed on the show. Now that his episode has officially aired here are some photos from on the set of the Biggest Loser @ Camp Pendleton....

I got to meet the stars of the show....

Allison Sweeney, Bob Harper, and Jillian Michaels before the filming of the weigh-in.

Brian and I with the director.

Here I am with Aaron & Mark (two of the contestants).
The Marine Instructors holding up another contestant, Lisa.

And I really enjoyed getting to know the crew! They put in so much work behind the scenes. Here is a picture of Liza and Erin who are in charge of wardrobe for the cast.

The day they left to go back to the ranch we got to hang out with the cast back at SOI where Brian works.