Mary Beth & Hanj are Engaged!

it's true:)

my baby sister is engaged!

to the most wonderful match for her-

and we couldn't be more THRILLED!

alex set it up perfectly and she was completely surprised!

my parents were in town b/c my dad preached at church on sunday

(which btw - he did an AMAZING job! -

he is such a good teacher - i was so proud of him :))

so b/c we "had things" that night -

we went with the family to an early dinner at

our favorite :) cafe express

(great time to go there btw b/c NO ONE is there and our incredibly long table and many kids doesn't bother anyone)

this girl had NO IDEA what was about to happen

sweet cousins

my little spunky thing!

so after dinner

mary beth met up with her friend before going to what she thought was a worship night

at alex's house

what she didn't know is that alex had invited her family and closest friends

to come to his house with a note and flower to give to her before he propsed

mary beth has the sweetest friends

they came from all over to be there for her on her special night!

the family group

(i had a sitter for my younger two)

alex had candles and roses everywhere

it was beautiful!

in addition to the actual engagement ring

he carved her a wooden ring

beautiful

here she is coming in,

completely shocked at who was in the room

alex (or hanj as mb calls him) met her at the door with a hug and a kiss :)

he sat her down in this chair

and then went into the other room and played music on his guitar

then each of her friends and family got up one by one

gave her a note with something special about her and what marriage will be like,

a rose or flower, and a kiss and walked out

we all left and headed to blake and amy's for an engagement party for afterwards

hanj was very romantic i'm sure and she said yes - of course!

the sibs

love this sweet pic of mom and dad

mary beth telling all her friends about how it happened :)

mary beth and hanj and both sets of parents

alex's parents came in from peru to be with them

mary beth had just officially met them the day before

they are the sweetest people ever and we see where alex get's his sweet spirit from :)

love this picture as well!

we ended by praying over them and blessing them in this season ahead!

what a sweet night to remember!

we are so excited for them both!

let the wedding planning begin!

it's been a long time :)

Turkey Bowl 2011

the saturday before thanksgiving we had our church's annual

turkey bowl

it is such a fun tradition and there is always a great turnout!

there is a girls game first and then a guys game

(flag football)

i didn't play this year

and it was kind of sad just sitting on the sidelines :(

loving the neon colored shirts :)

the kids had a great time hanging out with everyone

typical campbell with food on her face,

and a scratch on her nose

the ice cream truck came by and the kids were happy about that :)

sweet molly slept in caroline's arms most of the game

36 hour NYC trip (part 2)

Friday night we headed to a nice dinner

(again i don't remember the name of the place - but Mario Botelli owned it)

it was fun getting all dressed up

and enjoying a nice, long relaxing, delicious dinner

we had wonderful conversation

zach led us with 3 questions:

1. what was your favorite date (or most memorable)

2. what is the most important aspect of friendship to you

3. what is a funny story that we might not know about you

it was a really special time

it was then almost midnight -

but we had to make it to serendipity for frozen hot chocolate

so we took the subway to get there

however we sill had to walk quite a way -

you had to get on the list by midnight -

so we cut it really close

but we made it!

and of course, still had to wait -

even though it was midnight

but it was worth the wait!

the next day we headed to the MET

but then when we realized it was more than we wanted to spend for the amount of time we had,

we decided to just visit the gift shop

and then walk in central park

it was such a beautiful day

so many runners out

wish i had my running shoes - because i would have loved to go for a run there

it was wonderful!

we then headed to little italy for some lunch

and then headed back!

it was so very fun

and we were so thankful that our dear friends invited us

to journey with them and celebrate with them!

what a gift!

thank you joey and dana!

we loved it and love you!

look forward to the next 30 (++) years!

36 Hour NYC trip (part one)

on friday we had the fun opportunity to go with our friends

to NYC for a quick trip to celebrate joey's 30th!

it was SO FUN!!!!!

there were just 3 couples

and between the 6 of us we have 8 kids - and one on the way :)

so to take a trip as just adults, was such a treat

and great to have adult conversation and fun for 36 hours straight!

we got into to nyc around 2 on friday and headed straight to a deli (can't remember the name)

for lunch

(after a short detour where i got sick on the side of the road - yes i threw up right there on the street in nyc for everyone and their dog to see - but i felt much better afterwards!)

waiting for our table at lunch

these were the best onion rings i have EVER had

oh.my.goodness

(i didn't even order them - but i made sure i got my fair dose of them)

after lunch we headed to the hotel to put our bags up

and then headed out to walk the streets of NYC

the guys in FAO schwartz

i love that store

i got c her first baby doll here

i thought that would be a fun gift for christmas and hold a special memory to it

jordan got his fair share of candy here as well!

(in fact he has the extras stashed in a secret place in our closet - still!)

we then went to see the christmas tree

we missed the lighting by 2 days!

it was so beautiful!

this was a really neat display they put on the side of a building