CHICAGO!

a couple of weeks ago

my mom, sisters, sister in law, and I got the very special gift

of going on a girls trip to

CHICAGO!

it was a very sweet and generous gift from my dad -

and we LOVED IT!

dinner our first night at a local italian place

yummy!

it was so fun being together, just us girls with no kids

of course we all LOVE & ADORE our kiddos,

but we are hardly ever all together without kids -

so this was a gift - to connect, be together, enjoy one another,

SHOP, and eat - just us :)

on thursday we explored downtown chicago

we walked everywhere -

didn't even get a taxi once -

which i LOVE

i love to discover a new place on foot, i have decided!

don't you love mary beth's fur coat :)?

it was my grandmother's -

she cut it short and of course made it look stylish!

amy and i laugh b/c we would look so out of place in something like that - but for B it fits!

here we are at the bean

it is such a fun place to take pictures,

as you will be able to tell :)

we then stopped at intelligentsia for some yummy coffee!

love this!

one of my favorite little spots!

we of course had to get some chicago style -

deep dish pizza!

it was huge, and takes almost an hour to make after you order it!

i don't have any pics from friday - because we literally shopped the entire day!

it was so much fun!

but i didn't think you wanted pictures of us trying on clothes, getting christmas gifts, or window shopping - but trust me - we all LOVED it - and were SO exhausted afterwards!

we really did - shop till you drop :)

right outside of our hotel was an "ogden plaza"

thought i needed a pic by that :)

on saturday morning we walked to the navy pier

it was neat to be there, but i am sure in the summer it is a better time to explore -

because it is right on the water and it was FREEZING!

pretty pic of chicago

the famous ferris wheel

it was such a FUN trip!

we all loved it and loved being together!

i think it was really fun because it was before mary beth got engaged and

the craziness of planning a wedding had started,

it was a sweet time to enjoy one another

thank you Dad for the best gift ever!

we loved it!

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