Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

So, I'm sure you've figured out by now what one of my New Year's resolutions might be...you guessed it- try and update this blog before another year passes by. I'm embarrassed to say that the last pictures on my blog are from Halloween! Okay, that was well over 3 months ago. I guess I decided to breeze right through Thanksgiving into the New Year.

This year we decided to stay home for the holidays. I think that was a great decision because the weather in the Northwest has become somewhat unpredictable in the last 2 weeks. I can't believe the last time I spoke with my mother-in-law she said there was up to 10 inches of snow! That happens in Washington once in a blue moon. I'm sorry for all the holiday travelers out there who were unfortunate and had to either camp out at the airport for days or cancel their travel plans all together. I hope despite the terrible weather throughout that everyone was able to have a wonderful Christmas.

So, for Christmas our tradition here at the Paces starts out on Christmas Eve with the Pajama Elf. You heard right. The Pajama Elf. He comes every Christmas Eve and brings the girls new pajamas to wear for the night. We never get a glimpse of the Elf. He quickly comes to the door...knock.....knock...and then magically disappears. Chloe did not think he would make it to Chicago this year (we have been to the west coast for the last 4 years for Christmas.) She was thrilled to find out that the Pajama Elf, like Santa makes good on all his deliveries!

Start of Fall

Robert and I decided to kick off the fall season by taking the girls to our favorite
pumpkin patch-County Line Orchard in Hobart, Indiana. We went last year with Chloe's class and had
such a blast picking apples, checking out the kids farm, eating great potato ribbon
fries and corn on the cob that we decided to go again this year.
The girls loved picking out their pumpkins. Sure, I could've gone over to Dominick's and
picked a couple up but it's just not the same. I love the fact that we
can get out of the city for an afternoon and head out to no man's land for some fall fun.

Congrats to the newlyweds!!!

So, my beautiful sister jean had the most amazing wedding this past weekend. My family and I headed to sunny Hollywood, California for the wedding. We rented a beach house in Venice that was a block away from the ocean. It was great waking up every morning to the ocean breeze and walking up to the rooftop and being surrounded by palm trees.

The ceremony and reception were held at the Luxe Hotel in Bel Air. My sister spoiled us and had our hair and makeup done by several celebrity stylists-what a great way to get pampered! She had a number of videographers along with photographers. I swear it felt like we were surrounded by papparazzi :>) I just can't get over how amazing the wedding was from start to finish.

Enjoy the pictures!!!

It's Official....

No pictures here but I did pass the Illinois real estate exam! Yippee! Yahoo! So, with both my girls in school this year, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my free time. I figured that I could not shop for the 9 hours a week I had available to myself-I had to something a bit more constructive and a lot less damaging. I took a 5 week course and Robert was such a big help with the girls every night. So, spread the word I'm a working momma now!

Hello School, Goodbye Summer

I cannot believe that summer is coming to an end. Ava starts school on Monday. I'm a bit sad about that because she is my baby after all. At least I have Chloe for another week before I send
her off to school. What will I do with all my free time?

So, as we say farewell to summer here are some pictures. We did travel to Las Vegas/Utah for
a Pace family reunion. Here are pictures of the girls and their cousins. I think it's great that they have little amer-asian cousins who look just like them!

Chicago, Chicago My Kind Of Town

Here are several pictures from our fun filled weekend with family.
Cheers to summer in Chicago!!!

Graduation Day

Despite the 2 hour ceremony and 4 hour long wait for the festivities to be over the girls
were such troopers. This picture makes me want to cry because they look soo big.

Congratulations Robert!

It's official, Robert is now a graduate for the 3rd time. I'm so proud of you Rob! What an accomplishment. You are such an inspiration to me and the girls. How many people can
say they've graduated from the University of Chicago with a Masters in Financial Mathematics.
Yes, it took 3 years and we were all ready for you to be done but you taught us that through
determination, hard work and a lot of prayer ANYthing can be accomplished. Way to Go!!!

Thanks to dad, Leslie, and Mary for taking the time to come out and celebrate with us. We had such a great time showing you guys around the city and celebrating this special day with Robert.

A Beautiful Day At The Park

So, our Sunday afternoons are spent at the park enjoying the warmth of the sun.
Chloe received a bike for her birthday and Ava received a little tykes car. They
love riding their toys to the park despite the fact that a now 10 minute walk takes
40 minutes-oh well!

May Birthdays

The month of May is pretty busy around here. Chloe is now officially six and Ava is now three. It's crazy having their birthdays only 3 days apart. We're still trying to work out the whole share a birthday or celebrate on your own special day. Because my sister and her fiance' decided to fly out for the weekend to celebrate the girl's birthdays we decided to celebrate on the same day.

Chloe requested a manicure party for her and 6 of her friends and Ava opted for an Elmo party:>) love that little one!

Here are some pictures of the party. Thanks again Aunt Jean and Uncle Jay for taking the time out to come and celebrate their birthday's with us. It wouldn't have been the same without you guys!

Summer Time

Okay, it's officially summer here in Chicago. How do I know that? Well,
it's been in the 90's + this past week. Don't get me wrong I'm loving the heat
but what happened to spring? We went from the 50's to the 90's-welcome to
Chicago. I"m really looking forward to summer with my girls. Chloe is out of
school and the girls and I are ready to hit the beach!

I noticed that I haven't been on the blog in quite sometime so the next few
postings will be a mish mosh of events from the past 2 months. Enjoy!

Los Angeles Trip

So, it's been awhile since the last blog but we have been busy. My sister Jean invited
me and the girls out for a one week vacation to sunny Hollywood, CA. It was a blast! We managed to drag Auntie Patty along and we all headed for a little sunshine. Let's just say a lot of eating, a lot of shoe shopping (Patty and her 20 new pairs.) See, I'm not the only Zayabouth girl with a shoe obsession. I managed to come home with only 4 new pairs of shoes. It was a great time to be with
the girls.
Our first stop was Third Street Promenade and of course, Santa Monica Pier. Chloe my little model couldn't stop posing for the camera (let's just say she takes after one of her aunts-jean to be exact :>) I have never seen someone soo camera obsessed but she is pretty darn cute. Ava, of course,
brought her snow white dress and had to wear it almost everyday!

Ahh...Snow days

Chicago winters! So, Chloe recently had a snow day from school. I was thinking in the back
of my mind what the heck am I going to do to entertain 2 rambunctious little girls? Well, fill the bathtub with snow and food coloring. They entertained themselves for hours. It was great!