The Pace Times

2011-05-30T18:34:00.000-07:00

Mary Pace & Steve Ulrich
(Daughter of Robert Leslie Pace)

We were married August of 2009 and live in Redwood City, California. Steve has 2 beautiful daughters, Kayla (20) and Kelsey (22) who are both in college here in California. Kayla goes to University of San Diego and Kelsey goes to UC Santa Barbara. We love living in the San Francisco Bay area and frequently take advantage of all that there is to see and do, from the beaches, to the mountains, to the big City. We were very proud of our world-series champion San Francisco Giants this last fall!!

Mary works in Silicon Valley for a corporate travel management firm, as Vice President, Managing Director, where she has been for the last 7 years. Steve has just started his own Integrated Marketing Consulting business, after completing his Masters Certificate last year from the University of San Francisco. We love to travel, play music/sing, hike and spend quality time with family and friends.

California Girls......

2010-10-21T08:18:00.000-07:00

Girls with their electronics. I don't remember traveling like that growing up. Our road trips consisted of 5 kids stuck in an old station wagon with no air conditioning and definitely no entertainment. Remember the good ol days when you actually had to entertain yourself?

We stopped off in Carlsbad for a quick bite at this great fish and chips joint.

Yes, Halloween is around the corner and I am just posting our pictures from this past summer. It has been a whirlwind the last 4 months around here. We had a great family vacation. We were able to spend a month in Los Angeles. My sister Jean was expecting her first baby and it was such a special treat to be able to be there for the birth of her adorable baby girl Jia. The girls and I headed off to L.A. the end of July with my younger sister Patty. This has become an annual trip for us and I love that we are able to sneak away for the summer.

We did a lot of eating, shopping and swimming. I was 5 months pregnant at the time and I did not feel guilty about eating everything in front of me. In fact, I gained 8 lbs in the month of August! Scary!

The girls were able to swim everyday and Chloe finally learned how to swim without any floaties! Big goal of ours this past summer. Ava loved being in the water and was quite the little dare devil jumping in from the deep end.

Once Robert joined us we headed down the coast to San Diego. What a beautiful drive. The girls do really well on road trips so we thought we would drive down PCH along the coast. Palm trees and ocean is all we were able to see for miles. I love so-cal.

Losing Steam....

2010-08-02T18:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm feeling a bit guilty because I do not have the energy to entertain my girls all day. I can usually survive the long summers but being 6 months pregnant on top of it all makes for a very long and exhausting day! Oh, how I wish I had me a nanny. I'm lucky that my girls are pretty well behaved. Yes, we have the occasional tears from slapping and pulling hair but at the end of the day the girls love sleeping together. I don't think I could ever seperate them even if we had another bedroom. I love to hear the conversations they have at night. They talk about everything from how much fun they had that day to how mean mommy was when I yelled at them with my crazy eyes! I don't want them to grow older. Oh, how sad that makes me.

4th of July

2010-07-08T18:37:00.000-07:00

We had a great Fourth of July weekend here in Chicago. We decided to have a staycation and play tourist. The weekend was filled with a riverboat tour, a quad bicycle ride along the Lake,

fireworks at Navy Pier, a trolley ride, lots of walking along the Magnificent Mile and of course deep dish pizza. It's great to live in such a wonderful and vibrant city. Sweet Home Chicago!

Baby Oh Baby!

2010-06-08T18:11:00.001-07:00

Yes, that is a positive result. We are soo excited and couldn't be more thrilled about having a 3rd! Due date is set for Dec. 6. Can't wait! Sleepless nights here I come!

My Girls

2010-06-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

Chloe is 8 years old! I have an 8 year old. That makes me feel soo old and I'm not even old! She is almost done with 2nd grade and I can't believe she will be starting 3rd grade in the fall. This girl never ceases to amaze me. She is smart, focused, determined and full of life. Show that girl a party and she will show you a good time!

I think she is the only 8 year old I know that comes home from school with a wad of cash and her classmates shoes-no literally she has come home with a pair of shoes. I think she is secretly running the Chicago mafia. Is it wrong of me to be going to my 8 year old for cold hard cash

I can't believe that she is mine because we are really opposite. I don't think I was that focused and intense when I was her age. I was probably still mindlessly playing with barbies and dolls. Watch out because this little girl is going to run a Fortune 500 Company one day!

My Girls

2010-06-08T17:12:00.001-07:00

So, looks like Ava discovered her pout face. This happens every time she dosen't get her way. Kindof makes it hard for me to say no but I try and stick to my guns. Ava is growing by leaps and bounds. I kid you not this girls feet have grown a whole size in 2 months. She's also grown about 3 inches. She use to be my petite one and now I'm sure she'll be taller than me by the time she turns 8!

I love Ava for her sweet spirit and how she observes the world around her. It's nice having two kids who are completely opposite in every way. Makes life interesting around here for sure. She finishes her last day of school on June 9 and I can't believe how quickly the year has gone by. It brings a tear to my eye knowing that she will be in school everyday next year. I asked her the other day if she was sad that school was ending and she looked at me with those big brown eyes and said "No mommy because now I get to be with you". Ahhh...I love 5 year olds!

Ava loves to read and play teacher. She is quite the artist. She has come a long way this year with her alphabet and numbers (thank you Mrs. Beights) . I love that she is starting to write her own sentences and she loves to make her own books. Ava is not one to hog the spotlight and never likes to be in a crowd of people. She is compassionate, thoughtful, smart, and witty. I love this girl!

I've been lazy

2010-04-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

So, I just realized that the last time I blogged was back in February. I really have no excuse. My girls are both in school leaving me 3 days to get things done. I need to get a better system going around here.

Since February we've been keeping quite busy. We decided to take the girls to Toronto Canada for spring break. Rob and I have never been so we thought we'd make it a family trip. We were brave road warriors and decided to drive the 8 hours (which really ended up taking 10!). Other than the occassional "stop slapping me Chloe" and the "get your suck fingers out of my face" It was definitely worth the trip. We had a lot of fun exploring the city of Toronto and the people were very friendly there. It reminded me of Chicago because they are along Lake Ontario which they refer to as the Harbour Front. We were able to explore this city and do all the sightseeing it had to offer. Of course, by the end of the trip we asked the girls what was the best memory and they said it was swimming in the hotel. If I would've known that earlier I would've said "screw the 8 hour drive, we'll book a hotel downtown that's 2 minutes away with a pool and call it a spring break vacay" Lesson learned.

We also made a quick pitstop over to Niagra Falls. It was beautiful. The weather was gorgeous and the falls was really quite amazing. Once I got over my fear of bridges we were able to cross over to the Canadian side and enjoy the view.

Sonoma Valley, CA

2010-02-12T09:41:00.000-08:00

Wedding Party

Mary, Steve and Mom and Dad Pace

Sonoma Valley, CA

2010-02-12T09:39:00.000-08:00

Mary and Steve's August Wedding

2010-02-12T09:23:00.000-08:00

Leslie (Robert's sister), Bruce, Abby and Griffin

Mary, Steve, Kayla and Kelsey

Scott (Robert's brother), Paige, Pierce and Sloane

Mark (Robert's twin brother), Grace, Morganne,

Camille, Weston and Davin

My sister-in-law Mary got married back in August in beautiful Sonoma Valley, CA. The wedding was absolutely gorgeous. There's nothing quite like wine country. We were able to rent a house on top of this hill overlooking the vineyards. What a great escape from the hustle and bustle of the city.

It was also a great opportunity to spend some quality time with the Pace side. We are all spread throughout the states from Chicago, to Florida, Colorado, California and Washington! It's not often we get a chance to all be together so this was a great trip this past summer.

"Annie"

2010-01-24T16:04:00.001-08:00

This past weekend Chloe and I were able to go see "Annie" on broadway. What a great show! We dragged my sister Patty along because I'm sure she would want all of you to know this but when she was 5 she would watch Annie everyday. No kidding. I thought taking her with would bring her full circle with Annie:>) I can't believe how talented those little girls are in the show. What a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon with Chloe.

Oh yeah, I just realized the purse I'm carrying is as big as me!

Do we look alike?

2010-01-04T10:38:00.000-08:00

Okay, I totally feel like my girls look nothing like me. I have black hair, Chloe has brown,

I have brown eyes, Chloe has hazel, I have medium skin, Chloe has fair, I am a shorty and Chloe will be taller than me by the time she hits 10. Not to mention I always get asked "are they yours". Of course they are mine fool! Haven't you ever seen Amer-Asian kids before? I know I look young but I'm not 19!

Anyway, I look at pictures of the girls and they are getting soo big! I wish that I could just stop time. I told Ava the other day that I was sorry to inform her but she will not be having a birthday this year and she will have to stay 4. She said "okay mommy" Is that wrong of me? I just don't want her to grow up ever! I think I need to learn to let go...what do you think?

Oh yeah, shout out to my hubby for getting me a new camera for Christmas. I hope I'm better at posting pictures this year!

Christmas in Chicago

2009-12-28T17:22:00.000-08:00

This year we decided to stay in Chicago for the holidays. It ended up being a good idea since we will be moving Jan. 31st. Keep your fingers crossed on that one. We really enjoy being in town because the city has soo much to offer during Christmas. The Hancock lights are red and green (we have a great view of that right out our front room), Macy's store front windows are decked out for Christmas, Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza and who can forget our favorite the Museum of Science and Industry "Christmas trees around the world" display. We have made it our tradition to go every year and it always puts us in the Christmas spirit.

Our girls have been out of school and have another week at home with me. We are keeping busy with play dates, visiting museums, baking lots of cookies, movies and of course along with spending 24/7 with each other comes the regular fighting, screaming and pulling of hair. It's like WWF smackdown here. I know the girls are fighting when I hear from the other room someone shouting out "you little nasty" not sure where that one came from. They share a love/hate relationship but really it's love most of the time.

We spent Christmas eve here and decided to spend Christmas day with my family out in the suburbs. Robert worked on Christmas eve and we picked him up 1/2 a day and headed down to Hyde Park to the Museum of Science and Industry. We love going to the Christmas tree display every year. Such an amazing sight to see all the trees from around the world. It reminds me that Christmas is a holiday celebrated around the world. Everyone has their own culture and tradition but we all come together on that very special day. After that we had it all planned out to have dinner at Smith and Wollensky's for Christmas Eve but somehow we ended up at Rock 'n Roll McDonald's. At least that's a memory that will be treasured :>)

Christmas was spent with my family in the suburbs. We missed my sister Jean who is on a Russian Riveria cruise with her husband and my sister Dee who spent the holiday's in Wisconsin this year. We were able to spend some time with my parents and my brother John, my sister Patty and her boyfriend Ben. I am soo thankful to be near family and feel very lucky to have them so close. As this year will soon come to an end, I pause for a moment and reflect on all the many blessings in my life. I am grateful each day for all that I have and I feel truly blessed to be surrounded by wonderful family and friends. Cheers to a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!!!!

City or Suburbs?

2009-12-10T10:55:00.000-08:00

Did I just say that? I can't believe that we are even thinking of moving to the suburbs. We promised ourselves that we would never do that. Someone please talk me out of it!!!!

We're moving!!!!

2009-11-22T18:20:00.000-08:00

We close on the sale of our home Jan. 31st....stay tuned......
Not sure where we'll end up!

Happy Halloween

2009-10-27T16:49:00.001-07:00

We have made it our tradition to head down to Hobart, IN to County Line Orchards (countylineorchard.com). It's about as far away from big city lights as you can get without heading east to Michigan. Yes, I could go to the local Dominicks and buy pumpkins for 1/2 the price but that's no fun. I've noticed the bigger our girls get each year the bigger the pumpkins get.

Chloe wants to be a witch for Halloween and Ava wants to be a cupcake. Now, the only issue here is I'm going to attempt to make Ava's costume. Jo Ann Fabrics here I come!! Did I mention I don't sew? I'm hoping a little bit of tacky glue and a whole lot of prayer will get me through. It's Tuesday night and she needs the costume by Friday morning for school. Wish me luck!!! I figure if worse comes to worse she could go as a ghost (can you say white sheet and a pair of scissors:>). What a bad mommy I would be if it came to that!

Morton Arboretum

2009-10-02T10:27:00.000-07:00

The month of September was absolutely lovely. We decided to take the kids to the arboretum one Saturday and had such a great time there. We look forward to going back in a couple of weeks to see the fall colors. Great family memories to be made....

Where is my free time?

2009-10-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

So, you would think that with having 2 kids in school all day I would have plenty of time to sit around and do nothing. Not the case here. In fact, I think that if I did nothing productive all day I would get bored out of my mind.

Good thing "shorty" aka Ava is home on Tues. and Thurs. to keep me busy. We are still able to enjoy some quality time together. The other day we took the train to meet daddy for lunch. Ahh....I just love the city and everything it has to offer. Here are some pics of Ava waiting at lunch for daddy to show up. Note that she picked out her own outfit rain boots and all (it wasn't raining but totally part of the outfit)

Oh yeah, the pics of Ava in an aisle crouched down at CVS pharmacy is of her making a plea to get a stuffed bear. We are working on this concept here in the Pace household that the girls Do Not have to get something everywhere they go. She is negogiating very hard on her end. I'd like you all to know that I prevailed! We walked out of the store with nothing in hand. Now that is worth a star sticker!

Official First Day of School

2009-09-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

Their off...I can't believe that school is in session. Robert and I were just saying how big our girls are getting. Every year we take a picture of them on their first day back to school. I have a feeling that Chloe will be taller than me next year! Ava is growing like a weed. I feel like I've been buying her new shoes every month because her feet keep growing.

We had a great summer but I'm glad we're back to school now. We were gone for a good portion during our vacation but once we came back we had 2 weeks until school started. Let me just say that the last week I thought I was going to lose my freakin' mind. Being home with both girls all day every day with no break is like watching "Days of Our Lives" play out in real time. Someone is always crying, there's a little bit of hair pulling, a little bit of back stabbing and a whole lot of drama going on around here folks!

Pace Family

2009-09-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

So, here is a portion of the Pace family. We spent the early part of August in Sonoma Valley for

Robert's sisters wedding. It was soo much fun and such a beautiful setting. I will have to post some more pictures soon. The girls will both be in school next week leaving me with some free time. Catch up soon.

Summer Vacation

2009-07-08T06:46:00.000-07:00

We are trying to keep busy this summer although I must say that's somewhat hard to do when the weather is so unpredictable here in Chicago. One day it's 88 and sunny the next day it's 56 and rainy. What to do? What to do?

This past weekend for the fourth was filled with family fun. Robert was able to take the day off on Friday and we ended up taking the girls to Cirque Shanghai. Great show! We also ended up going to my parents for the fourth for a bbq. I love that we can make an escape from the busy city and get our feet into some grass and a backyard.

The girls have been getting along (most of the time). Neither one wanted to do camp because they wanted to spend their summer vacation with me which to be honest with you I don't mind and actually cherish the time I have with them. Ava will be starting full day preschool 2 x's a week in the fall and I can't imagine what I will be doing with my free time. Chloe will be going into 2nd grade and as you can see from the pictures looks like she's 10! Please someone stop time for me. I kiss on Ava everyday hoping she will stay 4 forever!

Anyway, before I start shedding a tear thinking how fast they are growing I will end my blog here. Enjoy the pics of the girls.

Is it summer?

2009-06-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

I know it's officially summer time but it DOES NOT feel like summer here in Chicago.
It feels more like April because we have been getting more rain than sun. I was planning on spending our days at the parks, beaches and strolling along the lake instead we have been indoors trying not to drive each other insane. I have a very strong-willed 7 year old and a very naughty 4 year so playing indoors all day gets a little crazy. Let's just say there have been a lot of prayers to Jesus on my end.

Although, I must say I'm loving the fact that we don't have to get out the door by 815am to get everyone to school on time. We can sleep in and have a decent breakfast. No more cheetos in a bag for breakfast. Come on... I know that I'm not the only mother out there that did that.
Anyway, we are hoping the weather gets warmer and that we'll be able to enjoy some days at the beach before school starts back up. Here are some pictures of the kids at the park and at the Garfield Park Conservatory. Lots 'o fun!!

Preview To Summer

2009-05-27T08:18:00.001-07:00

This past weekend was a preview to summer. We had great weather and time was spent with family and friends. We threw a big birthday bash for our girls and had a great time. Thank you "Pump It Up" and thank you to all family and friends who made it to the party. I think that next year we will be having a low key birthday bash.

We had lots of fun touring the city with my sister Jean and her husband Jay who were visiting us from Los Angeles. Jay is quite the "professional" photographer and was able to get some great random shots of the girls as they explored the city. Ava is not one to take photos. She is very camera shy so it was great to actually have some cute photos of her.

We are counting down the days until summer vacation. The girls have a couple weeks of school left and then you can find us at the beach everyday! We have lots of fun outings planned and we really look forward to our big 1 month vacation in July to the west coast.

www.340wsuperior601.com

2009-04-21T19:56:00.001-07:00

So, do we have any takers? Our home has been on the market for 3 months and I am giving myself 90 days to sell. Spread the word.......

What is up????

2009-04-21T11:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know I've been terrible with the whole blogging thing. I think I'm just going to accept the fact that I will never be the kind of mom who blogs on a regular basis, nor will I be the type of mom who makes a bird house with her kids out of pinecones and peanut butter. I love sleep way too much to stay up late to blog and as far as crafts go, someone always ends up with too much glitter in their hair! But for you mothers who find the time to blog and who make caterpillars out of pipe cleaners and cotton balls, please keep it up. I'm always looking for a hero!

Here is the Pace update...our house is still on the market. I guess you could say I've been really busy with open houses, showings, etc.. It is a pain in the arse to keep my house spic and span 24-7! Didn't really think about that tiny detail when I decided to put the house on the market. Oh well, at least the kids can eat off the floor it's soo clean. No need for the 5 second rule at my house.

The girls are back at school this week after having had spring break. We didn't get a chance to actually go anywhere because the girls did not have the same week off. So, we were happy to hang out here and find lots of fun things to do around the city.

I can't believe that they will be celebrating birthday's next month. We are very excited to have it at Pump It Up! The girls said that they would share a birthday party (each get their own cake of course). I love the fact that their birthday's are exactly 3 days and 3 years apart. Makes it especially easy for mom to remember. No excuses in forgetting that date.

Chloe is our very outgoing, passionate, determined and dramatic daughter. This girl will wake up at 6:30am to do homework if she hasn't finished it the night before. Am I bad mom for telling her to go back to sleep? Needless to say I haven't had to use an alarm clock in.....7 years. As for the dramatic part of her, I always tell her that she better come home with an Oscar when she grows up because her mama mama can't take no more drama drama.

Ava is our shy, compassionate and highly sensitive girl. She is a joy to be around. I forgot how much fun a 3 year old can be. I tell you....the things that come out of her mouth are hilarious!!! The other day she said she wants to be naughty because she likes the time out chair. Guess where I put her-the time out chair. Oh here's a good one...we were in the dressing room at Nordstrom's the other day. I was trying to squeeze into a pair of jeans (and I mean squuueeeezzzze). She looked at me and said "mommy those look too tight, don't rip the pants". nothing like walking out of the dressing room and feeling like a 500lb. cow! So, I'm back to my eat nothing but everything diet. We'll see how that goes.

Okay, before I spend too much time on this blog I will throw in some recent pictures of the girls.

Enjoy!
p.s. dosen't Chloe look like she's 12 years old in the first picture. She just got bangs and she looks soo much older.

For Sale...

2009-01-08T11:20:00.000-08:00

I mentioned earlier that I am a licensed real estate agent and I just had to share the good news with everyone that I have my very first listing. Does it count that it's my own home? Yes, Robert and I are hoping to move very soon. We've been in our condo for over 6 years and it's getting too small for a family of four. Check out the listing below and start spreading the word. Oh, there will be pictures uploaded within the next few days.

www.340wsuperior601.com

My Kind Of Town...

2009-01-02T20:42:00.000-08:00

This past week our family has played tourist in our favorite city. We can't believe how much there is to do and we feel we've barely scratched the surface! Because we stayed here for Christmas this year we decided that we were going to try and take the girls out everyday for a fun activity. Our week started out at the History museum and that was a lot of fun. As you can see from the pictures the girls had a lot of fun pretending to be a hot dog (hold the ketchup please!)

The next adventure was Navy Pier and the ever so exciting Winter Wonderland Fest. If you missed out this year, I highly recommend putting it on your list for the holidays next year. It was fantastic. The girls had a blast. Navy Pier converted one of their ballrooms (170,00sq. ft.) into an amazing festival of fun. There were 2 ferris wheels, 3 rides, a carousel, a skating rink, over 10 sliding/jumping inflatables, over 100 Christmas trees and plenty of tired parents!!! Memories to last a lifetime.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2008-12-28T19:34:00.001-08:00

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

2008-10-08T10:34:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2008-09-17T18:03:00.001-07:00

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....

2008-09-17T18:03:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-19T20:46:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-20T14:11:00.001-07:00

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

Graduation Day

2008-06-19T07:07:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-06-19T06:47:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-18T20:38:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-18T20:20:00.001-07:00

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

2008-06-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

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

2008-02-26T13:44:00.000-08:00

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!

Turquoise jeans

2008-02-26T13:34:00.000-08:00

Ava's favorite color is blue so of course I had to get her these jeans. I don't think that you
can wear this color over the age of 10 and the ponytails-too cute! She's definitely at the stage of experimenting with her clothes. I remember that I use to be able to pick Chloe's outfits for her up until the ripe age of 4. Ava on the other hand has dressed herself since the day she turned 2. Her latest is putting about 10 hairbows on the top of her head to create a headband. Now that's a looker. I will have to take pictures of that one.

Sisters

2008-01-23T12:09:00.000-08:00

Can you tell their related by the side profile? Big brown eyes, flat little button nose, brown
hair. I can't believe how quickly the girls are growing up. I'm so glad that they have each other to fight with, to share with, to play with, to love. Ahhh...sisters are great!

Dr. Doolittle

2008-01-23T12:02:00.000-08:00

Here is Ava playing with her doctor kit she received from Aunt Leslie over Christmas. The red glasses totally make the look.

A Princess on her throne

2008-01-23T11:30:00.000-08:00

I think most of us would not want our potty pictures up for public viewing. This is probably wrong of me to put these pictures online but I couldn't resist. Ava is still
in her snow white outfit every other day and this picture of her on the potty is too cute! It really
is of a princess on her throne.

Christmas

2008-01-08T20:18:00.000-08:00

Here are some random pictures of the girls, but too cute to pass up.
Oh yeah, please pay no attention to the
poorly decorated tree in the background. We were in Portland, OR for Christmas and I decided
to put up the tree but not decorate it. The girls decided they wanted to decorate the tree with
random ornaments.

Chloe and mommy "tea time"

2008-01-08T20:08:00.001-08:00

Chloe and I were able to get together with some of her school friends to attend
"tea time" at the Hancock Signature Room. It was great to see her and all her friends
dressed up in their Sunday best. We first stopped off at the Drake hotel to see
the beautiful Christmas tree that they have in their lobby. Our next stop
was the 96th floor of the Hancock for hot chocolate and cake. We were very lucky
that it was a clear chilly night and the girls could see the buildings for miles. We had
such a great time there with everybody. I think we might have to make it a tradition each year!

Dejavu'

2007-12-05T16:59:00.000-08:00

I know it's not Halloween anymore but Ava INSISTS on wearing her snowwhite
costume everyday!!!
Yesterday we had a gentleman ask if she was going to a party and I replied
"Oh, no this is her daily wear." Another gentleman asked if she was going to
a play and I replied "Oh, no this is her daily wear." We had lunch at Panera
and a group of girls thought Ava was the cutest thing and one girl said "I
always wanted to dress up as a little girl and my mom never let me go out in public
with it on." so, I guess it's
not a bad thing to let her wear her princess outfit everyday. Besides who dosen't
want to be a princess everyday?

Lunch with Dee

2007-12-05T16:48:00.000-08:00

It's great having 3 sisters to choose from. I love the fact that Dee and I can
meet together once a week for lunch. It's great one on one time with her and
Avie (ava). We decided to head to our most favorite pizza joint-Aurelio's. There
is only one in the city and it's in a Holiday Inn believe it or not! Chloe was able to
join us this time around because she had half a day of school.
Auntie Dee, what would we do without you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-12-02T17:28:00.000-08:00

Well, it was a quiet thanksgiving for us in Chicago.
Robert and I decided to take the girls out for dinner to
Smith & Wollensky's on the river. We had a great time.
The girls enjoyed their Thanksgiving dinner. Chloe of course
ordered turkey and surprisingly Ava was all over my filet
mignon. Can you believe at the age of two she's in love with
filet medium rare! She's an expensive gal.

After dinner we toured the city and looked at all the pretty
Christmas trees on display. It was great spending a quiet
evening with our family, but we look forward to Christmas
in Portland this year!

Chicago-My Kind Of Town

2007-11-17T20:39:00.000-08:00

We made it to the Magnificent Mile Festival of Lights. Chloe was very excited to see Corbin Bleu from High School Musical and Ava was excited to see Mickey and Minnie Mouse. It was a bit chilly but to see their little faces light up was worth every frozen toe and finger. We love the city this time of year. Christmas is definitely in the air! We've made this parade of lights a tradition and hope that one day when if we ever leave Chicago these memories will last a lifetime for our girls!

miss you jean!

2007-11-16T12:23:00.001-08:00

here's a shout out to my fabulous sister Jean. She recently made a move to sunny los angeles where she is now pursuing an acting career-ok just kidding she's a corporate 9-5 working gal.
i wanted you to know that we miss you here in Chicago. the girls miss seeing you 5 times a
week during your lunch break and i miss having a built-in babysitter! no really i miss that we can't see you everyday and that you have been such an amazing aunt. we love you!
may love and happiness find you in L.A.

Chloe's photos

2007-11-07T18:15:00.000-08:00

Chloe loves to take pictures with my camera...a little scary but
as you can see from the pictures posted here she does a pretty
good job.
She took a picture of Ava getting into some of her Halloween
candy and i love that Ava is about to eat the three musketeers
bar (wrapper and all)!

Love to color!

2007-11-07T18:01:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the girls at home. They just love to color and draw.
Ava dosen't always make it on to the paper and Chloe has become quite the artist.
We've been running out of room for all their art work. If you happen to make it over
you will see their creations on doors, walls, refrigerators anywhere we have space for it.

Trick 'or Treat

2007-11-02T16:57:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun on Halloween. Chloe decided months ago that she would be ariel from the little mermaid and Ava was snow white/pumpkin. She couldn't decided between the two so she was a little bit of both.

Chloe had a party at school and as you can see from the pictures ava made herself right at home with the cake. she was perfectly content sitting all by herself at a table and going to town on the spider cupcakes. Chloe's teacher is the Cinderella in the picture. It looks like they were wrapping Chloe up like a mummy.

Ava at the Park

2007-11-02T16:46:00.000-07:00

ava and i thought we would get one last warm day in at the park. she is obsessed with
this little car that they have there. i think that this will have to make it on her Christmas list.

Here are some pictures of ava and her best buddy piper. they are joined at the hip.
We see each other everyday when we drop off the older sisters at school. We also take
dance and art class with each other every week. they just can't be seperated.

Friends in Palo Alto

2007-10-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

Here is Chloe and her best buddy Aaron. They were inseperable in Chicago
and we still managed to swing out to California for a quick visit this summer.
Can you believe the size of those lemons! We picked a whole bag full to make
some summertime lemonade.
Ava and Hannah look like they maybe up to some trouble.

an amazing summer

2007-10-07T14:17:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing summer this past year. we were able to visit family and friends on the west coast. it was a family roadtrip through california. we started out by visiting the pace family in thousand oaks. thanks mark and grace for letting us room with you. it was great that our two girls and their four children we able to reunite for a few days.
our next stop was disneyland. we promised the girls we would take them that summer and you
know once you make that promise to a 5 year old she is going to hold you to it. it was not only a treat for them, but i have never been to disney so it was just as exciting for me.

napping is a beautiful thing

2007-10-07T13:59:00.000-07:00

i think this picture is cute because the girls are practically in
the same position. passed out! that's the way we like them.

Trying to keep up

2007-09-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, i'm pretty lame because i just realized the last posting date
on my blog is march of this year (note to self we are approaching
Halloween).

i figure i better post some pictures before the girls have another
birthday. ava and i have been enjoying our time together while chloe
is busy in school everyday. here were are on michigan avenue and
ava had to stop and pose with the moose or at least i think it was a moose.

later that afternoon ava and i joined my sister dee for lunch. we are excited
that she has landed a job downtown and we will be able to see her more often.

Love Grandparents!

2007-03-05T19:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a happy picture of Chloe with my mother and a not-so-happy picture of Ava with my mother. We are very fortunate to live close to my parents. They are always willing to watch the girls every Friday night so that Robert and I can have our date night. Thank you mom and dad! It's been great to see the girls form such a strong relationship with their grandparents.
Despite grandma and grandpa Pace living in Vancouver, Washington we never miss a week without a telephone call to our special grandparents in the beautiful Northwest!
Thank goodness for grandparents.

Busy....Busy....Busy...

2007-03-05T18:52:00.000-08:00

Am I the only one out there that feels 24 hours in a day is just not enough time to get things done?
The two girls keep me very busy. There is little time between Chloe's social calendar of events and Ava's gymnastics classes. I know you're probably thinking gymnastics for a 1 year old?
Even though some days are hectic, I appreciate each moment with my two girls.

Here are some photos of the girls getting into a little bit of trouble. They just love playing with
pots and pans and of course dress up!