"I love the Zoo!"

It was all our first time and we had so much fun! Chloe's no doubt an animal lover! Seeing her curious face and her eyes in awe as she sees one animal after another is just priceless! She enjoyed making animal sounds whenever she finds one. Among Chlo's favorites are seeing the grizzly bear, the donkey and the horse, the elephant, the chubby pandas, the pink flamingos, and the best hit of all: the ducks! Haha! One duck managed to escape from the pond and we happen to be sitting by a bench nearby having some snacks. Chlo spotted the duck and chased the poor fellah quacking along the way! It was hilarious! The duck had to squeeze herself in the rails and back in the pond! :)

Despite the heat and the icky sunblock on our skin, the whole trip was really amazing! Here's our San Diego Zoo photo diary. 

-xo

Yes, that's the poor duck that Chlo chased back to the pond! :)

Here's the poor fellah trying to squeeze herself back in the pond.

Going home happy with her new panda toy, Andi. :)

- C ♥

A Man of Surprises

A few weeks before our wedding anniversary, I've been telling Mark not to get me anything fancy or anything at all for that matter. The move is getting closer and with PCS comes a great deal of expenses along the way. So I told him a simple dinner with him and Chlo is more than enough to celebrate and be thankful for. He agreed and said he'll take us out to dinner to my favorite restaurant.

And so came the day of our anniversary. I woke up wondering where he was for he was not in bed and it's still so early. I was about to get up and look for him when he came in and said "Good morning, baby! Breakfast is ready!" This would have not been that big of a surprise because he's been doing it even on ordinary days just to make me feel special. But that day, it was planned that I'll be the one making a good breakfast for him. And when we went downstairs a beautiful arrangement of my favorite flowers is waiting for me along with my favorite omelet, spam and a good cup of coffee :)

I was really looking forward to our dinner date that night. We were about to leave when he said he's not taking me to The Cheesecake Factory. And I said, "Huh?" with a puzzled look. He smiled and said that he's taking us to The Melting Pot and it's a beautiful, romantic place. 

Romantic indeed. We were warmly welcomed when we got there. They greeted us "Happy Anniversary!" and made us feel very special even when we were just waiting for our table. The manager even went to us and congratulated us for four wonderful years of marriage. I thought this is a very nice place! Our table was ready in no time. I was in awe as I walk towards our table for even from a few feet away, I saw the red roses, the card, the sumptuous chocolate-covered strawberries, and a fine-looking bottle of champagne. I looked at him and he gave me that smile. I wanted to hug him, and kiss him, and cry tears of joy, and say thank you. But I smiled and thank him for being a wonderful husband and father. 

Dinner was really great. The cheese fondue and Pacific Rim entree are delectable. And the s'mores chocolate fondue and the champagne are to die for! We had a very lovely evening. And Chlo's very well-behaved the whole three hours we were there. Everything is just wonderful. Perfect. I'm so blessed. Four amazing years of being married to my best friend, my soulmate, and the love of my life. 

Here are a few photos from that lovely night. 

-xo

- C ♥

The Abrupt Hiatus | The Move | Leave Period

"I know. I know. It's been a while. Okay, a long while..."

The past few weeks has been a little crazier than usual and at the end of each day I find myself dozing off the moment Chlo falls asleep. The move, paperworks, and my husband's leave period has taken it's toll on my blog and I apologize for the abrupt hiatus. And with everything that's going on in the household right now, I'll do my best to post on this blog at least once a week. :)

THE MOVE.  Permanent Change of Station (PCS). Yes. It is happening. As serious at it sounds, it is scary just thinking about moving to a new state, leaving all our families and friends behind; starting from scratch again. This move is getting closer and closer everyday. Faster than I ever imagined, if that's even possible. But on a lighter note, I am excited as well. I wouldn't mind a tabula rasa. A blank slate, a fresh start. And I think I'm up for that.

Mark got new orders, he'll be stationed in IL and we're going with him. Basically that's what's been keeping us busy the past few weeks, on top of the everyday grind of running the house, looking after Chlo, and hustling to make it to all our appointments. Plus all the other to-do's that we want to accomplish before the big move (and before our vacay trip to PI on Christmas, hopefully). We also started putting away most of our things into boxes, sorted out the garage, and threw out the things we've been keeping that are basically just trash. We take it a day at a time. And I'm so happy with what we have accomplished so far. It's amazing how most of the past four years of our life here are now boxed up in the garage. 

Chlo and I also got to spend a lot of time with her dad. Before their ship's 10-month deployment  (I am so relieved that my husband is not going), he got a 2-week leave period and once every 3 days duty after that. We went to our favorite spots here in San Diego that I'm certain I will miss. We went mostly to the beaches where we just hang around, soaked under Cali sun, and ran on the warm sand with Chlo. He also treated us to a little shopping spree, lunch out. And how can I forget about our quick trip to Mercato where we had a lovely bruch. Now I'm very tanned, but I don't mind at all. Because those two weeks were priceless. :)

- xo


LA JOLLA COVE

MERCATO

LAS AMERICAS PREMIUM OUTLETS

CORONADO LANDING PARK

- C ♥