Where I've been

I sort of took an impromptu vacation from blogging. At first I had planned to document everything then life got really cray and I figured if I at least updated my Instagram (@crystalbock) that those who follow my blog can still be somewhat connected. Another reason I sort of went MIA was because I lost my laptop charger and could not find it anywhere in the house :( Until recently it was lost in oblivion then a few days ago I just rechecked a spot I'd triple checked before and THERE IT WAS! I think I was being set up haha but the break from blogging was nice. Before I was so focused on making sure I took a good "blog" photo when we were out that I annoyed everyone...oops haha well since so much has happened I wont make this post extra long & I'll eventually make separate posts for some stuff. So, lets get to it!

NAVY, BIRTHDAY, WEDDING ANNIVERSARY & NEW YORK:
Back in February I reenlisted in the Navy another 6 years. For my new readers, Im in the military and have been for 6 years. I love it. It's great and I've been blessed to see so many different countries. I've been to all the Western Pacific countries/islands(Thailand & Palau being my faves), the Middle East(loved Abu Dhabi), South America(Brazil took the #1 spot but Chile was up next) and a few European Countries(Amsterdam and those stroop waffles though, BOMB). Im not good at geography by any means so feel free to correct my locations if I put them in a South category when its really west haha Anyway, I haven't had to deploy since before I had Olivia so now that I have a family Im sure things will be extremely hard and I'll try to keep you updated on that ordeal. That same month I turned 24! My birthday landed on a weekday and I was super sick. A cold accompanied by a chest cough so painful I could hardly move AND I was AT WORK! Needless to say, I didn't go out. A week later we had our one year wedding anniversary :) Those that know us know that we've been together since high school and overcame long distance(Bryan being in Montana on a basketball scholarship and me being stationed in Hawaii) to moving in together and getting engaged and all that comes in between. Since all of the above mentioned plus Valentines Day all falls in the same month we celebrated with a vacation. NEW YORK happened at the end of the month and I was so excited! That's been one of my state side dream destinations for awhile but once I got there I felt like I'd already been haha. So many new experiences and food and new people but the entire "city life this is where dreams are made of feeling" I never got. Really fun trip and QT with my husband was the best. Separate post on my NY experience coming soon!

MARCH & EASTER: Nothing too crazy happened this month but I was on a no laptop charger rut. Celebrated my dad's 53rd birthday and a few other family members as well. We also got into house hunting and looked at so many houses. With us about to be a family of 4 here soon and me being in the military, I can be deployed anywhere in the world and Bryan would need help with the girls. The house we're renting now is large enough but we want something our own to baby proof how we see fit without restrictions and to have enough room for certain family members to move in to help if need be. Doesn't Easter normally happen in April? The fact it was in March this year totally tripped me up. We hung out with Andrew and Miranda before they left to celebrate with her family. Miranda also made Olivia a really cute Easter basket with cute clothes and other little fun things :)

HOME BUYING, BOOHOO FASHION EVENT, PADRES GAME, STRAWBERRY FIELDS & SAN CLEMENTE: My brother in laws girlfriend Miranda messaged me one day about going to a fashion event put on by the BooHoo clothing line (super cute clothes by the way) and Stylecon (the event we attended last November, click the style category for the post on that). I picked her up from their place in Fullerton and we got stuck in so much traffic on our way into LA. But it was worth it, we met Big Sean's stylist and enjoyed the beautiful setups and there were plenty of deals on items from the pop up shop. OH and we got cute goody bags :) check out my insta for some pics but I'll be doing a separate post on that soon too. We have bible tudy at our place on Tuesdays and on one Sunday we headed out to a Padres baseball game with the bible study group. The atmosphere at baseball games is so fun but I had no idea who was winning or how to understand scores lol This pregnancy I've been obsessed with garlic and strawberries. Not together though haha I eat a pound of strawberries or more a day! Olivia and I met my cousin and aunt in San Clemente and on our way back to San Diego we stopped at the Carlsbad strawberry fields and picked a bucketful. THE BEST I'VE HAD!! Local grown = better than imported FYI. Home buying, although it happened at the beginning of the month I decided to save the best for last. WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!! It's a new build so we'll be tracking it from the bottom up and took a pic of us on the dirt lot it'll be built on :D We visited the home gallery and spent 3 hours there picking out and adding upgrades on EVERY SINGLE DETAIL. So draining but knowing we're about to be home owners, officially, by fall is a great feeling. Everything will be exactly how we want it :) We tried to get it in between San Diego and our parent's houses so they can help us as needed. My husband plans on transferring closer(he got interviewed for a promotion in that area so prayers for that!) and I had orders to move to Boston this fall so once I have the baby I can either reapply for those or request somewhere else. No matter what, we know I'd eventually have to be away so having a forever home for my husband and kids closer to family for help was my main concern. Yay for home buying :)

NOW: Here we are in May and Mothers day was yesterday. So thankful to the great women in my life and Im so blessed to be a mother myself :) Loving life and hopefully I can maintain my blogging ;) thanks for reading!