A ROCKIN party!

Maya was invited to a 50's themed birthday for Alexandra..

It was such a cute party filled with poodle skirts and pink ladies.. Maya dressed up as a Car Hop and the boys were so cute in their white shirts with the sleeves rolled up..

There was a Hula Hoop competition.

Maya decided that one spin was enough.. They had a blast freeze dancing to the Grease sound track...

These girls had so much fun..Another reason why we love soccer, the friends!These are the happy days!
Alex

Cousins...

My mom comes from a large family.. While we always see Monica, Mona and Luis because they grew up as siblings and have always lived in the same town.... Its rare when we see the extended family from LA.

My uncle Lencho had one of the larger families (6 boys and 1 girl).. After Thanksgiving we trekked up to Pomona for a visit..

Here is my uncle, his ex-wife and all their kids except for one son (Lorenzo was at work)..

It was tons of fun to see my cousins.. They crack us up with their funny stories and guy humor..

To cousins!

Alex

Family time..

Thanksgiving is always a day for family.. This year was the second year that Mona hosted.. Each family brought something to share.. We had several turkeys, a ham, potatoes au grautin, rolls, corn, and of course stuffing!. The weather cooperated long enough for our outdoor feast.. It was a great meal and we made some great memories.. Especially those of Arthur in his first ever mustache.. Between him, Andrew and Joe they have enough hair for the winter..

Mona and mom enjoying a quiet moment...
Ed and Martin talking guns and enjoying some guy time..
The eating has begun.. dessert was a range of pies and sweets..

Here come the holiday lbs.

Alex

Little notes...

Maya's teacher told us that she had no problem getting her words onto the page... Next thing you know these little messages start springing up arond the house...

Martin was surprised one day when this one appeared on his monitor...

It says "Dear dad I need hlpe with my home work can you pless hlpe me! your dodr Maya (in cursive because she only signs her name) I will be in the cichen."

We still giggle at her curious nature.. we never know when a little note will appear...

We are so proud of our little writer..
Alex

Disney for Christmas inspiration...

One of our favorite places is Disneyland and thanks to season passes we can go and not break the bank or try to fit the whole place into one day... October and the cool Halloween decor is second only to the Christmas season.. The week of Thanksgiving we decided to brave the crowds .. We had originally planned a two day adventure however, the lines and masses; not to mention cold, changed those plans.. One day was enough..we are open to sharing the park with the rest of the tourists, we will gladly return in the off season..

We had some fun looking at all the beautiful decorations and getting the feel for Christmas. The main street tree goes on forever....

Main street was completely decked out in its Christmas finery from the Mickey wreaths to the ornaments on the trees..

Even California Adventure became a winter wonderland...

Mickey's town is all set.. Now to prepare ourselves...

HoHoHo...

Alex

Patriotic Maya

November was a blurr but somewhere in there Maya and her Girl Scout troop walked in the Veteran's day Parade. Murrieta and Temecula still feel like small towns. Watching the local community organizations and a few soilders march by was inspiring..

Here is Maya looking very Patriotic in front of the field of honor..

Thank you to all our soliders past and present!

Alex

Wrapping up the soccer season...

The season ran long this year due to the rain delays.. Unfortunately, our last game was also a cold and wet day.. The other team did not show but our girls did and they wanted to play!

Play they did.. After chatting up a younger team who was also determined to play at 8am on a rainy Saturday, our girls had a game.. We combined teams to even them out..
Maya scored 2 goals! She was estatic! Here she is running to Dad after a goal...

Our team party was filled with giggles and pizza..
The girls loved looking at pictures of themsleves and eachother on the field in their scrapbooks..... They were all very sad to know that the season was ending and they would have to wait until next year to see their friends again..

A big heartfelt "Thank you" to our coaches Steve and Martin.. The wore their pink jerseys with pride..

Coach Steve and Alexandra

Assist. Coach Martin and Maya..
The fun wasn't completely over as a small group headed to the local bowling alley for more fun.. The girls shared fries and played games in between their turns.. It was a very pink season and the Bubblegum Blasters rocked!

See you all next season on the field...

Alex

Elliott's birthday!

One of Maya's favorite pals is Elliott.. This year we got to celebrate his birthday in California..

Katherine invited a small group of friends and family... The kids played in the jumper and chased each other around the yard while the rest of us caught up with old friends..

Here they are in the jumper, all smiles...

Look at that face! Doesn't that cake look delicious?

A quick snapshot of Elliott and Katherine before he rides off to play with his friends..
Until next year..
Happy 3rd Elliott!
Alex

Grandma's Birthday gift...

Maya loves plays and has now seen several thanks to grandma...This year for Maya's birthday gift, grandma took her to see "Beauty and the Beast"downtown...

Seeing a play is also a good chance to play dress up.. All three of us girls gussied up and headed to the play in ladylike dresses and smiles...

Speaking of smiles, I took the opportunity to take some pictures and this one was hands down my favorite.. This girl loves her grandma...

Beautiful!
Alex

A "Haute" Halloween!

This year for Halloween we knew we had to make it to the Pira's house.. For years, we have heard about all the fun they have scaring their neighbors and haunting the house.. Dan has been a fan of Halloween his whole life and that fact that his birthday is in the same week adds to the madness..
The funny thing is this year was Dan's 35th and a somber reflective mood came over him.. Instead of decking the house with crazy scary decor, he scaled back and went with the flow.. The neighbors were dissapointed but the candy was still welcome...
Scaled down or not the the Pira's do Halloween right.. they have a real theme.. This year it was Alice in Wonderland... Paige was Queen of Hearts and Ava was Alice. The kids had a great time trekking in the cold.. Maya enjoyed hanging out with the Pira girls and made a few new friends too...

Dan sharing glow sticks and being silly...

Here's Lindsey (AKA Mad Hatter) and her Frazzled Mom pumpkin...

Maya decided that her SilverMist costume wasn't quite right for Halloween (thank goodness she had already worn it twice!)... Instead she opted to stay in her "fancy" wear... At 7 the girl is already about Haute Style.. Light a candle for her mother, will you?

Boo!
Alex

What a surprise!

I must be getting old because I had no clue what my family had up their sleeves... After spending a fabulous day at Glen Ivy with my mom and Sharon I was starving.. I was looking forward to my favorite appetizer MUSSELS! Well little did I know I would not be eating seafood.. Instead I walked into my surprise birthday party!

I could not believe it.. My dearest friends and family were there.

My aunt Hilda and uncle Alfredo trekked up..

All the Dans..The Liegghios, Piras and Hogans! We are setting records this year for seeing each other.. I love that we are all in the same state..

My cousins..Luis, Monica and Mona.. Permanent figures in my life..

The Bell Family made it too!

Really it was more than I could even take in. My mom cooked my favorites- Mole and Chiles Rellenos.. She also managed to get this FABULOUS cake.. Just like the chinatown cakes of my childhood.. This was an amazing light sponge cake filled with fresh strawberries and decorated with slivered almonds...I was amazed, surprised and so happy to be with so many of the people who make my life what it is..

Thanks Mom, Arthur and Martin.. Oh yes, and the little decoy Maya..

I felt loved and oh so grateful...
Alex

A magical 7...

Missy is 7..

I can't even believe it.. How could the years fly by so fast? Somehow they did..

On the actual day we pulled her out of school early and headed to Disneyland.. We even got to meet up with uncle Arthur for dinner.. But when it came time to celebrate this year she wanted the whole kit and caboodle.. She wanted a costume party, all her friends and all the trimmings...

No matter how much prep I did, I still needed more time and more hands.. Thankfully between my hubby, Diana, Andre and the late night hours it all got done...

We ordered a jumper, I started cooking on Friday night, Thursday night I baked her cheesecake, then I made a regular vanilla cake, cupcakes, and dairy free cake.. We melted caramel and chocolate for pretzel rods, we stuffed goody bags..We were ready.. Then the rain came.. Saturday morning at 7am it was sprinkling and by 8 it was pouring.. The soccer game was cancelled. I said my little prayer, please let the sun come out or at least let the rain stop..

Ask and you shall receive by noon the sun was peeking out!

The kids all came in their adorable costumes and the party began...

There was the Pinata which always mean scary fun..

There was the decorate your own goodie bag craft...

The party was topped off with some amazing gifts.. Maya was in crafty heaven.. She even got a real sewing machine from her favorite family..the Bells.. But it was the amazing quilt that took the cake.. Noi Noi made Maya a personalized quilt (and matching pillows!) just like her sister-friends Grace and Lily.. Maya has already told me that she can now be just like them when she spends the night at their house..

What a day! A magical day for sure..

Happy Birthday Missy!

Love you!
Mom

Picture day...

I realize this is one of the most photographed generations but who could resist taking a picture at home on school picture day.. NOT ME! Hee hee...

I love this dress.. I mean love.. Look at it.. It's all knit.. It's her favorite color- PINK and it has just a touch of brown to balance it out.. Pink and Brown is so classic.. I can overlook the pink factor and accept that it is a lovely dress...It has a baret too but she was not on board with wearing it..Boo..

Can't wait to see the professional version but for now, I will enjoy this smile...

Buzz,
Alex

She's a Daisy...

We had searched high and low for a troop in our area.. Just when I stopped looking I met Angela on the soccer field..Next thing you know she had a spot for a Daisy in the troop..

This is Maya's first time reciting the Girl Scout Pledge...

She is a Daisy Scout...

Audrey is now a Brownie...

The first event was the "bridging" ceremony for Daisies' becoming Brownies...

Here's the whole troop..

Looking forward to many scouting activities and memories..

Buzz,
Alex

Gracie turns 7!

On a beautiful warm sunny day in September a little flock of girls gathered at the Bell house for a good old fashioned all girl party.. Gone are the days where we dress our little girls up for a tea party.. Now they decide what to wear and we are bystanders..

Deanna had a table spread straight out of Martha.. Her bright colors were elegant in glass jars and the super cute rainbow cake was delish..

Gracie was smiling from ear to ear on her rollerskates which made her another foot taller! This sweetheart is one of Maya's sister-friends. Gracie is an amazingly talented girl.. She is smart and sensitive..

It's hard to believe that 7 arrived so fast.. I remember the trips to the Wild Animal park before Lily could walk when Gracie would trade strollers with Maya and clung to me like one of my own..

Happy Birthday Gracie!
Hugs,
Auntie Alex