Great 8!

I can't even believe that I am already posting about another birthday for Gracie.. Today is the day.. She is EIGHT..

I was lucky enough to hear the girls giggle and wish her a happy birthday this morning.. Maya and Lily woke Grace up with quiet HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
Carl and Deanna had a robot themed house ready for all the girls..

The main event was building human robots.. Who knew 13 kids could get along so well over aluminum foil?

The girls opened presents with Grace and oohed and awed...

Another year has flown by! Gracie we wish you a great year of 8..
Hugs,
The Galvans..

The Dans and the summer hang out..

Colleen and Dan were kind enough to host us all at their awesome house.. Colleen went all out with the summer lemonade stand decor. So cute! We all got a chance to catch up on each other's happenings.. Which is mostly about how much the kids have grown!

Look at little Evan..

Emma is anything but little she is a young lady!
Look at what a good big sister she is to little Miss Gillian..

Ava and Paige are sweet and funny...

Colleen's AMAZING apple pie doubled as a belated birthday cake for Denny.. The kids (and Stef!) got some time in the trampoline..

The Dan's got to talk comics and music..

Us moms got to talk kids and life.. As always it was so good to see one another..
We are setting records this year..
Alex

Lily turns SIX!

Another summer time event was Lily's 6th birthday..

Maya and Lily are often partners in crime whether it be making mud soup or chasing after Grace on the scooters..

Lily is a feisty and whip smart girl who cracks us all up with her adult like remarks and scratchy voice.. She is another sunshine girl who reminds Deanna and I of the happy color yellow..

It was a Pump It Up party this year which meant worn out kids!

Lily was in full queeny mode and enjoyed the crown to its fullest..

This is a girl who was born to rule! Look out world here comes Lily!
Happy Birthday Miss Lily..

Big Hugs,

Auntie Alex

Summertime in SLO...

I realize this entry almost two months late.. Where the past months have gone I just can't tell..The summer flew by and I am still trying to adjust to the whole routine..I can taste fall and am excited for the cooler days..

However, over the summer we decided to trek up to Avila beach/San Luis Obispo for a week with our interchangeables, the Bell family.. Their van fits both our tribes and with all the bells and whistles that car has the girls and their parental units were set for the trek..

Martin and Carl were in charge of keeping us moms away from the girls..and the looking at the scenary of course..

We discovered a hidden gem of a beach and an amazing little town in SLO.. We are still trying to figure out what job we could all create so that we could move to SLO.. So far no luck.. We hope someday we will be within walking distance of Cowboy Cookie and all those great little shops.. Hmm... maybe we can convince all 3 girls to attend the local college..

We booked a KOA cabin which suited us fine except for the mickey mouse that decided to keep Deanna and Carl up one night.. Thankfully Martin and his mouse trapping skills did not fail us..

The girls were in heaven in their loft, the pool and even the ice cold water at the beach..

This is our new favorite summer beach spot..
Martin enjoyed his first ever bowl of Pho.. We visited the gaudy Madonna Inn.. The girls loved the pinkness of it all.. we enjoyed the real danish breads and the sights..

I could go on and on about some of the neat places and food..
Can't wait until our next visit..
Alex