Happy Birthday, Lucy!

Lucy-girl had a fabulous birthday! It was more like a fabulous weekend!

We started the celebration Friday with a "friend birthday party". Lucy and I went to the store a couple weeks before and she chose paper and stickers to make her own invitations. She LOVES doing these kinds of projects. She had 9 or 10 girls come over for a swim party.

Lucy is not a fan of cake, so for the last couple years, she has requested brownies and ice cream.

Here's the birthday party crew:

Carly, Tala, Ty, Lucy, Pfeiffer, Graham, Celeste, Sophie

Lucy got a couple packages in the mail for her special day. She chose to open them on her actual birthday (Sunday). Her friend, Lana, sent her a cute dress for her American Girl doll. Grandma and Grandpa sent her some cash (she's WAY into money right now) and some stamps to mail them more letters.

Here she is with her loot from Mom and Dad. Lucy LOVES boogie boarding and she really wanted a boy Barbie.

These two pictures melt my heart. Here's Lucy Skyping with Jason. She's telling him she's 8 years old.

The Thompson's came to town on Lucy's birthday and we had a little party the next night. Jason got to sing with us over Skype.

We spent the whole next week putting the new boards to use at the beach with the Thompson's. More on that later.

Some "Lucy at Age 8" facts:

Lucy loves the beach. She's really good at boogie boarding and would spend all day every day there if she could. She especially likes it when we meet up with friends and she can board with some buddies. She looks like quite the California girl with her wet suit on.

Lucy has to have her cereal in the morning. She's not real choosy about what kind, but she loves it. She prefers "Daddy's Cereal" (Honey Bunches of Oats), Honeycomb, or Honeynut Cheerios. We're working on having her get it herself. She likes it better when Mom pours it all for her.

Lunch is usually Saltine crackers with turkey pepporoni and some apples or carrots. She loves "hot Cheetos" and every once in a while she gets that for a treat. Her favorite dinner would be pizza, hamburgers, or chicken nuggets. She loves homemade breadsticks and meatballs, too.

When people come to visit, Lucy loves to take them to Tutti Frutti. It's a frozen yogurt shop where you get to choose your flavor and choose from a huge variety of toppings. She always gets cookies and cream and chocolate yogurt and tops it with chocolate chip cookie dough and gummy bears.

Every fast Sunday, Lucy is among the first to get up to share her testimony in church. This past week she talked about prayer and how she knows Heavenly Father hears our prayers and sometimes it might take a while to get an answer, he does answer our prayers. She loves giving talks and planning what she wants to talk about.

Lucy loves to sing and dance. She always wants to put on "shows" for people when they come to visit. She gives Graham a part in the show and tries to incorporate different music and different talents.

Unfortunately, Lucy loves to watch her "shows". Fortunately, for me, it makes for excellent motivation when I need chores or homework done or help around the house. She loves all of the Disney channel episodes. Today we got home from volleyball and we had to do homework and dinner quickly so she could make it to Activity Days at the church. She was so upset because, "All I wanna do when I get home from school is relax for a while and watch a show!"

This girl LOVES Disneyland and is always very excited when we are planning or getting ready to go. She's always depressed the next morning because "Disneyland is over. Are we going to go again soon?"

The last couple of weeks, after I've put the kids to bed, I can hear Lucy sneak into the boys room and say, "I'm sorry, Graham" and "I'm sorry, Ben". She then makes her way out to the kitchen to tell me she's sorry for making me upset during the day. Lucy girl is learning about the importance of repentance and trying to do better each day. We've had more than a few talks about how the Lord doesn't expect perfection and he just wants us to try to be a little better. Now, if only I could take some of my own advice.

What else to say about my sweet girl, Lucy Jane. What a blessing it is to be her mother. I know I'm hard on her and expect too much at times, but she is such a sweet, responsible little girl that brings me so much joy. I'm navigating all new territory in parenting her. So far, so good.