8 is great!

I apologize to those of you who even still read my blog that I have had the hardest time keeping up lately. I'm pretty sure you have all lost interest by now due to my lack of new material, but we had a pretty exciting event for our family, and I must blog - Livy had her 8th birthday in February (she shares the birthday month with her dad, only missed his by 4 days!) and then in March, decided to get baptized.

For her Feb 5th party - it was a teacher work day and the kids had no school! Score for her. So, she invited a bunch of girls from her 2nd grade class to make little flower clips for their hair. Wow, if I could have imagined the mess and chaos that would ensue in my precious craft closet, I never would have agreed. But, its all been cleaned up and reorganized by now, so I can finally look at pictures from the party and not want to scream. I think from now on, birthday celebrations will be limited to a select few special friends, or at least not hosted in our little house. But, judging by the volume of high pitched squeals and the amount of giggling - I'd say they had a good time.

And then on March 6th, Livy was baptized. So many of our family and close friends were able to spend the day with us, it was great. She was baptized by her dad and confirmed by her grandpa. My mom brought out the dress that I was baptized in, that was pretty special, and sure beat the unisex jumpers the Stake provides. Aunt Sophie helped with hair while everyone waited patiently :) for us to return from changing, and the confirmation dress my mom gave her was so beautiful - it rivaled Lady Diana on her royal wedding day! I am so proud of her that not only did she make the decision to be baptized, but that she could hardly wait for the day. It was so sweet to see her so excited for such a big step in her life. She has been carrying around her brand new set of scriptures non stop, a simple reminder of what should be important and special to us each day. She is also excited for General Conference next month because she will be "counted" as part of the new membership number. Congratulations Livy!

the fam: Uncle Andrew, Aunt Sophie, Kennedy, Aunt B and Gwen, my dad and mom, Uncle G, me, J.D., Jake, Elle, Nathan and Livy, Jake's mom and dad, Uncle Adam, Uncle Michael, Aunt Kara, Brayden and Madison, and Grandma and Grandpa Great.

Those who also came but are not pictured - our good friends the Barlows and the Ortons, our hometeacher Brother McDonald, Livy's primary teacher Sister Smith, and the Activity Day Girls Leaders. Thanks everyone - it meant so much to us to have you there!