lucy's fabulous all girl late night birthday

 The girls, all of them, have decided that sleepovers are the coolest thing ever.  Which is sad, because we have decided that sleepovers are not something that our family will do.  So this was the compromise this year, a late night pajama party, pillow fight included, with some of Lucy's best friends.

 I, for one, learned a lot.  

 1.  Never let a group of 8 year old girls, up past their bed time, have free reign on candy, frosting and cake.  Messes, sugar highs, and bad manners will inevitably follow.  But, as you can see, the fun that happened easily made up for it.

 2.  Be careful when picking a movie for a crowd!  Especially if your sweet, intelligent 8 year old happens to enjoy historical fiction based musicals (Newsies), when most of her friends prefer Lindsay Lohan's finest performance (Freaky Friday).  

 3.  Readers love writing, and she is so excited for this journal!  We started a second journal as well, one where we write notes between Lucy, Adam and myself.  We have decided to start this tradition with each of our kids as they turn 8.  

 4.  Delegate whatever you can, especially if you have a cake decorating loving husband.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I love that Adam started this tradition long ago to make all the birthday cakes!

 5.  Make sure to go over basic rules before starting the pillow fight.

 6. Be prepared for every rule to be completely ignored.

7.  Document the smiles, giggles, and happy faces as said rules are being ignored.  

Lucy loved her party, she got some amazing gifts, and it was really fun to see her friends in a new light.  Turning 8 is a big deal in our house, and Lucy is the first so Adam and I wanted to make sure we did it right.  We took Lucy to dinner, just the 3 of us to a restaurant of her choosing, but we told her it had to be fancy.  She chose the Cheesecake Factory, and we had a wonderful time.  It was so great to spend some one on one time with this special girl.  We talked to her about the great responsibility that comes with getting baptized, and about some of the changes that are going to happen over the next few years.  

We gave her this beautiful necklace to help remind her of her promise, and told her that the beads can remind her of Heavenly Father, Jesus and the Holy Ghost.  She will be baptized on the 21st and we are very proud of her decision.