It's Great to Be 8!

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Maya turned 8 years old last week and it was even more special this year because of her baptism! Her and I had a girls night and went together to pick out her dress and shoes a week before. On the way home she wanted to stop and get icecream and sweet potato fries at Artic Circle. It was so fun spending some quality time with eachother "just the girls". I can't believe how well behaved she was without her brothers there! She had manners and everything! AMAZING! Then Tuesday was her actual birthday, so I checked her out of school for lunch at McDonalds. She is so funny! The whole time she was worried that we were doing something wrong and needed to hurry and get back to school. I hope she keep this attitude later on in Jr High and High School! Then right before school got out, we took her favorite treat (rainbow popsicles)to share with her class. They all had so much fun comparing their colored tongues before they went home. Later that evening, we ate leftover pizza from the night before, and headed down to Provo to take a Halloween cruise down the Provo River on a boat invaded by pirates! On the boat ride we got to see 100 different jack-o-lanterns lit up on the bank of the river. Our pirate captain passed out Tootsie Rolls and then we stopped for hot chocolate on the ride home. On Saturday, we woke up and got everything ready to go for her baptism at noon. It was a beautiful day and I couldn't have been more emotional! She looked so pretty in her white dress and she wasn't as nervous as I thought she would be about going under the water! Toby got emotional too and could hardly make it through the baptismal prayer. After she came up and I was helping her into the dressing room, she had this great big grin on her face and she said, "That was so much fun mom!" I just lost it right then and there and kissed her forhead. I told her how much I loved her and how proud I was of her for choosing to be baptized. I told her how proud her angel Grandma Jeannie would be of her and that even though she couldn't see her, she was there, and if she payed close attention she would feel her close. Well, then when we go back to the primary room, Bishop Maddox gets up and has Maya turn to the crowd and says..."look at all these people who love you and have come to support you." She smiled and I could see her eyes start to water. I knew then that she could feel all our love and her Grandma's too. These are the moments life is worth living for! After the baptism, Toby invited everyone into the kichen and multipurpose room for a luncheon. We had lots of different soups, salad, birthday cake, and icecream. I made her favorite cake(lemon coconut)and favorite icecream (raspeberry sherbet). The day couldn't have gone better...and then it did! We went to George's Band Competition that night and they swept the whole thing...took first in every category! Mr Miller said it was their best performance he's seen so far in all their comps. Yahoo! So proud of my kids and especially that day! :) I felt my mother in laws spirit there all day with us. It was just so awesome! Thanks to all our awesome friends and family for being there to support Maya! We love you so much! XOXO