Lexi-Lou is EIGHT!!!!

We just can't believe that our LITTLE girl is the big 8!!  What an exciting time!  She had an amazing  baptism!  We got to have company for a few days and she got one of the best gifts ever!  {Obviously a separate post for this will come shortly!}
On this particular day... WEDNESDAY, April 27th, she had lots of fun things to do!  {Despite it already being MY busiest day of the week!}  I came home and quickly made cupcakes for her to take with her to her VERY FIRST Activity Days!!  Then I rushed off to volunteer at the school.  Damian really saved my hiny this particular day.  I could have pulled it off... probably, but he really helped out.  He was actually OFF!  I know... A-Mazing, right??  ;o)  But at the end of my volunteer shift he delivered the Skinny Cow Fudge Bars Lexi had requested for her class treat!  It was the PERFECT thing on a HOT day after some long hours of STAR testing.  PERFECTLY YUMMY!!
Then she went straight to Activity Days where the girls warmly greeted her!  She was so excited!  One of the little girls, who is amazing, had made her a cake... SO SWEET!  But we didn't know that beforehand, and we showed up with these to share, as well!  They got lots of sugar that day!  Ha!  We told them that these shared a little bit about Lexi with them.  She LOVES chocolate, and her favorite colors are lime green and blue!  And she... like every other child I know... loves LOTS of frosting!

Here I am... slaving away!

And here is my "helper!"  Not "helping" so much...  but this keeps her occupied so that I can get it all done in the short amount of time that I had!

Love it!  I have to admit... I LOVE frosting, too!  {And I had some cake batter, too!}

The yummy finished product!  With all that frosting... how could they be anything but YUMMY??

 Then after Activity Days she did her homework and got ready for soccer while I was finishing up piano lessons.  She went to soccer... and it was totally HOT, but her coach surprised the team by bringing Otter-Pops!  So nice of her, huh??  It totally made her day even that much better!

And then we headed out for our family only dinner!  She chose the restaurant:  Chili's!  For the Chili Queso, of course, but she also wanted a STEAK!  Seriously!  She ordered a regular meal... NOT off the kid's menu!  Yikes!  And I have to say that she made a serious dent in it before giving up on being able to finish the whole plate!

Yummy steak, potatoes with cheese and bacon on top, bread... the whole works!

And Daddy HAD to tell the waiter that it was her birthday... so she got the embarrassing song!  But the BEST part of being embarrassed...

...is that you get a GIANT fun TREAT to go along with it!  {I really think that Braeden ate most of it... but... whatever!}

It was a very happy day!  And a happy dinner... {minus the fact that I had to take Ella outside for a timeout... grrrrr.}

We then returned home to open gifts and let our stomachs settle a little before singing AGAIN and having MORE sugar!

This was a BIG HIT this year!  She got money from several people... and is so excited to spend it on EARRINGS... {that is... if she ever gets her ears pierced!  That was one of the gifts that Damian and I got her for her birthday, but we haven't since even had time to get it done!}

And... of course, EARRINGS!

Our other gift to her... with a case to hold them.  Her very own QUAD!  She even said that night on Skype with Colleen and SAmberie that THIS was her VERY BEST present!  So glad she knows {a little} how VALUABLE they really are!

The mess of stuff we leave in the wake of birthday present opening!

Next year we're going to have to do something different!  8 candles is about all one cupcake can effectively hold!!

It looks like she's not sure she can even handle the sight of more chocolate and frosting!  Haha!

But at least she didn't have any left aflame when she was done!  Yay!

A happy day surrounded by people who LOVE her very much!  Ella is giving her a hug here!

We are so happy to have Lexi in our family!  She keeps it real!  And we love her so very much!  We just can't believe that our oldest is already 8!  Where does the time go?  We are trying harder every day to live in the moments... so that we don't miss them all as we rush to get everything "done" and hope that it works!  Not only for us, but for them, too!
Happy Birthday, Lexi-Lou!  We hope you felt our love and that of all those around you!  You are a very special little girl, and you never cease to amaze us!