It's Great to be 8

On Sept. 19th Gracie turned 8 yrs old. This little girl has definitely kept things interesting in our family, a little drama here and there. But I love that she believes she can do whatever she wants as long as she works hard at it.

She is taking dance this year and unfortunately, has my flexibility. She sees all of these other girls in her class doing the splits, putting their feet up by their heads and doing backflips! Of course she can't do these things yet, but almost every night she is upstairs stretching and practicing and can now almost go all the way to the floor in her splits. She never gives up. One thing she does get from me is being a perfectionist, which helps in so many areas, but is frustrating in others. Her school teachers all LOVE her and can't say enough good things about her. She has so many friends, and she is such a good helper. We love you Gracie....HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

 No, I wasn't trying to make these photos look cool. They were very overexposed for some reason and this was the best I could do after editing. 

 She's official now...she has her own set of scriptures :)

 Birthday cake....

Gracie had a little "friend" party on the weekend after her birthday. She invited her cousin Sydnee and two friends, Rachel and Sophia. These girls get along so well...I swear they are all exactly alike. I made cupcakes, punch and popcorn....and while watching a Barbie movie, they made decorated door hangers for their bedrooms. They had so much fun and loved having all that space in the barn to dance and play basketball:)

 Getting all the sequins and glitter stickers out...

 Finished product

 Unwrapping presents

Cupcakes...mmm