Jozie's Birthday

Jozie turned 8 this May!

What a beautiful girl! Since she's 8 and now old enough to be baptized, we took some pictures in anticipation of her baptism later this summer. Her best friend Signe came too. :)

Also since she was turning 8 (an even number) it was a "family activity" birthday year. So...Jozie got to stay at a hotel with me and Signe. We had a fabulous time. We stayed at the Grand Lapa in Macau. We had a blast on their waterslide and their huge hot tub! We didn't get any pictures of swimming, but we do have some from the activity room, breakfast, etc. It was so great to get to have a sleepover with these great girls.

On Jozie's birthday we had brownies and ice cream (yum):

Jozie's birthday letter:

Happy 8th birthday Jozie!

Wow, 8!!

This seems to be such a fantastic time of life. You’re responsible about taking care of your homework and doing to do lists, helpful to little sisters, still very imaginative, and into fun fun fun!

This year was a “family birthday” year. You, me, and your good friend Signe got to have a sleepover at a hotel for your birthday. We had such a great time. You and Signe loved the great swimming pool with a waterslide! I loved that you and Signe were so good at negotiating plans and working things out together. You both seemed so very grownup, which for a mom is awfully bittersweet, but mostly sweet. 

Some of your favorites right now:

Favorite friend: Signe, who’s both your closest neighbor friend and your best school class friend.

Favorite food: Probably stuff with potatoes in it, like hash browns and mashed potatoes. You also like bananas and plums and of course anything with chocolate.

Favorite things to do: Hmmm, you like a lot of things. You’re still very imaginative and you come up with fun things to do, like play school or house or do cool artwork. You also love swimming with goggles so you can do tricks underwater. You like playing with your hamster, Sophia (I’m glad you pushed us to finally get a pet!).

Some favorite memories from the last year:

Grass sledding, playing at the beach all day long, camping on the beach, swimming, visiting Guilin China, playing “Free Pass” outside, going to Hong Kong with Rachel (my cousin), you finding my wedding ring and wrapping it up for Christmas, giving you a locket for Christmas.

I sure love you!! Love, Mommy