Livie is 'Leven

Alivia woke up to this:

 She was so excited about the bike!  We name all our bikes, and "Mongoose" has been fought over for a couple of years by Alivia and Landrie.  Now Mongoose has a friend.
We have a tradition that the night before the birthday as we gather around for family prayer, we tell the story of how the birthday person came into the world.  The girls about have each of their stories memorized by now, but they still like to hear them every year on their birthday eve.  Alivia was born while we lived in West Jordan, and was just a few days old on her first Easter.  I remember getting the older three girls ready for church Easter morning in their matching dresses (made by Mommy, what a life saver!) and peeking at little tiny newborn Livie sucking her thumb on the couch.  She found that thumb right off the bat, and it remained her friend for quite a few years of her life.

 Alivia has always made friends easily, and will be the first to tell you that she is very well-loved at school by both her classmates AND her teacher.  She is the smartest girl in the class, of course, and her teacher has asked her to do extra assignments to keep her busy.  Most recently, Mrs. Wilkinson asked if Alivia would do a power point presentation on our church.  Alivia has been doing a lot of research on Joseph Smith so that her teacher and the other students will want to learn more about him.  These are some of her adoring fans that came to her party.

We didn't get a photo of the jewelry-making activity, but all the girls went home with several pairs of new earrings to wear, along with the regular party favor we live to give..CHIPS.  They had a great time because, why else, it was a party for ALIVIA.

Alivia is a gem.  She's funny, very attentive to the younger siblings and crazy about Hartman, loves to drive to Utah any time we're going--even if it's just for a half of a day.  She's made a great impression on both her school teachers that she's had in Elko, and has a strong testimony of the gospel.  Her Primary teacher right now also thinks she is just the greatest girl ever.  She asked at the end of last year to remain with Alivia's class because she loves her so much.  Alivia gets straight A+'s, is a great artist, and eager to do everything she does all together as a family.  We love our Alivia.  I can't believe she only has one more year in Primary! Happy 11th Birthday, Livie Pie!