The first time they met, as bright-eyed little girls in a Eugene kindergarten, some feelings were hurt.
Each was named Alexis at birth. Each went by Lexi. So when Alexis Cross and Lexi Bando first met, their classmates had to find a way to differentiate.
"The first day, I remember her not liking me," Cross recalled recently with a laugh. "Because we had the same name, and people had to call her Lexi B. Because I was the new kid."
It didn't take long, however, for the relationship to warm up. Cross' family cooked Bando's favorite breakfast: Dutch babies.