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| First: Making Pizzas! We had three.. |
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| Jake added his cheese expertise! The only 'boy' at an all girl party |
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| First Round of the Monopoly Wars |
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| Dinner! Included Pink Lemonade |
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| Our Creations - One Cheese (not shown), One Super Combo (YUM) and a Pepperoni |
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| Notice the Banner? Sami made it! |
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| THE Cake! Ice-Cream Cheesecake with Brownie Crust. Sami did the chocolate decor |
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| Inferno? |
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| Happy 13th Gorgeous Girl!!!! |
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| The Mani's and Pedi's Begin!!! |
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| Each girl got her own manicure set (seen in the bottom of the photo) |
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| Special Birthday Girl Treatment!!!! |
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| Mani's |
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| Pedi's |
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| The Slumberers.... Sunday Morning |
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| At the End of the Party - Darn that Monopoly Game! It's OUT again (and was played until 1:30 pm) |
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| Treats for the Girls |
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| Manicure Station |
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| Sami's Loot - They LOVE anything Hollister! |
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| And, later that week.. on her 'real' day - Her Daddy made special sour dough pancakes at her request - she asked for a heart, and '13'. She had Mickey Mouse too! He's over there, on the left (parts) |
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| The Invites |
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So.. I am just now sharing photos from Sami's 13th birthday... It was a GREAT event for a very special girl. Crossing over from preteen to teen is huge! And we sent her out in style:)
(Note: These are mostly my notes so I don't forget the highlights when I make a layout later!)...
I was 'a bit worried' about five teens all together for an over-nighter. This group is from three different schools - only three of them are together at the same school so we had some 'get to know you' awkwardness. They did great! No weirdness, no one was excluded, and they all got along beautifully. Phew! This was a good number to have!
The biggest 'hurdle' was dealing with cell phones. One girl started texting within five minutes of being dropped off. I asked her to put her phone away. I had this conversation with three of them - and explained why to the whole group - that it is not fair to the girls in the room (it's like whispering), and that it's not fair to the person not in the room (feeling left out). I did say they could use the phones to call their parents. They did good on honoring the request.
Pizzas were a hit! MAN! The tastiest pizzas I might add! Love making the crust from scratch - yeasty goodness - which has to rise for 45 minutes, but so worth it. The girls that arrived on time got to help chop onions and cook the sauce. And, they were the 'shy' girls, so it kept them busy. We were all in tears from those darn onions! And everyone helped make their favorite pizza. Dick made the combo one. Super yummy!
Jake got lots of attention. When it looked like he was 'a disruption' to the 'girl time' I sent him to his room. It wasn't anything he was doing deliberately. He's just a cute charming boy! And he was becoming the center of attention, instead of the birthday girl, so off he went. He was OK with that. He has a TV in his room and his own world. Dick and Jake were supposed to go 'out' and have some guy time - but, for some reason Dick decided they were going to stay home instead.
The manicures and pedicures were fun! And Monopoly? I am NOT a Monopoly player! The TV never go turned on. No movies or shows. (The move I had picked out was not a good choice!)... Again, they played well together. When there were disagreements they did it gracefully and in fun. Monopoly for two days? Crazy...
Sami's cake turned out wonderfully - although the brownie crust was hard as rock! It was her special request, and I made it the day before. It had to be in the freezer over night. Cutting through it was a challenge, and talk about rich! Lordy... It was GONE that night! Those girls all had good appetites. Let me tell you.. girls that eat food instead of pick at it are #1 in my book! We had one girl doing the 'I'm not hungry thing' until she saw the others dive right in. She picked up the pace, and even had seconds...
I slept upstairs so I could 'keep an ear and eye' alert for any problems. They did good. They had some great silly pre-sleeping time. The mounts on the walls all ended up with names, and apparently there was a good story made about them as well. One girl for some reason was standing up in her sleeping bag - head covered, and fell - no injuries - and she was closest to the rock woodstove area. VERY lucky!
Things that did not go well:
The parents were to come get their girls at 10am on Sunday... Single dads were late. One didn't show until 11:30pm. The other? 1:30pm! What the heck? I really don't understand this. The girls called them to remind them. Several times for the last one. The Monopoly game just kept going! I was pooped..
A party on 1-1-11. This was the only day Sami did not have a Basketball Game... The party did not start until 5pm.. But having a party the day after New Years Eve? Brutal! The kids and I stayed up until 1am the nght before, I did not drink, but boy, was I tired! We still had MOST of the Christmas Decor up (tree included) and I had to convert the house from Christmas to a girly party...That was the hardest part.. Cleaning up and turning around and decorating for another event. Record Time getting all that done!
The Best Part? Quote from Sami: 'Mom, I had the BEST time with my friends!'... So worth it:)
Two things I want You To See
The Birthday Call 0 Taking with her favorite auntie
12 Candles
My beautiful daughter is now 12!
