{Almost} 13

Although Alyssa still has a couple more weeks as a tween, knowing that her coming weekends will be full of Rep rehearsals, we decided to have an early 13th birthday celebration for her before all of that kicks into high gear. A sleepover with a few close friends was her request and we were happy to oblige.

First on the agenda for the girls was three hours of pizza and bowling. Nothing says "Welcome to my birthday party!" like a huge growling polar bear at the entrance :-).

The girls had so much fun bowling, but in case you've ever wondered, 3 hours is a really long time for a group of girls to bowl!

Can you find the hiding {camera shy} friend in each photo?

By the third hour, their techniques were getting very interesting. There was a lot of loud, thudding drops of the ball on the lane, standing backwards tosses, behind the back granny throws, and Emma would set her ball at the front of the lane, back up, and do a straddle forward roll to push her ball. Not to mention all the pre-teen giggly, extravagantly dramatic noise they were making. I kind of thought we were going to get kicked out, and I've never gotten kicked out of anywhere, so the thought of toting two carfuls of little girls out of a bowling alley in shame was not exactly appealing. They are all such good, sweet girls, they are just also very, very loud!!

Back at our house, we had a few outdoor activities planned. It was a beautiful night for playing outside, and it was a good thing too, because the Iowa game was u-g-l-y that particular Saturday and the girls certainly didn't want to be in the house while Dave was watching it! They made scented bath salts using this recipe. It was pretty easy, yet super fun for them. I was looking for something they could do with minimal help from me, and if they messed up the recipe a little, it wouldn't really effect the outcome of the project. This was perfect!

And the finished product came out so pretty, the girls were proud of them!!


Next, they ran around the yard in teams playing flashlight tag and roasted marshmallows by the fire pit.

Alyssa has succesfully instilled a fear of fire in Rebekah. I love her big eyes as Martina's marshmallow went up in flames. From a safe distance away, Alyssa remained on fire patrol, letting anyone know when their marshmallow was about to be done and if they were standing too close to the fire.

Cool driveway chalkwork done by the girls. The "Smell This" was the welcome mat Alyssa created at the front of our garage which had become very fragrant after the bath salts project. Emma is working on drawing a raccoon, Alyssa made the Bible {btw: her version of choice is The Message, not the King James Version as her picture suggests}, Annalese made the neat abstract art and Karinna did the awesome self portrait.

Not being much of a cake girl, {crazy, right? I can be talked into cake at most any time!} Alyssa instead opted for brownie ice cream sundaes. They were yummy and a hit with the kids.

Happy {Almost} 13th birthday, Sweet Alyssa! We love you!!