We have a 10 year old!

This past week was a whirlwind of celebration as we marked Audrey's 10th birthday with multiple gatherings! Thursday was her actual birthday, which we celebrated by going to Open House (ha, ha). Friday night Audrey invited 6 of her friends over for a sleepover party. It was a perfect number...they filled up our living room, lining their sleeping bags one next to the other. Isaac spent the night at a friend's house to give the girls their space. Violet stayed home for the party but went to bed at 9:30. Violet helped in the morning , making cupcakes for the sleepover. What a good egg cracker she is! Levi, Charlotte and Christa joined us to help decorate. Spreading chocolate is serious work! But only half the cupcakes were covered in chocolate frosting. THIS is what we did with the other half! Aren't they absolutely adorable? The girls LOVED them! I cannot take all the credit for these cuties though. The idea was out of my Hello, Cupcake! cookbook, and my friend Christa helped me with the assembly. With all those little candies, it took us about 2 hours! To see the girls' faces was so worth it! They pointed to the ones that resembled themselves, commenting on what types and flavors of candies they thought were in the decorations. But let me back up...the theme (because all good parties must have a theme) was double, as in double digits. Here is the invite. Click on the image to see it up closer. Here was the spread that I put out for the girls. That was about the extent of the double theme though. Being ten, Audrey had her own ideas of what she wanted to do with her friends. And, honestly, this was the easiest party we've ever thrown. They pretty much did their own thing and had a blast doing it! The girls played in the front yard for the first half hour, since the sun was still up! Next we came inside for a craft. Audrey had the idea to buy some plain white t-shirts and puffy paints and make a sleep shirt. The girls had a fun time creating! Audrey didn't want to "stab" any of her sleeping cupcake people with a candle, so we simply sang before enjoying our dessert and punch! Present time! Audrey had a great time with her friends. After games, crafts, cake and presents, they got in their jammies, laid out their sleeping bags, and watched Tangled while enjoying more snacks. Saturday morning they woke up, bright and early, had some DOUBLE decker pancakes, and went home. Saturday was a lazy day, with everyone relaxing in the afternoon to catch up on sleep. Saturday evening we had a family get-together (both biological and neighborhood family)! At Audrey's request, we ate hamburgers, potato salad, green salad, and tres leches cake! YUM! Happy Birthday to Audrey! Once again, I must say how grateful I am for the gift of Audrey! She is such a loving, sensitive, compassionate girl that is quickly growing into a young lady that loves the Lord and is passionate about sharing God's love with others! Randy and I are so blessed to be given the privilege of raising Audrey! It is hard to remember our family without Audrey. We hope and pray we will get to enjoy many more years of your laugh and your smile in our house!