Sleeping Beauties

Mary Grace had her 8th birthday party this weekend! She wanted a slumber party, so we planned a backyard campout for a handful of girls from her class. It was her first time to have more than one friend sleep over at a time, so I was pretty much expecting the worst. Screaming...obnoxious amounts of giggling...bickering...hurt feelings...back to screaming and giggling...me yelling at them at midnight to go to sleep...children wanting to go home...me yelling again at 1am...and at 2am. I decided that these girls are probably like toddlers (I figure everyone at some level is like a toddler) - they just need to be kept busy. I had craft after craft after craft ready to go. We cooked, flavored, and colored our own bubble gum, made dream catchers, and painted pillow cases. In between activities, they were allowed to scream and giggle...a little bit. At one point, I realized they were holding an impromptu piano recital when they realized that more than half of them took piano lessons. I got that one on video. Who would believe me otherwise?

Jason set up the tent on the patio since it was raining on and off all day, and when they got in, I gave them a bunch of those glow sticks and necklaces. They told each other ghost stories, some of which were terrifying, "Then he stabbed the guy over and over and over and over" (good grief!), and some of which were obviously make-it-up-as-you-go, "then they moved to Texas, then to California, then to Alabama, then to New Mexico..." (huh?) They dropped off one by one until it was just Mary Grace and her best buddy giggling and whispering. It was actually really sweet, and they were all asleep just before midnight.

Of course, they were then all up and awake at 7:00am. Wow. Okay. Pancakes, more giggling, more screaming. Neighbors are preparing to call the police for disturbing the peace by now. About an hour before the parents were supposed to come pick up the girls, I took them on a quick walk around the neighborhood. That's when they found the random black mud puddle and within five minutes, they were somehow covered in mud. Hello parents, here's your child who was in mint condition until 10 minutes ago. Sorry about that! Honestly, though, Mary Grace adores mud, and it was the perfect ending to a perfect party.