Spa Party

The most exciting thing about November is celebrating Lauren's birthday! It seems like yesterday that we were blessed with our daughter, and now she is 12! Time really passes so quickly!

Lauren loves both American Girl dolls and books, and she has a really fun book, Snooze-a-Palooza!, that gives you lots of ideas for sleepovers.

She chose to have a spa night with five of her best friends, and she did all of the planning! It was so fun to watch her plan her own party!! She designed her invitations, created supply lists, planned how the entire evening would flow, and had everything ready when the girls arrived! We were so impressed!!

I found the cute plates and gift bags at Target ~ perfect  for a girl who loves pink! The treat bags were simple ~ each containing a loofah, shower gel, and body mist. My favorite decorations were the pom poms made from tissue paper. So fun and easy to make!! They are now hanging in Lauren's room, and we love them!!

I found the cupcake wrappers at Walmart and fell in love with them ~ thought they were perfect for the party!!

 Taylor, Olivia, Leah, Lauren, and Emma ~ all sweet, sweet girls, and a joy to have in our home!

 We planned a light dinner ~ cold cuts on croissants with chips and fruit. The girls loved it, and with a quick clean-up, they were able to begin their spa night!

 The birthday girl and her rejuvenating "banana mask" ~ complete with cucumbers for the eyes!

There was quite a bit of laughter, and everyone was brave enough to take a turn! At one point, Andrew wandered into the kitchen, stopped in his tracks, and said (so seriously), "Oh gosh!". It was a hoot ~ boys just don't know what girls will do to be beautiful!! Ha!

Pampering their hands ~ a soothing soak followed with lotion and polish ~ a variety of scents and colors! I think this might have been their favorite part!!

They may appear to be "girly girls" but they still enjoy tossing grapes across the room into each other's mouths! Ha! Joe enjoyed this as much as the girls!!

Wasn't it just yesterday that I was painting her nails for the first time?! She seems so grown up in this picture!

Lauren and Emma ~ best friends since three year old preschool

Emma was last to get the "banana mask" treatment, and understandably (ha!ha!), she was a little nervous, but she was a trooper! Way to go, Emma!!

They were supposed to be soaking their feet! Instead they decided to create a "hot tub"! All we could do was laugh!! Silly girls!!

Andrew had ideas of his own while everyone was hanging out in the bathroom!

The girls were having so much fun that I had to remind them there were cupcakes! They were so ready to get downstairs with their sleeping bags to watch Monte Carlo that we forgot we had ice cream for sundaes! They ended up having another cupcake around midnight! Gotta love sleepovers!!

They did take time to open presents! I love how excited these girls were about giving Lauren her presents! Every one of the gifts was so carefully chosen, and Lauren loved every one of them!!

The cupcakes sent them soaring to a new level (and Joe was ready for bed! Ha!), and they organized a "dress up talent show"! It was hilarious!!

Breakfast of champions ~ Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and bacon! We are missing one sweetie ~ she is a huge Daddy's girl and is going through a phase where she doesn't want to be away from home. We are so happy she came for the party, though ~ and thanks to Vic and Jenny for being willing to pick her up at a late hour!

Taylor was so funny because she was getting upset that these girls were taking so long in the bathroom! She was ready to play and couldn't understand why the rest of them weren't ready! I loved it!!

The spa night was a huge success! It warmed my heart to see them all being so kind to one another ~ they were even singing Christian pop songs during all of the spa activities! I pray that these girls remain forever friends, encouraging and loving one another every step of the way!!