Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Belle's Slumber Party Extravaganza

Isabelle had only one wish for her 8th birthday: she wanted to have a good ole' 
fashioned slumber party and invite all of the girls in her second grade class.  She didn't 
want anyone to feel left out which meant we would play hosts to NINE little girls.  Sweet 
baby Jesus.  Shawn and I agreed and got to work planning this special party.  Slumber 
parties are a rite of passage, an event little girls remember into their adulthood.  I 
remember having slumber parties when I was younger, my mom allowing me to have 
as many friends over as I wanted, staying up late into the night, giggling until we lost 
our voices.  I was pretty excited for Isabelle to experience her first sleepover.
I borrowed my aunt's minivan and picked the whole crew up from school on Friday 
afternoon.  The looks on the other moms' faces as I marched through the parking lot with 
9 little girls in tow was priceless: they ranged from humor to sheer horror!!  We arrived 
home in one piece and Isabelle excitedly showed her girlfriends around the house.  After 
they changed out of their school uniforms and had a snack, we decided to let the 
games begin!
First of all, thank you God for Pinterest and all of its infinite wisdom!  I got so many ideas 
for this party through this amazing website.  Our whole night revolved around a bunch 
of balloons: in each balloon was a piece of paper that revealed what we would be doing 
next.  Each girl got to take a turn popping a balloon and reading what the next activity 
would be.  I had a color coded list in my pocket that I used to remind myself of which 
balloon to pop next.  The girls thought this was the most exciting thing ever: "When can 
we pop the next balloon?!".


First, we had a scavenger hunt outside.  Shawn and I had written up a bunch of clues that 
led the girls to different areas around the property: "Run quickly to the tire hanging from 
the tree.  After each girl takes a turn to swing, there your next clue will be!".  They had 
a blast running from one station to the next, completing the different challenges and 
searching for their clues.  At the end of the scavenger hunt, they found a treasure chest 
filled with tiaras and glow in the dark bracelets, which they so proudly modeled for us!




Next, they beat down a candy filled pinata.  This group of girls included a couple of 
athletes with some pretty heavy swings and Shawn had to do a little mending to make 
sure the pinata lasted long enough for each girl to get a turn!
Then it was time for crafting!  Thank you all so much for your very helpful suggestions 
on crafting ideas!  We decided to decorate pillowcases, as suggested by Jessica and 
Deanna.  We set the girls up outside so that they could be as messy as they wanted to, 
gave them each a colorful array of fabric paints and brushes, and let them have at it!  I 
helped them trace their hand prints onto their pillowcases in the shape of a heart, a nice 
way to remember their 8 year old hands later.  We sprayed the pillows down with glitter 
and added glow in the dark polka dots.  This was the most quiet part of the night as the 
girls got  REALLY into their projects, helping each other and complimenting their 
handiwork.  For someone who does not particularly care for such projects, I had a 
really amazing time helping them make special pieces to take home.








After a pizza party for dinner, it was time for cake and ice cream.  Isabelle's smile was as 
big as the sky as her best friends sang to her in the glow of her 8 candles.  She 
opened presents as each girl read their card aloud to her.  Shawn and I stood back and 
giggled at the heart felt sentiments they each expressed.  There was a lot of love in the 
room that night.




With the girls now high on sugar, it was time to burn off some energy and have a full 
blown dance party!!  Shawn blasted the Katy Perry station on Pandora and we all got 
funky, myself included.  

Once the sun went down, we gave them each a glow in the dark necklace and enjoyed 
a firework show in the front yard!  We sat in the grass and oohed and aahed over the 
colorful display, the girls glowing in their festive neon gear.  This was by far my favorite 
part of the night as one little girl screamed, "This is the best night of my LIFE!!!!!".

We all went inside where I proceeded to bathe each and every girl, WHEW!  They 
spread their sleeping bags out in the living room and played a few quiet games before it 
was time for popcorn and a movie.  They took turns braiding my hair, telling funny 
stories, and doing Mad Libs.  They requested that I sleep in the living room with them 
since most of them had never been away from home before and I happily obliged.  At 
1am, with the giggling still in full force and no end in site, we finally turned the lights out 
and wished everyone good night.  We got about 3 hours of sleep before they were all up 
again and for that I was actually grateful.


 The next morning, as their mothers arrived to pick them up, each and every girl hugged 
us and thanked us for "the best night ever".  We spent the remainder of the weekend 
relaxing and enjoying our birthday girl all to ourselves.  The night was a complete success 
and we all had a great time.  This was one of those nights I have dreamed about ever since 
I found out I was going to be the mother of a little girl.  It was exhausting, hilarious, and 
soul fulfilling all at the same time.  We had a blast getting to know each of the girls 
Isabelle talks about so often and witnessing the dynamics between them.  
Call me crazy, but I can't wait to do it again!

****You may be wondering where Brees was in the midst of all this excitement.  Well, I am happy to report that Brees further solidified her angel baby status by going to bed at her normal 6:30 pm bedtime and SLEEPING THROUGH THE ENTIRE PARTY!!  I have no idea how she slept through all of that talking, giggling, music blaring, fireworks display, etc. but she did.  She woke up at 6:30 am all bright eyed and bushy tailed and I gave her a million kisses for making my life that much easier!!!!****

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20 comments:

Lucy The Valiant said...

Okay, so, you're officially my hero now! This looks and sounds like the best slumber party EVER!

Deanna Fike said...

what a wonderful mother you are! and i love the idea of popping balloons to discover the next activity!

Marie V said...

It looks like you had a great time, you created a special day and night for these little girls, a night they will remember always! How nice to read you always Olivia, there is so much love in you my dear! 

The smile on their faces say it all! Take care. xxx

Sara said...

That is the best slumber party I've ever seen! :) You are such a wonderful mama and that is also reflected in your amazing girls. So sweet of Belle to invite everyone, I'm sure this night only brought them all closer in friendship.

Nessa said...

I bet they will be talking about that for weeks!!  How fun.

Michelle Wingreen said...

This makes me so happy! Reminds me of all those birthday parties as a kid. My poor mother...I insisted to have a sleepover party for my birthday EVERY year and she always went above and beyond to make each one special. I'm glad you got to do the same thing for your little girl. You sound like such a good mommy. =)

Indigo Godinez said...

It does sound like the best slumber party ever! What a wonderful birthday for Isabelle! 

Olivia said...

You are too sweet, Michelle!!  Sounds like you had a pretty awesome mama!!  What amazing memories for you to carry on!  I hope to give those to my daughters as well:)

Olivia said...

Isabelle's teacher told me that talked about it at school yesterday ALL DAY!!  HA!  She said they told her every single detail, how cute!

Olivia said...

Thank you!!!  I think you are right about it bringing them closer as a group!  They really got to bond, it was so neat!

Olivia said...

Thank you, my friend!!  They look so happy, don't they?  Sweet little angels!

Olivia said...

Thank you!  Yes, that idea was awesome and I will totally be using it again!

Olivia said...

Thank you!!  It was pretty awesome and they had such a great time@

Olivia said...

Thank you!!  It was an awesome night!

ashley said...

oh.my.GOSH! i had a smile on my face the whole time reading this. what an awesome momma you are.

Wendy said...

WOW!!!! You just earned crazy super mom points. Isabelle is going to remember this party for the rest of her life. What an awesome night!

Olivia said...

Thank you, Ash!!  We had so much fun!

Olivia said...

Thank you!!  It was the talk of the school Monday:)  Their teacher said they talked about it ALL day, HA!!

Randalin said...

Ohmygosh! This looks like sooooo much fun!!! Eeek - I want an invite next year :) 

Olivia said...

Yes!  And bring Kale!!  HA!