She's 10!

Yesterday, my older daughter, K, turned 10.  She has been looking forward to this birthday for 2 years.  And in this family, turning 10 means a big party.  There were a few friends she invited for a sleepover.  I had to put a limit on that.  Then more of her friends came for a big party the following day.  She had difficulty choosing a theme, however.  She wanted a princess theme (of course) but she knew that would mean boys wouldn't come.  So, she was torn.

At first, we started planning a spy-themed party.  We had game ideas and started looking at decorations and cake.  Then, she went back to being undecided.

Finally, she settled on an all-girl princess themed party.  After discussing on how to make this a big girl princess party so that it didn't seem too babyish, we decided to have a princess training party where her guests would go through various "tests" (AKA games) in order to earn their tiaras.  But how?

Well, I do my best thinking at night.  After the kids were in bed, I went online and did some searching.  Nothing seemed to work.  I mulled over everything we had talked about.  And then it hit me.  I suddenly knew how to do the games so that it would be a fun party but still have that princess training theme.  I was so excited, I ran upstairs to wake up K to tell her my ideas.  She loved them.  And so the party-planning began...

She invited 5 girls to spend the night.  1 girl couldn't make it and another one was a bit late due to a family emergency.

The girls began their fun with makeovers.

K was then presented with a special Princess sash by one of her friends.

Then the girls played a few games on the Kinect.

It was soon time to settle down and watch a movie: Barbie Princess Charm School.

All of her friends had already seen it, but it fit so well with the party theme, we had to watch it.  Thankfully, it was a favorite among her friends.

The next morning, I brought the girls donuts and we all got ready for more party-goers.  As more girls arrived, we began the princess training with making pizza.  After all, every princess should know how to cook.

I cannot tell you how thankful I am that we got this new table the day before the slumber party!

It was well initiated into the family when the girls made their pizzas.

I created a special playlist on my ipod for the party.  One song was from the movie they watched the night before.  As soon as that song started playing, 5 girls started screaming and jumping and dancing and singing while one girl complained about hearing that song too much and the others looking at the screaming girls like they were crazy.  Hahaha

When everyone was finished eating, we had the first game.  Every princess should know how to dress properly.  I had 2 thirty-one bags filled with dress-up dresses and shoes.  The girls were split into 2 teams.  They would run a relay race, running to the bag, putting on a dress or shoes and running back to her team so the next girl could go.  The winning team received princess nail files as a prize.

Then it was time for the princesses to learn how to sit in her throne.  The girls played musical chairs.

The winner received a special ribbon.

Then it was time to open presents.  We went back inside and K opened all of her gifts from her friends.  Everything she got was perfect.  Her friends know her very well (or I described her well enough to the parents who asked what she would want).

And of course, what is a birthday party without cake and ice cream?  The cake was supposed to be a crown, but I think it looks more like a castle.  Either way, it fit the theme and K liked how it turned out.

Finally, the princesses needed to protect her kingdom by slaying a dragon.  This particular dragon was filled with candy and all the girls had the opportunity to beat it down.  They all earned their princess crowns.

For her actual birthday, we had a little fun around town.  First we went to a park where the kids and myself received our first sunburns of the season.

Then we went to a nature center, where we walked the trail and fed some animals.

Ducks, turtles, fish

This guy did not move off this log the entire time we were there!  He didn't care how much bread we threw at him, he stayed put.  I joked that maybe the other turtles bet him he couldn't stay on the log for a certain amount of time.  He was determined to win that bet.  He finally crawled off and dipped into the water just as we were leaving.

When daddy came home, it was time for presents and later cake and ice cream.  She was excited to get her first thirty-one bag.  I even got it personalized for her.  :)

I think she had an amazing 10th birthday full of fun memories.

Happy 10th birthday!!  I love you!