Alli's Tenth Birthday Party

I think I need my head examined.  I had the bright idea that Alli should have a sleepover for her tenth birthday party this weekend.  And I let her invite ten people thinking at the most four would show.  It is Christmas, after all - you never know how people are spending their holidays,  Instead we had SIX RSVPs but I assured Ryan they were ten year old girls - what could be that hard?

Everyone got here around six on Friday night and started with a rowdy game of hide and seek.  Like screaming, running hide and seek.  Ryan actually asked me "What is that noise they are making?"  Some kind of ungodly scream-yell-squeal that they all knew how to make.  We finally corralled them to eat pizza and cake, but even that was an ordeal.  Please don't topple the cake!

After that, I loaded them all up in the Pilot and drove them to Ozark Lanes to bowl.  The sound continued in the car, along with some Christmas caroling.  When the car was still, all of the movement inside actually propelled it forward.  Yikes.

Bowling was a lot of fun once we got everyone's shoe size figured out.  I stood at the counter with several girls while they tried on size after size to get the perfect fit.  I apologized profusely to the bowling alley worker who had to deal with us.  But we bowled a game, which took about an hour, and then brought them all back home.  I warned them that Riley would be sleeping when we got back so they would need to hold it down, but my request was futile.  There's just no quieting six pre-teen girls.

I put a movie on upstairs and brought them three bags of popcorn which they devoured.  Even after strict instruction to not come downstairs unless there was an emergency I had to chase groups of them back upstairs until about 12AM.  They finally got silent and I had the internal "Do I go check on them?" struggle.  Riley got up a few times in the night too, so when the girls started sneaking downstairs at 6AM, Ryan and I were on fumes.  We got out of bed at 7AM and started making pancakes and bacon, which was a huge hit.  Then the hide and seek shriek started up again.  With an hour to go before pickup time, Ryan put on Elf for them to watch and I managed to snap this pic.

Look at little Riley right in the middle of it all eating her popcorn - she loved chasing the girls around and yelling "Ah-Eeee" which translates to "Alli!!" and all of the girls were so sweet with her.

Thank goodness for Saturdays - little Alli is exhausted and so are we.  Even the pets are worn out - the girls adored them and chased them all over the house until I let them find peace in the master bedroom.  Now someone go get me a Starbucks, please!