7th Birthday party!

butterfly party...

Belle had her first girlfriend birthday party this past weekend.  We had so much fun with ten girls here!  Thanks to Grandma Mary, Auntie Andrea and Danielle it went smoothly.  The girls did some crafts first as they came in.  They made tissue flowers and wrapped them around their wrists as bracelets.  Then they decorated their bags for their stuff and took turns putting tatoos on. 

I missed getting pictures of Daddy giving rides on the go-kart we borrowed from a friend.  We thought a few would like a ride, but they soon all lined up for a turn!  Wish I had some pics of this.  Next we divided into two groups and along with Grandma and Auntie the groups had to perform ten stunts and take a pic of each.  The goofy group photos are those stunts.  It was my creative way of getting pics of all the friends posing.  They got into new groups and ran around for about half an hour looking for items in a scavenger hunt.  They are all such nice girls.  It was very cute how they were able to make friends with each other in such a short time.  I was really proud of them.  They were also very conscience of the younger girls and made a point to help them out whenever they could. 

back: Therese; Middle row:  Belle, Chloe, Anjolie, Tirzah, Natty & Isabel; front row:  Jaana, Jane & Audrey

Stunt game:  lie on the ground like sardines

act like an animal?

Dance

sitting on top of something

underneath something

sitting in a row with someone lying across the laps



in a vehicle making funny faces... Belle isn't doing it, I guess



Next we made homemade pretzels.  This was a shot in the dark since I'd never done it before, but if you know me I like new things so we went for it.  They turned out awesome!  The girls enjoyed them along with red chili (per Belle's request) on a blanket outside which was enough to call it a picnic.  Grandma became the waitress and "waited" on the girls.  We finished the party with cupcakes and outside to collect wood for a bonfire.  We invited the girls' families and our family over for a bonfire as they came to pick up their girls.  There's nothing quite like a bonfire and the weather cooperated fully!  We ended up roasting marshmallows and hanging out with friends until after 11 pm. 

Belle was in her element with a housefull of friends, but MaryAlice and Abby's reactions to all the friends in the house when they woke up from their marathon naps was priceless.  MaryAlice couldn't smile big enough and Abby wasn't too far off.  Abby usually hates all the noise and new commotion of a party, but she recognized the girls and was really happy to see them too!  The party was for our Belle, but it makes it so much nicer to have her sisters having fun too!