Happy, Yummy, 12th Birthday, Lauren

This is a long post with lots of pics, but I really wanted to capture all the events of Lauren's bday.  It was a good day and her party turned out great!!  

We started off the day going to church.  Then, when we came home we had lunch and did a little family celebrating with gifts for Lauren from everyone.

My 12 year old girl!  Wow!  Crazy!

 I think her favorite gift was from Cody, a 3-liter of soda!

 She will always be our baby girl

 Then, we got ready for the Cooking Sleepover.  There were 6 girls total that came.  Cody went away for a sleepover, and I sent Rick, Sam, Isaiah, and Laila out for the evening so we could have some "girl time"at the party.

Lauren and Abby decorated for the event

 We had door prizes that we gave out throughout the night.  I just love door prizes.  I think every event should have them.   They were nail polishes, lip balm, and candy.

Every good cook needs an apron.  

So, we started our time by decorating aprons.  

 Second, we made Chocolate and Salted Caramel Mug Cakes

We set everything out according to the dry ingredients needed.  

We found really cute friendship mugs at Dollar Tree. 

The tags attached explain the wet ingredients to add.

Each girl got to make one to take home for later.  

It turned out to be a great, easy craft/take-home goodie for everyone

Cream soda break

For dinner, we divided the girls into teams of 2.  Each team of 2 made a different part of the meal.  I printed out recipes ahead of time and set out the ingredients for each group in stations.  Once again, they did really well.  They were able to put together their part of the meal pretty easily.

Main course:  Pepperoni Rolls made by Nichole and Whitney
We made one with pepperoni and one with a blend of cheeses

Salad:  made by Abby and Gabby

I don't have a name for this salad.  I had it at my friend, Leah's house.  It consists of cole slaw veggies, 

spinach, cilantro, green onions, peanuts and poppyseed dressing.  

Dessert:  Gooey, Chewy Oreo Fudge Brownies made by Lauren and Micah

The Birthday Girl in the Birthday Chair with the Birthday Tiara
(It kind of looks like she has candles coming out of her head!)

Yummy dinner!

To go along with their dessert, we made homemade ice cream in ziploc bags

Chef Divas

They found some very creative ways to shake up the ice cream so it would freeze!

Happy Birthday to You!

I had to pose for a couple of pics with them

Do you remember these?  I loved these when I was a kid

After dinner we played 2 games.  The Tasting Game and the Smelling Game.  I had 13 different items for them to taste with their eyes closed.  I had everything from gummy bears to string cheese to watermelon.  The person who could guess the most items won.  Lauren guessed every one right.  I promise she had no idea what I chose to use.  The smelling game was harder.  I had 13 different things to smell.  I had everything from spices to vinegar to an expo marker.  Whitney won that game. They were both really funny and Abby only gagged and almost threw up one time!!  It was on the string cheese of all things.

After the games we got out some mustache tattoos.  They are meant to be put on your finger to hold in front of your face.  That is how they started.

Before long, they were putting them right on their faces.

The amazing chefs and their goodies

The plan was to watch a movie in the basement and sleep in the tent down there.  

In the morning, I found this:

I guess they got hot in the tent because they closed all the windows because they were telling stories and got scared.  So, they came upstairs and slept.  I slept horribly myself.  I never sleep well when we have a big sleepover.

Sam, Isaiah, and Laila joined in on the fun in the morning

For breakfast, we made Orange Julius Smoothies and Rainbow Pancakes

The party turned out to be a lot of fun and Lauren had a great time!!

During the week, Rick and I took her out for her bday date.

She chose Smashburger.

Wow, Lauren.  You really are 12 years old.  You are such a tenderhearted young lady.  You truly do care for others and want the best for them.  Even when you are struggling, I find that you are teachable and are quick to ask forgiveness.  You still love cuddles, hugs, and kisses.  That is definitely one of your love languages.  Acts of service are important to you as well.  You love to cook and you are pretty good at it, too.  You also love soccer and can't wait to play again in the fall.  You have started babysitting some.   You really enjoy that, too.  I have seen you learn to speak up for yourself more over the last year, and I am really proud of you for that.  I am praying that your confidence will continue to grow over the next year.  You are a beautiful young lady, and God has big plans for you. Seek him with all of your heart.  He will use you to move mountains, girl!
Love you so so so so so so so so much!!
Mom