Par-tay Weekend!

Here we are, on the other side of one of the busiest weekends of my life! It was great fun! This year for Melody's birthday we decided to give her a surprise slumber party. She's turning 6, and had been asking to have a friend sleep over for a while, so we decided what better way to break ourselves in to the world of sleepovers than to have an all-out slumber party! We secretly invited 3 of her best friends (2 girls from her Kindergarten class and one friend from when she was in preschool) to come over on Friday night. It was SO HARD to keep it a secret, but we managed to pull it off and nobody--not even Gannon--spilled the beans. I baked cupcakes Friday and decorated them like the ocean with dolphins jumping out of the water. Melody had told me she wanted a dolphin theme..back when she thought SHE was planning something for her birthday..so I did the best I could!

Melody and the girls had a great time dressing up and hanging out!

And the best thing of all......getting to play and sleep in a great, big tent!!!

Due to the fairly young age of the girls and the fact that they were sleeping downstairs in a tent, Jamie and I decided it would be best for us to hook up the baby monitor in our bedroom so we could hear if one of the girls woke up during the night. It was a first-time sleepover for all of them (other than at g'parents houses). We woke up around 6:00 the next morning to hear a couple of the girls whispering. I listened closely and heard them saying that they wanted to surprise Melody by cooking her some pancakes and having it on a tray beside her when she woke up. I thought that was the most adorable, and sweetest showmanship of true friendship that I've seen in a long time. :) Shortly thereafter, Melody woke up, but they hadn't had time to bake anything--thankfully!! So, I made purple pancakes for everyone!

During breakfast, my Mom and Dad showed up so Mom and I could resume the 2nd weekend of a garage sale. It rained last weekend, so since everything was already in my garage and priced, we decided to try again! In between crowds of folks coming by to shop and parents arriving to pick up the slumber party girls, it was a very hectic morning! We got everything and everyone situated in time for an afternoon nap, Jamie went and picked up a new couch we bought, and we got ready to go to a party at the Lew's house. We all had lots of fun over there with all of the people from the bands at church, and we came home for some much-needed rest.
The next morning kicked off Mother's Day! The kids were on perfect behavior all day, and we all had a wonderful time together. Jamie got me an iPod Nano and the kids made cards for me and got me a pig WebKinz. What fun! I felt very loved and appreciated, and the best part was getting lots of cuddles and "I love you's" from my family!

I hope if you are a mother, you feel as blessed as I do! Life is good.