PARTY ON!!!!

Friday we had Decota's birthday party. We had no idea how many girls would come (it seems they are to old to RSVP now), or how many Decota had invited for that matter (every time I turned around I had to make "just one more invitation"). When 6:00 arrived we were suddenly invaded by 17 excited girls. Decota had been pretty bummed this year because she wanted to go camping for her birthday, and due to the fact that I was having surgery 2 days before her birthday, that was impossible. She then thought it would be great to pitch tents in the backyard and have a camp out at home, which I would have automatically said "nope" to, but Rodney beat me by saying it was a great idea. We told her 12 girls would be a great number to invite- but you know Decota the social bug. How was she supposed to weed out so many and limit herself to 12. In the end I think she invited about 18 (Cambria was not invited this year, but she was fine with it because she got to have a spend the night at her friend's house instead). As all of the girls arrived they seemed genuinely excited to be camping out (this was some girls first time ever in a tent!). We had 2 big tents set up in the backyard. As everyone arrived they all staked claims to the places they wanted to sleep in the tents. Soon we had the fire pit going and the girls were all roasting hot dogs. They loved running around the backyard and exploring the greenbelt. After awhile we corralled them back together and opened gifts (and talk about getting SPOILED- whew) and ate cake and ice cream (her cake had a big lantern on it for her). As it got dark they went out front and played flashlight tag. We eventually hauled them back to the backyard to watch the old parent trap movie we had set up on the deck. Some stayed and watched for a bit and snacked on candy and popcorn, while others played games by flashlight on the tramp. Others (including my daughter) ran off to harass boys on the phone. In the end, Rodney and I were the only ones who watched the whole movie (and I loved it every bit as much as I did when I was a kid). After the movie we gathered together again for S'mores and hot chocolate- can you say sugar rush! They played until about 11:00ish, and then started making their way to the tents for bed. One tent fell right asleep, the other tent (of course the one Decota was in) was up all night talking. They were quite loud, so I was very glad my neighbors were out of town. At about 2:00 someone threw-up (I think a combo of being so tired and eating so much junk), which slowed things down a bit. Three girls decided to come inside and sleep on the floor, and the rest went back to the tent and went to sleep- FINALLY. At 7:00 I heard the 1st group of girls start to stir, so I got up and started breakfast. By 7:15 everyone was up and playing in the backyard. We had a great camp breakfast of eggs, hash browns, bacon, and orange juice. I started cleaning up after breakfast, and the girls continued to play until the last person was picked up at 10:00. I kept being told that it was the "greatest slumber party ever". Now I don't know about that, (especially after seeing my friend Laura Krey's Japanese party she threw for her daughter Siena) but it was a pretty fun party. I think Decota really enjoyed herself, and that her friends did too. I am so glad that Rodney was there to say "yes" to the party idea so that my automatic "no" did not interfere. I need to keep that in mind the next time I automatically say "no" to something, at least long enough to really think about it. Now Cambria wants a super fun party. I guess I have 6 months to recoup and come up with an idea! (Anyone got any?)