Mall Mania

Today, my Darlin' Gal turned 12! Where does the time go?! It seems as if she was born only a few years ago, not more than an entire decade! This year we seem to have crossed the bridge from toys to tween items. She received more "girl stuff" (clothes, polish, jewelry, bath & body items!) than I think she'll ever be able to use.

We celebrated her birthday at the mall this year, it was quite an event. I decorated her cake to look like a purse - I was pretty pleased with my attempt, so I thought I'd share a picture of the cake with you. We also gave out little bags of lip glosses for party favors!

Birthdays seem to be a national event in our household. I'd like to place the blame elsewhere, but - being the extrovert - it is entirely my fault! Instead of inviting a few girls to a simple party, we had a weekend entirely devoted to Darlin'!

To begin with, she brought in her favorite cookies to school to share (Cocoa Kiss Cookies), followed by a sleep over with 3 friends. That's enough you say (well, that's what my Mom said!) Nope, apparently not enough for me & my Darlin'!

To top that off, we planned a Mall Mania party. 15 girls arrived eagerly anticipating the scavenger hunt. We had 3 groups of girls scouring the mall to find certain things at various stores. Some things were easy, like counting the puppies in the pet store. Others were a bit harder, like "Where is Winter's End?" (Can you guess? Check the bottom of this post for the answer!)

The girls (and Moms) all seemed to have a blast scurrying through the mall for an hour trying to find all the answers, as well as the best deals for under one dollar. We gave each girl $1.00 with the mission of finding something they thought Darlin' would like best. The winner got a $5 gift certificate to Claire's (typical girly store) and the rest got to keep their finds. It was a great way of giving all the girls a little something extra as a party favor, too! Look at all the cute stuff they found at the mall for under $1.00. Awesome sales!

Today, being her actual birthday, we took her out to a yummy lunch after church at the Olive Garden. She also got to bring in a treat of munchkins to celebrate with the Jr. High Youth Group in the evening. The party never ends and it sure makes life memorable!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DARLIN'!

In case you were wondering, the Winter's End sale can be found at Land's End in Sears!