Savannah turned 13! It's official...she's a teenager. Luckily she's proving to be atypical--she's still sweet and not talking back to us...yet. ;) We're so grateful to have Savannah's endless supply of hugs, cooking, creativity, craftiness, and love! So glad she was born!
I feel bad that it seems that around the kids' birthdays, we're always transitioning from one post to another, going on R&R, on home leave, or friends are on vacation or have moved away. So we celebrated Savannah's birthday early before school got out. That plan worked out well. We had all of her good friends from ISL and the neighborhood come and support her. In about a week and a half (I was busy with the packout and was slow to finalize plans!), we pulled together the invitations, plans, decorations, and food. We decided on a movie theme.
Here are Savannah's words:
My family has a birthday policy: One year we have a party, with friends and family. The next year, we have a small party, with only family. My 13 birthday was one of the years that I could have a party. The theme was movies. It was amazing.
Without realizing it, we had a balloon store less than a mile away. So, right before the party started, we got some red, black, and silver balloons and hung them around.
Another thing that we had, was trays that we found at a party store.
On the dining room table, we had nachos, cake, and fruit, and then drinks were set on a “concession stand” that we made from 2 benches, one right on top of another. We also put candy on the shelves. So everyone could get their trays and fill it up with the goodness from the dining room table and then drinks and candy from the “concession stand.”
On the dining room table, we had nachos, cake, and fruit, and then drinks were set on a “concession stand” that we made from 2 benches, one right on top of another. We also put candy on the shelves. So everyone could get their trays and fill it up with the goodness from the dining room table and then drinks and candy from the “concession stand.”
After everyone got to our house, we played a few games. One was a game of rolling dice and trying to get doubles. If you got doubles, you could pick a piece of candy from the pile, or you could steal a piece from someone else. It was really fun! We also played a game with 2 teams where we competed to see who could recognize a movie theme song and what movie it was from. I think everyone had fun!
After the games, we filled up our trays with food (nachos, muddy buddies, and fruit) and candy from the concession stand and moved into the family room, where we had pillows and blankets on the floor to watch Freaky Friday, the 2003 version. Nobody had seen it before, so we all loved it. My mom suggested the movie and I’m so glad she did.
After the
movie, my friends wanted me to open my presents. They gave me the sweetest gifts. They know everything I like so the gifts were
perfect!
Zara always talks about how much smaller she is than her friends, especially me. So she was happy to stand on the step ladder and be taller than me.
Zara always talks about how much smaller she is than her friends, especially me. So she was happy to stand on the step ladder and be taller than me.
When the movie finished, we hung out on the trampoline outside until everyone left. When we were hanging out, I had everyone write in my “S book.” It’s literally a book shaped as an S, and I let people write notes in it, right before I leave places.
Tired mama and girls. We had so much fun, thanks to my mom. She is a superstar. :)
And the aftermath:
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