"Alyssa's 13th Birthday Party"

My 'baby' girl will become a teenager this Thursday, November 12th. (It's hard for me to believe!)

So, we celebrated her birthday this past weekend at the TN Safari Park in Alamo. Everyone had a blast!! It was such a fun opportunity to see and feed animals that you normally wouldn't.

Alyssa was so excited that she fed a giraffe; zebra; ostrich; and, many others.

If you are in this area, I highly recommend checking this place out. The owners are very nice and have a great establishment.

Once you pay at the ticket booth, you have the opportunity to do a 'walk around' with some of the animals and feed them (i.e. the giraffe, lambs, pot-belly pigs, etc.), then you get in your car and drive through the safari area, where the animals come up to your car window and you feed them. This is when Alyssa fed an ostrich, llamas, zebras, etc. If you are interested, check out their website!

"Banner"

I just had to post this adorable banner that Alyssa's Aunt Maggie made for her and sent in a box full of 'surprises'.

Aunt Maggie always makes all kinds of adorable things, but as soon as Alyssa saw this, she fell in love and immediately wanted it hung above her bed.

I might add that, for as long as I can remember, Aunt Maggie has made Alyssa a 'special' pillowcase every year, just for her. And, along in the box full of 'surprises', was a pillowcase.

So, Aunt Maggie, thank you! Always know that these treasures are keepsakes for Alyssa!!

"Green Gables"

My dear daughter has been in the production of Green Gables at school this past weekend and we've been very busy, busy! I am so proud of her and all the cast for the awesome job they have done. They still have two more times to perform on Wednesday (for the school), and then they will be done. They have all worked so hard and done great!

Alyssa loves being in the dramas at school -- it's one of her favorite things!! I've posted just a few pictures below from the weekend showings!

"Dave Ramsey Box"

I decorated this box for my daughter, Alyssa.

She received the Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace, Jr. kit for Christmas from an Aunt & Uncle, and it contained 3 'envelopes'. . .Save, Give, and Spend. So, since she's wanting to be more responsible, we decided this envelope system would work great for her.

I took an egg box from Papertrey, and decorated it with fun patterned paper from Doodlebug. Then, to finish it off, I added ribbon, her name on top and, some rhinestones. Ta-Dah.

Now, it's ready to hold her 3 envelopes and the small calculator, that also came with the kit.

"Girls, Girls, Girls!"

This is a photo of Alyssa and all of the "girls" from her party Friday night!! The only two that did not sleepover was precious little Amber (in front) and Alyssa's cousin, Lauren (on right).

Everyone had a blast! They ate pizza; watched movies; made crafts; and, when they got sleepy, they dropped like flies! heehee

The main thing to me was Alyssa loved her birthday party/sleepover and I survived!LOL

"Fun-Filled Friday!"

This is Alyssa's 12th birthday cake! Even though her birthday was last week, she came down with the flu and was unable to have her birthday party/sleepover until tonight.

So, I brought four girls home from school with Alyssa today and it has been wild ever since! heehee Tonight we'll be having a "Camp Rock" theme party, complete with the movie and popcorn.

Alyssa's adorable cake was decorated by Monica, the pastry chef/owner of Dumplins Restaurant in Jackson. I thought it turned out so cute with the guitars and music notes. Alyssa and her girlfriends definitely thought it was cool.

I've posted below a photo of the party favor cups I fixed for Alyssa and the girls. I found these adorable cone-like cups at the Dollar Tree and filled each with different lotions, candies, pencils, bath fizzies and a Camp Rock bracelet. The girls loved them!
















Lastly, I thought it would be fun to do some crafts with the girls. So, I've planned out three different ones, and below I've posted one. I got the small acetate holders from Clear Dollar Stamps, along with the Seal stamp. The holder hold exactly three Hershey's kisses. So, I made a tag for the girl's that reads: "Sealed with a kiss" and they can adhered the stamped seal at the bottom, before tying it to the holder. I thought it would make a cute gift for them to take home. The other two crafts they are doing are covering/decorating mini composition books and making homemade lipgloss.

Someone say a prayer, I have a feeling it is going to be a long night! LOL

*permission was granted for the cake photo to be posted*

"Happy Birthday, Alyssa!"

Today is my baby's 12th birthday!! I cannot believe she's almost a teenager!! She is growing into such an awesome young woman. I am so proud of her!

I took this picture this morning before school. She opened a few presents before breakfast, and my mom is planning on visiting her at school, during lunch, with treats. So, I'm hoping she'll have a fabulous day!

Her birthday party/sleepover is planned for this weekend!

"Homecoming Picture"

The pictures came in from the Homecoming Dance that Alyssa went to few weekends ago. This was my favorite shot!

My first thought, when looking at the photo, was that she was sitting in a wheelchair! But, she explained that it was a "director's chair", since it was a Hollywood theme! (Gosh mom, don't you know anything!?!?! heehee)

Anyway, I thought the picture turned out great!!

"First Dance"

Alyssa went to her first dance at middle school Friday night. It was the Homecoming Social. She was soooo excited! Her cousin, Lauren, came over to get her all fixed up, while I, of course, took pictures. Alyssa and her girlfriends had a blast and danced until midnight!!

"Seeing Clearly Now"

My baby had to get glasses and, even though I'm a little bias, I think she's the cutest thing ever!!

I took Alyssa for her normal check-ups before starting school, and come to find out, she is 'moderately' near-sided. (I was so hoping she'd take after her Dad on this one, because, unfortunately, I'm blind as a bat without my glasses!!)

Anyway, the girls at Dr. Brewer's office help her pick out these 'cool' glasses. So, what do you think? Cute, or what?!?!

"Locker 101"

Here are a few of the things I decorated to get Alyssa's locker in top form for 6th grade!

*The magnetic purple holder was from Dollar Tree and I added a huge prima flower, then her initials with rub ons.

*The magnetic mirror in the frame also came from Dollar Tree. I, again, added primas, and glued plastic alphas to the top.

*She loved the wooden frog I got at Hobby Lobby, so, I glued a mini clothespin to the back, with magnet, so she can clip any messages to it!

*I had to frame a picture of her & best friend, Heather, for both, their lockers!

*And, of course, do you remember last year's chipboard "a", that I covered? Well, for now it's will serve another year! heehee

"Mulan"

Well, I've been in a whirlwind with Alyssa getting through her school's Disney Mulan play, but it has so been worth it!! They finally had their last show for the public this afternoon, however, they will do a couple more shows for their classmates Monday and Tuesday. This is my first time being a 'theater mom', so all I can say is WOW! I am so proud of how awesome the whole cast performed!! The play was sold out almost every evening -- if you didn't have reserved seating, you were lucky to get a seat! Talking about some proud mommas! LOL I volunteered to work behind the scenes, helping any way I could. Well, let's just say, I had no idea what I was getting myself into! heehee However, I wouldn't miss volunteering in Alyssa's projects for anything!!

Enough babbling, I wanted to post some photos from the play! Some are behind the scenes and some are of the actual play.

"Girls Night Out"

Alyssa and I had a 'Girls Night Out' Friday night! We drove to Dyersburg for the opening night of the Hannah Montana 3-D movie! It was a mad house there! The local news channel even showed up! We had a blast! It was, by far, the coolest thing I've seen in a theater! The movie was sold out and the theater was filled with girls, who, by the way, knew every word to every song! LOL Alyssa thought it was very cool and that is definitely what mattered the most!!

Alyssa with her 3-D glasses on!

"Locker Necessities"

My dear daughter, Alyssa, will be heading into the 5th grade soon, which means that we are leaving elementary and entering middle school. Even though this comes with new responsibilities, it also comes with new 'perks'. One of the perks is having her own locker for the first time. So, I decided to decorate these mini, magnetic corkboards, with ribbon, for Alyssa and her best friend to hang in their lockers.

"Howdy, Partner"

Today was Alyssa's first day of horse camp! This is definitely a first for us...she is usually cheerleading. We bought her a new pair of boots, a new 'horse' t-shirt and a riding helmet and off we went. This is a picture of her first thing this morning...all fresh and new to this. However, if you could have seen and smelled her this afternoon, it was a totally different picture! LOL Surprisingly, she was thrilled that she got to clean out horse stalls. She has the rest of the week to go, and I hope come Friday, she will be as happy, dirty and smelly as today!