Our girls have a little friend's club they enjoy very much called the 776 Gals. (776 is the first part of our phone number for this area). There are seven girls, all ages 10, 11, or 12. Three sets of sisters, and one other girl. They have such a blast together, and they have meetings at each other's houses regularly. They brainstorm things to do to help their community, nation, or world. Its been amazing to see what they can accomplish, and the moms do whatever we can to let them take their ideas and fly with them.
This summer they did a fabulous bake sale, and they sold every last tiny crumb! They made some money, and enjoyed giving to charities, etc.
With some leftover funds, they were trying to decide something fun to do as a club. They had already chosen names for Secret Sisters to exchange Christmas gifts, but had not decided where to meet. While driving in the car with my girls one day, I suddenly thought about using the money to stay at a hotel for a night, together! My girls went wild with ideas, and in a very short time, we had all the other girls and moms on board. I made arrangements with the hotel, and we got a wonderful suite for the night, with bunk beds for myself and the other chaperone ( a close friend of mine) and plenty of floor space for sleeping bags.
Here they are, ready to party!
Checking out the room. Hey, that's OUR bunk beds!
The girls brought egg nog, cookies, and plenty of midnight snacks. They played board games and had their Christmas gift exchange in the room. Such sweet gifts they had! All handmade, and created with such careful planning and much love. They had necklaces, knitted pillows, cookie recipes, homemade CDs, and more. The room was full of giggles and hugs, as they delightedly shared their gifts, squealed with excitement, and thanked one another once again.
Playing Man Bites Dog, a silly sentence game they all love A LOT.
The girls thought it was hilarious that we were having so much fun too. My friend and I climbed up in my top bunk, sat in our jammies and played video games. The girls peeked in, then ran and got the others with cries of "Look at our MOMS!" (in fact, I think we kept the girls awake with our giggling.....and phone wars.......)
Sleep? Huh? You want us to do what? Go to what? Go to SLEEP? (are you crazy, Mom?)
In the hotel elevator in their swim gear, headed for the pool!
Fun in the hotel pool!
I love these girls! They are as sweet as they are cute!
Chillin in the hot tub...
Hanging out at breakfast. The hotel had a yummy breakfast included. The lobby was all decorated for Christmas, so we got to sit and eat around the Christmas tree.
More swimming after breakfast ( we had a very late check-out...the hotel was so nice!)
Everyone had SUCH A BLAST! And all the girls agreed it should be an annual event. I don't know about that, but I'm sure glad they have memories such as these!
(on a side note, you know why its called a "Sleepover"? Because when its all OVER, you can go home and SLEEP. Thats why.)
7 comments:
What an awesome idea!!!! Oh you could see what fun the girls were having in each photo! LOVED the homemade gifts, swimming, playing, and having fun! I too think it should be an annual event, maybe different parents host though so next year you can get a good night's sleep! hee hee :-)
Geri, I had checked out the website you suggested a few months ago, after stumbling upon it, but hadn't bought the online books. Thank you for sharing your story about your special grandma and how the books encouraged you! I think the time has come that I should order them and I wanted to thank you for the suggestion!
Most of all, I wanted to thank you for your encouraging words that lift me up more than you will ever know!
What a special blogger friend you are!!!! :-)
Oh how much fun! That truly looks like a great time and the girls will cherish the memories of these moments together forever.
Thanks so much for your kind words throughout this year- your very recent post was so encouraging and I sincerely appreciate it.
Bless you for being so kind! I hope your Christmas is wonderful and you have a great new year.
How very very special for all these girls!!!!!! I loved reading about this group... I can only imagine their futures together.. sharing all of life's adventures...
Peace!
Those girls look like a big group of sweethearts! What a fun time. And you are a saint to chaperone a sleepover--I'll bet the other parents really appreciated receiving a night off on the last weekend before Christmas!
What a wonderful memory! I want to join that club! You are such a good Mom to go through with these things even when you are exhausted.
Just a quick, "Hello" to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your encouragement Geri! Your comments and wise words have been such a comfort to me, and I wanted you to know how much I appreciate having "met" you! Tom said your card arrived today and I am so excited to read it! Thank you for bringing me peace through your words....I SO appreciate you!
That is such a cool idea and you are a very cool Mom for putting that together! My little girls aren't even 2 yet, but it is ideas like this that make me excited for every year of development!
They look like a great group of girls - it is important that girls find really good pals to support and encourage them. It is very special that your girls have found such great friends!
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