It was the most hastily-planned party ever. (I'm into record-setting!) Evelyn really wanted to have a sleepover with friends in the teepees at RVR. And that sounded like fun to me!
October was busy, and on Oct.26th I sent an e-vite for an Oct. 30th sleepover. Miraculously, 11 girls were able to attend!
Instead of bags of candy as favors (how could we do that to parents the night before Halloween?), Evelyn chose dollar-store mugs, personalized them artistically using sharpies, and filled them with packets of hot cocoa and glow sticks. We thought it was pretty cool.
I wish I had more pictures of the night time picnic on the top level of the RVR treehouse, where we had apple crisp by candlelight (the battery-operated kind) and drank hot chocolate with cool whip in our mugs (which we re-used in the morning to drink hot apple cider around the fire.)
We popped Jiffy Pop over the fire (which demands a good bit of perseverance!) and played "Guesstures." They were energetic but polite and well-behaved, which was good since I was flying solo as the only grownup.
We took a late night walk through the woods to a clearing where the moon was so bright it cast shadows. The flash on my camera was even brighter, though, as shown by my attempt to photograph Evelyn and her friend, Colette. I wish I had more pictures of the whole thing! The girls were FILTHY, the night was COLD (about 34 degrees!), and a few girls ended up getting in bed with one another. But we all had so much fun. And I didn't even come close to over-feeding anyone (I'm great on the camping and fire-lighting part of stuff like this, but lacking in the snack department.) Again, good thing their parents picked them up in time to go trick-or-treating the next day!
On Evelyn's actual b-day, two weeks prior, we did our traditional opening of presents first thing in the morning. Aunt Betty, Grandma & Grandpa Blackman, and Aunt Becky all send gifts that Evelyn enjoyed unwrapping. Aunt Betty wrote this book about the Paraguayan lace called Nanduti.
If you ever send Evelyn a card, she will read - and savor - every word. She is savoring her Old Navy card from Grandma and Grandpa, and she LOVED the American Girl goodies from Aunt Becky!
She was given the last diary that her Great Grandma Lucille Evelyn ever used. Great Grandma wrote faithfully in a diary every day for years. This last one, however, was lightly used, as it was hers at the very end. But her name sake has already been writing in it. :)
An 11 year old person. Wow. Evelyn, you continue to awe us with your open and sincere heart. You are creative and energetic, and you love reading, writing, and playing. Your teachers love you and you love them right back. Because you live life in High Gear, you are often hot and hungry, but it is a joy to feed you, cool you, and know the rewards of having you in our lives.
Happy Birthday!
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