Happy 11th Birthday Lauren

I can't think of a better way to come out of my blogging hiatus then to share about my baby girl's birthday.   

Somehow, without my permission or me actually aging at all, she turned ELEVEN years old.

Happy Birthday Lauren! 

She chose KFC for her special birthday dinner.

 Instead of cake she wanted Banana Splits.

(singing)

...Happy Birthday to Lauren,

Happy Birthday to You.

She got some great gifts from her family.

Not pictured are the numerous checks (cash money) she received from out of town family.

(Hopefully you've all received your Thank You notes.)

For her friend party, Lauren wanted to go to the MALL.

(She really did turn 11?! sniff)

She made out invitations to two of her closest friends.

The weekend after her birthday we made it happen.

Z and L came over and requested Lauren open her presents before we head out for the Mall.

(She received some cash to spend and also a Justice gift card.)

Awesome!

Load 'em up!

We live on one side of town but the best mall, in my opinion, is on another side of town so off we went for a 60 minute car ride.

To break up the ride and grab some lunch we stopped at The VARSITY.

This place was an absolute zoo but that's to be expected when you serve burgers, dogs and greasy fries.  Heaven.

All three girls must have gotten something in their eyes at the same time.  I can't imagine why they wouldn't smile for the camera.

(hmm....11 year olds.....)

It was Game On when we got to the mall.

These girls didn't stop.  I'm pretty sure we hit every tween store and every tween department in every store and then some. We shopped for 3 1/2 hours straight.  The time flew by, the girls had so much fun, and they all came home with some really cute stuff.  

After we shopped till we dropped we stopped at California Pizza Kitchen for dinner.

It was a 60 minute wait for a table for 6 but they said they could get us in quicker if we were willing to take two booths next to each other instead.

I asked the girls if they wanted to eat by themselves and before I finished the sentence they said, "YES!!"

(hmm....11 year olds.....)

They were right behind us but I think they felt pretty grown up.

(btw: The wine bottle is just decoration and Lauren bought her glasses at Claire's.)

Back at home they played some Super Smash Bros. on the Wii before bed.

It was a fun packed sleep-over and I look forward to many more as we navigate these tween and teen years.

The next day, after her friends went home, Lauren laid out all her loot she bought at the mall.

Not bad, not bad at all.

She was excited to finally fit into clothes at American Eagle and I was excited that the only clothes she could fit into were the t-shirts!

With her extra birthday money she bought herself a pair of high-top Converse sneakers on-line.

I also once wore Converse high-tops so I had my Mom send a picture.

I think she wears them better.

(but I was kind of cute in a middle-school-awkward sort of way, right?!)

In conclusion, all her Daddy and I need to say is...

Happy Birthday Lauren!

We love you and are looking forward to all the great things being ELEVEN will bring!