Anatomy of a PreTeen Late Night

Love Sac jumping and dressing up were the surprise activities of the evening for this unseasoned mom. and also sailing down our steep road in our 15 year old wagon

girls not seen in the photo are huddled in the corner, braiding and twisting each other's hair.
girls will be girls

Bryn's carefully crafted busy work suitable for endless conversation as many hands make light work

Lots of Sugar; m&m's, licorice, gummy anything, marshmallow s'mores, Halloween Ore's (all of them inhaled in bulk)

Some miscellaneous junk food; hot dogs on the grill, chips and salsa, "regular chips" and grapes (our one food served in its natural original state)

Water: balloons, hoses, buckets, pitchers
Blow dryers and other hair drying/styling tools: vanity runs rampant between friends
Towels: almost every clean towel in our home was dirtied.

A 'chic flick': The girls chose "Letters to Juliet" and let me watch too. Its been a while since I've viewed anything slightly romantic. As poorly constructed as the movie was, it was perfect for young hearts with clean pure minds.

A 'craft': something to occupy busy hands. These girls braided embroidery floss with myriad color combinations. And they braided each other's hair. And they wore every single dress-up in our huge dress-up collection (which proves these girls are still young teenagers, even pre-teenagers. They still have some girl left in them).

A partner in crime: John was the partner who prepped the house and yard while I cheered Madi at her swim meet. Mandy, my sis, was the partner who stepped out for extra hot dog buns when supplies were running low. An army of 12 year old girls is nothing to be reckoned with alone!

Bryn cleaned and scrubbed, mowed the lawn and made signs and notes so her friends would be directed through the evening's events.

I hope we enjoy many more late nights-its good to see who your kids count as friends, and even better to observe the group as it makes its way through the muddled real-ness of adolescence. And best? Oh, best is seeing your daughter believe for just a few hours on a Saturday night, that you are still her ever-loving, truly devoted, loyal and even sorta cool- in-a-dorky-kind-of-a-way MOM.