Surprise!

 This cute girl is turning 12 next weekend! We decided to throw her a "surprise" birthday party. Unfortunately one of her friends spoiled the surprise by telling her she was going to have a birthday party and she was coming. Thankfully her party was planned an entire week before her actual birthday so even though she knew it was coming she was surprised it happened when it did. Dang girls! 

Emily loves to bake and help in the kitchen. So with Maddies help we planned a Cup Cake Wars birthday. I was going to have it at my house but when my mom offered me hers I decided to jump at it. My house is still torn apart! So we had it in Grandma's front yard. 

We served pizza and soda to fill those bellies before the games began. 

I split the girls into 2 different teams to play against each other. 

We had 3 different rounds. Our first round was Halloween. Each girl was given a cupcake and told to decorate it Halloween style. On their tables I had taken a fruit/veg tray and filled each spot with different kinds of candies. Both trays were identical. They had 5 minutes to do this. After 2 minutes some of the girls were almost done so I stopped the clock at 3 minutes. Each table had to pick the best one. Then they each got a new cupcake and had to decorate them exactly the same as the favorite cupcake they had picked earlier. 

These were the final projects. Some of them missed the "exact" same. But they still had fun. 

 Round 2 was a birthday theme. Afterall it is a birthday party.

Each girl got a new cupcake. I told them they again had 3 minutes. However after a minute I stopped them and we had a challenge! Each team had to send one girl to my middle table. I had another tray set up with some fun birthday toppings. The first girl that rolled doubles got to go first at collecting some extra fun goodies to decorate their cupcakes with. There was a catch! They had to wear a oven mit and use tongs to collect their goodies. 

It was so fun to watch these girls get creative!

Our family loves the super hero movies and so we used that as our 3rd theme. 

Having fresh cupcakes the girls were to decorate their cupcake with the new theme. At the dollar store I found the upper bodies of some super heroes. I thought they would be perfect to use as a cupcake topper. Before each round began I would give the girls a new tray with new toppings. After a minute into our new round I stopped them for our last challenge. 

I borrowed my sons nerf bow and arrow and a target. I had one girl from each team do the challenge. It was the birthday girls turn! Her friend did a better job at hitting the target and so Miss Emily had to finish decorating her cupcake wearing a hero mask I took out of my youngest's dress up box. 

They had an additional 2 minutes to decorate and then it was hands up!

 The girls had so much fun! 

I don't know what happened. After our last round I told the girls to go sit on the lawn and that my other daughter and I would bring the gifts over for Emily to open. I turned around and the next thing I knew Miss Emily had been hit with a cupcake or two by her friends. Yuck! I quickly put a stop to that. 

Despite the smashed cupcake on her face and in her hair she had an awesome party!

We had invited 4 of her friends and I spoke to each mom telling them it was a "Surprise" party and asking if their daughter would be able to make it. I made everyone a apron and I wanted the teams to be even. Unfortunately one of the girls never showed up but we still had fun.  

It makes me happy that this sweet girl has friends to hang out with.