Life of a Christian Teen: Sweet 16 Surprise Birthday Party

Back in November, Hannah came to me and mentioned the idea to have a surprise brithday party for her sister Sarah and my sis Cassia. They are both turning 16 this year and because neither of them really would feel comfortable planning thier own parties, we took the challenge upon ourselves. When Hannah first mentioned the idea, I told her it was a great idea. But I didn't even imagine that we would actually do it. Now, while Sarah doesn't snoop through her sister's stuff. Cassia does. A lot of the papers that had plans written on them came home with me. During one of my phone conversations with Hannah, we found out that Cassia was listening in. We quickly told her that it was for Sarah and later I wrote in my journal that it was for Sarah and not for Cassia. Cassia read it and believed us!! As the months went on, we made more and more plans, getting other girls to help make invitations, get decorations, and assigning people to what they were going to be doing. Even though things were happening, I still didn't actually believe that it was going to possibly happen.
That week, Hannah and I rushed to finish the last few things. I was continuously texting, calling, and emailing different people.
Saturday morning dawned as the perfect party day. It was warm and sunny and the day was clear. The night before, I had typed up a bunch of stuff for the party. When I tried to print it all out, I found that the printer was completely out of ink. So, Saturday moning, I went and wrote everything out. It took me ages!! Like, seriously, about an one to two hours! When I finally finished that, I called Hannah and Nina to finish the last few details and then Mom took us three girls out to meet the Daires for lunch at the Apple Tree Inn. All through lunch, Hannah and I exchanged looks that showed each other how nervous we were. After lunch, we went out to the gift shop and looked around for a little while. Mom and Mrs. Daire worked on the bill as we girls waited in the gift shop. At long last, our mothers came out and Mom "invited" Mrs. Daire over for "coffee." Mrs. Daire said that she would "love to come for coffee" and neither Cassia or Sarah caught on. Hannah, Jessica, and I, though, all smiled knowingly at each other. We got Sarah and Hannah into our van and Mrs. Daire and Jessica followed in their car. Mom drove SO SLOWLY that I was afraid that Cassia would pick up on our secret. Hannah and I kept looking at each other and getting REALLY nervous!!!!
When we finally pulled into the driveway and Mom had parked, Cassia said that she really had to use the bathroom and change her skirt. Hannah quickly said that she too "had to use the bathroom." We went flying to the house and stopped in the backroom. All the girls were standing on the boys' stairs and we exchanged excited hi's. Mom and Mrs. Daire tryed to get Cassia and Sarah inside at the same time, but it was VERY difficult, because Cassia moves faster than Sarah. Sarah finally came in and Cassia was still out on the porch. She saw the 'Happy Birthday' banner in the kitchen window and became quite confused. We quickly pulled her inside and I got in front of Sarah. She passed the boys' stairs without even seeing the girls. I pushed her back and then all the girls yelled "Surprise!" Cassia and Sarah looked and saw all the girls and were speechless. Literally, for like 5 minutes!! It was totally awesome! Cassia went over to mom and said, "What is going on?" Mom answered, "It's Sarahs' party." "I didn't know it was today," Cassia told her. "Yeah, it's yours too!" Mom informed her pushing her back over to the girls. I will never forget their faces. Neither of them show a lot of emotion, so just seeing them staring at these girls without speaking was enough for everyone to know they were surprised!
We had an awesome afternoon playing games, eating, sharing memories or advice, and just having a awesome time together! I was so blessed to see so many of their friends show up. One girl, who used to be our neighbor, was there and we haven't seen her in several years. Seeing her was so awesome and all the other girls who we see at church all the time were also such a blessing. I was so grateful that they showed up, happy to show Cassia and Sarah that they're loved. We got lots of pics, so here's a few.