Times have definitely changed. Rebecca and Jenny opted to stay in one of the third-floor guest bedrooms instead of staying in the lounge and sleeping on the sectional sofa like they always did before. Emma, Lindsay, and Geraldine Sheldon were happy about that because they decided to camp out in the lounge instead. Geraldine and her brother, Jimmy, had been late additions to the list of campers after Lindsay made the request to have her best friend along, and Jimmy was included so he didn’t feel left out.
The sleepover party got started after school when Emma and Benjamin came home with Rowen and me. Mom had a snack waiting for us, and after giving her the daily school update; the four of us took the twins over to the park to play for a while and give Mom a chance to have a break that included some Jacuzzi time to get ready for her date with Dad. We picked Patrick up from the store on the way home, and Rebecca and Jenny joined us there shortly after we got back.
Mom went with the kid-favorite pizza and wings for dinner, and got our Friday night fun off to a great start. Alicia and her friends came over just as we were getting started on the cleanup; and took over watching everyone except Ethan and Ehlana while Dad helped Mom with feeding the twins before handing them off too and going to get ready for their Halloween party. Most of the stores in town were open late on Fridays; but the rest of our guests were dropped off before Mom and Dad were ready to leave for the pub. Naomi was first, followed by Scott and Lindsay Faulkner; Jimmy and Geraldine Sheldon; and finally, Michael and Tim.
The girls outnumbered the guys, so the six boys (not including Ethan) were going to use my lounge for their baseball and video gaming entertainment while the girls and babies had the extra space in the living room for our movie night. They were upstairs and taking turns playing games before Mom and Dad went out, but we waited until after they’d been sent off with a round of hugs and kisses before starting our first movie.
Rebecca and Jenny seemed a bit bored, but we started out with some Halloween cartoons for the younger kids, and then Emma, Lindsay, and Geraldine picked Spooky Buddies for our first feature film. While they were borderline too-cool for little kid shows, Rebecca and Jenny were happy to hang out with Alicia and her friends and help out with Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi.
Mom had stocked the lounge with the usual snacks and drinks, and Michael, Tim, and the other boys were well on their way to emptying my little fridge and the cupboards when we took a movie break; and Rowen and I helped Alicia get Olde Bakery treats warmed up and take plates upstairs for them. Our sleepover supervisors had checked in on the boys regularly, and I was happy to see that they hadn’t totally trashed the room. Watching bakery treats being devoured by a pack of boys was Halloween scary, so we left them to do that and get back to their baseball game.
We watched two more movies in the living room before Alicia and her friends recruited Rebecca and Jenny to help, and started the lengthy process of getting the rest of us ready for bed and off to sleep for most of us. Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi required one-on-one attention, so while Alicia took care of getting the six boys into the three second-floor guest rooms; Rebecca and Jenny helped with the babies, and Rowen and I had one teen helper to get the lounge cleaned up and ready for Emma, Lindsay, and Geraldine while they used my room to get changed.
Once that was done, and Rowen and I had gotten changed too, we sat in the lounge and talked with the three younger girls for a half hour before they were all either ready to sleep or were already out for the night. Mandy opted to stay cuddled with Emma when we went into my room and got into bed; and Rowen and I have been talking while I’ve been doing my usual nightly computer check. We can hear the boys still awake and fired up; mostly because the Cardinals won the game and World Series Championship. Naomi and the twins will be sleeping soon, though, so Alicia will likely put an end to that so the boys don’t wake them.
We ended up watching another Halloween show on Rowen’s computer while I’ve been working; so we were at least awake, if not prepared when Michael and Tim launched a late-night prank on us. The monster-masked duo did manage to successfully scare Rowen and I, but the boys probably got the worst of the deal when Alicia, Rebecca, and Jenny came to investigate the noises they’d heard from the living room and found Michael and Tim sitting on my bed while gloating over how scared we’d been. All four of us were teased about it, but Michael and Tim made a very hasty, red-faced exit. Rebecca and Jenny had a few more zingers for Rowen and me, but it was also as close as we’d been in months to a best-friends moment; so we were happy to just have fun with them before they went back downstairs to hang out with Alicia and her friends.
It’s nearly two, and Mom and Dad probably won’t be home for another half hour or more depending on when their party wraps up. Rowen and I are planning on being up in time to help them with Ethan, Ehlana, and Naomi, so I’m going to wrap this up and Rowen’s already put her computer away and snuggled under the comforter. Up next on the fun schedule – the Haunted Halloween walk tonight!