Tanner - Party of 17

Next on the update list is our cheerleader sleepover!

Last year, Jana - the other 8th grade cheer sponsor with me at HMS - and I started having a sleepover for their cheerleader Christmas party. This is something I have always wanted to do with the cheerleaders, but living in an apartment did not provide me enough space. (or insulation for noise!) The girls march in the Homewood Christmas Parade on the first Saturday in December each year, so we have the sleepover on the Friday night before and take them to the parade in the morning.

The night began with a group outing. We met at the Summit on Hwy 280 to eat dinner and watch a movie. The 17 girls and 4 adults (Jana and I with our poor husbands) ate at Macaroni Grill, where the girls colorfully decorated their tablecloth with the crayons given to us by our overwhelmed waiter. The highlight of dinner came toward the end. As if the 21 of us did not attract enough attention, the girls decided to make sure the restaurant noticed their table. A young woman was coming around to each table singing opera-style Christmas carols. Upon arriving at our table, the girls did not want to hear "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" or "Silent Night," they wanted "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." She did not get through the first line before all 17 girls were (loudly) singing along with her - and including the hand motions and the funny parts in between the verses. It was not long before the entire restaurant was looking our way - some even standing up or letting their small children stand in their chairs! The girls received quite a round of applause from the restaurant!

After dinner we took a short trip across the shopping mall to see The Blind Side as a group. Trying to find 21 seats together on the second week of the movie opening was difficult. The girls sat together while Jana, Will, Matt, and I sat a few rows behind. The movie was fantastic - all the girls loved it! (If you have not seen it, I strongly recommend it! It is wonderful!) A big surprise met us as we all walked out of the theatre together - SNOW flurries! As we headed to the cars while the girls boisterously sang their "We Rode With Matt" rap, Jana and I quickly caught up on weather updates, which were predicting 1-2 inches of snow and ice throughout the night. We packed the girls up and headed back to the house for more Christmas fun, worried that 17 girls could be snowed-in at our house!

Once arriving at the house, the girls unloaded and unpacked - but not before waking up our neighbors as they sang out in the snow in our driveway. Once inside, many changed into their pajamas and were eager to play! Jana brought items for them to build gingerbread houses, so the girls were broken into groups and got busy! They were VERY competitive, but only one team could win! After building, eating, and then demolishing, we played another game where the girls had to guess facts about their teammates that their mothers shared with us. We wrapped up the night by watching some old dance team and cheer videos of mine and Jana's. It was not long before the girls slowly disappeared downstairs and the rest were asking if they could go to bed!

Second Place!

The Winning House!

Erin is out on our deck around 1:00 am and yes - she is barefoot!

During their sing-along in the den

After a few hours of sleep, Jana and I were up and getting the girls ready for the parade. We were also greeted by quite a bit of snow, since the prediction was just "flurries." The girls took a few moments to walk around and play before heading to the parade. When I called to make sure the parade was still on, the man on the phone was very surprised at my question and almost seemed to wonder if I was joking. We found out shortly it was because Homewood did not get near the snow that we did in Hoover on top of the mountain. After a bitter cold parade with 17 chilly, sleepy girls, we walked back to teammate Riordan's house for breakfast and meeting moms. The girls had a great time, but Jana and I left the breakfast eager for a nap and the SEC championship game!