Happy 11th Birthday, Alyssa Rae!

Can you believe it?!? We sure can't! How can it be that our very own Miss Alyssa has turned 11 already!?! She's our baby! But a baby no longer - she is turning into quite a young lady and will be off to middle school come fall! She is quite excited at the prospect. It has been a challenge for her to wait and watch her big sis gain her independence and get to do all sorts of new things while little sis watches from the sidelines. She is so ready to spread her wings...sigh...as mom and dad watch from the sidelines as now our two "goosers" become more and more grown up before our eyes! Ah....snap yourself out of it, Mom!

Like everything she does, Miss Alyssa likes to party dramatically as well, and this year was no exception. So, her dad and I were most brave and allowed her to invite a few of her most special friends for a sleepover to help her celebrate being a decade plus one! Six pre-adolescent girls in one house! Whew! But, being the smart mom that I am, I acquiesced when Alyssa suggested the girls go to open gym at one of our local gymnastics locations for a couple of hours. Yep, let's just say that by the time we got home at 9:00 and they hopped into the hot tub for a little soak and some ghost stories, all was quiet by no later than 12:30 a.m. Thankfully, no bad dreams or bouts of homesickness!

So here's to a new year of memories with the youngest member of the Crawford clan...our "Sissa Rae"!