This is our first sleep over. It brought back all kinds of memories from when I was little and would have and go to slumber parties all the time. It was fun to be the mom this time and plan the party (although at 2am it wasn't' fun to be the mom!).
Here is Nicholas with his friends Tommy, Miguel, Andrew and James. This is one of the only times these 8 year old bundles of energy sat down (eating pizza was the other time)
Zachary was welcomed by these guys to participate in all the festivities - and I think he had more fun than he thought he would!
Dinner was easy - throw some pizza, chips, fruit (ok, that is mom trying to have something healthy on the table), and rootbeer in front of them and have them go to town. Their parents have done a great job, these boys used good manners, said please and thank you and a few even asked for milk for strong bones. Mrs. Vallas, their school principal would be proud.
Dessert time ... time to light some more candles and sing Happy Birthday. Remember, I have been practicing cupcakes and fillings ... check these chocolate ones out with a mouse frosting with chocolate fudge drizzled over them ... yum. Nicholas gives his seal of approval!
Blow out all the candles ... there are 8 this year!
Now comes the fun part - let's invade the playroom! We have a great room that is made for sleep overs ... pull out sofa, TV with the Wii and DVD player, lots of room for sleeping bags and pillow fights!
The boys all brought their Nintendo DSs and were playing Pokemon and other games - helping each other get to the next level most of the evening.
Playing the Wii
Nicholas is so excited this night is finally here!
Big brother Zachary controls the remote (so what's new?)
These boys stayed up ALL night! I think Dad finally lost it about 2am, when they were still running down the hall and being quite loud. Amazingly Katie slept through the whole thing. Sunday will be a day of rest and naps, at least for the parents! Here they are before bed - or at least, they are in their PJs with their teeth brushed.
The next morning, the kids were more awake than I thought they would be. I put on my best June Cleaver apron and made them all homemade waffles with Ms. Chipman's (Nicholas' teacher) family recipe. So yummy! We had fresh fruit to put on them, homemade whipped cream (left over from the cupcakes), chocolate sprinkles and hash browns. 
Then we took them all to church. I don't know how large families get so many kids out the door every day - it just about did Johnny and I in to get 7 kids up, dressed, fed and loaded in the car. But we made it to church before mass started. We had a tired pew of little boys - I think that is the quietest they have been at church since Tommy's sleep over! Even Katie was good. I think she liked having the extra kids sit with us. Then we delivered the boys to their moms (sorry for the lack of sleep and sugar high ladies!) and went home and crashed!! Such fun memories ...