Princess Party Success!

On Saturday my sisters and I threw a Princess Party Fundraiser for the Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA) in honor of my nephew Anthony. It went great! We had a great turnout (we filled both our lunch sessions up), the girls and parents had a great time, and we raised over $1,300.

We had Cinderella and Snow White there for the girls to take pictures with, as well as face and fingernail painting. We also had games like "Kiss the Frog" and "Fish the Moat" to win princess prizes. Lunch was served and we finished with a red carpet fashion show. The girls all received a flower as well as an autograph book with autographs from the princesses.

It was a ton... a TON of work but so good to do it. Imagine the time it takes to plan a wedding reception, plus having to solicit all the businesses to donate what you need. See what I mean about work? But besides the money and being able to support Anthony's cause in all this, the greatest blessing that came from it was the unity it brought to my family. My sister Julia put together the greatest face-painting station you ever saw and drove all the way from Perry to help. Tina helped us with party-favors and put together a nail-painting station on the spur of the moment. My mom did all the food and came more-than-prepared, like always. Even those far away contributed. My sister-in-law Marilyn made hair clips for all the girls and sent a centerpiece, and my sister Emily sent glitter for the face painting. And last but not least, my sister Laura. Laura was my partner in crime and I couldn't have done it without her. And I feel I can say she couldn't have done it without me. We were a great team.  We all earned honorary princess tiaras together.

And that doesn't even mention the family and friends that donated prizes, money, time, and came to support our cause. It's so amazing to see the generosity in people in situations like this.

Princess Nayeli with Snow White and Cinderella

Funny story: we were running around before the event trying to get ready and Julia asked me if she could put a princess dress on Nayeli. I said "No" because I was stressed and didn't want to think about it. About a half-an-hour later I went to go find Nayeli and to my surprise... she was wearing a princess dress and her face was painted! What?! I laughed and laughed because she looked so cute and content. I told Julia my children will never be allowed to visit her because they'll have so much fun with her they won't want to come home :)

The girls who were Snow White and Cinderella are both elementary school teachers at my nieces school. They were fantastic. The Cinderella had been Cinderella at Disney World for a few years before she began teaching. She knew all the poses (see the above photos), the lingo, etc. It was the cherry on top and I think the girls loved it.