Daniel goes to Prom

Daniel went to his senior prom on Saturday. He went with Ally, a good friend from school. They were part of a group of 5 couples that went as a group.

The evening started around 4:00 p.m. with photos and then moved on to dinner at Maggiano's Little Italy at Southpoint. Coincidentally, I had delivered a wedding cake to that same restaurant just a few hours before they arrived.

After dinner, they went to Goels Plaza in Morrisville for the dance. Daniel said that it didn't compare to last year's prom there, but they had fun none the less.

They all gathered together at one of the group's house to hang out for the night. They watched a movie (Avatar) and just had fun. I am always thankful for parents who are willing to host this "after prom" activity which keeps my kids safe and off the roads after midnight on Saturday night.

Daniel said he didn't fall asleep until about 4 in the morning, but still made it to church shortly after 9 o'clock on Sunday morning.

Here are some photos for you to enjoy!!

Exchanging Flowers

10 Good Friends Go to the Prom

Daniel and Ally

The "Boys" Shot

The air shot

The Prom-mobile

enough said

Why Me?

Is anyone out there as grateful as me that it's Friday? This week has been particularly hard. Maybe it's the working 10 hours Monday and Tuesday that threw me off, or that I hurt the feelings of someone I really respect, but something feels weird. I am so ready for it to be over. But before that, I've got to get through the weekend. Here's the rundown of the expected (and perhaps unexpected events):

Friday
I'm going on a "campout" with the Activity Day Girls. We'll be in some one's backyard (thankfully). I even made little camp songbooks so we can enjoy the camp songs from yesteryear. We'll be singing such favorites as "Once an Austrian Went Yodelling" and "Sipin' Cider." We'll talk about the Young Women Values (cause the theme we're working on is preparing for YW) and the scriptures associated with them. We'll drink hot chocolate (yum) and enjoy each other's company. I am kind of tempted to bring little rubber bands and braid hair!

Saturday
In the morning we'll get up and have breakfast - that's given! Then we'll make friendship bracelets using the colors of the YW values. I am kind of excited about that part. I had fond memories of making and wearing friendship bracelets. Daniel pointed it out that they won't actually be given to anyone for friendship. Oh well, that's still what they're called, though.

I will hopefully come home and catch up on my shows, laundry, and cleaning. Cleaning my room is a weekend ritual. It wouldn't hafta be if I did it more routinely. I used to be so good at it too. Nerds! I am hoping to start (and possibly finish) the Family Home Evening chart that we'll use. I am excited with the possibilities, plus I've been itchin' to be crafty and this will definitely satisfy the urge. Then I will gear up and get ready for my favorite ballet. I am super excited about it and I know it will be a good thing. I've always love to watch dancing. This is mostly because I am so obviously not a dancer. But I long to be. Do they have grown-up ballet classes? I'd probably be too embarrassed to go if they did.

Sunday
Sunday will be my day of rest. Hurray!!! I look forward to going to church and being partaking of the good spirit that is there. It is also very fun and amazing for the Old Testament to come alive again through Dad's teaching. I am grateful that he's the teacher because it makes my transition to Sunday School from being in Primary a much easier one. And then I will spend a lovely time hanging out with my family and cuddling with Sydney. I love just sitting and talking with them and joking around.

I'm hoping that after this weekend I can feel refreshed and overcome this really awful week. Jada from work says, "You're only what, Catherine?" pause for dramatic effect,"one person; you can only do what you can do." I take things slower and enjoy the week ahead. The End.

The Music of the Night

Last night our darling brother Alex had his last concert of his seventh grade career. Let me first say that I can't believe the little Prince/Special-Olympics Baby is almost 14! It was only yesterday that he was coming out of the bathroom at Laurie Lane with one glove on saying, "I'm Michael Jackson!" or donning sunglasses stating, "I'm the government." Which also reminds me that Christian educated him as to who really killed JFK {the government}. Needless to say he has grown up to quite the squeaky-voice, first pimple-having, always hugging tween.

We all gathered in the Holly Ridge gymnasium (yes, you read that right) for a night of middle school magic. First up was the jazz band. Hearing them I couldn't help but reminisce about the jazz band from our West Lake days. Mom and I agreed that it was phenomenal and Mr. Atkinson was the BEST! The little drummer boy was timid in his cymbal-tapping and almost looked afraid to do his drum rolls. Next came the 6th grade band. My favorite piece was one called Lizards! But mostly because in the middle of it Mom started uncontrollably laughing and finally pointed out to me that for each and every song the band director compiled what she called "Program Notes." These consisted of either a mini book report (all excerpts that seemingly came from Wikipedia) or words that requested emotions to be felt while listening to the music. Her laughter came from the aforementioned song's notes. Here's a taste:

"Lizards! is a musical representation of the reptiles characterized by a sleek body, scaly skin, tail and four legs. Many of these creatures live in hot, dry regions of the world, but they may also be found in rain forests, prairies, marshes, streams, underground burrow and rocky areas. [uh, so basically anywhere]...The fascinating part to observe is how quickly some of the creature scamper over logs, rocks, tree trunks and the open ground. Lizards! simply tries to capture some of the many facets of the remarkable reptiles."

And then came the beloved 7th graders. Alex was so adorable with his little band mates! There were many of them which produced a beautiful sound. Mom and I could point out the parts that we heard Alex practice over and over again. Overall the 7th grade band was the best. Thankfully they didn't have any song called Lizards! but they did do a swell medley called Disney's Magical Marches which Mom and I sang a little too loudly Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and the Mickey Mouse Club theme song. So thinking that we could leave after the 7th graders, Daniel and I made plans. Then we realized that they trap you by combining all of the bands and playing what the band director called "The Grand Finale" which I will subtitle with, "ha, ha, we trapped you here for 2 hours and you hafta sit through this last one."

Mary's Birthday Pics - Now you feel like you were there!

Ka-razy Kids

Last night at FHE I must confess that we (mostly Daniel & Alex) were being a tad unruly. Daniel and Alex were wrestling and making all sorts of commotion. Then Dad looked at them and said, "Imagine when EIGHT kids were doing this during home evening." Then it dawned on me again - Mom and Dad had to deal with eight kids at FHE every Monday night being unruly, rambunctious, and annoying. I say "again" because we sit in front of a couple a church with four kids all under the age of (I'm guessing) six. And the mom is preggers. She looks like she's around my age too. Even the Grandma was there to help, but those kids were all over the place. I just kept sitting trying to listen to the testimonies but my thoughts wandered to a time when Mom and Dad had to deal with all of us at church. And I'm pretty sure we didn't sit there quietly reading our gospel-oriented books. Although I do recall getting our own notebooks to drawn in/on. Alls I'm saying is, we're not the crazy kids, our parents were crazy kids! They were young and had all us kids. But seriously, what I'm really saying is that our parents have hoped all things, have endured many things, and I'm sure, hope to be able to endure all things! So I'm giving a shout out to them! I can barely make myself sit still during church & FHE, let alone a kabillion kids.