Sweethearts

Last year, June attended one dance. It was a fun one with a costume theme. She was going to ask a particular guy, but he was already asked. Steven was a great second pick, since he is a fun guy to hang out with. 

The next dance, in January, was also a girls' choice and sadly, that same guy June had in mind was snapped up in no time. June didn't have another person in mind, so she just skipped the dance. 

The February dance (yes, they have a dance almost every month) was Sweethearts. This was boys' choice. June was actually thinking that no one would ask her, but I had a feeling someone might. And sure enough, one evening, the doorbell rang. I went to answer it and we found this on the front porch.

I knew right away it was 'the guy'. They have a chemistry class together. Slowly, we found letters on the starbursts and it spelled out Tyler. Woot! June was super excited. There was a bit of a scramble. She had class with him the next day. But we pulled it all together and she came up with this...

You can't read it, but it is covered with Riesens and it says, "There are so many RIESENS I say" and there was a big arrow pointing to the board, where it said:

Chemistry nerds. So cute. June was very excited. There was some weirdness about the dance. Sweethearts is supposed to be formal, but at the last minute, they also said it was 80s theme. What? June and I went dress shopping and got her a really cute dress and some smashing shoes, but then her group decided to do tie dye. Oh well. We are flexible. (We'll save the dress for another occasion.)

Because it was boys' choice, I wasn't involved in any of the planning. The kids dyed shirts the night before. Then on the day of the dance, they went bowling and ate dinner at one of the boys' houses. They made pizzas. June sent me a picture. I totally picked hers out. She likes mushrooms and NO olives. Turns out Tyler feels the same way.

Also, randomly, one of the boys in their group is the son of our orthodontist. They went to his house for dinner and June's orthodontist was the one who took their pictures. It is a small world. The pictures were super cute. I'm putting all the ones June was in, because I think they are so fun. Check out the shirts they made.

They had so much fun playing UNO and chatting at Tyler's house that they didn't get to the dance until the last hour. But I hear that is the best way to do it. Then when you are tired of dancing, it is time to go home.

I would say this first dance where June was asked was a great success. She got to go with a sweet guy. And there will probably be many more dances in her future.

Fashionistas Again

Ivory turned 13 last month. An official teenager. Tyler and I are outnumbered, but we still hold the higher ground. (Or at least the older ground.) Because it is an odd year, there is the potential for friend parties. Ivory knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted the fashion party that we did for June when she was 13. (It could become a tradition?) But first, let's check out some photos from her actual day. I got her balloons and brought them to school. Ivory didn't appreciate that I thought she was a little like a pineapple...prickly on the outside, but sweet in the middle.

Ives got measured. Not quite five feet but she is getting there. (Still our petite one.)

We didn't get her family gifts, but Grandma Dargan sent a hoodie that Ivory wanted. This may be her favorite gift. She loves otters.

We waited to do cake on her party day. Check out these cute invites Ivory made. She wrapped them with hair ties because that is a fashion accessory. (Get it?)

 As everyone arrived, we played Scream. Yes, I know we play this all the time, but it is a really easy game to add people to and keep people entertained before moving on to a main activity. Don't judge. Oh, and my kids still enjoy it.

Then we loaded everyone into vehicles and took them to Saver's. Tyler happened to be out of town this weekend and we had too many kids for one car, so Ipo came and drove her van. She was a lifesaver. And June drove my kids in the truck. We had a full crew. The girls were already divided onto teams. (We drew colored beads to pick teams.) Let's see who we have searching for the right outfit for Ivory.

TEAM 1

Your mission is to find an ‘accessory’ for Ivory. It can be anything to add a little color or bling. Scarf, necklace, hat, gloves, shoes...you name it. (You can buy more than one item if your money allows.) Did I mention that each team had $10. That can go quite a ways at Saver's.

TEAM 2

Your mission is to find a ‘covering’ for Ivory. Think sweater, hoodie, shawl, jacket, etc. Something that might keep her toasty in this never-ending winter.

TEAM 3

Your mission is to find a ‘top’ for Ivory. Some kind of shirt. It needs to be modest, so no sleeveless ones, unless you have another shirt to go under. Good luck.

TEAM 4

Your mission is to find a ‘bottom’ for Ivory. A skirt would probably be easiest, but if you are brave, you can try for shorts, legging or pants. Be creative.

Ivory was blindfolded the whole time, but she was on sight for size comparisons. I'm not sure how she managed to keep that band over her eyes the whole time, but she did. Most teams didn't have too hard a time. Unfortunately, the shirt crew did not agree. Annie was determined to get Ivory something hideous, but June was rooting for something cute that she could wear over and over.

Robyn was in charge of Ivory. She led her around and made sure she didn't peek. What a great sister.

There is cute Ipo. I'm so glad she helped out. It actually took the girls a lot longer to shop than I expected. Too many choices.

The accessory team struggled. I'm not sure why. There are so many options. Like this cute hat? But no, they ended up getting her a scarf and guess what else?

Yes, crutches. Actually, $4 is a pretty good deal on crutches. Alright ladies, time to buy everything and get back to home base.

Back at our house, I dressed Ivory (still with her eyes closed) and the girls added the accessories. I think she could tell something was up when we put crutches under her arms. But she was a good sport.

Because we bought multiple shirts, we dressed her in multiple layers and it took her a while to find everything. In the end, her favorite item was the bottoms...cute shorts with leggings.

It was a really fun group. We got mermaid sequin kitty ears as a party favor. What is more fashionable than those??

Then Ivory opened gifts while I worked on her 'cake'. (She requested brownies again. Possibly the fourth year running.) June made her a cute card. Ivory's first PG-13 movie that she watched was The Help. She read the book earlier and was so excited for the movie. June's card had a great movie quote.

Time to blow out the candles. Then the girls ate while Ivory finished opening gifts.

We had a chance to play one round of My Team before moms came to pick up kids. I think the party was a success and Ivory is certainly very fashionable now. So, we'll end the evening with some pictures of my cute kiddos. The camera was passed around all evening, so it was fun to look through the photos after.

The best part is that Ivory felt loved and had a great time. She dutifully wore her special outfit to school on Monday. I actually liked everything she got, although I hope she doesn't actually have any use for the crutches for a long time.

Percussive Arts Society

Every March, PAS rolls around again. I'm not sure I have ever called it this before. I think I usually just say it is a Percussion Competition, which it is. Robyn has attended and played the last two years, and this year was no different, except that we added Ivory in there.


There is usually an advanced number, an intermediate number and then a special group. (Although I'm not sure if that is incredibly accurate. I don't always pay attention.) The advanced group this year featured all the 8th and 9th graders. It is a very interesting piece and a bunch of the players move back and forth between the drums and marimbas. You can't see Robyn here in the picture because she is behind a stand and she is short, but in the video you see her stand up. (Please also notice in this picture the old judge. You can see him at the table. He features later.) Enjoy Mozambique.

Next up, we moved over to the other gym. I'm going to miss this building when Robyn is in High School next year. I finally know my way around. In the bigger gym, the intermediate ensemble played. This was all 7th graders. (We have a large group this year.) They played Polo's Candy Machine. I think it was excellent. You can see Ivory in the front, to the left of Mrs. Taylor.

Finally, the special group. Robyn, Tim, and Travis were picked to do a Trio. They did a song called Ragtime Renegades. It is more of a showcasing of percussion skills and do dads than a song, but I liked it nonetheless. The end is really funny when they...well, I'll let you watch. The judges missed it because they were looking down.

I do find it funny that I also recorded a mom recording. (Does that mean I recorded it twice?) Tyler also took a picture of moms recording. We are everywhere.

I think they all did a great job. I managed to snag a photo later of the trio. And one fabulous teacher.

 

And Ivory hauling gear. She is probably not going to do percussion next year, so this may be her only PAS experience.

Sadly, the day didn't end as well as hoped. None of the groups got any awards. Speaking to Mrs. Taylor later, she was shocked. She had heard the other groups, and she thought ours did much better. It comes down to the judges opinions and this particular judge (mentioned earlier) has been in the circuit for a long time and perhaps has some biases of his own. He has been around long enough that Mrs. Taylor was playing for him when she was a kid. Likewise, he seems to think that perhaps women should not be teaching percussion, evidenced by the comment he made to Mrs. Taylor when he said, "Shouldn't you be home with your kids?" (Wow...I can't believe it.) So one judge on one day equaled no awards for our awesome kids. Such is life. I still think they can be very proud of their efforts.

I guess next year, we'll get to see the High School side of PAS. I'm excited.