Junior Prom

Last month was Dominic's Junior Prom...

CRAZY!

I remember my Junior Prom Night very vividly.

Thank God Dominic is a different kid than I was!

 

A couple months back a girl in Dom's Chemistry class (a Sophmore) asked him if he would take her to Prom. After some thought, he told her that he would.

A few weeks later, after some coaching by a few girlfriends, Dom realized he had to officially ask this girl.

What?!?!

Apparantly the "asking" part is a really big deal!

So Dominic got creative. At work one day he made these up...

And the following day he asked his 1st Period teacher if he could be excused, went to Mayra's French classroom, interupted the class, walked up to her desk, where she was seated in the front, bent down on one knee, and opened the box.

She was all smiles and by 2nd Period Weights everyone had heard about it.

GO DOM!

 

The day finally came...and I am slowly coming to realize just how grown up my young man is!

However, he still needed me to help him figure out the cufflinks and the double buttons in the shirt.

Yay! He still needs me for some things!!!

And...we had a shoe debacle.

When he put the shoes on, they were HUGE!!!

Thank the Lord that The Men's Wherehouse is only 3 mins from our house, Mayra was running late, and they were all meeting just around the corner for pictures!

It all worked out and these kids looked AMAZING!

Dominic, the twins on his left, and Chris (far left) have been best friends since 2nd Grade!

We have been so blessed that Dom has had really great friends with amazing families throughout the years.

They still do corsages...

And boutonniers...

Which I still don't know how to put on!

I love the bright colors of the girls' dresses. 

Cute shoes too!! 

Look at those studs!! 

Here's Dom and Chris... 

This is where I feel the sudden urge to insert a picture from their 8th Grade Graduation Dance... 

They've changed a bit huh?!?!

 

After pictures we stayed at the twins' house for salad and pizza.

Remember when it was a big deal to go out for a nice dinner before the dance?

Not anymore...a lot of the kids plan dinners together at home now.

P.S. Some do it very elaborately!

 

The limo was scheduled to come at 7:00.

It never showed!

We aren't sure what happened since it had been arranged online by one of the boys.

But all 3 of us moms immediately started calling around to find a last minute limo.

Eventually a couple parents drove them to the dance, which was at Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley.

(Funny that that was where I went to my Senior Ball...with Dom's father.)

But we did find a limo to bring them all home.

We were so bummed for them...the limo is one of the most exciting parts of the evening!

 

So you might be wondering what the going curfew is these days...

normally Dom has to be in by 11.

But Prom is special right?

So the limo dropped them off at the twins' house at 11:30 and Dom was home at 12:45am.

ONLY because I knew exactly where he was and who he was with.

Cuz I'm strict like that!

 

Overall they had a great time and it was a successful night!

Here's one more gratuitous couple shot... 

 

P.S. I would probably be killed if I wrote much about it so I won't...

but...

if you want to know anything about how teenagers are dancing these days...

look up...T*W*E*R*K*I*N*G!

 

Connor and Emma Kate...your mom WILL be chaperoning some day!

Girls' Trip!!

If you know me, you know that I love me some Girl Time!

And you also know that I love me some San Francisco Giants!

So what better trip than to go have some Girl Time in AZ and see a Spring Training Game

at the same time.

Kim lives in AZ and gave birth to her 2nd child a couple months ago.

We have had this trip planned for months to go meet Baby Owen.

This was not only my first trip to AZ but my first trip to experience Kim's life in AZ.

And she has lived there forever!

P.S. I don't get out much!

This was a different kind of Girls' Trip.

It was super relaxed.

We saw a game.

We relaxed.

We drank wine.

I met Owen.

*LOVE* 

And got to catch up with the Big Sister! 

And play with more kiddos...! 

There was lots of playing to be done. 

Let me explain something here...

I have had children at least one child for a very long time!

I remember once upon a time, when I was the only one of "the girls" with a child,

wishing that I had someone to talk with that understood what it was like...

both the good and the bad!

Someone I could call up after a very. Long. Night...

who would understand what I really meant when I said, "I am so tired!"

Someone who would understand what I really meant when I said that I never thought I could love another human being the way I loved my little man.

 

Now...the Lord has blessed me with many girlfriends who have been blessed with kids of their own.

I am so grateful for that!

And not a moment goes by that I take it for granted.

I have a group of girls who are not only amazing friends, but are amazing mothers!

 

One of the best parts about this trip was that I didn't have my own children with me.

Of course, right?!?!

But seriously...I got to really enjoy the other kids because I wasn't distracted with my own.

And that was really fun! 

That being said, I look forward to a day when we ALL get together with ALL our kids.

That would be so crazy!

And so fun! 

Thank you Kim for inviting us all into your home and letting us soak up all the time

we could with you and your awesome family!

Opening Day!!

A couple weeks ago we started Connor's second year of baseball.

I cannot tell you how much this kid loves baseball!

And there's nothing like a parade to kick off the season.

It was a super early morning but we were all really good sports.

Except Dom. He had to work:( 

There's my buddy!

So proud! He would've been more proud if he were sporting a Giants uniform.

But we can't have it all, now can we! 

P.S. Doesn't he look like a giant in comparison to his teammates?!

Sorry Buddy...your parents make tall kids.

There's nothing like Little League Baseball.

*LOVE* 

And nothing like a clean uniform. Even if it's only for a second! 

GO TWINS!!!!

 

Here's to another fun season!

 

P.S. ONLY and I mean ONLY on the Little League Field will I be cheering for ANYONE other than our Giants!

(I need to figure out exactly who I need to brown nose to get my son in a black and orange uniform next season!)

 

Birthday Wrap Up

OK, so I may be a little behind...again!

But I'm back and want to share a little of Emma Kate's actual birthday party with you...

This year she had decided she wanted her party at her gymnastics gym.

Great!

That will make life much easier!

Then she said she wanted an Ariel Party.

Hmmm...

I really don't like to throw character parties. And.

How the heck do I combine Ariel and gymnastics?

I truly lost sleep over this one!

That's when I realized, thanks to Heidi and a few others, just give the girl what she wants and the rest will fall into place.

Ariel it is!

I found a really cute Ariel cake pan, but I love cupcakes too.

So why not have both?!?!

I asked my mom to make the cake.

(She used to make my birthday cakes just like this and I thought it would be really sweet if she made Emma's in the same fashion.)

 I did the cupcakes with Ariel wrappers and fish with "bubbles" on top.

Here is the cake...I think Ariel got Botox!

My poor mom was very hesitant when she showed me the cake.

(It's been a really really long time!)

But Emmy LOVED it! And that's all that really matters!

(And I know how much work it was, so thank you Mom!) 

And I guess I have officially started the book for every birthday tradition.

Connor now has 6 books signed by people who helped celebrate his birthdays and Emmy now has 3.

They love looking back and reading the notes from everyone on the inside covers. 

And here is the one thing I did that actually combined gymnastics and The Little Mermaid...

The Favors. 

I found these little stands at Ikea last year and used them for the center of the table... 

Now for the real fun...! 

The kids had so much fun!!!

And the adults got to sit and watch for a while.

They played so hard. And got all sweaty.

Miss Amanda (Emma's teacher for the last several months) led the activities. 

 

Emmy loves her some girlfriends!

After all that fun, we headed up for snacks and dessert. 

I absolutely love this last picture of my big 3-year-old!

She was one happy girl. 

Everything was almost perfect, until she pooped her pants at the end of the party.

As in leaking out.

Yeah! Fun right?!?!

That's ok, if having kids teaches us anything, it's...just roll with it!

Besides, we officially had ourselves "A Party Pooper!"

And we continue to "Make Memories..."

Emmy's 3!

It's hard to believe it's already been a week since Emmy's birthday.

Last year I had worked on her birthday and it felt awful all day to not be with her.

So this year Jeff and I BOTH had the day off to be with her!

This year was a party year for her. *More on the party another time.*

(Usually we alternate years for the kids...1 year they get a party and no gift, the following year they get a really cool gift and a family dinner or activity.)

 

Ummm...I think the day got a little out of hand.

It was originally my intent to take her to Build A Bear with cousin Corbie and then have

grandparents over for dinner.

 

But you see about a week earlier we saw a commercial on TV for Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream.

This is when Jeff leaned over and whispered, "You should take your mom and Emma for her birthday..."

 

So in the morning Emma woke to a Rapunzel dress hanging in her room with a flowered "princess" headband. (No young lady can show up to Disney on Ice in anything but princess attire!

She just thought the dress was a birthday present and wanted to wear it immediately. And ALL day.

 

So mid-morning Ma, Aunt Becki, Jeff, Corbs, EK, and I piled in the van and went to the mall.

The kids had a blast building their bears cats.

Emmy chose a bright pink cat and a Tiana princess dress for her.

She chose the name, "Amadalla" for her kitty.

(P.S. Connor is obsessed with Star Wars and teaches Emma about all the characters!)

The best part about Amadalla is that when you squeeze her paw she plays the song "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid.

In my opinion, that cat is a train wreck!

But she loves her! 

Later when Emma woke from her nap, Nana arrived for our Girls' Night Out.

This is when we told her why she had found a Rapunzel Dress hanging in her room!

She was one excited little lady and insisted on Amadalla joining us.  

We started our evening at In n Out.

Emmy had to tell EVERYONE why she was wearing a "Tangled dress" and that it was her birthday.

And then we arrived at the show! 

And we celebrated everything princess.

The arena was filled with little girls in their princess dresses and light up wands!

I can't decide who I enjoyed watching more...EK or my mom watching EK.

We made "friends" with everyone around us, laughed, traded wands, jewelry, etc...

I think it was one of my most favorite Girls' Nights Out...ever!

No offense ladies;) 

The sets were so neat and Emmy got to see Rapunzel "fly" through the sky with Flynn.

OK so the night ended really late for her...and us.

And we pretty much had meltdown the whole way home until she whimpered herself to sleep.

But it was all worth it!

 

Not quite the day I had planned. But so much better!

And still a party to come...

Ooops. I may have gone a little overboard this year.

Shoot me!