Senior Prom

The day after the Sweethearts Dance Brandon got a call from his date, Navie. She sounded somewhat panicked as she told Brandon that rumor had it someone was planning to ask her to Prom the next day. Brandon failed to see what the problem was. He congratulated her on getting a date so early and told her it was okay if she went with someone else...especially seeing as they had just attended Sweethearts together.
BUT, she said...but she wanted to go to the dance with Brandon! It was the biggest, fanciest dance of the year and as they were more or less a couple, shouldn't they go together? Please, would he come ask her that very night before the other boy had a chance to? Brandon thought the whole thing was rather crazy seeing as Prom was still 2.5 months away. Why in the world were people already putting together dance asks this early? But he agreed and asked Jordan and Julianne to help him come up with a Prom ask and then also to assist in carrying it out.

So on that snowy Sunday evening with a huge box filled with balloons in the back of the truck, we stealthily pulled up to Navie's house. Brandon and Jordan hopped out, grabbed the box and once on the front porch Brandon crawled inside. Jordan affixed the lid, rang the doorbell and then ran (half slid) down the snow covered driveway back to the truck where we then took off down the street.
When Navie opened up the front door she found a package addressed to her. And though she obviously wasn't too surprised, she was reportedly rather delighted when Brandon popped out of the box with a PROM? sign after she took off the lid.

A couple weeks later Brandon came home and interrupted Navie mid-Prom Answer as she was saran wrapping his bed, desk, dresser and various other possessions in his bedroom. (And yes, I did lift these pictures off Navie's instastories...)

At first I was a little dismayed when I realized that I'd have to buy Brandon a full suit for Prom considering he didn't actually own one. Until I realized that this one suit that he'd be able to wear again, was so much less expensive than all the many formal dresses I'd bought and rented for his two older sisters throughout all their high school years. Brandon actually enjoyed suit shopping quite a bit, especially when he found one that looked nearly identical to one that Ryan Reynolds wears. Because as everyone knows, Ryan Reynolds is one attractive man, especially in a suit, and it never hurts to adopt his look, yes?  

Prom weekend arrived and there was a flurry of coordinating a tie to the dress, getting flowers, arranging for photography, planning and carrying out the day activity and then getting ready for the big dance. Don't they clean up nice?

Sweethearts

Brandon met Navie at the Fizz at Station Park where she worked this past summer. Over the course of the summer they became friends and he dropped by often to visit her at work or hang out with her after she finished her shift. He was happy to find that they both went to the same high school, but once school started, it became harder to find time together. For multiple reasons things kind of fizzled between them until one day in January when Navie texted Brandon and asked him to lunch. He was surprised but said yes and was pleased to find how easy it was to jump right back into comfortable conversation the way they had over the summer. The next day Navie asked Brandon to the Sweethearts Dance. Brandon was once again surprised but pleased. He answered yes, but also decided to ask why...especially after not having heard much from her the months previous. She admitted that she had missed him, that she realized belatedly she liked him much more than she had originally thought and she regretted ending things with him.

So the two started dating and Brandon began spending a lot more time at Navie's house as the dance got closer. Preparations for the dance included once again, a matching tie...but rather than flowers, they went shopping together for matching black Vans shoes. What a fun idea. And though am I of course, a huge fan of flowers despite the fact that they eventually die, Brandon is going to be wearing those shoes for many months to come.

If you look closely you can see Brandon's USAGW gymnastics bracelet on Navie's right wrist. Rumor has it she wears it daily...

Sweethearts was a happy success. What a cute couple.

Christmas Dance 2018

Brandon got asked to the Christmas Dance by Carin, a girl he didn't initially know very well but who was in his photography class. Besides the Homecoming dance his sophomore year, Brandon hadn't been to any other high school dances. He just hasn't been very invested in the social and extracurricular of high school. His life has revolved around gymnastics and gym friends. And the few girls that he did hang out with his junior year were all a year younger and not allowed to date yet because they were under 16. So this Christmas Dance invite was a bit of a surprise, but a happy one.

Brandon set out to get to know Carin better as the weeks led up to the dance. Texting commenced. And then some hang outs and dates, and even a joint photography adventure. By the time the dance rolled around, Brandon was super excited. We found a tie that matched her dress and ordered a corsage. Brandon kept asking me if he needed to get tickets or pay for dinner or pick her up. "No," I replied each time. "This is a girls choice dance, she invited you. Flower and matching tie...that's all you have to do." To which he responded, "This is awesome! I love girls choice dances!"

They went to an Escape Room for the day activity. Brandon hadn't ever done one before and said he'd had the best time. Dance day consisted of dinner, dancing, a movie afterwards and then even a few kisses before the night ended. Sounds like a good time was had by all.

Senior Cotillion

This end of the year dance is solely for seniors. No dates...just everyone showing up to celebrate making it through three years of high school and upcoming graduation. The dress is semi-formal so they get to dress up a bit and dance it out one last time. Julianne came home with a banged up knee and a fat lip, due to some hard core dancing mishaps...but with a huge smile on her face. She'd had a great time flitting from group to group, dancing with all her various friends she's made over the years. What a fun tradition.

Julianne and Elle decided to take some pictures together before leaving for the dance. These two will be rooming together at Utah Valley University so it was fun to get some shots of the two of them together as they finish up their years in high school and look forward with excited anticipation to the adventures to come.

Prom for the last time...

Ah, Prom. Julianne's last of her high school years. And my last for awhile as well. At least in terms of formal dress shopping. Strange as this thought is, chances are good I will be wedding dress shopping before I prom dress shop again. Brandon will be 16 in a year, but in his case we'll be learning the ins and outs of tux rentals. Life is a'changing.

Julianne was asked to Prom by her boyfriend Bryson who sent her on a scavenger hunt around town before coming home to find this message on our garage spelled out in post-it notes. When Lilian caught Bryson and friend Alyssa outside with said post-its, they let her help out. Julianne was delighted when she arrived home and laughed hard when Bryson and Alyssa (who had been hiding out down the street) drove past and Alyssa let out a war whoop through the window.

Julianne decided that in order to catch Bryson off guard, she was going to answer him that very night! So she called up friend Jordan (Alyssa's boyfriend) to help her, thinking it only appropriate. She made a big poster that said something like "It would light up my night to go to Prom with you!" and then actually lit his street on fire. Did you know hand sanitizer could burn so prettily? And then when Bryson was outside with his younger siblings checking out the burning YES! Julianne and Jordan (who had been hiding out down the street) drove past and Jordan let out his own war whoop. Because, you know...it seemed fitting.

From the stories Julianne has shared, Prom was an incredible weekend and the two of them had the best time. Just a truly memorable night. When Bryson came to pick up Julianne I had to hide a giggle when I heard his reaction as Julianne came around the corner and he saw her for the first time. They looked stunning together. After letting me take a few pictures here at home and then meeting up with the rest of the group for official pictures together, they headed to dinner at Parkstone at Station Park in Farmington. Julianne said the food was amazing and they laughed a lot. The dance was at the Capitol Building in Salt Lake City. The night was warm, the trees were all in bloom and the view of the city is stellar from the Capitol. As much fun as they had dancing, they also enjoyed people watching. She said Prom, the biggest dance of the year, is kind of the red carpet version of all the dances. Checking out the fancy dresses, watching to see who is with who...and which are officially couples and which are just dates for the evening.

After the dance their group broke up to do their own thing. Julianne and Bryson headed to his house where sat and talked out on his back patio for awhile. Around midnight they arrived at our house and ended the evening dipping graham crackers in milk, which made me laugh. Except that Julianne said that it was kind of perfect...because she just loved how comfortable she and Bryson were together the whole evening, so relaxing and fun. So, graham crackers and milk in their fancy dress and tux.

Sadie Hawkins 2016

Sadie Hawkins at our high school is a themed girls choice dance. I'm not sure what it is with themed dances...seems like if you are not dressing up formally (as in the case of Homecoming, Christmas and Prom) the attire is a costume of some sort. Halloween is obviously the biggest, over the top costume dance...but both Sweethearts and Sadies are themed dances which have the kids coming up with matching attire of some sort.

The theme for Sadie Hawkins this year was something to do with paradise and travel. Julianne asked Logan to be her date, a boy who she has known since junior high. He's on the track team and is Dart Man, the school mascot. They've been friends since junior high school and though he had asked her out a few times before, she could never go. So this was their first date.

Because Sadies always falls during end of term and other such craziness, I told Julianne I'd go shopping for matching vacation/Hawaiian type shirts. After roaming around Kohls and Target and sending Julianne texts with potential options, I hit the jackpot at Walmart. Stereotypical Hawaiian floral, and cheap. And while I was debating on what size Logan might be, I lucked out again when in walked a few friends of Julianne's, (searching for Sadies shirts themselves), one of whom knew Logan very well and was able to give me sizing advice.

The day activity was an Iron Chef type of evening. The group consisting of 7 or so couples, split into two groups...one group at our house, one at another house a few doors down the street. From a jar they randomly chose slips of paper which informed them which main course, side dish and dessert they were to prepare and then they headed to the grocery store. While cooking, the various couples went to the other house and did "commercials"...also randomly picked from strips of paper in a jar. Considering most of them were theatre kids, the commercials were rather creative and hilarious. I enjoyed being a fly on the wall and watching all this craziness unfold. After the cooking was complete, the group at our house headed to the other where the courses were judged and then consumed.

The next night they had their pictures taken over at the nearby train station which went along really well with the travel/paradise sort of theme. Pizza for dinner and some games afterwards bookended the dance. Julianne said the dance got all sorts of crazy and she and Logan did a bunch of moshing in the pit. Julianne likes to dance hard. I think a good time was had by all.