Sweethearts Dance

I guess the trend of the day, is to have all-day dates...before going to the dance in the evening. So the Sweethearts date started in the morning, with the girls making a big breakfast for all the guys.

After breakfast, the group went to a glow-in-the-dark miniature golf place. Then they separated to get ready for the dance...

Rylee's friend Maddie offered to do her hair and make-up.

Rylee called her friend Eliza, at the last minute, to ask to borrow a clutch.

We went to Trinity Peterson's house for pictures.

The WHOLE group.

The guys.

The girls.

Kaylie/Sam, Madi/Brayden, Paige/Taylor, Riley/Warren & Rylee/Kyle.

Next was dinner at Paige's house.

On the menu: strawberry spinach salad, spiral ham, party potatoes, green beans, delicious Great Harvest rolls and sparkling cider.

After the dance, the couples came over to our house for dessert... brownie sundaes! Yum.

It was fun to hang out with this group. I liked getting to know them just a little better, as the night progressed.

They goofed off, talked and played games 'til 12. 

Around midnight, the party came to a close and they went home... before they turned into pumpkins! :)

He said...

Many days past.... no answer from Kyle. Then one evening, as we were watching t.v. as a family, the doorbell rang. When Treyson and Abree opened it, they discovered some balloons, a stuffed turtle and a note.

"Sorry I was as slow as a turtle to answer... So good luck! -Kyle (better get poppin)" :)

Rylee popped the balloons and found her answer... YES!

Awesome.

Rylee & Kyle Ruby

 FUN times!

Boutonniere

For Sweethearts, I thought it would be cute to make a candy boutonnieres for the guys.

Rylee's friends, Trinity and Kaylie, came over the day before the dance to make some.

What guy wouldn't like candy for a boutonniere? ...a treat for later. :)

Choices..choices..choices!

A sweet family in our ward (before the split) had several girls who had recently married or left for college. With their leave, they left behind a whole closet FULL of dance dresses. The Mitchell's were kind enough to allow us to come "shopping" at their home for a Sweetheart's dress.

Rylee tried each dress on and posed, while Eliza (Rylee's friend) and I took pictures and gave our advice on which ones we liked best.

I wondered if Rylee would be satisfied with borrowing a dress, rather than buying. In the end, she found one she thought would be great for Sweethearts. I was glad.

She then reminded me she still wanted to buy shoes, jewelry and a bolero. I guess that's not much, considering the prices of dresses. 

Spotted and Kissed

Rylee had been planning on going to Sweethearts (girl ask guy dance) since her 15th birthday. She said to me then, "Mom, can you believe at this time next year I'll be able to go to Sweethearts?!"

That day had finally arrived. She hemmed and hawed about who she should ask. She kinda had someone in mind, but worried that he might have a date or that he kind of liked someone else. With her friend's encouragement she finally decided to ask him...Matt Roll.

Being the planner she is, she wanted to make sure she asked him several weeks in advance and in a creative, fun way. We scoured Pinterest, as well as other internet sources, to find a cute way to ask. The one she decided on was not necessarily unique or new to me..but still cute.

She came to me the day of and said, "Mom, I need lots of circles." We punched out dozens and dozens of circles together. I also helped her with making signs to put on the poster.

         With the poster complete and extra circles in hand, she and her friend Sarah went to his house to decorate.

                                                  The initial plan was to decorate his front door, but when his mom saw what they wanted to do, she invited them in to decorate his bedroom. So they spotted his mirror..

his floor..

his wall..

..and his bedroom door. Then threw Hershey kisses all over the ground.

"Matt, Now that I've SPOTTED you...and have KISSED the ground you walk on...Will you go to SWEETHEARTS with me???"

For the final touch, balloons and crepe paper.

How could he not say YES to all of this?!

The rest of the story..... Matt came to Rylee the next day at school, with flower in hand. He told her he would love to go to the Sweethearts dance with her, BUT couldn't. Being the big baseball star he is, he had a tournament and would be out-of-town the weekend of the dance. She said he felt so bad, he was almost in tears, when talking to her.

Bummer!

Do you think that stopped her??? No way!

Next...

She rallied and thought of someone else to ask. I was out-of-town visiting my friend Krissi when she came up with her next plan. She texted me a picture of bananas and said she was asking Kyle Ruby. I didn't get the full story, but I guess her initial plan didn't work, so they had to go with plan B ...something to do with bananas???

This is such a FUN..but nerve-racking stage of life as a parent. But I'm actually enjoying teenagerhood (mostly). :)