Homeschool Homecoming

This dance has been the talk of the homeschool crowd for weeks! Who is going? Who didn't make registration before they capped the numbers? Who is riding with who? Who is doing your hair? What does your dress look like? Do you have a tie? Oh my goodness, so much excitement :)




We brought my NGF's son home with us from choir to prep for the dance. Gabby and Caelan had already sewn sparkly straps onto Gabby's gown, so it was shining and ready to go! Brennen's outfit came together on an epic shopping trip that he, Gabby, and I embarked upon the previous afternoon. Gabby let me kick her make-up up a notch, and we fancied her hair a little (it doesn't need much with those great curls :) Caelan took care of her own fancifying and the boys, well, their process was pretty efficient in general :)






Stopping by to collect more friends (strategically placing everyone according to dress volume and leg length), we headed to the lake for legit photos.



There were lots of mosquitoes and general goofing around, but everyone had fun! My favorite was when my NGF told the boys to put their hands in their pockets and "saunter" towards the camera. They looked more like yetis going for a stroll, and it was hilarious. You can tell they were confused, but confused together is a not a terrible place to be ;)



We arrived a bit early at the dance, but everyone was eager to get out and greet all the other friends from various clubs, sports teams, service projects, choir, etc. etc. These are some busy kids!!

As they opened the doors to the event center, the kids disappeared inside and I discovered there was no parental waiting space on site. Hmph. Well, I wasn't going to drive all the way back home (especially since my crew forgot to bring a phone for communication purposes :). As I was sitting in my van in the parking lot watching my battery drain as I posted pics to fb, my NGF texted, "Hey parking lot buddy!" I thought she was joking because she'd spent the day in a parking lot taking family photos for all the ministry leaders in our church (her special way to give to their families--love it!!) Then "I'm literally two spaces down." I look up and she's waving out her driver's side window, lol :)

We hopped out and decided to wait out the four-hour event at a nearby ice cream/sandwich shop that was staying open late just for the dance. We talked for about an hour, then she got to work editing photos while I read my Charles Dickens book. So nice to spend time with my friend!

Pretty soon a gnarly thunder/lightning storm rolled in (what is it with Caelan and thunderstorms on homecoming?!) Lots of kids started running into the ice cream shop dripping wet in their finery. We moms decided to head to our respective vans to prepare for pick-up . . . both exhausted and bleary-eyed, no longer young and energetic at 11:15 pm :)

As I drove home in my least favorite conditions (dark, storm, windshield wipers, water reflected off the road, road construction, bridge over large, swollen river with LOTS of pylons and traffic cones), I listened to the hoco crew recap their experience. I guess it was pretty crowded (400 kids!!), lots of fun, really loud, and mostly appropriate :) There were only a few slow songs, and B danced with his sisters. Caelan had a boy ask for her "snap" her social media and her phone number--she politely said "no" to all of the above and I said, "Where were you boys during all of this!!!" Lol :) They didn't know what to say! (I'll let you play "Spot the Crew member" in the pics the kids found of themselves on the dance post today :)




(The last two were easy :) Oh, another story I previously forgot . . . Caelan was dancing in one of the jumping songs and landed on her own toe with her heels. She looked down and saw that her big toe was bleeding, so she went to the bathroom to fix it. She found a basket with some first aid supplies, perfumes, etc. When she unwrapped her Band-Aid--it was Darth Vader! In fact, that's the only Band-Aid design they had, lol! It didn't quite go with her dress and open-toed party shoes.

Despite the rain and driving craziness, we arrived home safely (G$ stayed the night at our neighbors' house, so he had a great evening too!) and told Buck (who arrived shortly before us) about our adventure. It's kind of fun being part of all this growing up stuff :)