Prom Day

Jena and Nick with other friends head out to Syracuse Fun Center for a morning of bowling (and Jena beat Nick).  Later Hadley Burton (a senior in our ward) told me that it had been so fun to be there with Jena and watch her enjoy herself and everyone around her.  I wish that I had seen that but I know Jena liked it.  She told me that she rolled a granny ball (between her legs) which she never does.  When I asked her why, she told me she was copying Nick.  Later Nick told us he was just trying to get one strike since Jena had gotten one earlier so he was trying everything with no luck.  I know how he feels because Jena beats me sometimes as well.

Waiting to go bowling

Taking a picture of Jena taking a picture of
her rose from the assembly the day before

While Jena was out bowling, I got to attend a special Relief Society meeting which was a combination of three wards.  Our speaker was Liz Lemon Swidell (not sure of the spelling of her name). She is an artist who paints a lot of pictures from the life of the Savior.  She shared some amazing and sweet stories about the involvement of revelation in our lives based on three parables about sheep.  It was so sweet and uplifting.  She is so talented and it is great to be at a point in my life where I treasure those talents in others without wondering why I don't have those talents (and I have a long list of talents I don't have...).  Our very uniqueness is such a wonderful aspect of life.  Now I understand more than when I was 20 that the talents which I have been given are the ones that are needed for the course of my life and the responsibilities and blessings which I am to have.  I wish that everyone could have been there. And the lunch and the décor was excellent (and if you knew Betty Van Orden (RS President), Cami Snow (2nd counselor) and Julie Burkenshaw who is in the Relief Society Presidency of one of the other wards and is also Betty's daughter, you can maybe imagine how beautiful it was.) The décor included  bunches of white balloons like clouds in the sky.  They were actually left from a Blue and Gold banquet the night before which had a pirate theme.  They fit perfectly with our garden party.  I wish I had taken a picture. It might come in handy in the future.

I headed home to start getting Jena ready to discover that she was off with Gary doing a few errands.  She arrived home in time to take a bubble bath in our big tub and then got dressed to head over to the Pessettos.  I had asked Abby to help do Jena's hair because that is another talent I don't have.  While there, Jessica arrived to take pictures and the "getting ready for prom party" really got started.

(Again I apologize to my other kids---I didn't have a blog and a digital camera back during your teenage years.  I wish that I had because there were many great moments I wished that I had blogged about with each of you.) 

It took three of us to put in the
waterfall braid.

The top view

The finished product

Thanks to Michelle and Abby for such a beautiful hairdo.

Then we headed back home for the next stage.  We did her make-up and then at the last minute she decided that she did want her nails done.  Jessica did them for her with silver shiny polish.

Jessica took lots of great pictures for her day
and posted them on Facebook.  Jena loved seeing them
and sharing them with her friends.

 Nick is actually the grandson of Betty Van Orden, our ward Relief Society president.  She is a wonderful woman and I knew that she was so excited about Jena and Nick going to Prom.  So a few days beforehand, I asked Nick if we could invite Betty over.  He said no problem.  Then of course we wanted to invite Grandma Hall, Scott and Chantel, along with Jessica and Ben.  We tried to Facetime with Tosha and Austen but the timing didn't work out as they had to head to a function that night as well.

Grandma Hall and Jena

Scott and Chantel with Jena

Trying to show her silver shoes to Gary

Nick and Jena
 

At the last minute I realized that I should have invited Nick's mom to come over as well so I was so glad that when Nick arrived she showed up in her car to take some pictures as well.  Heather had served in our stake RS presidency in the past, so I knew her from that but she didn't really know me too much.  It was fun to share part of this day with her and to get to know her better.  She is an awesome woman.

Jena and I had decided to have his grandmother
put on his flower but before his grandmother and grandpa got there
we had them pretend for pictures.

I loved these two pictures of Nick and
his grandmother.  I hope that someday
our little "Niki" will let me pin his flower for
his prom date.

After family mobs and hundreds of pictures,
they finally head out the door...

and into the car.

I was laughing as Heather was giving him instructions---do you have your wallet, the tickets, etc?  The typical mom things I can remember asking Scott and Ben when they each went to Homecoming.  Heather asked me if I was going to go to the school.  Nick had told me that they were meeting at the school to take pictures but I really didn't know anything else.  I told her that I hadn't been invited.  She laughed and said that she hadn't been either but we were all going...so off we went.  I am so glad I did.  It was a fun experience.

Driving separate cars Heather and I arrived at the school before any of the other couples or their parents.  There was a dance competition so there was no parking in the usual spots so that delayed everyone in meeting at the agreed location.  It turned out that there were 19 couples going together to Prom.  And it was great to see how many of them Jena knew and I knew as well.  Jena was totally comfortable with them as they took lots of pictures.  Here are a few I took:

This is Jena with Kate Meyer
SIs. Meyer insisted Jena wear her crown
and she got the best smile out of Jena.

Most of the evening Nick was in charge of the crown
and here is their silly picture with him actually wearing it.

Half of the group posing by the "C"

Nick and Jena at the "C"

After taking pictures in all possible combinations, they headed off to their rides to Salt Lake--which for them was this 28 passenger Party bus complete with neon lights, music, TV screens, and cup holders.  I took this pictures off of Facebook which is why I can't adjust it to a typical size.  I bet you wished you could have gone to Prom in this bus.  It took them to dinner at the Rodiza Grill and then to the dance at the Gateway




Between everyone taking and posting pictures there are probably hundreds out there somewhere mostly
One of the favorites from the night was this picture which I got by text from Jessica on Sunday morning who had received it from her friend Rachel who lives in Virginia who had seen it on her instagram account because it was tagged with Jena's name.  It was posted on Nick's account but when I tried to get the original from his mom she said that he didn't know who had taken the picture and posted it.  Here is the twice texted and instagramed picture of the last dance of Prom.

 

When I first saw it, I assumed that it was the "Queen's Dance" but when I asked Jena she didn't seem to think so.  However she loved this picture.  Nick's mom told me that Nick had shared that this was the last dance of the night.  There is a tradition that everyone got into a big circle along the walls and just stands together during the last dance of the night.  This time Nick felt like he wanted to dance one more time with Jena and so he pulled her out and they danced in the middle.  The crowd loved it and someone there snapped this picture.

 

She got home about 11:30 and spent 30 minutes talking about her day.  After she changed clothes and her hair was back into its regular ponytail.

The crown





Hair back to a ponytail with her
Charlie's  Angel pose she learned from
the other girls that afternoon.



Nick had told me not to worry about Prom that he would make sure that Jena had a great time.  I wasn't worried at all.  I knew that Jena would have a great time both because of Nick's friendship with her and also that Jena knows how to enjoy life whether it is a grand thing like prom or just playing games with family or friends.  It is one of her gifts and it is a great one.  Nevertheless this was a special day and checked off one of her goals for high school  "Attend Prom"  checked.