A Beautiful Day - Krissy's Junior Prom

 Today was THE day. . .

Prom.

 

My first as a mom.

 

And when I saw our Krissy dressed and so stunningly beautiful, I cried.

How did my first baby become a poised and beautiful young lady?

 

We were very lucky to have Trevor and Patty here with us today.

 

Joshua thinks his big cousin Trevor is so cool!

 

And Auntie Patty spent the entire day making over the Dietrich's.

 

My living room became a beauty salon.

 

It was WAY fun.

 

Believe it or not, going to the Prom was stressful to Krissy.

 

She does not enjoy a lot of people looking at her and photos make her nervous.

Dressing up is also not her favorite!

 

She was stressed all week about the event!

 

Patty made getting ready fun though.  She worked on Krissy's hair for a while, and then switched to the little guy.

 

Joshua INSISTED that Auntie Patty cut his hair!

 

She tried to convince him that "trendy" hair was the way to go.

 

(Notice that she is grinning and he looks a bit concerned in this photo?)

 

He insisted she cut all his hair!

 

She tried one more trendy do!

 

(Just kidding, this one was a joke!  But the photo makes me laugh out loud!)

 

Eventually, she got the look "just right!"

 

They make my heart happy smiling at my camera like this!

 

Prom make-overs are enough to put a teenage boy to sleep!

Auntie Patty even got me in her chair!

 

This is another LOL photo!

Don't we look like we are having fun?

In a year or two when Jamison takes a girl to Prom, he will know to appreciate all that goes into looking beautiful!  He witnessed it all today.

Eventually all the spotlight was on Krissy.

 

(This is when momma started tearing up.)

Krissy thought of everything.

 

Her toes were so cute peaking out from under her long dress.

Her nails were the perfect compliment to her dress.

Her corsage was so pretty!

The way the train on the back of her dress moved with her when she walked was breathtaking.

 



Reshab, her boyfriend, is much more patient about photos than she is! 

 

This is what she thinks of photos!

 

It was freezing out!

 

The kids were very good sports letting me snap a couple photos before they it the road!

I once went to the Prom with a very handsome guy driving a black convertible, too!

 

Now that is a good memory!

 This was taken during Grand March.

 

It is not the best quality, but I was so very proud of Krissy.

 

Grand March is a huge parade.  The gym is completely full of people, as is the auditorium.  Each couple (nearly 400 in all) are announced and instructed to walk through pausing at distinct intervals.  This is soooo not up Krissy's alley!  However, she walked through with grace and poise.  I was so proud of her.

 

 

 There they are.

(Thanks Reshab! He sent this one to me.)

 

Our crazy girl plans to be at the school sponsored after Prom party until 3 am.  She then has to work at 6:30 am.  She is going to need a nap tomorrow!  Have I mentioned that our daughter is very ambitious as well as gorgeous?

 

Thank you Patty and Trevor for being here.

You made the day so incredibly special.

 

My Boyfriend is Back!

 This family photo gallery is one of the projects that kept my heart happy during our dreamy April snow storm.  I had so much fun going through old photos, deciding which ones to hang and which ones to hide!  I joked with the kids that that since Dad says we will die in this house, these photos are going to be up forever!  I will add photos to the wall until the day I die.  When they clean out the house after my funeral they can joke about the snowy April weekend when mom started hanging things!

 

They laughed, mostly because they know that will never happen!  A few years from now I will have a new decorating idea and proceed to take down each photo, paint the wall, and try something new.

 

(Time will tell.  Part of me likes the first idea!  At least today!)

 This photo is one that I had to hunt for!  It is one of our engagement photos.

 

(And YES!  We were young!  Nineteen to be exact!)

 

It is so fun to let my mind drift back to dating days!  Chad was such a good boyfriend.  He totally doted on me, and I loved it.  I would find notes in all sorts of creative places - under windshield wipers, tucked into my purse, slipped into my locker.  I remember many movies, hours spent watching him work on his Buick (OK that was boring!), driving up and down Main St. dreaming about our life together, long walks, ice cream treats, etc... But my very favorite memory of being Chad's girlfriend was that he brought me (at least) one red rose every month.  On the 29th day of every month - the day we first started "going together" - Chad would bring me red roses.  He never missed one month until we were married.  This satisfied both my need tor romance and consistency.  How funny is that?!?  He is just so good for me!

 

 

I realized this weekend that my boyfriend is back!

 

In February, Chad sent me the sort of obligatory yet always beloved Valentine bouquet.

 

In March, I ordered him to order me flowers - which he did with great delight.

 

And when he placed that order, he told our florist and friend, Tammy, to make it a monthly order.  So last week I received the first of many monthly bouquets.

 

Sometimes going back to old traditions is just SO good.

 

I know they are totally frivolous, but fresh flowers make my heart happy.

And a happy wife is a really, really good thing!

 

I love havin' my boyfriend back.



One Dreamy April Snow Storm

As this weekend began the forecast was ominous.

Snow and LOTS of it was headed our way!

 

I decided we should have a "pretend it is summer" party since we were really more in the mood for a campfire than turning on the fireplace!

 I made the kids oven s'mores.

 YUM!

 Brenna agreed!

 

That was Friday night.

We spent all day Saturday waiting for snow.

It did not come.

I really wondered if it really would.

 

(Sometimes I am an optimist!)

 By the end of Sunday there was no doubt.

Snow had fallen all day.

In the end, it was a record snow fall.  Almost 24 inches fell in one day.  That is the highest one day snow fall total on record for Bismarck.  It became so stormy that Chad was forced to remain HOME, rather than continue to push snow.  So, Chad and I were snowed in with all the kids.  It was about as dreamy as my life gets.  School was even called off for today (Monday!)  That has only happened one time since Krissy started Kindergarten!  I was so very thrilled!

 

However, by evening my snow removing husband was itching to push some piles.  But he was stuck.  The snow in our development was too deep to push his way out, even with his pick-up plow.  He got up at 4 am, hoping he would be able to make it into town.  He got barely one pickup length into the road and knew if he continued he would soon be stuck.  So he waited more.  He paced the floors.  He took calls from customers.  He gave directions to the employees that were able to get to the machines and start cleaning up the snowy mess.  I finally told him to hit the road!  If he got stuck, Jay and I would help him dig out - but his pacing was "ruining" my day off!  (HA!)

 

So he took off, driving like an 18 year old on his way to meet his girlfriend! (Now that is a good memory, right babe!)  The kids and I ran from window to window cheering him on until he made it out of the neighborhood!  Then Joshua insisted we call and tell him, "Gradulations!"

 

As soon as Daddy was safely off to work, Jamison, Joshua, Brenna, and I headed out to play!

 I loved today.

 

You see, usually when we have a big snow storm I feel very conflicted.  On one hand, I should be shoveling.  The neighbors may need to walk on our sidewalk, so I should get to work clearing it.  On the other hand, my husband has thousands of dollars worth of snow removal equipment.  For me to shovel is silly!  Plus - I HATE shoveling snow! But what will the neighbors think of our snow being the last done, especially since the kids needed to use our sidewalk to get to school.

 

Today there was nothing to be conflicted about!

 

Today for the very first time, I was THRILLED to live in the country! 

 

We have NO sidewalk to shovel!

 

Sure, there is a path I could have cleared to our front door, but I didn't want to!  And it will not affect anyone but me if there is a big snow drift in front of my front door.  So, I headed outside totally joyfully to play in the snow with my kids!

 Riley was SO happy to get some playful exercise!

 Jamison always comes up with some physical "trick."

 

He decided to try somersaulting off the snow pile.

 We gave him a "10!"

 Jamison started throwing snowballs for Riley to catch.  Riley thought it was great fun until he caught one.  Oh, my! We laughedand laughed at the look on his face when he snapped into a soft ball of snow!

 Jamison is truly THE BEST big brother ever.

 

I was worried when they started a snowball fight, sure Brenna would come inside injured.  Jay is way bigger, and it takes great self-control to throw carefully.

 

In the end there were no tears, only lots of laughs.

One of my winter wishes came true today!

Joshua, after being a North Dakotan for nearly 3 years, has finally made a snowman!

The kids also made a snow fort!

 

All in all, it was my favorite blizzard of all times.  There is lots and lots of snow - but I did not need to shovel AT ALL.  Chad got stuck at home with us through part of it.  We had an extra day of vacation because the roads were impassible today. It was warm, so the kids could play in the deep drifts.  Best of all, it is April, so all this white stuff will be gone before we know it!

 

I am so thankful for this April snow adventure!

 

One more funny snow story I have to share.

 

Jamison received a text from his track coach instructing him to figure out a way to get in a recovery run.  He complained about having to use the treadmill on FaceBook and a  team mate called him a wimp for not running outside.  He came down in his running shorts, shoes, and NO shirt instructing me to take some photos of him running outside.  Being the good mom that I am, I said "SURE!"

 

He ran out the front door, through thigh high snow, down the driveway, past the mailbox, and back.  I snapped photos and laughed the entire time.

 

If I had known how much fun I would have with my teenagers, I never would have believed it!  People always complain about teens.  Not me!  I love my teenagers!  They are a total blast!

 

**In light of the tragedy that happened today in Boston, I feel a bit bad celebrating a delightful weekend here.  My prayers are with all those involved in that tragedy.  Yet to deny joy would not be fully living.  So I share my joy, while mourning the tragedy in Boston.



National Honor Society Induction 2013

 

Today, Krissy was inducted into the National Honor Society.  Again?  I am not sure if you are inducted each year or not?  She was also a part of the National Honor Society last year, as a Sophomore.

In order to be in the National Honor Society, you must have a 3.5 GPA, be a part of a school club or maintain a part time job, and complete 10 hours of community service.

For Krissy, those are not difficult requirements.  Academics are the part of school she most enjoys.   She is very bright and totally hard working.  I often hear her say, "I totally failed a test today."  Which in Krissy-land means I got less than an A.  We never, ever have a convo with Krissy about her grades.  We never, ever check up on her grades.  There is no need.  She is much harder on herself than we would ever think to be.

Recently she has started working more and more.  Some weeks she works 40 hours.  This is not something we require.  In fact, we encourage her to work less.  But she has learned that good employees are hard to find in our town.  She is a good employee, so she is constantly being asked to work.  Saying no is hard.  I worry.  I also respect her ability to make her own choices.

Parenting is hard!

So is being a teenager!  I am truly proud of how beautifully Krissy manages it all.

It was a nice ceremony.  Mikey Hoven, the former First Lady of ND, and an amazing Christian woman was the speaker.  She is married to ND Senator, John Hoven.  She did a great job speaking.  She even managed to make several references to God, mission work, and serving others above yourself.  The weather may stink in this state, but I am sincerely proud of our values!

The choir sang.

And each inductee was individually announced.

 

Everyone pictured on the gym floor was an inductee.

 

All things considered it was a quick ceremony, but when you are 5



it is really not so much fun!

 

By the time Joshua is inducted in to the National Honor Society, this photo will be priceless.

 

I am proud of you Krissy.  I do not say it often enough, and I am sorry.  You are an amazing, organized, capable, high achieving young lady.  I have no doubt you can and will achieve anything you set your mind to.  I am blessed to be your momma.