Picture Perfect Prom

Saturday night was the regional Mormon Prom, held in Issaquah, about forty-five minutes away from Everett.  Heidi went with a good friend, Drew Surowiec, who lives in Port Orchard.  He is our babysitter's nephew, and he and Heidi have hung out several times when he visits his family here in Everett.

 

 We found a really pretty dress online and had it custom-sized for Heidi.

 Shoulder detail....

 I took Heidi to a salon to have a fancy hairstyle done.  It was a little crazy looking when the stylist was finished, so Heidi deconstructed it when we got home and did her own hair!  It helped that the stylist added so much product to her hair, so it worked fine, but I think next time Heidi is on her own!  She doesn't need any help!

 My gorgeous girl.

I can't believe that she has gotten this old.  Where has the time gone?  She is such a treasure to me, and I have loved every minute watching her grow into a beautiful young lady!

 Drew came to pick Heidi up and they exchanged flowers.  He looks a little nervous about the pins...

 What a cute couple!

 Heidi made Drew's boutenierre with her Laurel class on Friday night.  She did a great job!

 Heidi and Drew went with a great group of friends to the dance.  They had so much fun together!  Half of them didn't know each other when the night started out since they were from all over the region, but by the end they were all great friends!

 The group went to Buca di Beppo (Italian restaurant) for dinner and had a great time.  Lots of yummy food!

 The dance had a Pirate theme.

Heidi had such a great time with her friends!  I am so glad that she gets to have these wonderful high school experiences with people who share her same values!  It was a wonderful night!



Elise Turns Nine!

We celebrated Elise's ninth birthday this week.  It was on April 15th, and true to form, Eric was submitting our taxes that morning!



 

Elise loved the princess cake!  Of course, so did Erica!!

 

 

 

 She even blew out her own candles this year!  I'm not sure how much spit did the extinguishing, but she got the job done!

 Elise loved her new little monkey.

She had a multi-colored cake, colored with neon dyes.  The cake was bright pink and green (which looks like a citron-color), and the frosting was a fun purple color (the camera does not capture the color well at all!) and was flavored with coconut extract.

 

HaPpY BiRthDaY ELiSE!!!

 

We are so lucky to have you in our family!

Spring Break in Salt Lake

 For Spring Break this year we went down to Utah to visit my sister Diana and her sweet little newborn. 

Meet Finley Davis Dzubak! 



I can tell that Diana is going to be such a great mommy!  She already is! 



A new little family!  Finn, with Diana and Jordan.



 

Elise was quite intrigued by the baby.  She kept coming over and looking at him, touching his head very softly.  Who can blame her?  He is adorable!

 

 

Erica was mostly enamored by Diana and Jordan's dog, Trixie.  She played with her the entire time we were there, and even befriended the neighbor's dog, Kona, as well.  Of course she doesn't  remember Finley's, Diana's, or Jordan's names, but she still asks when we can go back to "Trixie's house!"

We were in Salt Lake over General Conference weekend.  We weren't able to attend any sessions, but the kids enjoyed visiting Temple Square.  It had been so long since we were there last, Heidi and Ethan didn't remember anything about it, so they were excited to wander around.

 



We ran into Eric's sister, Michelle, and her family while we were in Salt Lake.  During our stop in Boise, we visited with some wonderful friends who we haven't seen for many years.  We had lunch with Eric's Aunt Patty, spent some quality time playing around with my parents, and even played a game of Dwindle with my Grandma!  It was such a memorable trip, connecting with so many people, and I am so glad that we were able to go!

Prom Dress Shopping

Last weekend Heidi and I did a little Prom dress shopping...in my closet.

 

I was happy to pull out my old prom dresses from high school and show them to Heidi, after all, I have fond memories of my mom, pulling out her old dresses from the back of her closet.  I also distinctly remember making fun of her gingham taffetta bride's maid dress from her sister's wedding...which she promptly defended as being quite in style at the time.

 

Funny thing was, I still wasn't expecting Heidi's reaction to my old dresses....she thought they were hilarious and couldn't believe I wore them!  And I, of course, promptly defended them, saying there was nothing silly about them and they were quite in style at the time.

 

Have you heard the expression:

"I keep opening my mouth and my mother comes out!"

???



Heidi's critique: "It's soooooo shiny...and what's with these sleeves?"
To which I said, "Oh, you think these sleeves are big..."



Christmas Formal 1992

 

Heidi: "Holy Sleeves!!!"

 

Sweetheart Dance 1993



Heidi: "This looks like a costume from a theatre group. Why does it have a doily on the front?"
Me: "It's called lace, and it's on the front of my wedding dress too, and it's gorgeous!"



Senior Priom 1993

  Heidi was impressed that they were all homemade: my mom made the shiny blue dress and the peach prom dress, while I made the simple teal dress for a Personal Progress project.  Personally, I thought they were all gorgeous and Heidi looked amazing in these "old-fashioned" gowns.  To be fair, Ethan thought they were pretty hilarious too, but I still don't see it.

 

Wow, I must really be getting old.

War Horse

In February, we took Mom and Dad and the two older kids to see the Broadway production of War Horse at the Paramount Theater.  It was the kids' first time going to a Broadway show and they were pretty excited.

 

 

 

 

The show was amazing!  You almost forgot that these horses were puppets.  They seemed so real, with distinct personalities and realistic movements.

 

 

Grandpa and Ethan had fun working together on an engine which had been a Christmas present.

 



Three generation shot.  Funny how we are all nearly the same height.

 



We had so much fun with Mom and Dad here!  The kids always love spending time with Grandma and Grandpa and wish they could come more often.

 

What a great weekend!