the PROM!!!

Okay - so I have come under some pretty strong criticism for not posting pics from the prom yet... SHEEZZZZ!!! Give a woman a break! I only took 767 pictures that day/night! I will post my favs here, but if you can't stand not seeing the whole 700+ pictures, go to my school website to view them: picasaweb.google.com/calderberry .

Jill came over and did Shanis hair and make-up:

Here she is building the base for the rest of the doo... Ned called it a foundation...

I didnt get a real good pic of the completed doo, but this is close.  There were frernch braids all around it and where she found the bright pink bailing twine, I will never know... but it matched the dress perfectly.

Then she put the big barrel curls all over - she used 276 bobby pins (trust me - I'm the one who had to take them out).  Next came the eye lashes!

Ta da!!! The finished product:

Not that I am the mom or anything, but I think she is just plain BEAUTIFUL!

Are you ready for the "FINISHED PRODUCT"?

Here they are at the prom... by the "light of the Silvery Moon"

Here she is with her "jail-bait" friends (under-age).

More of her and her buddies...

Now, for those of you who don't realize just how "small" a "small" school is... Here is a picture of our Junior Class:

Our Senior Class:

And our sophomore class:

Enough for tonight... Tomorrow I will hilite Kayd and his date!  Stay tuned!!!

Preparing for PROM

So as I mentioned earlier, we told Shani if she got asked to the Jr. Prom, she could go even though she won't be 16 until 5 days after the prom.  We decided if we haven't taught her right from wrong yet, those last 5 days aren't going to make a difference...  Her date is Bradley Holmes, a senior from Randolph, and Kaydens' best friend.  They are all taking the ACT test the morning of prom, so luckily they won't be doing the all-day-long date thing.  Thursday they are going to go to E-town bowling and out to dinner, then Saturday to the dance.  The prom is still pretty traditional here - it is held in the high school gym, the jr class does a floor show, the senior class dances with their parents, and the whole bloomin' town comes out to watch.  Last year was the first time I went and it was really fun.  Anyway, Shan is my only girl, so I have to document the whole thing so future generations can admire/laugh all they want to!

THE QUESTION:  One day in Mr. Kays' English class, there was a noise in one of the closets.  He ask Shani to open the door and see what it was.  She got up and went half way to it and said "No, I don't want to." So this other girl said "Here, I'll do it." And Mr. Kay promptly said "Sit down, Alex - Shani, go get it!" So she opens the door and there is an alarm clock and a note saying, "Don't be alarmed, but will you go to prom with me"  Then there was a tshirt and on front it said "Will you go to Prom with me" and then on the back it had lots of different guys' names.  So she went and washed the tshirt and all the names washed out except for his (Bradley) and Chuck Norris (his hero!). 

THE ANSWER:  That night we got on Ebay and found an action toy of Chuch Norris and she hurried and ordered it.  Then she put him on a poster that read: "Not even CHUCK NORRIS could keep me from going to Prom with you".  Is that cute, or what?



THE DRESS:  We have a neighbor, Toni Post, who is an excellent seamstress, so I ask her to make Shanis' dress.  Shan had found what she wanted on the internet and it was ONLY $399 so we gave Toni a picture of it and she "created" her own pattern.  It turned out... simply beautiful.  I took the camcorder to JoAnnes, videoed all the different colors of material, and brought them home to my much-to-busy-to-go-to-town daughter. I was afraid the employees would laugh at me but they said people do that all of the time.  So she chose a very, very bright pink.  None of the pics do the color justice - hopefully the night of the prom it will show its' true colors.

First, Toni made a "fake" pattern to make sure it was going to fit - that's how precise she is.  Next, she made the top and had us come try it on.  It has all these gathers in it.

And now tonight, ta da!  It is finished.  I couldn't get her to try it on (too busy) tonight but trust me... I will get plenty of pics that night.

THE NECKLACE: Last week we went to town and got a new necklace:

THE TIARA:  Jilly Jill is going to do her hair and make-up Saturday afternoon, so we also bought a tiara for her hair: (Do you remember I was always going to name my first girl Tiara?)

THE NAILS:  Got new nails, with the third finger being painted the same color as the dress with a white flower on it:

THE SHOES:  Lastly, new shoes!  I told her they are too tall, but how do you change the mind of an almost 16 year old?  I think she will now be taller than Brad...

So, the count-down begins... Stay tuned for Saturday night!

New Header...

Hello - Me again!  Seems like once-a-month posts are the best I can get in... And this could be a long one, so don't stop til you get to the B of M reading chart.  After watching conference all day, I had cabin fever so I decided to go out for some fresh air.  I took my blankie, my beach chair, and found a spot of dry sidewalk and sat down pretending it was nice weather...  But these white things kept falling on me!  Enough already!!!  So I went and got some spray paint and decided to graffiti my own yard.  So consider this our Easter greeting to each of you.

I said I would feature Shani next, so here goes:  She just got her braces off last week.  I think she had them on for about 12 months.  Purpose was to close some gaps she had, namely the one between her two front teeth.  I think they did a pretty good job.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Now she gets retainers on top and bottom 24/7 for about 8 weeks, then hopefully only at night.  Kayden has great teeth, but Kam is going to need some major work I am afraid.

Shani had a really fun basketball season.  She worked super hard and was able to make it on the Varsity team as the 7th player as just a sophomore.  She also started every JV game.  We are so proud of her.  There was only one set-back to the season; her coach only believed in playing 6 deep!!!  Kind of a family joke around here but she kept a positive attitude all season.  At the state play-offs, she only got about 2 minutes total of playing time, but scored twice - so we figure she was tournament leader for number of points scored per minutes played!  Next year this girl is gonna S H I N E !!!

Notice she is two away from the coach...  7th player, again.

Yup, second from the coach, again...

She wasn't ever afraid to shoot the ball, especially from 3-point range.  Her high point game was 17!

Her passing had to be the most-mproved part of her game this year.  She had "billions" of assists.

But the best part of her game is her defense.  She loves to steal the ball and harrass the opposing team.  Her nickname is "SKEETER" because she zips around like a mosquito and is a royal PAIN and a real nusiance.

I have often wondered over the past 16 years WHY I had Kayden and Shani so close together.  There are only 18 months between them.  They fight CONSTANTLY and find true pleasure in torturing each other.  Then, just when I am ready to pull my hair out, I catch them like this:

This was taken in-between conference sessions today.  They are all reading stuff on facebook.  Maybe they do like each other after all! 

But my favorite part of these two's relationship is this:  Shani turns 16 on the 15th of this month.  Our school Junior Prom is on the 10th.  We told her if she got ask, she could go.  So who ask her?  Kaydens best friend.  Who are they doubling with?  Kayden and his date.  In my personal and humble opinion, circumstances couldn't be better for a first date.  And speaking of... I am going to document all of her prom stuff.  Give me a day or two to get it together and then enjoy the experience right along with us!