Jr. Prom

I have to hurry up and blog about Jr. Prom because Spring Fling is right around the corner!

Katie went to Jr. Prom with her friend Austin.

She informed me a few months before the dance that she wanted a full-length dress. I informed her that there was no way I was going to pay for a full-length dress and wished her luck. Let's just say that "luck" is Katie's middle name.

Her friend's mom knows a lady, who knows a lady, that has beautiful full-length prom dresses that she lends out. Needless to say, Katie got her full-length prom dress, for free might I add, and looked more beautiful than ever.

The only thing that actually cost us money was the boutonniere, the diamonds I twisted into her hair, and her sparkly tennis shoes.











Maddie, Katie and Bri.



Dinner at Trio.



Oh, my baby girl is growing up a little too fast!

Sweethearts

Sweethearts was Katie's first official date. She went with her best friend, Elijah.

I don't know when school dances became an all day affair. Way back when I was in high school we went to dinner, then to the dance and called it good. (Oh yeah, except for that one time when we decided to watch a movie afterwards, then go toilet papering (sorry Leo), then drag State Street. Have I ever blogged about our first date?) Anyway...

They started out at the laser tag arena that morning. After a few hours of running around and shooting each other, the girls came home and got ready. Instead of going out to a restaurant, the girls asked if we could reserve our clubhouse and have the dinner there. We had James' parents cook the meat, I made manicotti, and the rest was potluck.







Dinner for 28 anyone?





The girls looked so beautiful.

When we went to pick out dresses, Courtney grabbed this dress of the rack and tried it on as a joke. Once she put it on, she fell totally in love with it. It was only $25, I love Ross Dress for Less!







After dinner it was off to the dance, then back to Amanda's for a movie and dessert.

They had such a great time. I love that my girls are so close and love to hang out with each other!

Sweet 16

My baby turned 16 a few months ago. It is still hard to believe that she is working and driving and dating, but she is and she's loving every minute of it.

Her party was a huge success. I stressed for months wondering how I was going to pull off another surprise party. She knew it was coming, but I threw her off by throwing it 3 weeks before her actual birthday. (I am soooo sneaky!) She had no clue, it was awesome!











I don't think we have ever had that many kids in our house at one time.





We had everyone from football players to computer geeks. Katie is best friends with all of them. She comes home everyday and tells me about this "new kid" she has met and then she says, "Yeah...he's my best friend!"

I just love my little girl. You can't get much sweeter than my
Katie Bug.

Cottonwood Soccer

The girls had a fabulous season. They both played well, scored a few goals and had a blast with their teammates.

Courtney was team captain and loved getting to know the new girls. She took pride in being a "nice" captain. Apparently the seniors and captains weren't so "nice" when she was a sophomore and Junior.







Katie was interviewed by The Tribune and was mentioned in a few articles. She got a kick out of seeing her name in the newspaper.



I crocheted hats for the team. It took me the entire summer and most of the fall, but I got all 33 finished before it got too cold. I know 33 doesn't sound like a lot, but when it takes almost 2 hours to comlete just one, it is huge. The girls loved them though, so it was worth it!







This photo was taken at their last home game. The parents got together and got the seniors a little gift and presented it to them.



Courtney wrote personal letters to all the girls on the team and handed them out at the soccer banquet. Needless to say, there were a lot of hugs and even more tears!





I am still in denial that Courtney is a senior! She is so independant and mature. If anyone figures out how to make time go by a little slower, let me know...

Rrrroberto's Rules

I went down into the kitchen yesterday morning before work and saw this sitting on the counter.



Before I go any further, I need to explain a few things.

First of all, Courtney has named her car Roberto. When asked why, she said, "Because Rrrroberto from the bachelor is hot and so is my car."

Secondly, Courtney takes Katie and her friend Nani (pronounced
Nah-nee) to school every day.


Rrrroberto's Rules:

1. No eating in me unless you are granted permission from Courtney, in which case you must immediately clean any spills that may have occurred and throw away your wrappers. The use of spoons will not be tolerated; you must always use a fork.

2. Be respectful to Courtney. She is a wonderful, (and might I add) beautiful person.

3. Never leave your stuff in me. EVER

4. If you bring a sack lunch, you must take it into the school with you and if there are any leftovers or tupperware they are to be taken into your house as I drop you off. (Nani)

5. I am not a trash bin. If you have any trash in me please take it out as you are exiting. Do not say you will do it later... because I know you won’t.

6. Another major problem that we seem to be having is leaving shoes and clothes in me. I am not a hamper or a shoe-holder thing... so stop leaving them in me!

7. No shouting “Courtney you don’t know where you’re going!”

8. No taking me for a joy ride. The only person allowed in the driver’s seat is my beloved Courtney Joyce Jones.

9. Courtney is my master and the captain of my radio.

10. If Courtney says she’s not taking you to Wendy’s, then, SHE'S NOT TAKING YOU TO WENDY'S!!"

11. Don’t lock the keys in me or leave any of my lights on.

12. Do not hit, pinch, slap, punch, spit on, or hurt Court in any way including name-calling.

13. No spitting out your toothpaste until the car has come to a complete stop.

These rules at their essence should convey the following thought: keep me clean and happy! If any of these rules are broken, you will owe Court $1 for each act of cruelty. If #7 is broken at any time you will owe her $5 each. I am not lying. Abide by these rules and nobody gets hurt. Thanks ugly children!

Love,

Rrrroberto

Number 7 and 13 are my personal favorites.

By the way girls, if I ever find out who took Rrrroberto for a joy ride, well, let's just say that Rrrroberto will enjoy a nice week long siesta in the garage! :)

Reid Ranch

This year girls' camp was at Reid Ranch again. And, once again, we had a blast.

Here we are all ready to leave on our adventure!



Waiting in front of our cabin to get our wrist bands.



Sorry Kerry, I just had to put this picture in. We had been up at the ranch for a total of 5 minutes when Kerry snagged her pants and ripped a hole in them. In the picture Jana has just finished putting a piece of duct tape on her butt. We all had a good laugh over it.



Here is a picture of the leaders after finishing with our skit. I think that we thought we were funnier than we really were. Alicia is the one in yellow, she was the sun.



Here is our bishop, what a great sport!



It has become a tradition to make bananna boats up at girls' camp. Everyone shaped their foil into an easily identifiable object. Courtney's was the phone and Jenn's the receiver.



Cute pictures around the fire...







90% of our time was spent around the craft tables, though we did make it outside eventually.







I have to admit I got just a tiny, itsy-bit obsessed with the horses. We had certain times that we were scheduled to go and I went every single time. Granted, I couldn't walk for a week, but it was worth it.









The girls had a blast flirting with the boys-I mean going to the archery post.



There was a lot of swimming, paddle boating, KSB squared (kick soccer bum ball), hot tubbing, and eating. But apparently some of us didn't get enough sleep at night.







Here is a picture of our amazing camp directors...



Jana and I are going on 3 years now. I couldn't have asked for a nicer, sweeter, kinder, make you laugh until you cry...friend. I love you Jana, I can't wait for next year!!