Prom 2014

All the posts here lately seem to be focusing on Chloe- 

She has had a lot going on!

In April- late one night- there was a knock at the door.

No one was there but there were 15 bananas placed throughout the yard.

Each had a piece of paper with the word - banana- sticking out of it on a toothpick.

Until... there was an

orange.

Chloe was nervous & thrilled & excited!

We were all dying to know who this boy was.

we figured it out and...

It was the nicest boy who had gone to school with her since Kindergarten.

Truly- she was over- the- moon that he had asked her.

I'm talking Valedictorian, going to college on a full scholarship in California, super talented & nice...

Right now- if you have daughters- you know exactly how I felt at that moment.

I don't even know how to describe it.

(Brian is holding a pair of black glasses in his hand & they are up against his black pants.. ha! He is not flying the bird.)

That weekend was General Conference for our church.

When these four left for the Priesthood Session, Saturday night.

Chloe & I went shopping.

The Saturday before that- 

the girls & I were lucky enough to get tickets to the General Women's Meeting!

Live tickets!! It was a thrill to be there & with my girls. Megan was home with new baby Peter.

It was so great to be there- I kept thinking back over the past year & all my worries. 

I loved being there- shed lots of tears of gratitude.

And said many prayers of thanks.

 I am so grateful to be a woman- I am so thankful to be a mother.

A good friend of mine is a secretary for the agriculture department of the church and had some really good tickets - 25 rows back. I cannot tell you enough how good this was for me. I am so thankful for my church. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ. It has seen me through so many tough times & I cannot express... 

well- another post for that.

So back to the story...

Chloe & I went shopping in the little downtown shops near our town.

AND FOUND A PROM DRESS!

JUST LIKE THAT- NO SWEAT- NO STRESS- JUST FOUND THE MOST PERFECT DRESS IN THE WORLD? IT'S UNHEARD OF-- 

(Prom hair & makeup practice day)

Again- if you have daughters- you know exactly how much of a miracle this whole event was... and she hadn't even been to the dance yet!

The dress:

It's a light blue 1950's vintage dress we found in a dress/antique boutique.

It was perfect! It's so Chloe & fit her like it was made for her.

How I wish we knew the story of this dress...

but for now we know- it had just arrived that day.

and we bought it!

The night of the dance-

Her date picked her up & she was as cool as a cucumber.

The first thing he said when he saw her was-

You look Amazing

OH MY GOSH

My heart melted- what a nice guy. 

I was so happy for Chloe.

This was the perfect way to end the year.

It was like she had a real Cinderella ending. It was fantastic.

Like - good things happen to nice girls fantastic-

You know?

If you have daughters- or even if you don't

I think you will get it.

Not that Chloe isn't a nice girl... not that she didn't deserve to have a great prom date... it's just in real life we don't always get what we need or even deserve.

Enjoy the rest of these pictures.

They had a great time-

It's all I can do not to hug that kid & tell his mother that she raised such a great son.

I will- I will do both. 

I just can't yet- not without bawling like a crazy stalker lady.

I don't want to scare them....

I'll let you know when it happens.

this past week...

I work four morning shifts-

and

I went to TWO

birthday parties!

Lisa & Lauri's

They were both really fun & I adore both of these ladies!

Brittany's house is really coming along & I can't wait for her to move in at the end of the month.

It was conference weekend 

and

sadly... oh so sadly...

I slept through most of it.

Oh I am so mad at myself!

I must have been really tired? I didn't get a project together & I just fell.

Fell asleep.

Thank heavens for the DVR.

I will be watching it this week-- maybe I will hear more of it anyway?

 Jack was home for a night.

I tried to feed him as much food as possible.

He is gaining a little weight, after his specialist gave him a couple of new prescriptions.

It's getting cold outside- Trent has been begging me to turn the heat on- and this morning I finally succumbed. It had to be done.

REally-- is your October flying by too? 

updates

This week/weekend have been particularly busy- My sweet friend at work is on vacation, so for the past month I have been working her usual shift. The extra hours are nice- but I have been super busy. (she was in Paris, France-- lucky girl!) So, besides working...I stopped in at JoAnn's fabric to get some thread. I found myself staring at this picture for a long time. Oh- I love this dress! I am wondering if I should go on a diet- in hopes of wearing a dress like this & looking decent in it? I also went into Walmart for a couple of items I only can find there- just to see this on a shelf. Brett was with me & completely sicked out. (he has a snot phobia- really he does)
Brian says they sell this in Chile- translated it means "snot of the gorilla"
what in the world? Would YOU put this in your hair? Disturbing.

On a much more pleasant note- My plan for staying awake during conference weekend was to work on this beautiful baby quilt. But- it didn't really work. I slept through most of it!? what!? I am so ashamed & embarrassed. (I was just wiped out I think!?) In between sleep sessions I LOVED Elder Erying's talk & I nearly finished this baby quilt. It is for Laura's brother Jake & his wife Heather- who are expecting a baby girl any day! This sweet baby will be the first grandchild in Laura's family & the oldest girl cousin to Brian & Laura's future children- so she is extra special & much anticipated even at our house. We ate too much food- my favorite being these pumpkin squares.

Fall is nearly here in Utah- we are expecting temperatures to drop 30 degrees this week!

Hair this morning- Hailey woke up to this amazing hair-do!! I tried to talk her into going to school like this but she is a cowardly gal. Short hair + non gorilla snot hair gel= crazy bed head. I LOVE IT! This week I have a couple of goals- one of them to blog every day!

What are you up to?

my favorite weekend

Spring Conference weekend is really the best weekend of the Year.

Fall conference weekend is a close second... but spring... gotta love it!

We have a lot of traditions for conference weekend.

On Saturday morning I usually make a big breakfast to get everyone up & happy (this year buttermilk pancakes, eggs & bacon with fresh strawberries & bananas) then we break to get dressed quick- come back to the family room- get comfy... but not too comfy-

Then Conference begins at 10:00 AM sharp.

Saturday was warm & overcast, but Sunday we woke up to 2" of snow, which melted- then it started raining & hailing up more of the white stuff.

Spring in Utah is a fickle thing.

The younger kids in our house are always building something.

This time trent got out his legos & I came up with the idea of putting them on a blanket. Okay- it's taken me 24 years to figure out that noisy legos & blocks etc. can be quieted & easily picked up if put on a blanket. Better late than never.

The girls took notes for seminary.

and guess what!?

Grandma & Grandpa Messer are here!

We love having company for Conference!

Aren't they cute

There are five sessions to conference

But Saturday morning always ends up being my favorite.

I'm not sure if it's because it's the session I hear the most? but it is always my favorite & this year was no exception.

Not my best photo.

But still- here I am enjoying conference.

What a great weekend.

I have much more to write & say...

but it's spring break.

we are super busy & having a great time!

My favorite conference talk... that's a hard one...

but it's here!

conference weekend- backwards edition

Even though it ended in tears we had a fabulous conference weekend. As I type- these guys are finishing it up with a Clue tournament- riveting!

I've been such a slacker blogging lately that I completely forgot how to upload photos in the right order!?
So this post is going to be backwards.

Tonight Brett ran out to rescue Trent in the rain. Trent was out sobbing after college bound Jack left for his dorm room tonight. He was so sad to see him go that he couldn't bring himself to come inside. They decided to take a picture to send him.

Jack being a busy teen- who doesn't even live at home- doesn't have a lot of time for Trent.
Trent worships Jack. It's hard being the youngest in a large family. heck- it's just hard being the youngest, but somebody has to do it. This past week Trent has been unsuccessful in trying to talk me into adopting a baby so he can be a big brother. I told him -I'm too old- I'm going to be a grandma soon. Somebody has to be the youngest- sorry bud.

The Boys
Just before the tears.

They all helped run out his fresh laundry & confiscated groceries in the rain.

It's been raining buckets all day & all last night.
In fact there was a huge storm, we lost some tree limbs & I didn't sleep at all with all the wind!

Trent started out helping Jack with no shoes or jacket...

Being the youngest does has it's benefits. I would never have let the older kids run out in the rain.

Last night - us girls & Trent went to the fabric store & yogurt place while the big boys went to the Priesthood session of conference. Notice Brittany is here? I'll get to that soon.

After getting yogurt Trent ran over & saved us a place- nice.

We had gone to the fabric store just before & it was PACKED. I didn't take any photos because I wanted to get the heck outta there. This place was pretty crazy too. I guess it was a hot Saturday night to be out?

Saturday afternoon session Marcus & Brittany drove up from Provo to stay the night & watch conference with us. We were so happy to have the company & Bronco was thrilled to have Marcus here to give him some love. Marcus was continually stalked by his new best friend.

Saturday morning we were THRILLED BEYOND THRILLED at the announcement that a new temple will be built near where the missionary is serving in Chile! I almost cried as I could imagine him crying tears of joy when this announcement was made.

Dad & Trent immediately got on the computer to track the distance. From Osorno it's about 25o miles to Concepcion, Chile. What a thrill for the people of southern Chile to have a temple so much closer to them.

The girls started out conference taking notes- they are so sweet. We played our new favorite game- which will remain nameless because I have bought it for everyone I know as a Christmas gift- and I worked on needle work, help trent with homework & cooked yummy food. I am so happy to say I only slept through one talk! A first for me. I think my favorite talk... was maybe... Elder Uchdorff, Elder Oaks, gee that's a hard one?

Jack was wiped out tired & caught up on some much needed sleep, even though he tried really hard to stay awake. He got home at 3:30 AM. He had decided to come home so that he would be here for the beginning of conference - Zach, his roommate & he left later than planned & when he got here he realized his key wouldn't open the deadbolt on the front door- we weren't expecting him. He tried to get in, then looked through the living room window to see Bronco in full on attack stance staring back at him- crazy barking ensued. Brett ran down stairs & let the dogs out- then from my bed I could hear a quiet knocking at the front door & knew immediately- jack was home. We all met in the kitchen- and visited for a while. I made him a taco- heck- doesn't everyone eat tacos at 3:30 AM? & it was so nice to have him here. Trent of course woke up & I went back to bed.

The hot new spot in the house is Brian & Jack's basement room. I spent most of the day Friday cleaning it out & setting it up for the missionary to return home next month. There is a T.V. & the kids loved having a place to hang out & watch movies this weekend. I cleaned out the closets, under the beds, behind the dressers, etc. I won't lie- I was thinking about slapping them both upside the head... it was a disaster. But it's all done now & I am glad to have it done a little early so that I don't worry about it anymore!

I realized tonight it's just over two weeks that I leave for the baby's birth & just a month 1/2 until he is home. Shoot - I've gotta lot to do.

*did you watch General Conference?

*do you have a favorite talk?