Preference!

Hanna is 16! It kills me. As many of you know, she is now allowed to date boys. (Much to Tim's chagrin!) Tonight she went to "Preference." Preference is a girl's choice dance. This meant that Hanna had to come up with a clever way to ask someone to accompany her to this dance. She asked her friend, Nate. She made a poster that said, "I got so nervous to ask you to preference that I PEED on your porch. She put frozen peas all over his porch. Clever? I know. That is my Hanna! 

Nate replied with the word "YES" spelled out on our porch in chocolate covered raisins. (It looked like some kind of poop.) For the record, I couldn't be more proud of either of them. Very original!

As much as I just want to blog about how beautiful Hanna looked and what a fun group they went with, I want to express how much I love Hanna. I loved watching her plan. They went with a of group 7 couples. All of them great kids. I watched as they made plans, changed plans and carried out plans. I loved dress shopping with Hanna. I loved watching all aspects of the preparation. 

I watched all of my kids help clean the house and watch each other while I was busy cooking, taking pictures and serving dinner to the Preference group. Don't get me wrong. My kids were all human and definitely did not do all of this with a smile. What matters to me is that they did it. When I needed their help, they supported both Hanna and I. What more could a mom ask?

 Ally, a good friend of Hanna's, came to see her all ready. I love this girl and am so grateful for "good" friends.

 Hanna and Nate

 The group

 The girls

 The group again

 The girls again

 Once again, the fabulous Joy Markham, helped me do the dinner. Now, when I use the word, "HELPED," I mean that Joy told me what to make, what groceries to get and then she cooked the main course. Everyone needs a friend like Joy. Just find your own friend like Joy. This Joy is taken!!

Not only is Joy a fabulous friend and neighbor to me, my girls LOVE her. At the end of the day that is what matters most. My girls look up to Joy and love her to death.

Joy happens to be married to CRAZY Bill Markham. (Shown in the background here.)

We love Bill too. I just like to give him a hard time.

 Dinner time

After the dance everyone came back to our house for an "ice cream bar." This was such a fun group of kids. It was an honor to have them in our home!

A great night!