Sara's last prom...

Sara attended prom last night- the last one for her since she is aging out of the school system.

This girl has prom down to a science.  Her wish list for this year's "Red Carpet Prom" was a pink princess dress and a tiara.  Girl knows what she loves...

And of course, William was by her side.  His parents raised him right- he was so excited to see Sara and put that corsage on her wrist.  He even opened the car door for her and made sure all of that pink tule was safely tucked into the car before shutting the door.  A true gentleman.  I love that guy.

They danced the night away, talking, laughing and just being like any couple at their prom, wrapping up the night with some waffles and ice cream under the stars.

The corsage is lovely, but it's Sara's tiny hands that melt my heart...

I think we did it up right this year and made it a prom she will never forget...

The after party...

Going straight home from prom just seems not right...so we had to have an after party.  What better way to celebrate a fun evening than enjoying some live music and...WAFFLES!

Hunter hanging out with one of the Seabrook pelicans...

Listening to live music....a teacher who is also a fantastic guitar player & singer...

This guy did an amazing job of dancing with Sara all night- best prom date ever!

Chicken and Waffles- YUM!

Nicest waitstaff- so polite and service was Great!

Strawberry field salad complete with croutons made from WAFFLES!  Yum :)

The owner was so sweet- he told Sara that "anyone wearing a tutu gets a free waffle!"  She thought she'd won the lottery!

Hunter gave it two thumbs up....just couldn't put the fork down to get the other thumb in the pic ;)

Seabrook Waffle Company is located at:
1402 5th St. Seabrook, TX 77586

Their phone number is:  281.291.8186

You can find them on  Facebook

It was the perfect ending to a perfect evening :)

Best Buddies Prom...

One of the first things that popped into my head when I was told that Sara had Down Syndrome was that she would never go to prom.

I'm sure G-d is having the last laugh on that one since tonight made prom number five for Sara.  Proof yet again that worrying in advance does absolutely nothing but make you look like an idiot when what you wasted time worrying about never ended up happening.

Blinged nails...

 This year's Best Buddies prom theme was Circus.  I know, you probably did what I did and immediately pictured this...

Clowns have always creeped me out- even before Stephen King's It

William's mom and I decided that fancy circus girl who rides the horses & ringmaster sounded better than clowns.

HUGE shout out to the very talented Amanda at our local Kroger florist for designing the perfect boutonniere for Sara's date...

Another shout out to my mom who is the special events wardrobe coordinator in our family :)

Most lovely corsage!

I thought this was the sweetest moment...

Each year I find myself more and more amazed by this little grown up girl who teaches me every day that you should never set the ceiling on what someone will do in their life.  Sara lives big, finds joy in the small things, and savors the good stuff.

Smart girl with limitless possibilities- I'm not worried one little bit.

A Special Prom...

Sara's prom is tonight.  She's not a senior, but a "senior plus" since she has two more years in the public school system before aging out at 22.  She loves music and dancing, so prom for her is a HUGE deal.

Travis went out today and bought her a corsage.  The Best Buddies came to class today and did the girl's nails, and a local beauty school came out to do their hair.  My mom and dad took her dress shopping earlier this week for the perfect pink dress, and it melted my heart that my dad participated in that shopping trip.

I know we only have a few more prom nights left...more than most get I suppose, but I will miss the excitement of getting ready, primping, and posing for pictures.  Moments like these always seem like trying to grasp onto the wispy tendrils of smoke as they float away.

18 years...

Well, we made it through a jam-packed weekend of birthday, prom & party. I'm so tired I couldn't even bring myself to go up to school and work on a Sunday- something I do pretty much every Sunday.
Friday morning I shipped the boys off to school and the girls and I set out to play. First up was manicures/pedicures. I sat and watched as both my girls sat in massage chairs while their feet were scrubbed, massaged, and polished. I'm convinced now that neither one are related to me because I cannot stand to have my feet touched. I get pedicures, but I do not have that look of relaxation on my face like my girls did. Then it was off to the DPS to get Sara her Texas ID. She was so cute as she put her thumbs up on the scanner, posed for the picture, and signed her card. I was madly snapping photos the whole time- something I'm sure those DPS workers don't normally see.
Lunch was at Sara's favourite Mexican food restaurant. As soon as we sat down Anne jumped up to go use the "restroom". Then she returned with a smirk on her face. Shortly after lunch was finished, all the waiters showed up to sing to Sara and bring her cheesecake. The family who owns the restaurant know Sara- so it was really sweet that the owner and his wife joined in.
I did manage to sneak in a 3-4:00 nap before I had to get Sara ready for the prom. We did make up, hair- and then cowgirled her up with rhinestones, pink hat, boots and a killer belt/buckle. As we drove to prom, Sara informed us that if we stayed it would be embarrassing. So we walked her in, stayed for 20 minutes so I could get at least some pictures, then left.
Saturday night was Sara's official birthday party complete with homemade fajitas, ritas and a delicious cake made by Nana. Sara had a great time goofing around with her friends and oohing and ahhing over her new gifts. By 11:00 we were finishing up the last of the dishes and heading for bed. It was a more than full weekend.
As emotional as I had been over the months leading up to her birthday I was really ok when it finally came, and hopefully we will sail through the next three years without any emotional melt downs from me. And I'm sure most of you, well- anyone who reads anymore, is hoping that I will now move on to another subject.

And I will- up next: House Building Drama.

Sara's Smilebox

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Luau

Sara went to her prom last night. The theme? Luau. Thank Bob for my mom, who went out and put Sara's outfit together...right down to the flower lei.

The boy that she went with last year bought her a corsage again...however, Sara is just "not that into him" (her words) this year. Instead she chose to hang out with her gal-pals. Oh to be 17 and fickle....