Sunday, March 30, 2014

Homecoming Queen

My high school experience was okay, but not a time period I would want to relive.  I definitely enjoyed college more.  And my mid to late twenties even more than that.  But high school was. . . well, high school.  I had a great group of friends, my grades were decent and I had some fun.  My graduating class was on the small side with 140ish kids, so although there were "cliques," everyone was pretty much friendly with everyone else.  There were no mean girls or anything like that.  (That's not to say that there wasn't any typical teenage immaturity.)  Just as I accepted the fact that I was never going to be tall enough to play basketball, I knew that I would never be nominated for homecoming queen or prom queen and that was okay.  It wasn't incredibly upsetting or life changing.  That's just the way life was.

The girls attended their second father-daughter dance last week.  It's really just a big social event for the kids and I'm convinced they only label it "father-daughter" so the dads have to stay.  Because it runs somewhat late (in our books, anyway), Rich and the girls had scurried out before the end last year.  A few days before this year's dance, the girls discovered that one of Anna's classmates had been named "queen" last year and had received a bouquet of flowers and a teddy bear.  A teddy bear!  The girls exclaimed that the teddy bear was the most awesomest prize to receive at a dance ever.  Then they started saying, "Maybe I'll be queen this year."  At first, I was a bit taken aback that they would do such a thing at a dance for young kids.  After consulting with other parents though, it appears that the naming of the queen and princesses is most likely just a part of the fundraising raffle they have during the dance.  Either way, the girls and Rich were home before any queen was announced and thankfully, there hasn't been any mention of it since.  

Right or wrong, it's human nature to judge based upon appearance.  That being said, I feel that there are some important lessons to teach my daughters:
  1. Beauty comes from within.
  2. It's more important to have fun with your friends than to be named "queen."
  3. Do you feel beautiful?  Then you are.

Now it's time for the pictures because you know I couldn't resist.  After last year's failed attempt at an outdoor photo shoot, we set up a mini studio inside.  The girls have my hair, which has a good amount of body to it.  I can set my hair in hot rollers and enjoy wavy hair all day but some reason, the girls hair doesn't take to heat curls at all.  If we braid it when it's damp, they'll have wavy hair but it doesn't like the curling iron or hot rollers.  I probably just need to experiment with it more.  Anyway, I ended up using the flat iron to straighten it out and I think it looked awesome.

(Don't be fooled, she really was happy.  I think this is her high fashion runway look.)    

marc30a

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A great night was had by all!

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi, Sarah,
This is my first comment, but I have been reading for a while. These pictures are fantastic, like something out of a magazine. The girls are so beautiful, as you know.

Your blog has been such a source of hope for me, so thank you for sharing your stories and for maintaining such an authentic, warm voice. Those girls sure are lucky.

Laurie said...

They look so excited! Since their hair does well with a damp braid, you could try having them sleep in sock curls with damp hair. You only need about 4 socks (each) and you can do them quickly. There are a bunch of YouTube videos that are good. They are easy for adults too :)

JEN said...

Best pictures ever!

Kayla said...

Love, love, love the last shot. I can't believe how much they have grown.They are beautiful (all 4 of them)

Bree at Clarity Defined said...

I love how much their different personalities come out in these photos!

My hair doesn't take to heat curls well either (surprising given the amount of natural curl I have). My mom used to do 4-6 braids with a curler at the end and I'd sleep in it for curly hair the next day. It always worked (also, rag curls for tighter curls). If the braids still felt damp in the morning, she'd take a blow dryer to them first.

Kathleen said...

Beyond adorable! The girls' hair is getting so long! Have they ever thought about cutting it for an organization such as Locks of Love or do they prefer it long?

Anonymous said...

In one of the pictures (I don't know who it is, sorry!), it looks like one of the girls has a short, chin-length bob cut because he hair is behind her shoulders. It's so cute! I know your kids probably prefer long hair, but they would also look great with a shorter cut!

Anonymous said...

I keep coming across a pinterest pin that claims that curling your hair with a flat iron (there's some technique) will actually curl hair that doesn't normally take to curling irons or rollers. I don't know if it's just more heat or what, and I haven't actually tried it myself as my hair is naturally curly AND too short, but it's probably easy to look up if you're interested.

Sarah said...

Thanks for the hair suggestions. I don't know if they would sleep with anything in their hair overnight just yet. I'll have to look at pinterest and see what I can find.

They like their hair long right now. If, or when, they decide they want it shorter, we would definitely donate it.

Jennifer said...

Love the pictures!! I see that last one on a canvas :) Your pictures are great!!

Wendy said...

Is it Allie in the purple, Anna in the stripes and Em in the pink? They are going through that same "we don't look like babies anymore" phase Molly and Lilly are in! They are so pretty. Hope we can catch up in July <3

Sarah said...

Wendy - YES! Definitely looking more and more grown up. Yes - hope we can catch up in July too!!

Rachel said...

Oh my goodness! I haven't read your blog in a few months but the girls have gotten SO big! They are absolutely beautiful, and I've always loved reading your posts. :)