Senior Prom

Excuse me while I gush about Thomas's senior prom last night.  We had such a great time with all the festivities.  Prom is a big darn deal here.  It feels like the entire city comes out for it.  And since we are not sure if Brennan will want to go to his junior or senior proms, we enjoyed last night with the kids and our friends.

 

Thomas and Sydney have known each other for years from school, youth group at church, mission trips, cross-country, our neighborhood, and just hanging out with the same kids.  Because they are both drama-free kinds of kids and aren't dating anyone, they went as friends.

 

We started at the Visitors Center...

 

 

 

 

 

And headed to Large Arch.

 

 

Then to Irwin Gardens...

 

 

 

And the Cummins Corporate Office Building

 

 

 We headed to the parking garage roof to see the festivities from above...

 

 

 

 Then headed out to Spencer's house for group photos before the crew left for dinner.

 

We headed back into town for the best seats possible with Sydney's parents.  We had a great night, also Cinco de Mayo, waiting for The Promenade to Prom.

 

 

First is the parade down Washington Street with all sorts of vehicles including a Pontoon and the largest combine we'd ever seen.

Then the two block Promenade starts at 9:00.  It is incredible to see everyone out celebrating these kids!  Everyone goes to Prom it seems whether you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, you go with friends or by yourself.  It's really incredible to see.

Walking the Promenade...

 

 

And some of Thomas and Sydney's friends.

 

 

 

And the first photo of the night, and maybe my favorite, brothers.

 

 Everyone made it home safely and had a wonderful time!

 



April 2018

More big milestones and a few side trips in April!


We celebrated a chilly Easter with our friends - a tradition spanning at least 13 years.  The "kids" are much older now (3 are in college and 2 are heading there in a few months), but they still like hunting eggs!

 

 

Photo of a puppy at the end of an evening with our book club.  Begging for food and looking adorable takes a lot out of a guy.  Here he's resting with Daddy.

 

We discussed "When Breath Becomes Air" over some delicious Indian food.

 

 

April is a very chilly month.  We even had a couple of days of snow.  But finally the trees started to bloom, and now it's in the 80s.  Thank goodness spring finally arrived.

 

 

 

 

 

I joined friends for a Harry Potter trivia night downtown.  We helped raise funds for the Child Abuse Prevention fundraiser held every April.  While the "Gryffindor Gals" didn't win, we enjoyed the Butter Beer and a night out.

 

 

 

Brennan had a big month.  He ran a 5K with David

 

And passed his driving test!

 

 

Here we are the day he picked up his license.

 

 

 

 

 

And then drove off one evening to tutor.

 

 

I met up with Thomas downtown to order his tux for Senior Prom!

 

And he picked up his cap and gown for graduation!

 

 

Both Thomas and Brennan participated in our annual Youth Sunday at church.  It is always incredibly well-written, thought-provoking, and funny.  Here are Thomas and Evan at one point in a skit as "Priest 1 and Priest 2".  In addition, Thomas played the voice of God in another skit, and sang with the youth choir.  Brennan played two hand bell songs and opened the service with a reading.

 

 

While I have not been emotional about senior year, when these 5 seniors made their ways to the front row during the last song of their last Youth Sunday, I choked up.  Both of our high school valedictorians are represented here, along with the newest member of the United States Air Force Academy!

 

 

 

David celebrated 25 years with Cummins this month.  We had lunch together at a traditional British tea house.

 

 

 

And then we took off for a beautiful Saturday in Kentucky with part of our wine club.  Buffalo Trace and Woodford Reserve Distilleries were on the agenda, along with Heirloom in Midway for lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had so much fun seeing Trevor Noah in Bloomington!  After having seen Jon Stewart AT the Daily Show a few years ago, I couldn't pass up the chance to join our friends Usha and Srikanth for a night out with yummy food, and so many laughs.  Trevor was incredible to see live.

Finally, the Boatwrights were in charge of the photo shoot for the 6 friends' graduation party.  We had fun trying to capture their silliness coolness at the park.  I'm thrilled with the invitations, arriving soon I hope.