First Prom

“They grow up so fast.”  This wasn’t said by either Jennifer or me; it was Isaac. ☺  He was being funny about it, but I will admit there was some definite truth to the cliché.  If you noticed the picture from yesterday's post, you notice neither Jennifer or I were in it.  The reason for our absence from the picture was because of the second half of our busy day yesterday.  With Nick and Annette fully endowed and sealed for time and all eternity, Jennifer and I politely took our leave of the group (we spent time with them later in the afternoon and early evening) and left to get the Ben part of our day handled.  You see, he was going to attend his first school prom.

We were on a strict time schedule.  Ben needed to be at the school by 3 p.m. and Jennifer wanted to get him a corsage to give to his date, Alana Shutter (I have mentioned her previously here and here).  With all the road work in the Cajon Pass right now, being on a time schedule can be a bit problematical.  A couple of times traffic slowed and I began to worry that we wouldn’t have time to buy the corsage.  Thankfully, the slow traffic moments weren’t enough to sabotage the plan.  We made it to the flower shop and the staff was able to put Jennifer’s mental picture together within 5 minutes. 

Jennifer called ahead to find out if Ben was ready: he was (climbing the wall ready; let’s get out the door right now ready ☺).  We had bought a suit for him last week (dual purpose—prom and other special things in the next few months and eventually mission).  Ben was dressed in his suit and looked very good.  Jennifer and he left for school almost immediately after we arrived.  The moment they closed the door behind them, Isaac made his comment to me and I laughed.  Jennifer told me later that they were still 4 or 5 miles from the school when Jennifer’s cell phone rang: it was Alana wondering where they were.  I guess Ben wasn’t the only one excited about the prom trip. ☺ 

Before the prom goers were loaded onto the bus and driven to Marina Del Rey to the yacht where the dance would be held, time was allowed for parents  to take pictures.  Jennifer was able to take some great pictures of Ben and Alana (as you’ve noticed, I’ve added my favorites to this post).  I guess Alana’s dad took even more pictures then Jennifer.  She told me that he was so excited that he got out of his car and forgot to turn off the engine and take the keys from the ignition. ☺  Thankfully, no one took advantage of this.  Ben said the weather was a bit cold and windy when the boat left shore, but they enjoyed the dance and had a great time.  Also, they ended up coming home earlier than expected, so that was good as well.  Yes, in some ways, Ben has seemed to have grown up so fast, but the journey has been a great one.