More adventure

Tonight is Coquille's homecoming dance, and Marie had planned to go with Simon, but he sprained his ankle yesterday in P.E., so she went alone. She wore the stunning outfit that she found at Ross ($50 for dress, shoes, and purse) and looked gorgeous when I took her to the dance. Julianne and Caleb decided they wanted to come with me so they could see the other girls all dressed up.

[Side note: We bought the dress last week, but forgot that I need to shorten the straps a bit, so I ended up doing a quick sewing job 30 minutes before the dance started.]

We went to the high school, only to discover that the dance was apparently being held someplace else--either that or Marie was the only one that decided to go. After making a phone call, we headed out to the Elk's Lodge.

It was pouring down rain when we got there, and the line was out the door where there was no cover. The school doesn't sell advance tickets, so everyone has to pay at the door, causing the line to move very slowly. We sat in the parking lot trying to figure out what to do. Caleb went and stood in line for her (barefooted!), but he was feeling a little shy and stood to the side, so other kids kept getting in line ahead of him. Julianne would have stood in line, but she was in her pajamas and a bathrobe, so that idea was out.

Finally, I went and talked to a girl that had an umbrella, and she kindly agreed to let Marie use it once the girl reached the covered area. We kept an eye on her, and when it was time, I went and got the umbrella, then came back to the van to get Marie. I took her to the end of the line, and she asked me to stay with her until she got to the door, so I did.

[Another side note: We were there plenty long enough to see lots of the kids go into the dance. The girls all look beautiful in their formal gowns, with their hair and make-up done to a "t". The guys, on the other hand, look just like they would on any other day. The great majority of them wore blue jeans, I saw lots of t-shirts and some hooded sweatshirts. The guys that "dressed up" had jeans with cotton button-down shirts with the sleeves rolled up. I don't get it.]

She's at the dance now, hopefully having a good time. We decided that I'll definitely bring an umbrella when I go to pick her up.