winter formal happened

Hosting ten teens for their Winter Formal dinner was the best. A little stressful, but mostly just enjoyable to listen to their laughter and conversations. I loved it. This was a girl's choice dance so they planned the whole thing and did all the driving/picking-up of the dates. I didn't get to see firsthand the always-awkward pinning of boutonnieres and corsages at the boy's house, or group photos at the nearby wash. But I did get to welcome them into our home for games and food. It was awesome.  

One of the boys was not present for the photo shoot. He was off winning a tennis tournament, and so his date, far left, was trying to look pouty and mad for this shot. Maybe she really was upset, but she handled it gracefully. The photographer was a friend from the neighborhood who has her own little photography business. She did a great job! And eventually, the tennis champion arrived late for dinner. Bummer for the photo shoot tho.

Also, everyone is so color coordinated. None of that was planned, except for between couples. Kind of fun when it's accidental.

The dinner menu:

Make Your Own Italian Cream Soda

Penne Alfredo with Chicken or Angel Hair Pomodoro 

(both from Rosati's) Took a friend's advice to not stress about the main dishes. So glad I did that!

Green Salad with Homemade Creamy Italian Vinaigrette

Homemade Garlic Rolls

Roasted Carrots

Oh, and Jonah and Owen were my waiters - they dressed up in white shirts and bow ties, but I didn't get a good photo of them. Darn. They did a great job and got to make Italian Sodas to their hearts' content as payment.

After dinner and lots of laughter playing Apples to Apples, the group headed out to another house to decorate sugar cookies and watch Elf. Eventually they made it to the dance too.

And now I must thank you for making it all the way through this photo marathon.