We were surprised to find that Lauren showed up in The New Era (our church's worldwide youth magazine) this month in the feature they did on the pioneer trek we did last year in our area.  It was fun to relive some of the memories + to have such a nice moment with her friend Ian captured in print.

Lauren is in the yellow bonnet, pulling the handcart

And then, in a freaky coincidence, we found that Sam was in the Friend (the children's magazine) for this same month for a little service project he and the other children did last year at the Old North Bridge.

Sam's in the red shirt on the bridge

You'd think we hired agents or something! Two children featured, three children in our family. Hmmm. Way to mess with our slippery + tentative balance of sibling equity, church magazines! (Luckily, Miss M didn't have a Marcia, Marcia, Marcia moment at all.) 

Post prom, day after celebrations: potluck dinner + roasting marshmallows + Roman Holiday outside

I love these kids.

They really know how to stretch out an event and milk it for all it's worth.

The end.

I promise.

And no one is more glad for the closed chapter than a certain younger sister. She's been a great sport but I can tell that L Attention Month--what with the college trips, proms + dress shopping, surgery + get-well visits--has taken its toll on the sisterly vibe.

 This weekend was the stake prom, a church-sponsored dinner dance (with dates) for teens in the area.  I didn't have these where I grew up but here they're a big deal and, for many of the kids, the only proms they attend.

For the grandparents to see:

 There's a saga about the dress: She ordered it online but, since it was strapless, she knew she'd have to modify it for the church prom. The long story includes delays at the tailor, a frumpy result, unpicking the modifications and, a few hours before the dance, an emergency trip to the mall without her to find a cover up. Whew. 

A nice cute boy in our congregation asked Lauren back in early February by drawing his invitation on the sidewalk with colored chalk outside the church. It was his first date ever and they had a good time getting to know each other better. One prom fail: we left the boutonniere at home in the fridge. She brought it to him the next day at church but it just wasn't quite the same. Plus what 16-year-old wants to wear a boutonniere at church? 

They met up with other friends for a big photo shoot before the dance. Halfway through the group shot we realized it looked like a wedding photo, with the white dress in the middle :).

 G was one of the chaperones and drove L & her date to the dinner-dance.  He did this quick, warm-up spin with her before they left. I heart this photo.

. . .

In the meantime, Maddy met up with all of her friends (too young for prom) for an "anti-prom" party. I went on a Sam date--we ate Mexican food and watched the pilot episode of Lost. (He has started watching the current season with G and me and has been dying to see the beginning.)

All in all, a lovely evening for all and in spite of the Cinderella looking getup, Lauren came home with both slippers in tact on her feet.

. . .

Do you have memories of your first prom?

Whoops, did I say I was going to post monthly family photos and summaries of our doings?  Don't look too hard for February's entry.  But then again, that's February for you: Good intentions, dreary execution.

But here is today's March entry, with a photo taken in the two minutes before Sam ran out the door to piano lessons.  Louie came up to the camera to check things out (maybe bomb-sniffing dog potential? he can earn his retainer reimbursement money! [see below]) just as the shutter clicked.  Classic.  For the record, none of us liked this photo: Lauren didn't like her hair, Sam was goofy, my bangs never cooperate and I swear that double chin is no longer welcome here, Maddy is blurry, and G is nowhere to be seen.  Perfect, I say (except the G missing part). Real.

So what to say about us this month?

Sam got his braces off, then 6 days later Louie delighted in finding his retainer case and chomped it, snapping the retainer cleanly in half.  I think we now hold the record for fastest return to the orthodontist for a new retainer.  Go, W family pride!

I have not exercised once this month.  And I have quit eating sugar 6 times this month but the mini Cadbury eggs have gotten the better of me every single time. My house is too close to a neighborhood grocery store that stocks Cadbury for me to exercise self control.  And I don't walk there, I drive.  Still, I am inspired by all my marathon training, vegan eating friends out there. I'm living vicariously through them for now, but inspired.

After a long hiatus we have started reading a book out loud together when we can.  I just may have been inspired in part by this article about a dad and daughter who read aloud together every night until she left for college.  Fantastic.  So, what are your suggestions for read-alouds with kids (ages 11-16)? Over the years we've done Harry Potters, Under Sea Over Stone, Hunger Games, Little Women, King in the Window, The Wheel on the School, a bunch of EB Whites... How about you?

Speaking of good articles, do you use Delicious?  I have started bookmarking articles there that I find interesting and I'd love to know what you're reading, too. Drop me a comment or an email if you have a delicious account so I can check out your favorite articles, too.

Yesterday, we watched the old musical Carousel.  I had forgotten about all that talk of Billy beating and hitting Julie Jordan. Billy! It's not okay. Still, that scene at the end when he comes back to earth to make everything all right for his daughter...Sigh. I think it's ripe for a revival. I'm picturing Hugh Jackman as Billy Bigelow, maybe Katie Clark as Julie Jordan. 

Lauren took the SATs this month; I think she finds out tomorrow how she did.  I'm finding myself to be in complete denial about this whole college idea. Right now she's looking into USU, BYU, Westminster, Washington University in St. Louis (hey Christie!), and Emory. But it changes weekly. Trying to strike the balance of being supportive/interested without falling into the zone of over-controlling on one side and complete denial on the other is a challenge.

Maddy delights us with her jaunty zesty fashion sense.  She puts scarves and layers and sparkly shoes and leggings together like nobody's business.  

She's been dreading violin lessons lately and we had a long tearful talk in the parking lot for 15 minutes before she went in. Oh the pressure she puts on herself, that girl.  I basically gave her a license to fail gloriously, here's your license to mess up, Maddy.  To make mistakes and slop your way through something and not be the best.  Just be the one who has fun doing it. Don't worry about the recital and measuring up. Just flail your arms around and make music for you.  My two girls could give each other lessons: one has extra doses of laidbackness, the other has conscientiousness to spare. It's too bad they can't just ladle a little into the other's cup.

Finally, it has been brought to my attention that I do not post very many pictures of myself.  Here ya go, circa today, proof that I do indeed exist: 

                      beyond here there be thighs...

Just a little love letter to my grandparents' house (fondly known as 135):

Taken from flip video I took last weekend on a whim, shaky camera work and all. It's part of my personal geography, that house.  I love everything about it and the people therein.

Music: To Build a Home by The Cinematic Orchestra