Year FIVE of a Special Tradition

I love the things that Bobby does with the girls. I love that he takes them on special dates and spends time with each of them. I love that he enjoys making memories and that he loves traditions just as much as I do.  As much as I love the times he spends with the girls, he loves these times more than words can say. 

Ashton is a total Daddy's Girl. She adores that man more than any other person on the planet. She thinks he has hung the moon. She thinks he is smart and funny and goofy and she loves being with him. I know for a fact that the feeling is mutual!

Since Ashton was four, Bobby has taken her to the Daddy Daughter Dance.  It is something that this girly-girl absolutely loves and looks forward to every year.  She has so much fun finding a dress and she always wants to make sure Daddy likes it.  She and Daddy have fun choosing what suit and tie he will wear that coordinates with her dress.  She loves that Daddy gets her a corsage to wear on her wrist.  She loves it all!

This year the tickets were purchased the day they went on sale back in January. The date was marked on our calendar and everything and everyone was good to go.  Well, then we sold our house and had a February 14th closing.  That meant that the dance fell on the same weekend we were moving.  Throw that in with Daddy being gone for work Wednesday-Friday, Mommy breaking her tailbone on Wednesday and you have some serious timing issues.

The day was a stressful and busy one trying to cram everything in.  We had to be finished with moving stuff for the day by 3:00 so we could get back  to the apartment to get baths, do hair, and get everyone ready so we could be at dinner by five and the dance by six.

Of course our Big Girl chose a hair do that takes for.ev.er...she wanted all of her hair curly with a purple flower in it (purple was this year's chosen accent color). Let me just remind you that Ashton has a TON of hair and it is thick so that in itself was a job to wash, dry, and curl all that hair. I forgot to leave out the hairspray amidst all the packing, so it was a bit unruly, but she didn't mind.

To say that I was a FRAZZLED and STRESSED out mess is a total understatement. We didn't have much time to take pictures and since I had never taken pictures in the apartment before, I didn't know where the lighting was best and I didn't have time to play around with the settings on my camera, I didn't use the flash so I am bummed at how few pictures I took to begin with and how they didn't turn out like I wanted. I thought I would be able to edit them to look better, but that didn't work. This is one of those times I wish I could have a "do over". She had a blast and to her everything turned out just as it should have but for me, I felt like it could have and should have been better.

We had our traditional dinner at Cantina Laredo. Landry wanted to match Daddy and Ashton--luckily I had an outfit that coordinated and was acceptable AND she really wanted to go to the dance..I mean really wanted to go. I was able to distract her by telling her that she and I were going to pick out sheets for her big girl bed and get a cookie at the mall for dessert. And the fact that  she gets to go next year when she is four seemed to satisfy her.

{The only picture I got with Lil Sis in it}

This is Ashton's fake smile (the one that she gives me most of the time in pictures)

I can't believe this her FIFTH year at this!

After our dinner, Landry and I dropped Daddy and Ashton off at the "Hollywood Glitz and Glam" themed dance and picked them up when it was over.  I tried desperately to have them take a camera, but they didn't want to hassle with it and take a chance on losing it. They just wanted to enjoy their time together so I guess I will have to be satisfied with the portraits they had taken. 

They had such a great time dancing with each other and seeing some friends there.  The dance was such a great distraction from the move for Ashton.  Next year Daddy gets to go twice...once with each of his girls so they get to have that special time alone with Daddy!