Jan
2023

Semi-Formal: Dresses & Chuck Taylor’s!

We had the Semi-Formal dance at school—it was so much fun!

He said

It was a big weekend for Emelia—one that she had been looking forward too for some time. Especially when you add in that it was rescheduled from it’s original date in mid November. And then, again in December until it was finally settled on this past Friday. We are of course talking about Emelia’s Semi-Formal at Lucas. The reason the date got so moved around was because of the looming strike. First, it was postponed because the strike talks were started, the second time because the negotiations weren’t going well, which eventually turned into a protest by the teachers. In the end it all got resolved and kids were back in school in December, but they need a month to plan it.

It is definitely one of the right of passage events in high school that Emelia was really looking forward to. The pandemic over the course of the last two and a half years, Emelia lost a lot of the events that she was really looking forward to. But, this year with Grade 10, it has certainly felt a lot more like the sort of experience you look back fondly on for years. And the Semi-Formal was a big event on Emelia’s radar. She and the twins had been planning outfits for months, and finally the day was here! The girls spent the afternoon getting ready at our house and before we knew it, Danielle was taxiing them off to the event. Thankfully the girl’s Mother Susan came over and got some photos, because, ever her mother’s daughter, Emelia was blinking in every one of my pics!

By all counts the girls had a great time! Emelia came home grinning and giggling telling us all about it. We were so happy she finally got an event that truly made her feel like she is in high school!

On the biking front, over the course of the last week, with some more unseasonably close to 0ºC temps, I was able to get in even more outdoor rides. Wednesday, I managed to get in ride number eight on the month, and on only the 11th day of the year or month—take your pick. Last year, it took me to March 20th to hit that exact same milestone! I am really optimistic that the February goal will be hit this year removing really the only road block to hitting my new year’s resolution. The bummer this week is that is exactly one year plus a day from the last time I broke the pedal crankshaft on the stationary bike, the exact same thing happened to the replacement bike! Thank goodness we have a backup bike frame and a bike trainer!

Lastly, this is a really big week for Emelia and CheerStrike Royals as they put in their final prep for a couple of Comps we’re headed off to this weekend in Niagara Falls. Saturday they are in the Battle at the Border and then Sunday, The Border Showdown. They’re both at the same venue in the Falls thankfully. Given that is so close to Emelia’s 16th birthday, we decided to make a weekend out of it, going down early Friday. And Saturday we’ll go out for dinner with some of her close Cheer friends. It should be a great weekend. We’re hoping all the hard work the girls have been putting in pays off in much better results than they have had so far!

She said

For Emelia it was another busy week, she was busy with work and school but that wasn’t what she was really excited about. Emelia was happy to be back at school after Christmas break, she was really missing her friends so it was great to be back in routine. But to be honest the talk all week was Semi! Like most kids Emelia has grown up watching movies all about the high school experience. Because of the pandemic she and kids her age have all lost out on normal high school. We are happy that this year things feel a lot more normal for kids. They are all still readjusting to life now but seeing them excited about things like dances make us so happy.

For the last few months Emelia and her friends have all been planning and looking forward to the dance. They all planned outfits and Emelia after going back and forth found a dress when she went shopping with friends over the Christmas break. Black cocktail dresses was what 90% of the girls wore, all looking beautiful and so grown up. The girls agreed to a few pictures before we were off to the dance. I drove Emelia, Anna and Grace and they bubbling over with excitement. After 4 hours of dancing and having the best time with friends I was back at the school to pick three very happy teenagers up from the dance. By all accounts the girls had the best time.

Now that semi is behind us the big focus has shifted first to cheer competitions for next weekend and then to Emelia’s 16th birthday that is just around the corner. The cheer girls are all excited but very nervous for this coming weekend. The last two competitions did not go as they hoped but with a lot of hard work we are all hopeful that this coming competition will be better and the girls can get their confidence back. I have been able to go to the last few practices to see how hard they are working, they have come so far. We are so proud of them! With Emelia’s birthday on the horizon we are so happy that this coming weekend that two of her former teammates are able to come not only to cheer their former team on but to celebrate with us Emelia’s 16th birthday. It is going to be an amazing weekend!

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