Brailey's first Homecoming experience was a lovely success! Her day started out with dancing at a Dance Showcase with her dance team (she was amazing!) and of course ended with the Homecoming Dance. In between all the dancing, a lot of fun was had and memories were made. The day was made special by her best friend's family, which is where the girls opted to get ready for the big night. The picture above is the result of all the primping, and below is start of the process. Nikki's sister Alonna, who is a freshman at Oregon State, came home specifically to help the girls get ready. What a sweetheart!
The beauty in the red dress is Sydney, another one of Brailey and Nikki's good friends. Brailey has known her since third grade, when they played volleyball together. Now she plays on the Sheldon volleyball team with Nikki, and the three of them have lunch together nearly every day. She had to leave after she got ready, so she could have a family dinner of her own with her family and her date's family. But she looked truly lovely!
Although Brailey didn't have a date, Nikki did. He and his cousin both came to dinner, and so there were four families celebrating Homecoming, and it couldn't have been more fun. Nikki needed help pinning on her first boutonniere - they are tricky things to pin on, for sure! 
Nikki and her date. Ironically, he and his cousin were in First Communion classes with Brailey back when they were second graders. Small world!
They didn't plan for their dresses to match, but they looked absolutely darling! Both in the same color with glittery heels - they couldn't have looked any lovelier.
The proud dad... A funny story about him. Once we got in the car and were on our way home, he said, "Who was that other boy? He wasn't trying to be Brailey's date, was he?" I had to laugh about this. I shared with him that no, he wasn't. Rather, Nikki's date didn't want to come to dinner alone, and so he invited his cousin. Moral support on both sides, in other words. I never knew Brady would be so protective of his baby girl - I always thought that would be me. But we are protective of her in different ways.
It was raining SO HARD during the day, and it was supposed to rain all night. But for some reason, it stopped at the perfect time for pictures and didn't start again until Homecoming was over. These pictures of the four of them show how much fun they had. 
Below, the girls doing their famous "James Bond" pose, and the boys doing "The Dab." 
Below, the girls with the "little brother." In their heels, they almost as tall as he is. Nikki is always so sweet to make sure Britt is included in everything. He hated that his hair was a mess, because he wore a hat and took it off for the picture. But he still looks adorable. I love the happiness in this picture! 
Bray had to help Nikki reattach her beautiful corsage. That's what best friends are for.
After a wonderful dinner, the four of them played a game. They had a big time!
Nikki's dad, Rick, took the four of them to the dance. Afterwards, Brady and I picked them up and met Denise with Nikki. Brady and I got the biggest kick watching all the girls walking out of the dance. Their heels wrecked their feet! Most of them were carrying their shoes and walking barefoot, some were being carried by their dates, and some were walking in teeny tiny steps in severe pain. Brailey and Nikki were of the latter, and came walking to the car gingerly in their sparkling shoes. I said, "Are you feet sore?" And Nikki said, "No. My feet are DEAD!" She then proclaimed that she was never wearing those shoes again. It was priceless! Sadly, the dance was a bust, because the DJ was horrible and only played rap music. There wasn't one single slow song played, so there wasn't an opportunity for boys to ask girls to dance. As conservative as I am, I found this to be utterly ridiculous and sad for the kids. The Homecoming festivities in general were very disappointing and certainly not like the school spirit other schools demonstrate. I find this disgraceful on the school's part. In spite of all this, however, the day was made special because of Nikki's family, who are the best people you will ever meet. The day started, as I mentioned, at a dance showcase. Denise and Nikki came to watch Brailey dance, and Denise was as proud as I was of Brailey, which makes me so grateful. She then took the girls to lunch, after we all got drenched by the torrential downpour, and from there the girls spent the day getting ready and having fun. Rick, Nikki's dad, took nearly all the wonderful pictures you see here on this blog post, and you saw Nikki's sister Alonna helping the girls get ready. Her brother Cody was also there, and Brady and I had the best conversation ever with him during dinner. And dinner, by the way, was spectacular! Denise is one of those amazing women who is an exceptional hostess and thinks of all the details that make an event special. We are so grateful to them for the special time we had and look forward to many more!
