As I was getting ready for church on the Sunday before Homecoming week the thought occurred to me that I should invite Laurann and my mom to drive down and spend a few days with us. I knew that Este was nominated for Homecoming King and thought they might enjoy being here for all the festivities.
Laurann was not able to come due to obligations at work. My mom retired last fall and has been enjoying her new found freedom. She asked my dad if he wanted to visit us. At first he didn't think he would be able to make the necessary arrangements to take the week off from work. Thankfully his assistant took care of the details and opened his week up for him to come down.
I was so surprised when my mom called to tell me they would be leaving the next morning. They were actually going to just drive down to be here for Homecoming!!
They arrived the morning of the pep rally and were there to see Este's presentation. The next day we went shopping at Cabela's. I had no idea there was a Cabela's just 30 minutes from my house.
My dad was interested in the tractors and such.
I was interested in this.
Ok. Not really. My boys, however, would be interested in this.
I did find the perfect shirt for a Longhorn fan from my hometown.
We drove to Ethan's JV football game out in the country. (AJ freshman game was at the same time on the other side of the city. He said since he is a freshman they will have to chance to watch more of his games so he told us to go to Ethan's game.) There is something about watching the sunset over the football field. It was beautiful!!
It just makes it impossible to actually see the game.
We had lunch at Rudy's and Babe's. Those are our two "go-to" establishments for out-of-towners.
We also made a stop at Bahama Buck's our "go-to" establishment for snow cones and smoothies.
My dad was surprised by the cost of gasoline here in Texas especially since our low grade gasoline is the equivalent of their mid-grade gasoline. The price is even lower now.
We made a Costco run where we posed for pictures. It is harder to take selfies than it may seem. The photo is not the best but I sure am happy to be with my parents.
They also were able to experience Friday Night Lights. I think everybody should experience a high school football game in Texas just once in their life plus it was Homecoming and they witnessed Este crowned as king. My dad was intrigued by the size of the football stadium
but even more by the ambulance. That's my dad for you. Always the emergency manager.
On Saturday, we watched as the black clouds surrounded us as we waited for Savanah's soccer game to start.
Just as they were preparing for the kick off. The lightening sirens went off. By the time we walked back to the car on the other side of the sports complex, we were drenched. It gave my parents the opportunity to experience a good ol' Texas thunderstorm. If they want to experience it again when they get home they just have to get in the shower with their clothes on.
We finally made it home and dried off, then they were here as my boys left on their dates.
I taught my dad a few tricks on his phone as we took random photos of my mom.
Every night as we said what we were thankful for I said how grateful I was that my parents came down to visit us. I am grateful for their love and support. I loved hanging out with them. While the kids were at school I had them all to myself. It was wonderful.
So while they seemed to enjoy their visit, they eventually had to return home. They left my backyard....
for their backyard.
I love that they were willing and able to drop everything so they could come to Texas. I also know they were happy to be home in spite of the snow and that's just how it should be.
This song has been stuck in my head lately. Aaron started playing it for Este last week. Este hates it!
This part of the song is what keeps going through my head.....
Mommies and daddies always believe
That their little angels are special indeed
And you could grow up to be anything
But who would imagine a king?
You may ask, why this song?
It all started a few weeks earlier when I found out that he was one of the five finalists to be nominated for Homecoming King. I knew before he even returned home from school. News travels fast even in the city. A few days later he made it to the final three nominations.
On the Wednesday of Homecoming week the high school hosts a Community Pep Rally where they present the nominations for Homecoming Royalty. Each nominee is escorted out on the football field by a parent. I was quite stressed deciding which dress to wear and even more stressed about the shoes. I did not even want to attempt to wear heels on the turf and my wedges were all the wrong colors. At last I decided to wear my flat shoes and show the world how much taller my little boy is than me. I bought him a new shirt and tie to match my dress because, let's face it this was all about me. (Haha. I am joking there.)
I escorted him out of the football helmet tunnel. It would be a dream come true for my nephew Jace, who thinks the tunnel is the coolest thing ever!
I smiled like a beauty queen. He did not.
We were lined up with the other members of the Homecoming Court in front of the crowd.
I was grateful for one of the art student that captured this photo of us together. It is one of my favorite photos of all time.
Another photo that I love from that night was this one. I know we are not posing for the camera, but that is what I love about it. He will be gone soon and therefore I cherish every photo that we are both present in.
For the presentation ceremony, Este had to write three things about himself that he wanted to be announced as he I escorted him on the field. First, Este is captain of the soccer team. He was all district and all academic district last season. Second, he has maintained straight A's throughout high school. Third, upon graduation he will serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The crowd roared.
After the nominees were presented, the entire school voted for Homecoming King and Queen the next day. Both Ethan and AJ told everyone in their class to vote for their brother. Este, however, voted for his friend. He hates being the center of attention and thought his friend deserved the title more than he did.
The announcement and crowning took place during halftime of the Homecoming football game. He escorted Chelsea on the field. I feel bad for poor Chelsea. I am sure he was nasty sweaty and stinky. That didn't stop her from smiling. She is such a cute girl. I totally would have voted for her had they allowed parents and spectators to vote.
Este was so suprised when they called his name. The studentbody had voted him Homecoming King.
Chelsea was voted Homecoming Queen.
Este was there to play a football game and handed off the crown as soon as he could and replaced it with his helmet. He is a football player first and foremost.
The royal couple even made it on the front page of the newspaper.
I will admit that my favorite picture of the royal couple was this one that Vanessa drew.
I kept thinking back to a year ago. Back then Este didn't know any girls to ask out to the Homecoming dance. He decided not to play football because he didn't know how he would fit into the team and wanted to focus on academics. He sat by himself at lunch that first week of school because he didn't know a single soul in the cafeteria. I told him to hang in there, that things would get better. I reminded him that the Lord brought us here for a reason. I promised that if he remained true to himself and was nice to people, good things would happen. A year ago, none of us would have imagined him a king. I guess you could say that things did get better.
Homecoming 2013 (also known as HOCO 2K13) was quite eventful. Come to think about it, homecoming in Texas is always eventful.
Monday of Homecoming week was Twin Day. Este and his friend Chase dressed up as twins and the guys from Men in Black. The problem is, several people asked if they were Mormon missionaries. They wanted to know where their helmets and backpacks were. Este was not offended by this hopefully Chase was not either since he is not a member of our church.
Wednesday was celebrity day and Ethan dressed up as Justin Timberlake. I just have to say that JT has nothing on my boy!!
I helped some of the football team moms decorate the locker room with mums. I thought they turned out looking quite nice especially for a high school football team locker room!!
Este's car was decorated one day while he was in school. My favorite part was the crown on the windshield so when he was sitting in the driver's seat, the crown appeared to be on his head.
There were more decorations on the car by the week's end but I didn't snap a picture before he washed the car. Bummer.
Vanessa joined in the festivities as well. She has recently decided that she wanted to a baker when she grows up so she is busy preparing for that career now. She made a Homecoming cake for the boys. It was her first attempt at cake decorating. Someday she will be the next Cake Boss. We all enjoyed the finished product.
Este asked one of the student trainers to the Homecoming dance after a football game. He gave her a football that read. "Ya wanna TACKLE Homecoming with me?" She said yes.
Ethan couldn't decide who to ask to the dance so he went with a group of friends instead. More on this later.....
As is custom in Texas, the boy gives his date a mum to wear to school on the day of the football game and the girl gives the boy a garter mum. Well, Chabeli made her own mum this year and a mum for Este. He felt bad to not have a gift to give to her. Thankfully, during a late night run to the store we bought a pink monkey (her favorite color) and a box of chocolates for him to give to her at the mum exchange.
Remember when I explained Texas Homecoming mums last year (click here for the link). Well this year will not be out done. A friend of mine posted the photo of this mum. I love quirky traditions!!
Anyway, since Ethan didn't have a "date" so he didn't wear a mum. Trust me, he did not feel bad at all. In fact, remember that group of friends I mentioned. This is the group.
He told people that Este was taking one girl to the dance and he was taking six. He had so much fun!! They all went to Cane's for dinner. After that they had some extra time so the walked across one of the busiest streets in town and spent an hour and half hanging out in Target in their formal wear. Ethan said they got a lot of weird looks but they didn't care. I asked him if he danced with each of the girls at the dance and he said he couldn't because there were only a couple of slow songs. I am so happy that he had such a great time.
Chabeli came over before the date and we snapped a quick photo of the cute couple.
It was Chabeli's birthday that day. Esteban gave her a bouquet of flowers and a cupcake. They met up with a big group for dinner. After dinner, poor Chabeli got really sick. They ended up spending the rest of the date at her house hanging out with her parents. They missed the dance. Este was fine with that.
It is so fun to watch them grow up. High school is proving to be a lot of fun for my boys.
