Officially a Debutante

The nomination has occurred, the meeting attended, the necessary forms signed....and yesterday the pin attached and the sash placed....Heather is officially a debutante for the next year. Debutantes are more than just the senior girls all beautifully dressed in all white, very full formal gowns attending a formal ball and presented by their fathers....They are the ambassadors for the Mid Texas Symphony and have a full year of events ahead of them.




Just imagining that ball coming next January where her daddy will present her: he in a tux and she in that fabulous white gown brings tears to my eyes. Until that day, there will be parties to plan and attend, etiquette and poise classes to attend, bonding events, Symphony concerts to usher, waltz lessons to take, etc. It sounds like it will be a very busy year...on top of Heather's already full schedule of band, dance and various other activities.



Yesterday was the first debutante event, and the kickoff for the new season. It was a mother/daughter tea and last year's debutantes were in attendance to offically pin the sashes on the new debutantes. It was a fun afternoon of meeting all the other girls and their moms.

Because I have been hired to create a memorable photo presentation for this year's debutantes, I will be at most, if not all of, the upcoming events, to forever record unforgettable moments of the year.

Heather and I at the Mother/Daughter Debutante Tea

Last year's debutantes were allowed to choose to pin sashes on the new debutantes that are friends of theirs. This is Heather and her friend Megan who pinned her sash.

Megan and Heather



All of last year's debs posed on the stairs with all of the new debs.

All these beautiful young ladies will be graduating this year and officially handed off their debutante pins to next year's senior girls.

The new debutantes. (A few girls were unable to attend the tea so there are about 4 more girls not pictured here)

Heather

Megan, Heather, and her friend Tiffany

Before the end of the tea party, the new debs were divided into groups to plan the upcoming year's parties. This is Heather's group: Jessica, Lizzie, Heather, Tiffany, and Meredith. They are hard at work planning their December party together.

Decorating for the Debutante Ball: The Painting

Recently I have had the privelege of working with 2 other artists on a project for the upcoming Debutante Ball. In the lobby of the Coliseum will hang 2 very large sections of canvas fabric, upon which we've painted this scene:

Myself, Norma, and Cathy in front of our finished project!

It has been a joy working with these ladies and being able to watch other artists and how they work.

Cathy tackled the sky as I worked on the foreground below her.

Cathy and Norma working hard!

Norma making the water look just right!

Cathy took a step back to see how it all looked

Be watching for photos of the ball, which is only a week away and we'll be dancing the night away! I've already warned the ladies I'll be having a photo snapped of us once again in front of these panels, but next time we'll be all dressed up and at the ball looking our very best!




Should make a great contrast to these photos in our absolute grungiest!

PhotoStory Friday--Debutante Photo Day

Last Sunday was the big photo shoot for the Mid Texas Symphony Debutantes, of which my daughter Heather is one. The day began with a 7 am hair appointment for the required updo followed by a makeup appointment....then off to a fabulous home for the photo shoot. Each of the 17 debutantes had their individual appointments with the professional photographer, with the entire group required to be assembled for group photos at 11 am. I can't wait to see the professional photos! From what I saw they are going to be fantastic!

The photographer allowed the moms (and dads) to take photos as well. These are some of my favorites of Heather that I took:

To check out more Photo Story Friday blog posts, click the link below:

Hosted by Cecily and Emily

1, 2, 3..1, 2, 3...1, 2, 3....

Sunday afternoon found all 3 of us learning to waltz for Heather's upcoming debutante ball.

First Heather and the other debutantes learned how to perform their bow:

Here the dads and escorts lined up to begin learning the basic waltz and the box step:

As the girls were learning to waltz the dance teacher reminded us all that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did...but she did it backward and in high heels!

The debutantes lined up to learn their steps. They practiced while wearing their hoops so they, their dads, and their escorts could practice with some of all the excess fabric the girls will be wearing the night of the ball:

Heather and her escort (and one of her best friends) Ryan:

Of course my favorite moment was when Heather and her dad began to waltz together and before they danced she gave him the biggest hug:

Ryan learned the appropriate way to "cut in" on Heather and Marty's waltz:

Heather and the dance instructor Mrs. Amanda. Amanda was a student teacher at the dance studio where Heather danced when we first moved to Texas:

The Debutante Ball

The night we've been waiting for finally arrived Saturday. All day Friday was spent decorating and preparing for the ball (that blog post is yet to come!). Heather and the other 15 debutantes arrived early at the Coliseum with ball gowns in hand to finish getting ready for their big night.


There was last minute primping in front of the mirror...

making sure the dress had no wrinkles....

..and then the introduction...

....the oh so graceful bow....

...the presentation...













...and the waltz!
(Heather waltzing with her daddy)

(waltzing with her escort Ryan)

All 16 Mid Texas Symphohy Debutantes:




Stay tuned for more photos of this enchanting night to come soon!

Friday Night Football is Here!

Texans LOVE their Friday Night Football! This past Friday night kicked off the high school football season here. We traveled to nearby New Braunfels to watch our beloved Matadors take on the Unicorns. We were kicked pretty badly, but will be right back out there to watch them again for many Friday nights to come.

Of course my personal favorite part of these football games is watching my daughter perform with the marching band and dance team at half time. This is her senior year so the last season we'll get to watch her as a Matador.

LOVE this photo captured of Heather cheering in the stands during the game.

Ashley, the captain of the Starsteppers Dance Team

Heather cheering in the stands alongside her dance buddies.

Tiffany, Kymber, Heather and Katie.

This mama sure loves seeing her daughter obviously having a great time!

One of Heather's best buddies, Ryan...aka Pepe, our school mascot. You may be seeing quite a bit of Ryan on here this year as he has also graciously agreed to be Heather's escort for the Mid Texas Symphony Ball where she will be presented as a debutante in January.

Heather's dance team coaches Cathy with her new assitant Suzanne. Heather LOVES these two ladies!


I have always loved that I can easily spot Heather on the field with the band.







The Starsteppers performed a ladder routine to "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go." After our band and dance team performed our kids stood on the sidelines to watch New Braunfels' teams peform their half time show. Guess what song the New Braunfels dance team used as well??? You got it..."Wake Me Up Before You Go Go." As they finished up on of our band director was walking by and said, "I'm going to be so sick of this song!" The season has only just begun. His comment made me laugh!

The dance team after their performance, watching the opposing team's show.

Yep, that's my daughter being ever so goofy as she carried her ladder back to the trailer after half time.

The Two-Man Road Crew: Todd and Tracy. A HUGE thank you to these two for their dedication to the dance team and cheerleaders. Todd and Tracy haul the teams' trailer with all their equipment to all the games and competitions all year long. You guys rock!

Heather on the field to cheer on the football players as they returned after half time.