Prom Weekend

Paul and his girlfriend, Elsa, went to the Senior Prom on Saturday.  I thought they both looked amazing!

They said they were nervous, especially about wearing dress shoes and fancy clothes, but they seemed very relaxed with each other.   It's going to be a short-term friendship since Elsa will be returning to her home in Czech (the Czech Republic) the end of May, after spending the school year in Boulder with her parents, scientists who had teaching opportunities at CU this year.   

They met up with a bunch of their theater friends and hammed it up for the camera.

Except for these photos I have no idea what actually happened at Prom.  But I do know a bit more about the After Prom.  It's sponsored by The City of Boulder and organized by parents for the two city high schools, Boulder and Fairview.   The idea is to give the kids something to do after prom besides drive around, drink and have wild parties.  It's a big party at one of the recreation centers and it attracted about 1500 kids this year.  Generally they stopped home after the Prom and changed into casual clothes for the After Prom, and that's what Paul and Elsa did.  They were very happy to get out of those dress shoes!   

This year's After Prom theme led to some pretty cool decorations.   I got "up close and personal" with them when Ben and I volunteered to pick them up and take them to the rec center on Friday afternoon.  Besides being a helpful thing to do, it also gave us an opportunity to drive (Ben) and sit (me) in a large rented truck.  Nothing like volunteering to broaden your horizons! 

I took some photos at the open house which was held early in the evening for parents, friends, and families. 

Everything was set up for the kids to kick back and have a good time.  

They could eat...

...Play card games in the casino or video games in the arcade room...

...Bounce and slide on the big inflatables...

...Have your fortune read...

...Play ball....

...Look at the "Senior tribute" posters....

...Or win a prize.  

Or you could if you were still at the party between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. when names were drawn for the prizes.  But if your name was drawn and you had already left, you were passed over and another name was drawn.  Paul and Elsa left at 2:15 and Paul's name was called for the $1,000 Visa gift card!!!  Arg!!  No gift card for him!

You also could have your photo taken with cool props, something I couldn't resist before leaving the open house.