Valentines Dance

The good news is: Jacob's hair is still its natural dark blond color! (Although I'm a bit disappointed his date didn't at least give him a haircut!)

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The bad news is: Only about 30 students came to the dance. (But they had fun!)

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The good news is: The dance ended at 10pm due to low attendance, so I got home an hour earlier than expected!

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This is Jacob and his date Chelsea.
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There was a stake youth Valentines Dance at our church less than half a mile from the school. Since many of our students are LDS, that probably explains a lot about our low numbers.

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Almost everyone who left our dance at 10pm went to the stake dance for the rest of the night, even the kids who aren't LDS.

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Here are some of Jacob's friends: Jacob and Chelsea; Bryce and Monique; and Tony and Jamie.

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Don't ask me--this shot was the girls' idea!

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You would think my son and his friends would be embarrassed to have his mom--a teacher, no less!--hanging around and taking pictures all night, but instead the girls kept hugging me and asking for advice.

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The guys even came to me for instructions on how to slow dance correctly!

I really did keep a low profile for most of the night, though, allowing the kids to do their own thing without interference. I stood against the wall and chatted with the other teachers like a good chaperone should.

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Here's almost half the crowd doing the Funky Monkey, some new-fangled hip-hop line dance thingy.

This is why I teach high school. Teens are always so interesting and entertaining. They put on a show of coolness, but inside they have big hearts and a great desire to be good people.

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One day I will miss these years of high school dances and clubs. Someday I may even miss the intricacies of steering my teenage son through his first dating experiences!

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And so we survived the Valentines Dance. Next stop: Junior/Senior Prom!