Rhododendron Girls State: Part 1

June 12, 2022 - Our daughter went on a week-long event in Elkins, West Virginia. She was one of the attendees that represented Madonna High School to one of the prestigious leadership program for girls in West Virginia, the Rhododendron Girls State. 

 

 Established in 1941 under the sponsorship and direction of the American Legion Auxiliary Department of West Virginia, Rhododendron Girls State is a premier experiential hands-on program that focuses on citizenship and patriotism, and develops leadership and pride in American citizens, educates citizens about our system of government, instills a greater understanding of American traditions, and stimulates a desire to maintain democratic government processes within our republic.

She originally planned on driving there by herself but we convinced her that we wanted to go with her and accompany her because it was our first time not having her for a week without us or anyone that we know whose going to be with her.  I am glad she agreed because I didn't know the main reason why  then but I felt that she was going through  some sort of an emotional  issue.  I won't delve into that in this post,  but write another article for it.

Anyway, she wasn't sure about this event.  I think she was anxious of meeting new people.  

My daughter is like me, she isn't much into sharing  story about personal issues so she didn't bring any military stuff  that she could share (which was  one of the activities they have to do).  Again, emotionally, she wasn't invested in this event.

We helped her registered and settled in to her dorm before we left.  

We told her that this is an avenue to overcome some of her anxiety issues in meeting and dealing with other people.

I gotta admit, I was more anxious of leaving her there lol.  I just prayed that she would have a great time and that she would make friends with the other girls.

Our daughter is an introvert just like me so she hoped  that she would get a room by herself.  She told us later that night that her roommate did not show up so she was happy.

We hangout a little bit after she got settled in and then we left.

The event was held at Davis and Elkins College. 

We have been to Elkins few years ago when we had our little road trip to show support to another West Virginia history bowl team from our kids school. We didn't know that we would be back again here but glad to see it again.

The view from my daughter's room was beautiful.

This was our first taste of separation anxiety.  It's getting real everyday.  I am glad that she is slowly spreading her wings but as a parent I also worry.  I know that she will be alright on her own because she is very independent and mentally strong.  This senior year is flying by so fast and its giving me severe anxiety.  She will graduate here soon and will be on her own to find her own path in life.  

S E V E N T E E N

 

Time flew so fast, just like that, our first born is seventeen!  It's still very vivid in mind when we first dropped her off to school to start kindergarten.  She was very excited to learn in a "big kid" school to continue what we have been learning at home on her pre-school days.  I am a stay at home mom and I never left our kids to daycare except one night when hubby was still in the military and we had to attend a navy ball.  We didn't have a choice not to leave them in the day care because we were in South Korea and we didn't have family there to look after them.  Fast forward to many years, she is now in her Senior years, wow.  

In previous years, we always timed our vacation on her birthdays but in the last couple of years, we didn't get to do that because of the pandemic.  I am so glad that this year, we were able to.  We spent her 17th birthday in South Dakota.   We did visit several tourist spots on her birthday week.  We did horse back riding in Custer, we explored one of the deepest cavern in Black Hills, went to Mt. Rushmore, visited the Badlands, went to see the Devil's Tower, and did and a lot more fun things while we were there.

It's kind of bitter sweet that her high school life is almost over.  I feel like she didn't get to do or experience much that a normal teen would.  She is always a silent type, very timid and keep to herself type kind of gal.  She only have a few close friends that she interacts with.  I feel bad that she got my introvert genes who feel stress out being in the crowd or going out in public.  One thing that I am very proud of her though is that, she is a very goal oriented person.  When she put her mind into something, she make sure to do well at it.

I was told that senior year will go very fast and it makes me sad to think that she will heading out to college or pursue whatever she wants to do with her career.  She plans to get into the naval academy.   She's bummed out that she didn't get to attend the navy summer camp because of the covid vaccine mandate.  She wasn't vaccinated then, we thought that the navy will not require but lo and behold, it is mandatory which sucks big time.  Now she has to be vaccinated if she wants to get accepted into the academy.  We wanted to protect her from any kind of side effects since the vaccines were not properly tested then but it kind of hinder her path so we don't have a choice but to let her vaccinated now.  It sets her back a couple of steps but at least we are sure now that the vaccine is safe.  I still pray that this won't have an effect on her health in the future.  Whatever it is that she would pursue though, we will be behind her and support her 100%.

Dearest Rye Bean,

As you advance through more serious things in life, I pray that God will continue to watch over you and guide you in navigating the rollercoaster ride of life.  Remember always that no matter what, we will be here to support you and love you.  We are so grateful for a young woman you are becoming.  You make us proud in everything that you do.  Thank you for setting a really good example to your little brother.

Love,

Mom

P.S.

Pardon your Mom for this very late post but happy birthday again sweetheart!

Our Daughter's Junior #Prom and Her #Date + her #EpicFall

Despite her epic fall, she had fun and that’s what matters…

Madonna High School had the Promenade yesterday.  She was very excited and anxious at the same time leading to the Prom.  The thing that she was nervous about happened, she fell! The steep stairs of the stage they had to go down to didn't do her long dress  a favor but she recovered in a true #fashion. It reminded me of those #beauty #pageant moments when a contestant falls and come back up with smile in their faces.   

She bought this sage green dress at Windsor.  It's a little long but it fit her well.  I was going to cut it  and tailored it to her length but she said it's okay.  It eventually caused her to fall.  Her Dad cautioned her to pick up the trail of her dress coming down the steps coz she almost strep on it but I guess she didn't remember to do that coming off the stage.

I think it did taught  every couple that followed them to lift the trail of their dresses and be very cautious in coming off the stage.  It just unfortunate that she went first and fell.  She said that they messed up the handshake routine and it made her nervous so she went down forgetting about her dress being long.  I will say though that her being a volleyball player played a big role of her not face planting, she fell on her knees instead.

She went with Sonny, a new guy from their class who transferred sometimes in October from Iowa. He's a good-mannered kid, very respectful  and  he gets along with my son because they know each other from playing basketball in school.

She did her own makeup since I have no idea when it comes to make up and cosmetics lol.  She watches YouTube tutorial videos on how to do these things.  Her hair was done by Legal Hair and her nails was done by a nail salon.

They practiced some more with their handshake routine before we left home.

We had time so we took a lot of photos.

The white roses bouquet was gorgeous.

They wore a matching sunglasses which helped their vision blocked the spotlight that they shone when they were on the stage.

She wanted us to come with her when they went to her date's house where we met his Uncle and Aunt.

From there, we went to a friend's house where they took more photos.

Of all the photos, I think this one is my favorite.

I also love this one.  They look very comfortable with each other.  She said they had fun at the dance.

As they come out the school to ride the limo bus going to Oglebay where the dance would be, I managed to take few more shots of them.

Here is her  epic fall caught on cam.   There's a lot of Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda moments there but I think it's okay, it will surely go down as the most memorable of that whole Prom event.  Not a good memory on her part but they can look back at it in the  future and laugh about it.   I am sure she's very embarrassed but  she will remember this for sure.  It taught her a lesson what to do on her next prom just in case she wear a long dress again and have to go down a stairs.  Maybe next year, the set up will not be like this year though, it was dangerous in my opinion.

Winter Fun: Sled Riding

Our kids are just 18 months apart so they are super close to each other.  They were often mistaken as twins when they were little.  I am glad that we had them in such a close gap.  It was tough but we made it through.  These two are growing up so well and we can't ask for more. 

We had  big snows during the winter and they decided to go sled riding.  I had to take these photos before they left since I did not go with them.  Now that our daughter is driving already, they can pretty much go anywhere without us unless they need parental supervision.

They still opposes pictures being taken but I'm glad they  let me from time to time.  I think they will appreciate these captured memories when they are grown up.

Blake was still so little in these pics.  It was funny watching him run around the snow and eats them as he dove in them.