Prom 2026

I really wanted both my kids to go to prom this year, especially since it would be their only chance to go together in the same group. I won't say I pushed them - but I did. I even made very strong suggestions on who they should invite.

Check out that handsome boy!

Jalen invited Alee Bailey. I pointed out that inviting a friend would make it more comfortable and fun. Plus Alee is a take-charge kind of girl and he could use that. They get along great and had a good time. He got a new vest and a tie that matched her dress. She did not want a corsage, but I made him a boutonniere. (Mary Chorey and I made them together - thank heavens because I had zero skills.)

Baylie and Jayden Samuels have been friends for several years. I pretty sure they've had crushes on each other off and on. I pointed out that it would be Baylie's last chance to go to Prom with him and said she should just go for it - so she did! 

They went to church prom and school prom. Jayden had to meet with the bishop in order to go to church prom so it was cool he was willing to do that. They both agreed that church prom was more fun.

Apparently everyone knew that these two should be an item. Since prom they are now unofficially an item. Finally.

They've agreed "not to label it." Whatever. Mainly it's because they're both going off to school. Jayde is going to Clemson and Baylie to BYU.

I (i.e. Mary) made Jayden's boutonniere and he got her a wrist corsage.

They were part of a really good group of kids, which always makes it more fun.

Jayden, Baylie, Jalen, Alee, Gideon Stroud, Lucy King, Jay Brusin, Lizzy Louchez

The girls

The guys

Silly boys

Luke photobomber

Jalen, Gideon, Jayden, Jay
Lucy, Alee, Baylie, Lizzy

Guess how you get a cool picture like this.

Like this. Good thing Beth Bailey is a good sport!

As they were leaving, it started to rain.

So gallant!

They tried to go to Texas Roadhouse for dinner, but it was too full so they went to Moe's.

Not sure what they're doing here.

After prom they all came to our house for ice cream sundaes and to watch Napoleon Dynamite. I didn't take any pictures. They all had a good time and I was glad they got to make this memory together.

Colearn Fieldtrip - International Festival

Colearn planned a fieldtrip to the International Festival on April 17 and it turns out Baylie's Spanish class also decided to come. I got a 2-for-1!

Musical instruments from Africa. (I don't remember which country.)

Chinese dragon

Germany

Jayden Samuels, Baylie, Alee Bailey

Panama

Tahiti - oh my!

Italy - Black Mona Lisa

Taiwan

Jalen hung out with Samuel Luz, his teacher Miss Cates, and her son. I didn't see him much at all.

I was surprised to find this carving at a table selling things from Ghana. What a shocker!

The festival was cool, but very overwhelming. There were so many countries represented without a lot of room to move around and see everything. There wasn't any international food that day, which was a little disappointing. But it was nice that they set aside a day for students to see everything.

Spring Break 2026 - Puerto Rico

I wanted to go somewhere fun for Spring Break, but we didn't have much money. I looked at several options and decided we could make a quick trip if we only stayed one night in a hotel. The kids decided they were up for the adventure.

It started out exciting because the flight we were going to take from Columbia filled up so we decided to leave much earlier and drive to Charlotte. (In the end we would have made the Columbia flight - oh well! That's the standby life.) David was a good sport and drove us all the way there before heading to work back in Columbia.

We had a layover in Houston.

And made it to San Juan by 3:00 in the afternoon.

We cought an Uber and our first stop was the temple. It was very small and the street was kind of busy. We hopped out and took a quick picture and continued on our way.

We were staying in Old San Juan at the Casablanca Hotel.

I didn't take this picture - I stole it from the internet.

Check out this amazing room!! Baylie and I shared the bed.

Jalen slept on the couch. Seriously though - such a cool room. Check out the chandeliers!

Waiting area in the lobby.

The lobby.

We walked around the city and headed to el Castillo de San Felipe del Morro because that is supposed to be the best place to see the sunset. There are stunning views everywhere.

And also lots of cats.

Beautiful banyan tree

The sunset.

It was a scenic walk back. Here you can see the city wall with the only remaining of six original city gates - la Puerta de San Juan. They used to close the gates at night to protect the city. 

We walked down and crossed through the gate.

The walls are 15 feet thick.

Above the gate is inscribed “Benedictus qui venit in nomine domini”- Latin for “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”. 

We then walked around the outside of the walls along Paseo de la Princesa. It was lovely.

We found a hole-in-the-wall local place that sold amazing empanadas. We were exhausted and our feet were aching when we finally got back to the hotel. But we decided to still make a visit to the rooftop to see the tubs that look over the city. It was very cool, but the water was slow and cold and we were tired so we didn't stay for a soak. 

The next morning we were ready to go again! We got some breakfast at a grocery store and bought Jalen a "Bad Bunny hat." It's actually called a pava.

We loved the colorful homes and blue cobblestone streets.

Calle La Fortaleza leading to La Fortaleza, the governor's residence. It is one of the oldest executive mansions in the Americas.

Next we went to Parque de las Palmoas - Pigeon Park.

It runs along the top of the wall that borders the sea. 

Pigeon boxes

After that we went back to Castillo de San Felipe del Morro. "El Morro is a huge, six-level fortress built to protect the city from sea invaders. The Fort itself was originally “completed” in 1589, but the massive walls were added in the mid 1700’s ." It is truly massive. We only explored three levels of it. 

This doesn't truly show how steep these stairs were. They looked like escalators.

Amazing views

Upper walkway

Right next to the castle is Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery. It's right on the edge of the ocean. 

Next to the cemetary is La Perla, them most dangerous part of Old San Juan and site of the music video Depasito. You can see it from above as you walk down this colorful street, but tourists are advised to avoid the area. It can only be accessed through three entry ways.

View of La Perla from above.

There’s also a cool basketball court that was built by Carmelo Anthony. 

We walked from there to the Castillo San Cristobal (Christopher Columbus) when it started to pour down rain. We didn't spend much time there as we were running out of time and we had spent so much time at El Morro. We walked the short distance to Parroquia San Francisco de Asís to see the crypts beneath it. They were small and underwhelming. At that point we had to return to the airport so we called another Uber and headed back.

We caught the last possible flight, which was to IAD.

Beautiful views from the air.

We then made our flight to Columbia where we were picked up by David. It was a crazy whirlwind trip that felt much longer than it actually was. It was nice because we had days of rest before and after the trip so we still got to relax over Spring Break. Perfect!

One day I'd like to go back to Puerto Rico to kayak in the bioluminescent bays at night and visit El Yunque Rain Forest.