"It's so tiring being a princess....."

... is what Bridget said to me when I tucked her into bed Saturday night.

It was the annual Father/Daughter Prom and she and Ray had the time of their lives again.

"There are so many moments!" Ray said.  Like when he was slow-dancing with Bridget.  She was standing on his feet, leaning her head against him.  Ray was looking around at all the other couples, and suddenly he feels Bridget's hands on either cheek pulling his head down and she says "Hey!  Eyes down here, buddy!"

She has learned that her dates must be attentive.

As usual, we had our yearly "pre-prom" cocktail party here and it is so much fun to see the girls vibrating with excitement.  As each one arrives there is much exclaiming over the dresses, the shoes, the hair.

"You look just like a fairy!" I said to Kimberly, who had on a gorgeous white dress.

"You look just like a fairy!" said Ray, to Kim's dad.

We have just enough time for the girls to snack a little bit, drink some "bubbly" and pose for photos.  Then it's out to the cars where the daddies hold the doors for them and they get to ride "shotgun" like ladies.

At the prom, they have formal photos taken, eat dinner, and dance.  And run around playing tag behind the curtains - they're still little girls, after all.

Meanwhile, the mommies have a civilized dinner and (mostly) civilized conversation.  The brothers run around in the woods shooting each other with pellet guns and have a campfire when it get too dark to shoot.

Ray says Bridget began to wilt about 8:30 but insisted on remaining until the 9pm bitter end.  She curled up under his blazer in the car and went promptly to sleep on the way home.

It's such a sweet tradition and a wonderful evening.  Ray says that Bridget said "I love you, Daddy!" several times over the course of the evening.

So sweet!