Faith's Monumental Visit to South Dakota

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When I received my niece, Sydnee's graduation announcement in the mail, I thought it might be the perfect opportunity to visit my brother and his family for the first time at their home in Spearfish. I also thought it would be the perfect opportunity to see Mount Rushmore, which I had never seen before!  My nephew in Nebraska was graduating that same weekend, and my sister Dawn and I tried to put together a plan where we could go to both of their graduation receptions. I knew though, that Faith would feel left out and would want to go, too. I also knew it was going to be difficult to find someone to look after Faith over Memorial Day weekend.  Our finalized plan involved Dawn traveling to South Dakota with me and Faith and then her flying to Nebraska by herself. Faith and I would then drive back to Bismarck by ourselves.  3 adventurous travelers  I must admit, as the trip got closer, I started to get a little anxious about how Faith was going to do with so much drivi...
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The Butterfly Ball - Rob and Faith's First Daddy-Daughter Dance

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As Rob was putting on his tie, he asked, "How did I get roped into this again?" He was referring to his and Faith's first ever Daddy-Daughter dance. 

A friend of ours who also has a little girl in a wheelchair has gone for the last four years and has asked Rob in the past if he was going or not. I was so excited when Rob decided to buy tickets for this year's dance called the Butterfly Ball, which is a fundraiser for a local music school.

When we got to the venue, we were a little surprised at how packed it was. Not only were there 299 other dads with their little girls, but there were also moms, grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, neighbors - all of them taking photos of the dressed-up dads and daughters.

What a handsome husband and beautiful daughter!

Rob and Faith with our friends, Tracy and Paige

Most of the dads were sporting suits and ties and most of the 5–12-year-old girls were dressed in mini prom dresses. I'm not sure where you buy a prom dress in a size 6X - apparently somewhere! Some of them even looked like they had just come from the beauty shop and when we arrived, we saw a limo pulling out of the parking lot.

Neither Rob nor Faith wanted to get in the long line for the Grand March, so instead we found our friends and got a place to sit. I really wanted to stay the whole time, but I also knew this was Rob and Faith's special time together.

I did however stay just long enough for the first dance - Celebrate Good Times, Come On! I thought it was so funny that all the dads were singing along to all the words. Later, I asked Rob what kind of music they played throughout the night, and he said mostly music for the dads. 

I said, "What, no Justin Bieber for the girls?" Rob also said that the few times they played a Michael Jackson song, Faith would ask, "Can we go home now?" (I guess she doesn't share my love of 80s music!) 

Dads and daughters having a ball!

Although Rob and Faith didn't stay for the whole event, we are all glad they went, and I was very proud of Rob for taking his little girl to the Butterfly Ball. And I was proud of both of them for actually getting out on the dance floor! I know it was a very special time that they will never forget.

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