Open House

It is a Midwest tradition when one graduates from high school, that a big party is thrown for the graduate. When we moved out here we thought that was a rather strange practice. I mean, what's the big deal? Well, that's not entirely true. It is a big deal, but some of the open houses we have seen have been like wedding receptions. We vowed we would not succumb.

But we did anyway. So here are some events from Ems open house. I really wanted her to do a recital, followed by a reception. She really wanted to have a party. So we combined the two and printed on her open house invitations that she would be singing songs throughout the evening, a la Pride and Prejudice style. Here she is about to sing:

A view of the guests (there were more on the deck):

It was really fun to provide entertainment for the party!
We had cake:

Emily was given the job to stab, er, cut the cake:

Good friends abounded:

And the hot spot was the chocolate fountain:

We had a display area:

It was a good night, mostly because we got to spend time with good friends. Thanks to everyone for coming!