[We Had a Ball.]

So I went to a ball. Normal, right? I sort of treated it like adult prom, hence the ginormous living room photo shoot that occurred before the event (thanks roomies). Didn't even take any pics at the actual ball--trying to be cool, you know? But it was kind of a magical night. How can you not adore a boy in uniform? As I walked down the stairs to greet him, "Tale as old as time..." was definitely playing in my ears (I just saw Beauty and the Beast 3D in theaters, okay??), and maybe for a second I felt like a princess. At one point the lieutenant literally swept me off my feet to carry me over some rough terrain (like that army speak there?), aaaand I basically died. 

This LA girl hasn't spent any time around the military (we worship film producers, not army generals), so this was a glimpse into a completely foreign world for me. I loved the ceremony of it all -- glad to see something like that is still alive in this world of ours. There were eight toasts before the meal: "I propose a toast to our Commander-in-Chief." "To the President!" "I propose a toast to The United States Army." "To the Army!" "I propose a toast to The Engineer Regiment." "Essayons!" "I propose a toast to the ladies." "To the ladies!" etc. Generals spoke, awards were given, a lot of "Sir"s were thrown around, army songs were sang...and I loved it all. Such a wonderful night, literally a highlight of my life. 

And then, after a brief hot chocolate stop, we went bowling at the military base, of course.

Turns out that bowling straight and not tripping on your dress are mutually exclusive concepts, which I discovered after uncharacteristically bowling like five gutter balls in a row. So, like the classy broad I am, I hiked it up and proceeded to dominate. In a loose sense of the word.

Thank you, Lieutenant. :)