King Baby Joe!

I  mentioned on Friday how my littlest brother, Joe Henry, was up for Homecoming King at Hutch High Friday night. Well...lo and behold, he was crowned king before the game started! The day was so fun and I couldn't be more proud of Joe Beans. I'll walk us through the day and give pics and details...


First up, the assembly! Bets couldn't be there on Friday so we facetimed her in for the assembly. She was in her friend Lindsey Fisher's wedding...so Fisher got to see get facetimed in, too! I'm sure that is exactly how she pictured spending the morning of her wedding day. :) Unfortunately, as soon as all the kids filed in all their phone cameras, etc. jammed the services! So instead we filmed it for Bets and then sent her clips. I've included some clips later on in the post.

 

Joe's text picture to Bets....they love her! :)
 

 Here is a video clip of Joe and Savannah's introduction! And then a few still shots below. I teared up every time they would walk out. All four of us have been up for homecoming at Hutch High, but there is something about it being the baby of the family, the final one, and just that I LOVE that little boy so much. Man...I want to tear up now.

  Assembly Intro #1





 Joe surprised Savannah with flower bouquets for both assemblies. A little bouquet the first time...then THREE bouquets the second time. They may be the sweetest couple ever. Here was Sav with her first bouquet (PS...how beautiful did she look?!)

 

 And with her bigger bouquets after the second time and the video of their final introduction in the assembly is right below that.

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Assembly Intro #2

 And here are a few other pics after the assembly. Love these boys, even more after this weekend.

 







 All the couples...this was such an amazing group of kids. Some of those boys have been Joe's best friends since he was in kindergarten. I couldn't think of a more deserving crew than these kids. Hutch High got it right.
 

 All the girls...

 

 Savs with her best friends...

 Love her.
 


 On to the parade! I love me a small town parade! :)





 Prepare yourself for lots of pics of them in their car! :)

By this point they had already been voted King and Queen...we just didn't know it yet! :)



 

 I asked Joe to wave at Bets...he did this instead. I teared up....again. He loves us and we love him!

 I took a video, too for Bets...please ignore my voice as I yell at him. :)

Parade Video



 And a pic of the Junior float...it was the big winner this year!

 On to the football game!!! Baby Joe warming up...he looked so cute and calm.

 My momma with the moms of Joe's BFFs and fellow king candidates.

 Savs waiting to watch her king get crowned!

Momma and her baby boy.
 



We have a short, shaky video of the announcement. We couldn't facetime, so Tedder taped but then his phone ran out of memory! Oh well...we got the initial announcement, even if you can't see much! I started tearing up and laughing right after they announced it. Not that I thought Joe just wouldn't win, I was just so surprised. Plus, they announced it "Joe Henry Dower" after having called him Joe Dower all day in his other introductions. I think it just got to me. :)

King Announcement!

 Pictures right after the announcement.
 






 The coronation attendent (a little girl) was scared to death of going on the field and of Joe. He got down to her level and let her crown him, but I didn't get a pic of it. I did get this one though of my mom straightening it out. So cute.
 

He loves his Momma....we all do.
 


 Hugging his soon to be queen!

 And just like that he heads back to the locker room!

 A few pics of the game.
 

 At halftime they crowned the queen...our girl, Savannah! Here are a few pics!


Savs getting crowned!
 

 When she walked back to the student section they all clapped and cheered for her...her people love her!







A few pics from after the game. The game was a bit of heartbreaker, so it was a little hard to celebrate. The football team had been so focused, Joe didn't hear Savannah won until I saw him on the field and said "Are you ready to see your queen!?" I don't think he ever had any doubt she would be crowned though. He has told me many times she is the nicest girl at Hutch High. :)

Joe getting interviewed by the news after the game.



 Savs doesn't look too keen on the smelly football king. :)
 

 Cutest King and Queen in Hutch High History! At least that is what the 30+ tweets Joe let me scroll through after the game said. :)

   

It was neat, after the game my mom had multiple people coming up to her telling her that Joe and Savannah are some of the nicest, greatest kids they know, and just telling my mom how deserving they are. I told Joe and Savannah that we all knew what great, nice kids they were (and as their family we may have been crazy biased), but it was neat to see those things affirmed by their peers. I am so proud! :)

 We realized we didn't get a pic of Dad and Joe in his crown, so we grabbed this one before he went out.
 

 I was at a wedding Saturday evening, so Bets and my mom took some pics on my camera. I thought they got some great ones!

 































 Joe's crew...this group of seniors are as tight of a group as I have seen in my own experience and all my years of teaching. They truly are more of a family than just a group of friends.




 Goofballs...

 


 Boys and their Mommas
 And a pic I stole from Bets' instagram.
 

 A friend of my mom's texted her this pic of the King and Queen dance. It made me smile.

 On a sad note, Saturday night my family's dog Tug passed away. It was awful and terrible, and my family is so sad. Especially baby Joe. My dad and I were on our way home from the wedding in Lawrence and the burden of getting Tug the help he needed fell on my Mom, sister, Joe, and all of his friends. I can't even think about it, or type this without crying. Joe's friends, all the ones in those pictures up there, skipped their senior homecoming to sit at the Vet's office with my family. Some of my parents' best friends met them there. My dad's best friend held Joe while he said good bye to our dog, all the while my dad and I were racing home. I am so sad to lose Tug, but I am SO thankful Joe Henry, and the rest of my family, has the friends we do. His friends were so protective of him, some of them even leaving the dance to just sit and support him. When they went back to the dance, they all walked in, made a circle for Joe and Savs to dance the king and queen dance, then left with them. Savannah was incredible, not only as a support for Joe, but also when she kicked her shoes off and ran barefoot down the street in her dress after Tug. While we mourn our buddy, our pup, our first "big" dog...we feel so blessed that we are so loved, that Tug was so loved, and that all of the kids who chased him are ok. Rest in Peace, Tuggabaloo...