Quinceanera

Quince.
That's how old my cousin Yvette is now.
15.
this is Yvette
As you know, I was a part of her Quinceanera. I really wasn't sure what to expect.
Actaully, it was surprisingly very much like a wedding. She wore a big poufy white dress, and her partner (ex-boyfriend. lets not get into it) wore a white tux. 4 other girls and I wore these slinky wine-colored dresses, and all the other guys wore these really nice tuxes. The vests on the tuxes were gray and wine-colored paisley that went with our dresses, which I liked very much.
So we got to this one park right on time ( 2:15pm) to take the pictures, just like the directions said. Richard (my partner/cousin) showed up shortly after we did, and Melissa (one of my favorite cousins. we basically grew up together) showed up a little after he did, so we got to hang out for a while.
A long while. Everyone else was very late.
Dad and my aunt and uncles that were there took our pictures while we waited for everyone.

I love this picture of Melissa, me, and Richard.
Finally, eventually, everyone showed up and we took some "professional" pictures under the trees, and then we left for Los Lunas. I drove over with Melissa and Richard, so that was cool since I hardly ever get to talk to them anymore. We went to Melissa's house first to relax, b/c everyone else stayed at the park and talked, and so they got to the hall LATE, and we didn't feel like setting up the hall by ourselves.
After about 20-30 minutes (they were really late again), we went to the hall and practiced the dance a few times. After much arguing, we decided how it should be done.
And that's when people began to arrive.
There really weren't that many people there, to tell the truth. But there were enough people there.
We ate first thing. I had the most amazing enchiladas. Yvette wore a shirt over her beautiful white dress so that she wouldn't drip red chile on it. Everyone standing in the Quince got to eat next to thier partner at a long table, just like at a wedding reception.
Richard drank a LOT of soda. haha
At 7:00 we did our dance, the one we've been practicing for weeks and weeks. I think it turned out ok. Everyone was so nervous, but not Richard and me. We were the first couple to be announced, and we just walked out- the best couple there. Just kidding. :P
We did have the most fun though. I love to dance, and Richard loves to spin me. All the other couples told us we looked like we were having the most fun out of everyone there. And we were.
After our little dance thing, the DJ came and cranked out some tunes. I danced a little with Richard, but he didn't know much. So I took him outside and taught him a little swing dance. He is such a fast learner! It only took like 20-30 minutes.
At about 8:00pm, I took my shoes off. My dress dragged on the ground, but I didn't care.
We played musical chairs, and Richard won and got $20 from the DJ. We did the Electric Slide (my personal favorite), and the Cha-Cha Slide.
It took a while to get Richard to actually swing dance in front of everyone, but after dancing once he kept asking me again and again.
At about 9:00, we had cake and toasted Yvette. We had sparkling grape juice in wine glasses, and Richard and I pretended we were famous wine tasters. haha
Yvette also had a dollar dance and a 'doll toss' (like a bouquet toss). Like I said, it was just like a wedding. Only no one got married. haha.
I was so thankful that Richard was my partner. He always knows how to make light of a situation, and he makes me laugh all the time, though he can be serious at the right moments. He is willing to learn, and he doesn't care about his appearance or how he seems to other people as much as other kids do. He knows just how to cheer me up- last night he came up to me and asked me to dance because "he saw that I was sitting by myself". Yeah, I really love Richard.
I loved the whole night. It was a wonderful distraction- the best way to help me forget everything thats been happening to me lately.