Tenney Shoes

In the blink of an eye everything in your world can change. Sometimes, like in this case, it's for a great reason. Kylie, my first born, the child that has been with me the longest, is spreading her wings and doing some test flaps on the edge of the nest. It's bittersweet to watch with awe as she moves into this new phase of life and terrifying at the same time knowing it's virtually a free fall once out of the safety of the nest. I'm actually not as scared for her as my boys, because she has proven to be very trustworthy and self reliant and has a great spirit about her. She knows who she is, and no one will be able to convince her otherwise. I don't know, when I was her age, I could boast the same. We love you so much Kylie and have a very happy birthday.

O.k. now on to the fun stuff. Hee hee. Kylie was awoken at around 7 Monday morning, Presidents day, and she was hoping to sleep in, to some friends candy attacking her room. Very cute and now she has as much candy as she did at Halloween.

Kylie has a very good friend, Aaron. I say friend and not boyfriend, because that's what they are. They have a lot of fun together and he is a wonderful kid. Anyway, Aaron is 17 1/2 and he knew the rule that Kylie will not be allow to date until she is 16. They have been good friends since around October of last year, so he patiently waited until she was. Kylie's birthday this year happen to fall on Presidents Day and so they planned a double date, of course, with Justina and Tanner for the very day. But wait, hold on there buckaroo, did you think it would be that easy to date our daughter. Our only daughter, our first born? If you did, you have another thing coming............

The Tenney Family First Date Survival Kit
Welcome,
If you have opened this packet it must be your time for your first date. You will find many helpful tools, hints and most importantly, ABSOLUTE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, of taking my daughter away from me!!
First, let’s start with a little pre-date interview.
1. Please check one of the following
A. I am an Eagle Scout
B. I not an Eagle Scout yet, but just need to fill out my paperwork.
C. I am not an Eagle Scout yet, but am willing to commit to a project TONIGHT before we leave the house.
D. I am not an Eagle Scout, have no plans of being one and “Thank you sir for your time, I will be leaving now!”

2. My grades in Seminary are…
A. A – and by the way did I tell you it was my favorite class!
B. B – but the only reason for this is that I am constantly late to class, because I get so caught up in my daily scripture reading.
C. Lower than an A or a B and my Seminary teachers name and number are _________________ and I would be willing to call him now and discuss an action plan for bringing my grade up.
D. What is seminary and where was that front door again!

3. My plans for the evening are
A. Here is my written and annotated itinerary for the night.
B. I am willing to write down at this very moment my plans.
C. We sort of have an idea and no I am not opposed to your daughter being on the cell phone with you the whole night.
D. I have no idea we were just going to decide as we go and “Yes, sir there is an extra seatbelt for you in the back seat!”

A Few Tips, okay they really aren’t tips, they are REQUIREMENTS!

1. Enclosed in the packet for your convenience is the “For the strength of Youth Pamphlet” (I have also included handy pocket size versions that you may all carry with you throughout the evening) (Tanner at this point pull his own out of his pocket, way to go Tanner!) Please make time this evening for quite reflection and reading time of the pamphlet. You may also want to recap at the end of the night when you bring her to the door as to how well you followed all the principles in the pamphlet.
2. CTR rings must be worn at all times during the evening. If you do not have one, one will be provide for you. (I have included extras in the packet.) (Tanner again on his "A" game flashes us his ring on his right hand)Remember it stands for “CHOOSE THE RIGHT”, not some other cute or apostate phrase you may make up to suit your own whims!
3. It is strongly recommended that you take turns reciting, both the Purposes of the Aaronic Priesthood and the Young Women’s theme at the top of each hour, have fun with this one, see who can do it without looking at the pamphlet, quiz each other on the meanings of each line and reflect on the inspired leaders who came up with the themes and once again, make time for reflections (preferably at the door also) as to how well you lived the precepts taught in these themes.
4. Appropriate music: I am sure that you have an appropriate selection of music such as EFY or Mormon Tabernacle CD’s in your car in order to ensure that the proper atmosphere accompanies you on your ride to your various destinations. (Once again for your convenience many CD’s have been provided in the packet for you.)
5. In order to remind you and those around you this evening what you stand for, please adhere the enclosed “LDS” bumper sticker to your vehicle.

Rules for arriving home on time. (This is the contractual part of the deal)
1. You will have my daughter home at the time agreed upon (I set it, you agree upon it!)
2. When escorting my daughter to the door, you will stay in plain sight, no dodging between bushes, hiding around corners and you must always stay in a well lit area.
3. Keep your hands in plain sight, you may not know which window you are being watched from, I expect to see both hands at all times. (My recommendation would be to keep them on the back of your head, this will make it easier for the officers who show up it there is a problem) This one is my favorite so I highlighted it.
4. The arrival time that we agree upon is the time my daughter will step through the door into the house, without you! Don’t even think that sitting in the driveway or standing in the doorway buys you any extra time, I am also a male and have tried all these tricks and trust me it won’t be worth the consequences!
5. Brief and only brief appropriate contact may be acceptable (the jury is still out on this one so don’t press your luck by trying anything creative). My preference would be a peck on the forehead or cheek, this is always a safe bet and I recently have accepted the “Hand Hug” as my door salutation of choice. In any case I will be counting “One Mississippi”, “Two Mississippi” etc. (as a side note, just ask any of my kids what happens if I make it to “THREE”!!
Well I think we have covered most everything, except any rules I make up while you are gone and have every right to enforce even though you were not aware of them. So with that said comes the binding agreement to follow and abide by all these rules by signing below.
By signing below I agree to all the terms and conditions stated and those not stated to be enforced and made up at the whim and discretion of the FATHER of my date. Failure to comply with any of these conditions will result in immediate termination of the date or any future dating privileges (or phone contact) on my part. I will also be subject to numerous penalties such as back breaking yard work and long term truck washing commitments.
Signature of the boy Signature of the Girl Date
______________________________ __________________________________ __________
______________________________ __________________________________ __________
______________________________ __________________________________ __________
Signature of the Father
__________________________________________ ______.
In closing Remember the Tenney Family Motto….
RETURN WITH HONOR, OR WE WILL KICK YOUR BUTT!
(Reminder Bands Enclosed)

Here all the kiddies, going over the packet of requirements.

And of course they all were required to sign said contract.

They had a really good time on their date, they did have one more couple that had to back out at the last minute, but they had fun all the same. They went to the Arizona Mills Mall for the day and played photo tag and video games at Game Crazy, had dinner at the Rain Forrest Cafe and then went to a movie at the Harkins theatre there. I have to tell you about the dinner. It's so funny. Here you have very poor teenagers trying to spend as much time together as possible. So they walk into the cafe, and they order an appetizer platter that they all share and water. Needles to say the waiter wasn't to thrilled cause he knew he wasn't gonna be getting a huge tip. Then they tell the waiter it's Kylie's birthday and he asks for ID. (When have you ever known them to ask for ID? :"P) So they bring her out this minuscule sundae. The kids thought it was hilarious.