Paddy O'Platt

When they announced a St. Patrick's Day party in our ward, there were more than a few of us who lifted our eyebrows and wondered how a suburban Mormon ward would pull that off. Clearly, green beer was out. What would we have to look forward to? The answer soon came in the form of a request from the activities committee chair, who begged Roger to emcee the party... dressed as a leprechaun. Much angst followed. But as her home teacher, there was a certain amount of pressure to comply. And thus was born "Paddy O'Platt" - pictured below. Roger, of course, did a great job, even under duress. When I came up with an idea for a costume that was not too embarrassing, that seemed to help. There was Irish stew, green cookies and cupcakes, an Irish story from our resident storyteller, lovely Irish fiddle playing, a St. Patrick's Day quiz, and a very cute group of step dancers (also pictured below) from a local dancing school. It turned out to be a great party, and no one even once stated the obvious - that we are not Catholic and don't actually honor Patrick as a Saint (although our ward mission leader's given name is Patrick, and he is a real saint!).
The best part of the whole thing was when I sent the pictures below to Jana. She said Lynlee laughed and laughed to see Pa dressed up. Her comment: "I didn't know Pa was a leprechaun!" Priceless.