A Fairytale...

Once upon a time, in a land not too far away, there was a beautiful princess named Holli. Now, although she was quite fair, Princess Holli did not know of her beauty, so she had dated a few ogres along the way. That didn't help with her self esteem. She thought she was doomed to marry an ogre and always had a prayer in her heart that a handsome prince would come rescue her. Tired of not being treated like the princess she was, she asked a friend if her good husband had a brother that might be in search of a princess. Indeed, he had a younger brother, of the returned-missionary-prince sort, who had given up all hope of finding a princess. And so, the friend offered to throw a ball in honor of her daughter's birthday so the princess could meet this handsome prince.

So the day came for the fair princess to meet her prince. She spent hours getting ready, and was so nervous she was almost too scared to go. She arrived at the ball with her attendants, and noticed a black horse, of the Volkswagen type, resting near the entrance to the ball. Could this horse belong to her handsome prince?

After making her entrance into the ball, her friend's husband introduced Princess Holli to his brother, Prince Manuel. They spent the evening talking and laughing. Soon the clock struck, and Princess Holli knew she had to leave. Before she returned to say good bye to Prince Manuel, he had rode off on his horse (and yes, the black horse did belong to the prince!). Slightly crushed, Princess Holli thought she would never see the prince again. Then her friend came and handed her a royal note. It was Prince Manuel's phone number!

It took the Princess a few days to call this prince. At first, she was kind of shocked and disappointed that SHE had to call HIM. The princess shouldn't have to call the prince! But she realized that times had changed, and it was okay for her to call him ONCE. So the princess called, and they talked on the phone for a very long time. It took a few weeks and numerous phonecalls, but finally, the prince asked the princess if she would go on a date with him. Of course she said yes, and couldn't believe what it was like to date a prince instead of an ogre. He knocked on the door, and met the Queen (he even made the Queen laugh, which was one step towards the Queen liking him- and can be a difficult task for a Queen used to her daughter dating ogres!). The prince opened every door, paid for the entire date, and upheld very pleasant and hilarious conversation. The princess knew he was the one for her.

Now Princess Holli was kind of young, and it made Prince Manuel a little nervous. It didn't take him long to realize that the Princess was unlike any girl he had dated before. Of course, she was very beautiful, but she was also funny and incredibly smart. All things Prince Manuel admired about the fair princess. So after courting the Princess for almost a year and a half, Prince Manuel decided it was time to ask the princess to marry him. Of course, she said yes (this is no dumb princess we're talking about!) and soon wedding preparations were being made.

And so, five years ago today, Prince Manuel took the Princess to the most beautiful castle ever built, and married her for time and all eternity.

And they lived, HAPPILY EVER AFTER