HAWAII (part 1 of who knows how many)

hello, hello! I hope everyone's Christmas break is excellent! I know mine definitely was. it's not over yet, but it was definitely the best one in my (almost) 18 years of living. it was also the warmest. so 10 years ago, I never really thought of "vacation" meaning anything except California or Bear Lake. but when my dad told us he was going to a conference in Hawaii, I decided that Disneyland wasn't my dream vacation anymore (after all, I had already been there over 50 times because I was blessed to have been born in California). all I wanted was to go to Hawaii. it was the first place on my travel bucketlist.

10 years later, I was finally able to cross it off. my dad had another conference there, and instead of being selfish and just bringing Mom like the last 4 times, he would bring the whole family! so this was our big Christmas present/senior trip.

I fell in love the moment we got off the airplane. the air was humid, there was Japanese tourists everywhere (Justin even asked if Hawaii used the same money as America, or if they used yen), it felt like Tokyo, but the air smelled of the ocean and fresh flowers instead of subway station. I was extremely jet lagged, so the rest of the day was just spent eating dinner and sleeping. sorry if you had to suffer through the boring part. here's the exciting part where we actually do stuff.

DAY 1: my dad left early in the morning for his conference. so it was just mom, the boys, and I. without a detailed schedule filled with museums, restaurants, lookouts, and historical sites that we needed to be at certain times, we just had a relaxing day at the beach. both my brothers headed straight for the water, but I just enjoyed sitting in the sand and looking at the ocean, hoping that I would get as tan as I was in the tennis season (minus the embarrassing tanlines). I just sat there while my mom rented 3 boogie boards and a surfboard. I enjoyed the boogie board, but the waves weren't as big as I had expected. so I went back to my spot and just looked at the ocean (keep in mind that I have ADD and sitting still is something that can be physically and mentally painful at times. apparently it isn't if you're looking at the ocean). once we got the surfboard. my mom would sit on the boogie board and push one of my brothers on the surfboard while I stayed at the beach with the other brother. finally, it was my turn to try the surfboard. my parents love surfing and I was hoping that I would be the same way. however, the second I paddled out on that board, I felt exhausted. when a wave came, my mom launched me on it, and it felt good, until I wiped out and cut my foot on some coral. but I wanted to try again, and this time I was more successful, but I almost nailed a Japanese tourist. I tried again, but I was feeling really seasick and if I was out there another second, I was going to throw up all over the ocean, so I paddled back to shore and gave the board to Justin. after a few hours, all of us were really hungry so we went back to the apartment to rinse all the sand off and found a substandard sandwich place. after lunch, the boys decided they didn't want to get any more sandy, and Justin cut his foot and Wesley had a horrible rash all over his chest, so they chilled in the apartment while Mom and I walked around Waikiki, went window shopping, enjoyed the fresh air, and went back to the beach to do what? LOOK AT THE OCEAN, OF COURSE! it was a very relaxing, beautiful day.

 Waikiki beach at 8 am

DAY 2: my dad had to go to his conference for most of the day, so again, it was just Mom and us kiddos. first, we went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation, which, according to my mom, it's pretty boring except it has great pineapple ice cream. we got there a half hour before it officially opened, so we just walked around, took some cliche touristy pictures, fed some fish, and chased the wild chickens. our ice cream was absolutely delicious.

 I'm the oldest in this family....

the next phase of our adventure was Shark's Cove. it had the most beautiful, clear water I had ever seen and you could even see fish. however, it was extremely rocky and just walking around in the water got annoying, so Mom got out the snorkel gear and we went snorkeling! the first breath underwater felt really weird, and it took a minute to get comfortable, but I loved it. I thought I could see a lot of fish when I wasn't underwater, but that was nothing compared to what I saw underwater. (also, I don't even want to think about how many people saw me peeing in the ocean.) we spent a good hour there, and then drove further up the North Shore to Sunset Beach. holy crap, these waves were huge! Mom told us not to get too close to the surfers and we couldn't get in very far, but we could body surf close to the shore. it was surprisingly really fun getting knocked over by huge waves. I made a mistake and wore my worst swimsuit that day and had a few embarrassing malfunctions. oh, and there was sand in every place imaginable and as fun as it was getting thrashed around on the beach, we had to leave before Mom lost a contact, I lost my swimsuit, or before one of my brothers got swallowed in the sea.

 shark's cove

 if you look closely, you can see Wes's banged up chest

 Sunset beach

before we moved to the next part of our adventure, the first thing we had to do was get all the sand out of our swimsuits. however, this was a lot more difficult than I expected because the only showers are public ones. since we had to move rather fast. Mom was the only one who could wash her hair. I was left with the leave-in conditioner and my hair was an absolute wreck for the rest of the day. we found some bathroom to change in. however, Justin forgot his undies and there was no store nearby that we could acquire a pair, so he was stuck in his sandy swimsuit for the rest of the day. after getting food, not finding underwear, and doing my makeup in the only public restroom in Lai'e, we moved on to the final part of our day: the Polynesian Culture Center!

I loved this place. for those who have no idea what I'm talking about, the PCC is a place where each of the Polynesian "islands" puts on a performance that tells about their island, and we learn about the different cultures. there is also a movie theater, a boat ride, several different places to eat, and many different gift shops. my favorite "island" was Samoa. the guys were really funny and showed us how to break a coconut and make coconut milk, and one of them even climbed a coconut tree. my favorite part was the fire dancers. I was expecting the guy to burn himself, but that never happened. I was amazed. I wish I could do that but sadly, I would end up in the Burn Center of some hospital. I also enjoyed the Aotearoa (New Zealand) performance and playing with the poi balls (and whacking Wesley in the face while doing so), and the Hawaiian hula dancers. contrary to popular tourist belief, "hula" is not where you wear grass skirts and coconut bras and shake your hips. that is from Tahiti. Hula is actually where you are fully clothed and dance and sing about nature.

after we watched all the performances, we got seated for the luau and Dad finally joined us. it was amazing. there were so many meats to choose from, and if anyone knows me well, they know I LOVE MEAT. I decided to try everything. my favorite was the pork from the big pig. we feasted while we were entertained by more dancing, singing, and more fire dancers. at the end, anyone who wanted to could go up and learn how to dance. everyone in our family but Justin went up and danced. I don't know how I looked up there, nor do I want to, but it was really fun.

finally, we got to see the big show: Ha: The Breath of Life. this was a 1.5 hour performance complete with music, grass skirts, singing, cool outfits, chest pounding, and you guessed it-- MORE FIRE DANCERS! this was the best part. there was more fire, and they did even more tricks, and didn't burn their bums! we weren't allowed to take pictures or videos, so all I can say is GO SEE IT YOURSELF. It is amazing! 

 cute flowers in the PCC bathroom

 Justin, apparently still upset about not having any underwear

 the canoe pageant (really Justin? GET OVER IT. we know you are still in your swimsuit and have sand in your bum)

our very photogenic family

well, that's the first 2 days. I know, so many pictures! so that's why I am choosing to end this here. but tune in next time to see Pearl Harbor, more beaches, failed sea kayaking adventures, more Waikiki sunsets, waterfalls, and more pictures of our lovely photogenic family! also, find out if Justin ever found some underwear! ok for real. the Beatles are on spotify and it's hard to type this and explain to Wesley that they were really high on LSD while they wrote a good majority of their songs, so that's why they are so weird sounding, but so amazing as well. 

SADIES went 80s

ah yes. another typical dance blog post. but this was my last Sadie Hawkins, and my second to last Girls Choice dance. I'm getting old. but (don't tell the others), this date is definitely one of THREE that is tied for my favorite. (I don't have a favorite; all of my top 3 take the cake for different reasons.)

I decided to ask one of my oldest friends way back from elementary school. I have no pictures of how I asked, but I left a jar of Swedish fish on his door, and cut out pieces of paper with letters of my name and hid them in there. I said, "of all the fish in the sea, you are the SWEDISH one. come to Sadies with me?"

well, a few weeks later, the doorbell rings, and I'm in my sweats, and my brothers tell me it's for me. I see a group of German exchange students at my door, they ask, "are you Miriam?" and I say "yes" and then they start singing. and I'm so confused as to what's going on, but they say "Zane", "dance", "Sadies"..... and then at the end they say "and he will say YES" and I just look at them speechless, and finally I can say, "thank you SO MUCH" and they say in their thick accents "it was our pleasure!" and they run off.

the theme, as stated in the title, was the 1980's. I'm not one of those people who claims to be "born in the wrong generation", but the 80's is definitely my favorite decade of the past. I love the music, the movies, the outfits, and the hair. but I knew that most people would dress as your typical 80's workout people, and I wanted to do something different. so I texted Zane and asked if he would want to go as Marty McFly from Back to the Future and I would go as his girlfriend, Jennifer Parker. he thought it was a great idea, and as you will be able to see in a few paragraphs, we pulled it off really well.

our group split for the day date, so while 3 couples were doing yoga, me and 5 other couples all met at our friend Dathyl's house, and she drove us around in a 12 passenger van on an adventure to go on a space mission! getting to the place was the real adventure. in Pleasant Grove, there are 2 different "space mission" centers: one is an old elementary school, and the other is some private school that is in this really nice neighborhood. well, we showed up at the old elementary school, and the guy inside told us we were at the wrong place, and that he would call the other one and tell us that we would be on our way. so, he did, and we got lost again, but eventually we found it. on the door of the school, it said "Happy Birthday Liam", and I think it was my date who said, "hey guys, it's Liam's birthday" and I said "NO WAY!" and kept that in mind in case we were to run into a younger boy there. then, the lady in charge (who was probably a year younger than us) gave us assignments, and we went into this big room for a space station simulation. we all had different positions: Captain, Officer, Science Dude, Communications Officer, Engineer, Security Dude who Shoots People with Guns, Operations Officer, and Operations Power Dude (me). My job was to send codes to the Engineer to fix the ship, and to control the engine power, missile power, and all that stuff. it was a very vital position! somehow in the middle of the mission, Zane figured out how to hack the real computer (not just the simulation) and started printing out random things. when our mission ended, the girl in charge came in, and Zane handed her some fake credit that he printed off and she was SO CONFUSED, and finally said, "I cannot accept that, I only accept chocolate milk". so he opens that one painting program that everyone played on as a kid, "painted" the words "CHOCOLATE MILK", printed it out, and handed it to her. she looked even more confused and asked how the heck he did that, and we all just laughed so hard. she gave us a really bad score for creativity (BUT REALLY MY DATE HACKED HER SYSTEM SO WE DESERVED MORE).
well, as we were walking out, we indeed saw a group of little boys running around. so I asked, "which one of you is Liam?" and one boy yells "ME! ME!" so our whole group yells, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIAM!" we either really scared him or made his day!

exactly 2 hours later, after my mom curled and teased and sprayed and blew dry and sprayed my hair, I picked Zane up again, only a few minutes after he finished running around town acquiring his costume. but dang we looked good. we got our pictures taken at Mckenna's dad's studio with the funky blue background, and we all looked so good. (but Zane and I looked the best. everyone was close though.)

 this is how Marty and Jennifer were posed in the movie. however, the real life height ratio between Zane and I made it hard to look exactly like Marty and Jennifer. but we were pretty dang close.

 front row: Madisen and Sam (the glam rockers), and Lindsey and Josh (Charlie and Maverick from Top Gun). second row: Isaac and Ali, Nate and Raya, Sophie and Ben (they are wearing Sophie's parent's student government sweaters from the 80's!). third row: Joel and Cami, Levi and Dathyl, Brady and Mckenna, me and Zane

 front steps: me, Raya, Madisen. next 4: Ali, Sophie, Cami, and Lindsey. the 2 in the back: Mckenna and Dathyl

after we took those lovely pictures, we went to Mckenna's house for dinner. we had the best Cafe Rio style burritos, and dang those were so so good. I could've eaten 20 of those. we were finished by 8:00, which is when the dance started. but usually, people don't start making appearances until 9. but our group was determined to be the first ones at the dance. so, we were. this was definitely my favorite theme. Timpview played it old school and held it in the old south gym and there were balloons everywhere. the decorations were amazing. glow sticks were handed out at the door. Zane picked up every glow stick that was on the floor and put it on my wrist. he said, "I want you to have more of these than any of us!" well, it worked and I came home with about 23 glowsticks! the music was so good, and everyone looked so good. it did get pretty hot inside, so every other song, we just stepped outside to take a breather, but once a good 80's jam came on, we would run back in and start dancing! we owned that dance floor! we got into it more than anyone else, and I probably embarrassed him by singing (sorry, yelling) out all the words to every song, but I didn't care. we were having the time of our lives. and everyone knew who we were dressed up as, so more points for us!

after being at the dance for a record of 2 hours, we went to Lindsey's grandparents and ate pazookies. if you haven't had a pazookie before in your life, then you are missing out big time. they are cookies baked in mini pie tins topped with ice cream and hot fudge. we also enjoyed deep conversations about car washes, top ramen, hairstylists, and many other things. it was definitely a date I would never forget!

the time I was a cheerleader

first off, I'd just like to say that I've been very busy. I'm starting college applications, I'm a senior in high school, I'm involved in a lot of things, but everyone else is also very busy and I don't think anyone even reads this anymore, so why do I start with this really dumb forward?

when I was around 8 years old, my best friend told me she wanted to be a cheerleader, and without thinking, I said, "that's really dumb." and she asked me why and I said, "all you do is do flips and stuff and cheer at sports." I didn't want to tell her the real reason I thought it was dumb was because she could do a back handspring, and I couldn't, no matter how hard I tried. so, in my little 8 year old brain, if I couldn't do it, it was dumb. my mom was a gymnast in her younger years, and she thought that because I was her only girl, I was her only hope of carrying on the tradition. so when I was 5 years old, I got enrolled in a gymnastics class. and I SUCKED. I wasn't flexible, I fell all the time, and my grandma even came to watch a lesson, and she told my mom, "you're wasting your money on this." so, after a year, my mom pulled me out of gymnastics, and all I really knew how to do was turn a cartwheel. so I knew, at a very young age, that I would never be able to make it as a cheerleader.

fast forward to 8th grade, when all my friends decided that they were going to try out for cheer in 9th grade. now this was around the time when I started to actually enjoy playing tennis, so my plans were to defy everyone and join the tennis team instead of the cheer squad. but part of me wanted so desperately to fit in with all my friends, so I began listing all the reasons to why I would be a good cheerleader: I was cute, short, full of energy, I had a loud voice, and I would look so good in a cheer uniform. I would get to go to every football game and everyone would be watching me. I told my best friend that I wanted to be a cheerleader (the same one I tried to convince that cheer was dumb), and she said, "well, you better start taking real tumbling classes, and you better actually learn how to do a back handspring." and then I decided to be rational and I realized I am a horrible dancer, I can't move in sync with anyone, and sadly, I cannot do a back handspring. my freshman year, I didn't end up trying for any athletic teams because my dad's sabbatical in Japan interfered with my first term. but when I went to my first football game, I watched my friends cheering and I thought, I really just want to go down there. just once. I have school spirit. I'm not a gymnast, I'm not a dancer, but I can get the student section pumped up. I learned all the cheers from being in the student section, but as I became more involved in tennis and other things, my desire to be a cheerleader diminished.

until Halloween.

last year, I dressed up as Ron Burgundy, and everyone thought it was super funny. the year before, I was a Duck Dynasty guy and even brought a fake duck that my grandpa uses for hunting, and covered it in fake blood and everything. that was also memorable. but this year, I didn't have any ideas, and since I was a senior, I thought that dressing up was starting to get lame anyway. but then, I remembered that I lost a bet on the first day of school and I was supposed to wear my old ugly tennis outfit from sophomore year on the first day. but I chickened out, didn't do it, and who knows where that uniform went after that. So I thought, well it's Halloween, no one will question me if I wear it on that day! but I knew I wouldn't be able to find it. so I asked my best friend on the tennis team if she still had hers, and she said she only had the skirt, but if I wanted, I could wear it with her old cheer top from freshman year, and go as a cheerleader with an ugly skirt. (she actually ran into me at the gas station that night, and she had the clothes IN HER CAR so in our weird gas station rendezvous I came back with my Halloween costume.) Halloween was on a Saturday, so that Friday at school, I wore the cheer outfit and a lot of people told me I looked good (even though I didn't), but it just wasn't Ron Burgundy or Duck Dynasty. then, I got a brilliant idea.

the next day (which was actually Halloween) was the first round of the playoffs for football. I figured if I show up to the game in the cheer outfit, people would think it's funny and just think I was dressing up for Halloween or showing a bunch of school spirit. but when no one would expect, I would hop over the fence and onto the field and join the cheerleaders and see how long I could get away with it before I got kicked off.

during the second quarter, good things started happening in the game, and it was my moment. I told the student section to move out of the way, hopped the fence, and stood by the cheerleaders. my really good friend Lindsey who also happens to be cheer captain, just starts laughing, hands me her pom poms, and says, "Stand up on my box while I take your picture! and you can lead a few cheers!" everyone looked confused (mostly because the cheerleaders dressed as zombies for Halloween and I just looked like a normal one in an ugly tennis skirt), but then they started laughing and cheering for me. so I led a few cheers from the cheer captain's box, front and center. I didn't care that I couldn't move my arms in sync with the other cheerleaders or that my pompom was in the wrong hand. it was so fun. I couldn't believe that I had the impulse to do it, and that I followed that impulse. so I decided to make the most out of it. after a few minutes, cheer captain needed her box back, so I just stood off to the side next to the JV squad and was completely off sync, but it was so funny to see all my friends walk into the game, look at me, look confused, and then start laughing. I didn't care. in that moment, I wasn't a tennis player or a senior in the student section. I was a Timpview cheerleader.

well, after like 20 minutes, the cheer coach finally notices that something isn't right, and someone let an impostor onto the field. she walks up to me and tells me that I stole a freshman's pompoms and when she comes back, I need to go back to the stands, and asked me why I was even down there. well, since I wasn't a real cheerleader, and it was my senior year so it was really the last time I could really do whatever I wanted, I said, "I'm cheering! It's Halloween! Only this one time!" and she is not amused and tells me not to go down there ever again because it's some liability thing, and I guess I sassed her some more, but as soon as the freshman came back, I returned her pompoms, and she looked very confused, but I didn't want to explain to her, so I just went back to the stands.

well, everyone was just laughing. I was greeted with, "you are my hero!" "you're a freaking legend!" "I could never have the confidence to do that!" and "you looked so good down there!"
and I felt good. people asked why I did it, and I said, "well, I just......wanted to do it. it's my senior year, and maybe it was kinda a senior prank." I knew I looked totally stupid down there, but I was having a good time, and I'm just glad that the cheerleaders didn't kick me off or tell me I was doing a bad job. so maybe the next time I get an impulse like that, I shouldn't act on it. but I'm just glad I could live to say I did it once. and it was indeed, the best Halloween ever. one week later, I'm still getting praised for it.

from class clowns to classy homecoming couple 2k15

I only update this thing after tennis tournaments and dates, right? well, there's still a tennis tournament I have to talk about, but the date was more important. last night, I went to my first AND last homecoming, and it was definitely a night for the books!

the last 2 girls choice dances I went to, I asked tennis players, and with both boys I wrote my name in tennis balls, because what does a tennis player love more than getting free tennis balls? not very many things, let me tell you. well, I guess Matt had the same idea as I do when asking tennis players, and when the doorbell rang and I found the sign and 3 cans of tennis balls on my porch, to say I was stoked was an understatement. not only was I going to homecoming, but I got 3 free cans of tennis balls! I figured since he gave me free tennis balls, I would need to figure out something just as great, if not greater, to answer him with. Matt is a golfer, and no one in the Castle family can even hold a golf club. So I needed to google "where to buy golf balls", actually ended up taking some from one of my golfer friends, and this is what I came up with. (also, Matt can spell my name right, and so can I! one of my great friends nicknamed me Merm, and once he started calling me that, it spread.)

well, I was pretty stoked for this date, to say the least. Matt and I have been friends since kindergarten. in first grade, our teacher had to call both our parents on the first day of school because we were "too disruptive". both of us had to turn our cards from green to yellow almost daily, and we even got on red a few times. neither of us were bad kids; I was just sassy, and Matt always wanted to have a good time. I knew this date would be nothing but good times. I was also really excited about our group. I've known most of the people since elementary school, so we pretty much all grew up together, and the ones who didn't go to elementary school with me, I've been friends with since either junior high or the beginning of high school. I knew everyone in my group, and it was just so much fun for all of us to get together and be in the same homecoming group! it was one of my favorite parts of the date.

at 11:30 on Saturday morning, the doorbell rings, and it's our neighbor from across the street. I thought it was Matt, so it was a bit of a let-down, but then our neighbor turns around and says, "who is driving that sweet Mustang?" and LO AND BEHOLD, it is my date. in a 1966 convertible Mustang. doesn't even go above 55 mph. a true classic. and I love old cars. sometimes, my (dad's) 2004 Hyundai Elantra just doesn't seem old enough for me. (except I did hit the range gate the night before trying to find a parking space at the Homecoming game, some guy told me "you can't park on the drivers range, there's no room, you need to back up" except he didn't tell me to move my car first, so I scraped my whole left side on the orange gate, so now my red Hyundai Elantra is sporting an orange paint scrape. so I guess it looks kinda old?) and it was SO MUCH FUN to sit shotgun in that car. it was a real treat.

our day date was playing soccer golf at East Bay Golf Course. soccer golf is just what it sounds like- soccer with the rules of golf. you're on a golf course, but instead of hitting a golf ball with a club, you have to kick a soccer ball into a hole with the least kicks. I lost track of my score after hole #3, but I probably lost or came really close to it. I played soccer in elementary school, but I was never very good at it, and my kicks never went very far. this proved to be true in soccer golf. once my kick went about 10 feet and everyone cheered for me. it was a great accomplishment. but it was so fun watching all the boys drop kick their balls and to laugh at myself. afterwards, we went to Sodalicious, which I have never been to until that day. I have always gone to Swig because it's closer, and a dirty diet coke is just a dirty diet coke. anywhere I can get one, I'm satisfied. but this one was an amazing dirty diet coke, and Sodalicious should be seeing me come back soon!

at 5:45 pm, Matt and his classy mustang returned to my house. and of course, my mom wanted to take 5,000 pictures of the car. then, we went to Matt's and his dad took loads of pictures as well, and then, all our group met to take real pictures.

the car

me, Matt, Noah, and Gillian

 couples: Fielding and Becca, Gavin and Meg, Gabe and Hailey H, Brady and Lindsey, Colson and Brianna, Alex and Kelsey, Matt and me, Seth and Hailey F, Brad and Cami, Noah and Gillian

 Hailey F, Rebecca, Megan, Hailey H, Lindsey, Brianna, Kelsey, me, Cami, and Gill

for dinner, we went to Sakura, a Japanese Tepanyaki grill. there was a griddle thing right at our table, so we got to watch the people cook our food for us. it was really exciting. the soup, the salad, and the fried vegetables reminded me of my time in Tokyo and eating at nice restaurants there. the fried rice was really good, and my steak was done a bit too well for my preference, but it was still pretty good. (I was the only girl who ordered steak. everyone else ordered chicken. I don't understand how girls don't like steak, but it's their loss, not mine.) the BYU football game was on that night, so every 5 seconds, the boys would check their phones: "they scored!" "TANNER MANGUM!" "yesssssss go Cougars!" after we ate, we went to Timpview for the dance. it was my first time going to a dance in the commons. every school dance I've been to has been anywhere except the commons, which is where most of the dances are held. the decorations were so cute, and it was so fun to see everyone! and slow dancing was super fun. Matt and I would not only sing the songs in our worst off-key voices, but we would also spin into other couples and whisper "KISS!" it was so funny. I know we are seniors and we aren't supposed to be immature, but like I said earlier, we have been punks since kindergarten, and I guess none of that has changed!

about an hour into the dance, Colson tells all the guys in the group that it's halftime and that we have to go, but then another slow dance comes on, so we have to wait. in the middle of the next song, all the guys in our group start chanting "BYU! BYU! BYU! BYU!" and then all the other guys at the dance joined in. it was pretty funny.

after we left, we drove to our good friend Josh's house (who hosted our Prom dinner ) to watch the BYU football game. our friend Zane also had an old vintage car, and both Matt and Zane honked at each other the whole way to prove that their horn was better, and that was really funny. watching the game was probably my favorite part of the date. we ate really good popcorn and ice cream, and it was a really exciting game to watch. Cougars took the lead until the 4th quarter, when UCLA scored a touchdown, and Tanner Mangum was in just the right spot for another Hail Mary, but instead, he threw an interception, and the Cougars lost, 23-24. but despite the loss, it was an exciting, close game, and it was funny to hear all the boys reactions: "no, you can't sit in my spot, it's bad karma!" "if the Cougars win, then 10,000 people will get baptized this week!" "no one even breathe in the last minute." "If Taysom Hill was in, then that would've been a touchdown!" "NO, that would've been a broken femur!" so many good times.

well, even though the Cougars lost, my date was a real winner! can't believe we are all seniors this year, and it was super fun being in a group with all my best friends from elementary school. we definitely grew up nicely!

(except Matt and I are still punks. but more mature, nice punks.)

what else have I been doing?

this summer has been quite a busy one! I say that every summer, but this one was far more busier than the last. I had no "lazy days" whatsoever because I would either be at work, on vacation, at tennis camp, tennis practice, tennis tournaments, at some mission call opening party/farewell after-party, and in my free time, I would either be practicing piano or hanging out with friends visiting Utah from other places. so I feel bad for all the "let's hang out this summer!" messages that I wrote in everyone's yearbook that didn't happen. and I already have my schedule and I start school in 2 days. so I better get this post up!

in June, I went to BYU tennis camp. most people stayed overnight, but I didn't because I live 5 minutes away. one of my best friends Grace and her sisters Isabel and Caroline were also there, and we ended up being in the same group! so we did a lot of drills together, conditioned together, and ate together. my favorite thing was playing matches against people from all over the country. (okay, different parts of Utah, Las Vegas, Idaho, and Arizona.) I was ranked 11 out of 30 in my group, which is REALLY good, and it meant that I would be playing a lot of dudes. sadly, I've never beat a dude in singles who isn't my brother or my dad. they are just stronger and hit with a lot of topspin. But I won a few games against them, which is a big deal. I also got to play singles against a girl from the school who won state tennis this year (and my school got SECOND PLACE TO) and she creamed me. but I did beat her in doubles. i also enjoyed playing more doubles. I'm definitely more of a singles player than a doubles player, and I feel a lot more comfortable covering the entire court than just one side. many times after I play a singles match, regardless of whether I win or lose, my opponent has told me, "holy crap you make me run! you wore me out!" or "I never know where your shots are going, but they always make it in, and I've never done so much running in my life!" or "you're so consistent it pisses me off!" (my personal fav). but in doubles, my strategy of outrunning my opponent doesn't work because there's two of them, and if I try to send them to the other side of the court, the net player almost always gets there first and poaches the shot. so, it's a lot of adjustment for me, but I'm glad I got to learn more about sharing the court and how to win a doubles match without outrunning your opponent. I also enjoyed being with all the coaches there. my private coach Francis was in charge of the matches, and it was nice to have a familiar coach who knows the way I play!

 Isabel, Grace, Caroline, and me. believe it or not, I'm the oldest in this group. but I'm 5 feet exactly, and for one drill, we were ranked by our height, so me, Caroline, and a bunch of 12 year olds were in a group. I'm 17 and no one except Caroline believed me. my height can be an advantage at times, but in more ways, a disadvantage. 

 Madi, Grace, and me. I played against Madi in my high school season and she beat me, but we moved past that and became really good friends that week

 some of the coaches: Francis, Nikki, Brian, Scott, Myriam-with-a-y, and Miriam-with-an-i. Francis and Nikki are both British, so it's very fun to be coached in a British accent, and I tend to listen to the instructions more. but I do love all my coaches. 

 Francis and me. Francis has been my private coach since last summer, and he has done wonders with my game. I went from being a JV alternate to being an official JV player! I've learned so much from him, not just about the physical game of tennis but the mental game as well, and it has seriously helped so much. except it can get annoying when I'm playing a match and I do something wrong and this British accent in my head tells me "low to high! remember to follow through! where are you standing? how much room did you give yourself? where did you contact the ball?"

Grace and I

the week after tennis camp, I went to my last girls camp. and it was pretty sweet. best girls camp ever. we went to a different camp than we usually go to, and this one had showers. and electricity. and a zip line and loads of other things. my favorite part though was the guest speakers. they were so real and talked about real stuff and how life isn't always perfect and how we really do need to trust in the Lord when that's all we can do. these people have been through everything. I'm serious. one of them lost her husband to cancer, another has always wanted to be married and have kids but that time hasn't come yet, another had a severely disabled son, one was a mother of 4 or 5 boys plus 20 of their friends (imagine my house x100), and one fell off a cliff in St George and was paralyzed from the chest down and is wheelchair bound. but these people, no matter what they've gone through, are some of the happiest people I've met. and I love how none of them said "everything happens for a reason." I mean, if you lose your husband to cancer and you have to think "well that happened for a reason", then that would suck. they all said that things just happen to us, and we don't know why, but we can either let them define us, or we can grow from them. I loved that.

at the end of July we went to Bear Lake with all my cousins on my dad's side. It was a much-needed vacation, except I felt super sick most of the week and the water was too rough to waterski, so I spent most of my time either playing tennis with my mom or on the beach with my cousins. except I did wakeboard one of the days. I took like no pictures since I was feeling like crap, so this 4 sentence summary will have to suffice.

finally, I had tennis tryouts these past 2 weeks. like I mentioned earlier, I went from being an alternate singles player to making OFFICIAL JV! I have never been so happy in my life. so many good people try out for the tennis team, and my coach doesn't do cuts. instead, she makes an alternate team, and basically, whenever they can play matches, she lets them, but they aren't guaranteed to play every match. I played every match except for 2 last season. but now, I get to go to every practice, play every match, and I have a guaranteed spot at region! except I'm more likely playing doubles than singles, but I don't even care. I'd rather be on JV than be an alternate again! so, hard work does really pay off!