Junior Prom with Nate the Great

I know, all I ever post about is dates on my blog now. Well, get used to it. Because this girl went to her first boys choice dance ever last night!
so, a little brief introduction. every date I've gone on my junior year has either been with someone named Nate or someone who's dad is named Nate. well, I went on a date with another Nate! Also, remember how half of my Morp group was named Jackson? well, there was another Nate in my prom group. and to make it even funnier, it was the Nate that I went to Sadies with back in November! and if it isn't already crazy enough, Josh my sophomore homecoming prince was in my group. so, 2 homecoming royalty people in the same group. this year, my prom date Nate was junior homecoming prince. and 2 years ago, when I was a freshman, Jackson my Morp date was sophomore homecoming prince. I kid you not. I am not making any of this stuff up. and it's not like my school is small or anything. there are at least 500 people in each grade. it's just funny how it all happens.

also, on a side note, congratulations to Jackson my morp date on getting called to the Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine mission! (he can't even pronounce the name of his own mission.) and to Jackson R in my morp group on going to Charleston, West Virginia, and to Chandler also from my morp group on getting his call to Atlanta, Georgia! they all opened their calls the night before Prom. AND Lance from our morp group got his call a month ago to Jacksonville, Florida, Spanish speaking. (and Maloy ALSO from our group had his call before the dance, but he is going to Little Rock, Arkansas.) WE LOVE MISSIONARIES!

anyhow, this is supposed to be about Prom, not missionary shoutouts. about a month ago, the doorbell rings on a Friday night, Justin answers it, and yells, "MIRIAM, YOU JUST GOT ASKED TO PROM!"

well, boy am I excited. of all the people he could've asked, he chose me. Nate is one of the most well-known, well respected guys in my grade. He wrestles, plays football, all his brothers played for BYU, is on athletic council, and is well-liked by everyone. every girl who found out that he was my date said, "no way, I wish he was my date!" well, sorry girls. he asked me.
I have never answered a guy to a dance before, so I wasn't very creative and I took no pictures. but I got bag of Cadbury eggs, said "Prom would be EGG-scellent with you!" and got Justin to leave it on the doorstep. and then, I just let Nate and his friends plan the shindig, and it was nice to relax and not be in charge.

for our day date, we played bubble soccer. I didn't take any pictures. but it's where you run around in inflatable bubbles (they have straps inside that you put over your shoulders, you aren't rolling around), slam into each other, and play soccer. my mom gave Nate permission to knock into me as hard as he could. which, he did. it was pretty funny at first, but running around in bubbles can be really hard and exhausting. after we lost interest in soccer, we played sharks and minnows (and Nate being a huge football player won). and then, we decided to knock our dates over!
except Nate knocked me over.
The first time, not much happened. the second time, I flew into the air, did a double backflip, and landed safely. it was AWESOME. but the third time, I did the same backflip, but i landed on my ankles really weird. and it hurt! I couldn't get up for a few seconds, but I stood up and said, "I'll be okay!" and walked it off.

well, after I picked up my boutonniere, my ankle started to hurt again and it wouldn't go away. there was no way that I would be able to wear heels and walk around all night. in fact, my whole body was hurting. my mom said that she would get my home teachers to come over and give me a priesthood blessing before Nate picked me up. (my dad was running errands and couldn't make it home before my date picked me up.) but SURPRISE, Nate arrives before my home teachers, and right as my mom is taking our picture, my home teacher arrives, looking all confused. and BOY am I embarrassed. my date already felt bad for knocking me so hard I messed up my ankle, but the fact that my mom wanted me to have a priesthood blessing? he probably felt even worse. but in order to save embarrassment, I just told my home teacher to say a prayer for me instead, that I would rely on my faith and ibuprofen and I would be fine. so, we left and drove to Josh's beautiful house to take pictures and eat a wonderful dinner catered by La Jolla Groves. it was delicious, and I even got invited to play the grand piano while everyone ate their salad. my date had never heard me play before, and he said, "I had no idea you could do that! that is amazing!" then I just said, "thanks, you're sweet" and went straight for the food.

front row: Nate R and me, Josh and Megan, Erik and Cami. 

middle row: Adam and Dathyl, Nate A and Liza, Levi and Ingrid

back row: AJ and Lindsey H, Seth and Susie, Michael and Lindsey C

 back row: Megan, Dathyl, Liza, Ingrid, Lindsey C, Lindsey H.

front row: me, Susie, and Cami

Lindsey and I

after a wonderful meal, it was PROM TIME! prom was at the Provo Library in the ballroom, and I had to set up that morning because I came up with the theme, A Night In New York. Nate had a great time telling everyone, "my date is famous! she came up with the theme! this was all her" and that just made my day. Levi in the prayer at dinner said, "please bless us that we will not fall at Promenade." well, that prayer must have worked because none of us tripped down the stairs! but it was raining like crazy. the school was so sweet and provided us umbrellas. after Nate and I walked out, our parents took pics and after my parents told Nate's mom, "we're Miriam's parents!", his younger brother said, "and Justin's parents too!" that was pretty cute. our younger brothers are in the same class at school, so even cuter.

so finally (FINALLY) we go inside and we dance. the library looks beautiful, and the music choice isn't great at first, but after Uptown Funk came on, the ballroom came alive! and we danced. we actually danced. we didn't just stand there and watch people, we got all into it. and my favorite was when every boy wanted to talk to Nate, and he said, "this is my date, and she is the funniest person I have ever met!" so did I have the best date? YES I DID. and it was so fun to see everyone in all their dresses!

we actually stayed at the dance until we were told to leave. after we left, we were supposed to go to Seth's house for the afterparty. only problem? no one in our car knew where Seth lived. so, we pull over into a BYU events parking lot, and Erik (who was driving) starts calling every boy in the group. no answer. I call every girl in the group. no answer. just as we are losing hope, "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey comes on the radio, and we started believing. right then, Josh calls Erik, Ingrid calls me, and we get an address. THANK GOODNESS for Journey! then we drove to Seth's house safely, had dessert, watched funny videos, and just laughed until we lost our voices.

so, this was a pretty successful date. I got some air, did a few backflips, ditched the heels, ate delicious Prime rib, took rainy pics on a golf course, didn't trip at all, came up with the brilliant theme, serenaded the group at dinner, did off-key duets with Nate during slow dancing, screamed Katy Perry songs in the car, started believing once Journey came on, laughed all night, made some new friends, and had the BEST TIME EVER. thank you, Nate for being the greatest date and for being a gentleman and making me feel really happy all the time. seriously, before the dance, I knew I was lucky to go with him, but after actually going with him, I realize why every girl said they wished he was their date. because HE WAS GREAT.

and my feet are still attached to my legs, and I can walk.