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.)