This is just going to be short and (quite literally) sweet. I just wanted to share Noah's homecoming proposal to his girlfriend, Ashley. I've been dying to post a photo of it for days, but he hadn't asked her yet, so I didn't want to spoil the surprise.
Since Noah and Ashley both attend the Middle College (where students from all over the county attend) they actually have three homecomings they could attend--Noah's high school (it's technically his high school, but he doesn't go there); Ashley's high school; and the Middle College they both attend.
So, Ashley's high school's was first, and she came up with the cutest idea to invite Noah to her homecoming! It was very elaborate, so I made sure Noah did something just as elaborate for her.
Anyway, Ashley wrote on a poster board, "Out of all the fish in the sea, will you go to homecoming with me?" and gave him a TON of fish-themed items--including a betta fish! She put it in a tank and explained how to care for it, because I'm clueless (and she asked my permission first, which was nice).
Estelle hasn't moved from this spot for two weeks now. She's obsessed with the fish!
When Ashley gave it to him, she and her mom came over and stood on the back deck (with all the stuff) while I made an excuse for Noah to come outside. He was shocked and excited, and of course he said yes. (And yes, out of everything in the picture, the betta fish was just out of sight on the far left, haha)
For the dance, I found this tie for Noah and thought it'd be perfect in respect to Ashley's theme:
Now, for Noah's proposal...
I told Noah that girls like to have things they can post about on social media to show off to their friends, so it should be something fun and creative. I remembered my mom putting together clue hunts for church when I was a kid, and she did something with candy bars (arranging them in order to make sentences or something like that).
I thought that would be a great idea, so I asked Noah about it, and he loved it. It was easy, too!
Step 1: Look up a list of candy bars and start choosing ones that you think would make sense in a proposal. Also make sure that are fairly easy to find.
Step 2: Write up a rough draft of what you want it to say, finding ways to add the candy bars into the proposal.
Step 3: Type the paragraph out in a word document at the font size you think it'll need to be (and in the font you want).
Step 4: Cut out the words and place them on the board, adding in the candy, so you can see how it all fits on there. Some of the candy is really big, so it takes some maneuvering to place it where it fits nicely.
Step 5: Once it looks how you like, then print it all again--this time on sticker paper. (Sticker paper is literally just white paper with an adhesive backing that you can print stickers on).
Step 6: Cut out the words from the sticker paper and place them where the rough draft ones were, trying to keep it as neat as possible.
Step 7: Glue the candy onto the cardboard. This was the hardest part! We tried tacky glue, super glue, and rubber cement, but some of the candy was still falling off. I thought a hot glue gun would melt the chocolate, so I wasn't sure we should try it, but it was our only option (other than taping the candy on, which wouldn't have looked good). The hot glue worked perfectly, and I don't think it stayed hot long enough to melt any chocolate.
(This is the final product--everything glued in place):
Here is a translation, if you need it:
"I hoped it would be a Chunky Payday when I first saw you looking like $1,000,000. There are Good & Plenty of men out there like Clif, Heath, and Mr. Good Bar. Even Airheads and Nerds like Mike and Ike. But I knew I would hit the Goldmine if you would be my Honey Bun. Of all the Smarties and Sweetarts in the Milky Way, I only want *YOU* to be my Hot Tamales and go to homecoming with me. I don't want to Twix your arm, so take a Fast Break if you'd like--heck, Take 5 if you need to. But I promise Extra Mounds of Almond Joy and lots of Chuckles if you'll throw me a Lifesaver and say you'll go... What are my chances from Zero to 100 Grand?"
Step 8: Come up with a cute way to show the proposal poster. I texted Ashley's mom to let her know what we were doing, and Ashley saw Noah standing in the front yard holding it when she came over.
Super cute, right?! (And, of course, she said yes.)
And here are a couple of pictures from the first homecoming (Ashley's). The next one is next weekend!