Tribute

It's been about a year and a half since my last post. I looked back at those posts, and I feel so much older than I did then. In that time frame I made some of the best friends I have ever had, and watched them all leave home for the big world, I sent my sister on an LDS mission, I got my big brother back from a mission, I became a section leader in the high school marching band, I hit two over-the-fence home runs, my other sister got married, and now I have watched two beloved family members move on from this life.
On the fourth of May 2014, my mom's older brother died unexpectedly at the age of fifty. It was hard to watch so many of my loved ones, especially my aunt, suffer the loss. Today, my grandma died. This was not so unexpected, but it certainly wasn't any easier.
I have been wanting to start this blog again for some time. I guess my grandma's death was the shove I finally needed to start again. This post is most definitely a tribute to her.
My grandma was born the twenty-second of August 1925. She married my grandpa and together they had eight children. My dad is the seventh of eight. My grandparents lovingly raised their children in Utah. This paid off in the form of over forty grandchildren and even more great-grandchildren.
Grandma was always big on family history. She has written many books and manuscripts on my ancestors. Her love of history passed onto my father, and onto me. I can still remember the many visits we have made throughout my life to that house. She always told me stories and showed me heirlooms that she had been given. She always talked about loved ones she had researched at family reunions, and she always did her best to help us all understand those who came before.
Grandma was a wonderful woman. Not having her around is going to be hard, but she has lived for almost fourteen years without Grandpa. She was very weak, and at the end, couldn't even leave the house. I believe that she is with Grandpa and she is meeting all those people she spent her life researching.
To a woman who I literally owe my life to, who raised the most wonderful father in the world. Thank you, and I can't wait to see you again someday.

Natalie Lou Who Is No More Than Twenty-Two

Recently, I received a text from my friend Natalie telling me that my blog needed updating. I agree. This blog is dedicated to my special friend Natalie since today she is turning twenty-two. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
I have known Natalie for a very long time, and in that time, I have basically adopted her as my third sister. She does things that other people wouldn't even think of. Some of these things include giving you socks, sweet notes, and sheets, making you chocolate chip waffles, and/or viciously attacking you if you do the dishes.(NOT a joke. Just do the dishes when she is out on a jog.)
Last night, I sent a message to one of my secret agents to send me some pictures of Natalie to put on this blog.(Don't worry Suzy, I will keep you anonymous.) It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words.(Random: I am coincidentally listening to A Thousand Years by Christina Perri) I decided that a couple pictures could tell a better story than my words.

Happy Birthday Natalie. I love you, and I hope today is the best day ever!
Yours truly,
Haley Jane.

Run, Run, Fast as You Can...

For the first time in my life, this week, I made a gingerbread house. For our ward party, people are supposed to create gingerbread houses for decoration. Mom and I decided to do two separate houses, so I really put my personality into it(don't judge, it looks really weird). You can tell that an amateur did it on their first try, but please restrain from laughing. Here are some pictures of the whole process of making gingerbread houses completely from scratch.

This is basically what gingerbread is made of. Appetizing huh?

Note to self: make sure to crush whole cloves. Numbness isn't fun.

 

                                                                                 Mommie's

Mine

Both together

                                                                          
It was a super fun project, and the next time there is going to be a lot of things I do differently. It was really fun, and I will never want another piece of candy(or a lick of royal icing) again.

Fun Theory(It's a lot cooler than the supposed Big Bang)

A few years ago, Suzy showed me some YouTube videos that are called the "fun theory". They were pretty darn awesome, and I still laugh every time I watch them. It is so ironic that people actually go out of their way to experiment with the strange sounds coming from things we should be using everyday. I think this is a brilliant theory that should become a bigger deal because even though these ideas are so small, they could make an important impact on problems that are discussed so regularly.
P.S. I want that staircase!!!

The End of Summer

To my dearest Natalie, This blog is made for you. I am a procrastinator, and I guess I needed a little push. You are the best girl ever!!! Summer has come and gone. It always feels like the world wants all youth to suffer miserably in a prison cell. School isn't all bad, but it doesn't help that everyone only asks how long until school starts. I try to completely forget myself in the wonders of the sun. The end of summer was truly the best part for sure. It's like the end of vacation had to say,"If I'm going out, I'm going out with a BANG!!!" It all started with my bestie Aubrey. She and I had talked for a while about trying these wonderful cupcakes that are called French Toast. One of the options of toppings was bacon. To everyone else, it sounds disgusting, but we both wanted to try it very much. We spent a whole afternoon making them. They tasted totally FANTABULOUS!!!
The next week I had the wonderful experience of getting up at 3:20am, and flying to Portland to see Suzy for the first time in four months. We went to the huge Oregon zoo. I got to see elephants, giraffes, hippos, bears, cougars, leopards, cheetahs, and several boxes that supposedly held scorpions. We next visited, a rose garden, and a beautiful Japanese garden. They were both so beautiful and peaceful. After that we went to a ritzy part of Portland, and we went shopping. At an ice cream shop called the Salt & Straw we had ice cream waffle cones. After that, we each got a box of four truffles from a store called Moonstruck.
All this was so amazing and so fun. I took a lot of great pictures, but me being the genius I am, I accidentally erased all of them. I am super bummed about that. FYI: do NOT erase anything unless you have it saved elsewhere. All I know is that the end of summer couldn't be better.

A Little Bit of Everything

To all my avid readers(if there be any) I sincerely apologize for not updating recently. I am still getting used to the whole blog thing. Two weeks ago I participated in the Relay for Life night at the Blackfoot High School track. I stayed all night with my team, and I only slept one hour. It was a lot of fun, and the money put toward the cure for cancer was no small amount. That is a great time for a community to come together. My next week was spent at girl's camp in Pasa la Coma. It was a very spiritual week, and it was a party. I guess that sums up every year at girl's camp. I had a lot of girl's in my ward who came thay are inactive and struggling in their personal lives. I found that all of these girl's seemed to change my life with their warm hearts and loving spirits. Lately, I have been playing a lot of softball too. This week we went to the Malad tournament and lost every game by a landslide. I still think I learned a lot and became better this week. It has been a pretty good summer so far, and I still have a lot to look forward to.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

The one thing I hate most is when somebody tells me the ending to a really good book or movie before I have even gotten to that part. The other day, my friend Annie noticed that I was reading the Pendragon series. I had started reading them about a year earlier, but I ended up taking a break to read a book for a different class. I quit on the fourth book, and I was currently reading the fifth one.
Annie looked at the book and said,"That's a really good book series, but I hate the ending because it turns out that he is in a coma the whole time. It's all just a dream."
WHAT!? After I got over the shock of  the horrible ending, I tried to convince myself she was lying.  The whole book series is TEN BOOKS. I wasn't even half way. Needless to say I was a little more than irritated. Not only had she told about the ending, she had told me about a bad ending that would ruin the rest of the series for me. I believe this is a form of cruel and unusual punishment. I will be in agony just knowing that it's a waste of suspense and paper.
For all those who are ever inclined to tell someone the end of a good story before they have figured it out for themselves, save yourselves the trouble of losing a couple teeth and friends. There is absolutely nothing worse than having a good book or book series ruined.