In the Library

I can only take so much before I absolutely need a break.  Hello all, me again!  I am currently sitting in a chilly library studying my freshie butt off in preparation for semester finals.  It is not an experience that I enjoy, but it is something that I must do, unfortunately.. 

Why am I not in my dorm room?  Well, I have finally realized that in the quiet of my room, I find reasons to not study.  For example, I end up on Facebook or Pinterest and waste precious study time.  Or I'll be semi-distracted by music playing on good ol' reliable Spotify or watch tv on the internet.  Or I'll be unconscious on my bed.  It's a viscious cycle that I've finally broken.  Here in the library, I am motivated by passers by to stay off of all social media websites.   I also refuse to bring my headphones because if I brought them, I would use them as entertainment.  So here, I get a lot more work done.  It's just boring.  So boring.

May I say that in six days I'll be on my way back to the lovely Mesa, Arizona for three weeks?  I know everyone is excited, no need to tell me!  My family just won't stop bragging about how they've been using the fire place and how it's cold back at home and that yeahh... I'm out of ideas..

But I am excited to see mi familia!  Three months away might have made my heart even more fond of our silly jokes and whatnot.  Family, since you are accustomed to the "cold" and I am not, I shall be needing extra blankets on my bed.  Since, you know, it's about 70 degrees here always... 

Also, I'm not going to be as tan as you all are expecting!  I've been a studious young woman who remains indoors preparing for tests and doing homework.  Sorry to disappoint!  But I will do my best to catch up and get a last minute tan before I come home!  I have to have a little bit of a glow at least.  Just to, you know, gloat at all you ghosties.  (cough*Erin and Makayla and Jordan*cough). 

Okay...okay okay okay.  Break time is over.  Time to resume my studying of Anthropology now.  I'm reading about religion.  Exciting, isn't it? 
Bye All!  See you next Tuesday!

Happiness

Hello dear blog stalkers!  Haleigh here making another update!  This time, there is no extensive hiatus, so everyone (Caden) should be happy.  You may be wondering why this post is entitled "Happiness".  Well, aside from finals prep, I am a very very very veryvery happy person.  You may ask, what is wrong with this girl, did she just lose it?  To which the answer would be, maybe just a little bit...

But really, I have so many things to be happy about and it isn't even funny.  For example, last night, me and my friends had a snugglefest in a house.  An actual house! I haven't seen the interior of one of those for eons.  Literally.  Okay, fine, maybe not that long, but still.  It was nice.  I love my Hawaiian family.  We form an excellent unit.  We have mama Emma and I'm not particularly sure which one is the most fatherly.  I'm gonna have to say that Eric and David are out.  And D.J., Austin; you two would be too nice as Oh well.  I think I should start out with earlier this week before I talk about the Saturday Snugglefest?  Yeah, I'll do that.

So, Sunday, we had a fireside and that night, I donned red lipstick for the first time in public.  Lets just say that I am sort of obsessed with it.  Like really obsessed.  I wore it Friday and today too...

Anyway, the fireside finished, my lovely family and I got together and had a jamsesh out by the security office with a guitar and three ukuleles.  And a shaker.  Yeah, we're legit at this Hawaiian musical thing.  We all have musical talent in some shape or form, so it is really quite safe to assume that this will become a regular past time.  And I am excited.  So very excited.  So excited that soon I will purchase my own uke and teach myself how to play.  Sorry real family, I'm going to be singing even more, I'm afraid!  Lucky you!

The rest of the week week wasn't very interesting.  I spent a lot of time finishing my lovely research paper for English, and copying down the notes for Biology and prepping for Anthropology.  In general, just a lot of studying.  Just one more week of it, I can do this.  I know I can!  

So to Friday, I finished my research paper and turned it in a few hours early! I'm such a good college student.  Who knew, right?  I missed out on going to the beach with my family to finish it.  But that is okay because we were at dinner in the good ol' reliable caf for a mighty long time.  They eventually pulled out a fruit salad which caused a huge riot and ruckus.  All the Asians stole the fruit.  I wanted to grab a fist full from their enormous fruit filled platters.  Jerks.  But that is also okay because then they set out dinner rolls!  And even though they aren't entirely good as homemade, it is better than nothing.  

Can anyone say Ugly Sweater Dance Party?  Yeah, BYUH had one and it was fun.  I donned my lovely red lipstick again.  And guys get this.  Short hair, sock bun, not possible, right?  WRONG!  I did it and I rocked it!  It is officially my new go to hairdo.  I am thrilled.  I looked like a ballerina, and I liked it.  So after the dance, we all walked to the Chevron and then a few of us walked to Bikini beach and talked for a long time.  Then we decided it would be best to go to bed because we wanted to go to the surfing competition finals by nine.  And surprisingly, it worked! 

We, meaning Emma, Tori and I, went to the Pipe Line Masters competition and witnessed a perfect ten!  We saw a guy get a perfect ten on his wave, it was incredible.  Loved it, every second.  So we get back and I take a two hour nap, got ready and ran to Caressa's truck by six.  I got to sit in the back, which was fun!  I wrapped my scarf around my head like a fancy 50's lady driving a convertible and we, meaning Sumner, Emma, Alex, David and I had a mini snugglefest because it started raining on the way to Caressa's house.  Very fun!  So we made it to her house and made delicious french bread pizza and watched a trippy movie and just had fun like we always do when we're together.  Next semester will be very fun, I am predicting.  I love my friends.  They're cool kids.  So after the movie, we had the aforementioned snugglefest which was lovely.  I was toasty warm.  The only things that could have made it better would be a nice roaring fire and some good quality hot chocolate.  Yes, my obsession for hot chocolate is still going strong everyone.  I will never cease loving it.  EVER.

But so something that made me ecstatic happened and then we went back to campus and then Sunday came around and I went to church!  Today has been fantastic as well.

Another thing that makes me happy is that I will be home in approximately eight days!  Whooooo M-town here I come!  I think I'll get along fabulously with the 70 degree weather.  And a real comfortable bed and a private shower and good food and friends and family and cheaper prices and a boat load of other things! 

Bottom line, I'm just so happy!

Picture time, yes?

Triple Crown Surf Finals

My Hawaiian Family

Family pictures!

The female portion.  Plus me planking awkwardly in the back.  I was pinned between Tori and the stand, therefore, I could not move.

I think that should do?  I may or may not post again before I leave, if not, I'll update in lovely Mesa, Arizona!

Finals.

Finals will be the death of me.  I will be shipped home in a casket, I'm sure.  Especially my stupid English 201 finals.  Seriously, we just submitted our research paper, now we have to prepare a six to ten minute presentation, then for our actual finals, we have an essay sesh in the marvelous testing center and then our "real" final in class.  Oh boy oh boy I can't wait.  But actually, I can.  I'd much rather not do it at all though...  Then I have my other finals which I'm not too worried about, but still.  This isn't a fun time.  Nope, not in the slightest.  I now have an understanding of how college students feel. 

Okay, but now, lets speak of happy things.  Mesa Crew reunites in less than twenty days!!!! I am so so soo excited to see everyone after three long months of separation!  However, it will be a bit strange because Ringleader Matthew Pace is out serving the Lord as well as Voice of Reason Blake Savage...  I miss you boys.  It's just so strange to think that two major components of my life are in South America.  But hey, they're doing what they're supposed to do and they're going to be a million times better when they come back!  And also, they should just come to Hawaii when they finish serving because I'm going to be here for at least three years.  Matt and Michael can set up their personal training bizz!  I'll write soon, I promise!  Eve

Hold up, two more of my dear lovely friends have received their calls too! 

Dear Lovely Michael Rush is going out to serve in Kingston, Jamaica in Marchy March!  And Dear Lovely Scott Cook is going to Boise, Idaho at the end of February!  I love you boys.  Just gonna throw that out there again.  And most likely, I'll tell you about 160264631354653118x more before you both leave...
Don't be creeped out...

ErinErinERINERINERIN.  We have eighteen days left!! But not gonna lie, I think its actually nineteen.. haha it's okay, regardless of the number of days, it is still less than a month! Ahhhhh I am so excited to go to QT and get hot chocolate and make cookies and cupcakes and all the cool stuff we find on Pinterest with you!  Here are a few things I believe we HAVE to make.  Lookit that, italicized and capitalized.  It has to happen now.

Dulce De Leche Cheesecake bars

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Super Really Chocolatey Cookies... You know, since I have an obsession with chocolate..

And this one, we WILL make.  Ten Layer Bars.  What? Look at that goodness.. It is begging to be eated by us:)

Of course, we will have Natalie and Makayla helping us out.  And eating the creations.  If I let them touch any of it that is.  But really, Just look at it all!  I am literally drooling right now.  I might need a bucket.  Eww TMI.  But that's how badly I want to bake and eat yummy food again!

Okay, it's my bedtime and I might go running on the beach again in the morning...soo farewell!

The Blackest Friday Yet

Woah, what is this?  Two updates in one week? Holy crap am I just so dedicated randomly!  Seriously, what just overcame me?  Welll, Alex and I just finished our movie and have decided to share with how what goes on beneath our shiny, straight hair.  But I am warning you, somethings aren't meant to be shared... however in this case, we are willing to tell all.  Literally.  Seriously.

I should start off with the beginning of our weekend.  AKA Wednesday where I ditched class to go to the Triple Crown Surfing competition in the historical surfing town of Haleiwa (Pronounce the W like a German, weird..).  Wait, back up a second.  Haleigh Clouse ditched a class?  Hold on, what has gotten into me?  I never ever ever ditch school!  Well two things made me ditch.  Number one, I only had one class that day because the other one cancelled and number two:  Alex and Brayden are bad influences on yours truly.  So on that note, Alex and I basically sat on the sand and were astonished by the cool flippies and jumps the surfers pulled.  I didn't understand half of what the commentators said, but hey, when you're raised in a desert, what else can be expected?  So it started raining while we were there.  It got real cold and real windy.  Luckily I was a smart little girl and I was prepared with a sweatshirt.  But Alex wasn't..nope.  She just had a shirt that was not made for holding warmth, and apparently had an umbrella stashed away in her backpack but had forgotten until the rain stopped. Why does Hawaii have to be so temperamental and dramatic when it comes to the weather?  And also, why does it have to be so dang flippin' windy?  I hate the wind.  It's official.  Windy weather sucks, therefore, I will never move to any place that is susceptible to the wind.  Or in other words, I shall live out my days inside of a cave where wind is all but nonexistent.

During a brief sunny respite, we snapped a quick picture

Had to get that banner in the back!

So moving on to Thursday, aka Turkey Day aka Thanksgiving.  Can you say non traditional?  Alex and I got to eat a lot of good ol' fashion Fijian cooking/monster banquet.  There was enough food to feed the masses of a small army.  And in no shape or form am I exaggerating.  Literally there was about six deep dish serving tubs of meat alone.  Piled to the top.  And then there was a whole table that was crowded with deserts alone.  And a whole lot of other things.  At least they had mashed potatoes and turkey.  It was good food.  Real good food.  Would you like to see?

Here is a peak onto Alex's plate.  You can tell she enjoys meat and will never become a vegetarian.  Ever.  Not on your lifetime, sonny.  Also, she likes to  eat purple potatoes that aren't really potatoes, but is in fact taro and "tastes like dirt" (Not our words)  Earthy would adequately describe the flavor.

Not even half of the table is full.  I promise.

Here is our place of dwelling during our feasting activities and the wonderful lady who invited us to the Thanksgiving dinner, Lynsie Atalifo!  She is the best!

The brownies were delicious...leave me alone..

Here are Lynsie and her husband Tevita. They let us play in their house for a while before the dinner.  We got to play Mario Cart Wii and slurp down delicious Pog!  And also, Alex and Lynsie made delicious pumpkin pie that I was supposed to help with except I was on the phone with my family.. thanks guys.  But I do want to thank the Atalifo's for letting us spend Thanksgiving with them, it was delicious and very fun!  Thank you!

Onto our epic Black Friday adventure, yes?  First off, it should be known that we only had four hours of sleep prior and things got a bit boring on the bus so we, of course, had to spice it up.  Also, you are about to see what happened and when it happened.  Good luck.

6:17 am:  Alex and I have embarked on our little excursion to the Ala Moana mall.  We awoke from our dreaming of new clothing at precisely 5:15.  We are tired and loopy and function on less sleep than the average human being, but we are no average humans.  We are women with a purpose.  However we nearly missed our bus and marching onto the first morning bus was the first sweet victory of many yet to come.

6:18 am:  We have been delayed it seems at the Turtle Bay Resort with no sign of leaving soon.  

6:26 am:  Victory!  we have continued onto the mall.

6:35 am:  Strange specimens are finding their way onto the bus.  We will Keep to ourselves and observe with subtlety.  Alex will not cease to sneeze and says "Hi mom!".  While driving past Waimea as the sky begins to turn pink we both wonder "Can you believe we really live here?"  Yes the shock of living in Hawaii is still present after nearly three months.

6: 49 am:  The bus driver nearly hit two baby chicks.  They barely made it out alive.  We have never been so relieved to see their downy yellow fluff scurrying across the road. 

7:00 am:  We have entered into the pineapple jungle.  The air is strangely acidic.  Do not breathe too deeply, it may very well be your last.

7:02 am:  Rumors have reached us that Big Foot lives on this island.  We have the full intent to investigate this claim.  Alex says that she'll keep her eyes open, but thinks that everyone should just leave him alone.  Urban Legends are people too.

7:07 am:  We find ourselves playing air guitar and singing silently to microphones to Bohemian Rhapsody.  We are aspiring to become more entertaining than the fat man sleeping at the front of the bus. 

7:16 am:  We are ready to shop, but there is no mall in sight... Getting very antsy as the bus sputters and lurches from stop to stop.

7:30 am:  After sending Eric a surprise for when he wakes up, we came to the wonderful realization that we are professional subtle bus dancers.  We entertain only ourselves and those paying close attention to our bodies.  Very awkward.  Until we find ourselves decorating imaginary miniature Christmas trees.  Then it just gets splendid.

The rest of the bus trip was boring.  Nothing of note happened.  Would you like to see the photo graphical evidence?  Okay!

Eric's surprise

                                                                     Meriadoc and Peregrin.

While we were at the mall, we picked a fight with an Asian lady who cut us off.  So rude, Asians just love cutting people off.  I swear, I was going to shove them all over the railing.  I cannot tell you how many times they got in my way.  Guys, I actually miss Mexicans.  What is this? 

But it was a pretty successful day, I got a ton of new things.  It would have been better if only there was an H&M, maybe one day there will be? 

Alex here! So after our long yet satisfying day of mall madness and being uncomfortably close to people, Haleigh and I retired to her peaceful dorm and chillaxed for a bit. We then decided to go eat (did I say eat?) some hot chocolate and then attend the men's basketball game in our sharp new outfits! The game went as expected. Haleigh, Sumner and I sat together and had a grand time. I finally took the initiative to approach the gecko and confess my love. It went nicely, I think, because he did a couple of flips on the court during the following timeout. I went home at 9:00 and skyped the man of my dreams. It was such a wonderful night! Andrew, if you're reading this, a) you're a stalker b) you already know that I think you're a babe.

Haleigh, back to you!

Back to me!  Well, that pretty much covers the weekend!  Today and Saturday were pretty uneventful.. too rainy and windy for the beach. Surprise surprise!

Until next time, my friends!

I have been forced into updating...but I'm happy to, of course!

DEAR MAMA CLOUSE:
Today is your birthday.  Wow you're old.  You have a student in college, and two in high school and then, you have a little elementary schooler to boot!  But he isn't so little anymore is he?  Anyway!  Mom, I just wanted to wish you a very very happy birthday today because you have been an important aspect of my life!  You were privileged to raise this little gem right here, me!  But in all seriousness, I hope you're having an awesome birthday and that you picked out a good restaurant and that you got all the presents you wanted and that the kids are treating you like a queen and that you were given breakfast in bed on a silver platter gilded with gold and other things that are pretty and expensive.  Because you deserve that much because you have been a wonderful mother and wife for quite a long time!  I love you mama!

That's you right on the left with clothing that has your favorite pattern: STRIPES!

You know, I really hope you got a shirt or something that has stripes, that would make you happy, right?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN!  LOVE YOUR OLDEST DAUGHTER WHO IS THREE THOUSAND MILES AWAY ON A BEAUTIFUL TROPICAL ISLAND THAT HAS BEEN STRANGELY CHILLY AS OF LATE..or maybe it's because I have a cold...

Anyways, well, I have been a very neglectful blogger, I'm afraid.  I've ignored this thing and I've sort of just let it hide away in a corner like some deprived and starved child while I've gone on living the college life with all the kool skool kids. 

I would personally like to extend my utmost apologies to Caden Lee Alexander because I haven't been updating my life frequently enough.  In an effort to amend my terrible doing, or I suppose, not doing, I beg for your forgiveness and hope that this post will suffice. And also, I'm excited to skype you and Zachary this week.  Oh so very excited.  Very, very veryyyy excited.  For real though! It' s going to be a major catch up time!

As some of you have seen on my facebook page, Hawaii has been slightly chilly as of late.  The weekend probably topped at about a whopping 72 degrees!  Please don't kill me, it was extremely windy and also, I have a cold so everything is about twenty degrees lower to my body!  But other than that, Hawaii has been as tropical and sunny as ever!  I actually love it here, but I definitely have major issues with the pricing of food.  Oh yes, it's true when they say a gallon of milk costs nine dollars.  Feeling a bit better about the cold, mainlanders?  Would you rather be in the snow and pay for food products at a regular price or would you rather be on an island where everything is imported and about ten times as expensive?  Your choice.  Personally, I would pick the main land because I love Fall and Winter clothing and I can't really wear scarves and sweaters and boots and jackets here.  That upsets me.  A lot.  You reading this Erin Timothy??  I am jealous of the fact that you are decked out in cute winter stuff and I'm limited to T-shirts and jeans! 

Well shall we get on to an update of my life?  There is just so much that I couldn't possibly jam it in, but here goes my attempt!  I don't even really know how far back to go..

Okay so about a month ago, I started going to watch the BYUH soccer games for a certain reason and some of those games were absolutely insane!  One game was played during and after a huge rainstorm and man was that field a mess.   There were hidden swamps and mud patches everywhere and our boys, who were wearing white at the beginning of the game were a lovely clay brown at the end.  It was also insanely windy too which made the game even more difficult if imaginable.  And then there was the final game of the season, which wasn't rainy, but oh my was it cold and windy!  I went with my special lovely friend Bailey Alex Staib and her friend, but I can't really remember his name.. Anyways, the game was fuh-reezing and guess what, we won it!  Them boys did a good job out there!

We wanted to document our excitement regardless of the state of the weather and our hair.  We are troopers here.

Here is Brayden!  Basically the reason why I left the warmth and comfort of my dorm room.  He should know how lucky he is that I sacrificed my body heat for him.  But it was worth it because he played the majority of the game.  You got off easy this time, bud!

So I made this friend, mentioned in the picture above this one.  Her name is Alex.  And together, we create utter and complete madness.  Seriously, we've been dubbed Merry (Me) and Pippin (Her).  Why are we those to fabulous characters from the beset books ever?  Well we behave in such a way so much so that we have been given the right to be referred to as Merry and Pippin.  We've also been named TweedleDee and TweedleDum by the person who perhaps appreciates us the most, Eric Harline!  Eric, you know you love us when we are separated and when we are united.  It's time to move on from denial, my friend.  Yes you are in denial.  Back on topic though!  Alex and I, well we plan on becoming roommates next semester.  It is gonna be one carazy party all semester long!  We aren't even living in the same room yet and we're already causing ruckus in good ol' 216A! 

And then next year, we want to move off campus and into The.Same.House.  Look out Laie, there is a possibility the town might not survive us...

Guys, can I just say, Pinterest makes me extremely agitated?  I mean, I log on and I see this amazing food and then the urge hits, I'm just dying to make it and I get really pumped up and happy and then I realize that I have no kitchen.  No supplies and means to make it even though the Hale has a grimy kitchen downstairs.  It breaks my heart every time.  So when I get home in December, I'm going on a cooking/baking overload.  Who wants to sample?  I'll have a sign up sheet! Just kidding.  In all seriousness though, I really am craving good, homemade food. 

And then there are all the clothes and outfits on Pinterest.  Kill  me, the mall is about an hour away and I'm a poor college student.  But my birthday is on Monday and Black Friday is right before.  Can someone say best time to have a birthday ever?!  Ala Moana Mall, you're about to get ransacked by Haleigh Clouse.  You have been forewarned. 

Have I rambled enough? No?  I'll go a little longer then!

Soo I got to skype two very important people a few weeks back.  ERIN TIMOTHY AND NATALIE FIELDING!!!!  My two favorite people!  Talking to them just made me remember all the fun times we had senior year and it makes me so excited to see them again this Christmas!  They are my precious darling friends and we will play and take pictures and make videos and all this other stuff in December.  Look out Mesa, we will be reunited soon.  You have also been forewarned. 

I miss Erin.  I miss her a lot.  Hawaii would just be a million times better if she was here with me on the beach.  We would make new friends every day here because everyone we meet wouldn't be able to handle us combined.  We just make a huge toxic vat of sass and attitude.  True story. 

So here is the question Erin:  Are you gonna be here in Laie next year causing even more ruckus with me?  That answer better be yes or else I will be unbelievably upset at you! 

Also, just in general, I am so ecstatic to see all you Mesa People again!  Even though we lost some to the Mission field, like dear Blake and Matthew, We will still be bomb diggity, alright?  I really miss Matt Pace and Blake Savage though.  Those boys will forever be my heroes.  I am so proud of them for being worthy to serve the Lord and I know that they will serve Him with all their hearts, minds and strength.  Same goes for all you boys who have their calls or will soon be getting them.  You boys are such great role models to me and to everyone else!  Go get 'em tiger!

I can't move.  Thought I'd put that out there... I started the insanity program yesterday and today was killer.  My calves have not been this sore since that one day during pole vault club when our coaches decided it would be fun to do plyometrics.  Oh the burn, it is increasing minute by minute...

Thanksgiving, huh?  Weird that I won't be home eating turkey with my family.  I hope I get turkey... I really hope I'm not served more rice and terriyaki chicken. I am soo sick of rice and chicken.  Blehhh. 

Well, I'll be home late late late on Monday the 19th of December, mark your calenders all, that is less than a month away!  Which also means that it is time to get ready for finals! Yay...

Okay, I think that covers it?  Are you happy Caden? Haha love you prom date!!

Adios!

Due to Popular Demand..

Well, I've been sucked into the college life and therefore have been too busy to update this sucker, sorry guys, grades before stories!  Anyway, there has been a huge amount of activity going on down here!  Haunted Lagoon at the PCC, crepes, beaches, the beautiful college tests, you name it!

I honestly don't even know where to begin to tell you all the truth, and most likely, I'm not going to remember half of what has happened.. Let's see, where to start, where to start?

You all have heard of the famous Hukilau Cafe, right?  As in the 50 First Dates Hukilau Cafe?  Banana Pancakes, Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore?  Yeahh well I went there and guess what.  It was raining while we were outside eating our banana pancakes.  Can you say Jack Johnson?  It was really fun and the only thing that could have made it better was buttermilk syrup.  Oh well, what can one do?

Enjoying our delicious breakfast outside in the rain!

The walk over to Hukilau Cafe

 So once upon a time, my friend Sumner and I decided to go volunteer at the Haunted Lagoon.  They took us gladly, but sadly, we were separated!  He went to become a crazy tribal guy and I went off to become none other than the lovely, serpentine and oh so very unscary Medusa.  As soon as I signed in, the head lady said that I would make a great Medusa.  I thought it was because I'm not a huge Poly girl, but nope, its because I'm "cute".  I got made up into a pretty little Greek princess while everyone else got to be mummified or creeped up!  I mean, I guess it is really flattering to be asked to play one of the Medusas.  But guys, I got harrassed.  I got cat called, and on every other boat I heard the word pretty.  Can you say epic failure?  At least someone said I was a good actress!  So if the whole social work thing falls through.. Haha not happening. 

Anyway, I got placed as the first Medusa and I had a little buddy with me!  He was a statue and I had to act all creepy around him because according to the show, I turned him into stone and he was the newest addition to my collection.  So we went back and forth between him frozen in an attacking position to him on the ground with me creepily walking around him while staring at the audience with a "you're next" sort of smirk.  Not scary...  So I got a break about an two hours into it and then it started pouring rain and then all the other Medusas came in and we got to watch Thor and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire before they told us that our part of the show was done for the evening.  So after that I jogged a half mile to the Laie Shopping Center to meet up with friends and I even had my lovely Medusa makeup on!  My new friend Brayden was nice enough to walk with me to Foodland to buy some wipes to get all the purple and black off of my face and neck, it was so kind of him not to laugh hysterically at my purple face. 

So come next day, Seeley, Chelsea and I walk to this beach called Pounders to meet up with a bunch of our other friends, right?  Well, this beach is the most fun beach I have ever had the privilege of beaching on.  The name of the beach?  Totally self explanitory!  If you're brave enough to enter into the water, you had best be prepared to recieve a thorough beat down.  And I am dead serious.  Pounders.  Getting killed was never so fun.

D.J. and Austin agreed to being buried so we got to look good around them

Classic "Attitude" Shot

This was before the wave hit us..

After we got slammed into the sand.

So that was last weekend!  School was, of course, wonderful as always!  Hah, are you kidding?  I was up till about one almost every night getting ready for tests and the sort, so in return, I dozed off in about every single class I had.. Oops.  But on Tuesday night, I got fed a real meal!  Sumner, Seeley and I intruded on one of Sumner's friend's house and we made fried chicken, mashed potatoes and homemade peach pie!  It was absolutely fantastic, I'll say that much haha.  Also, it was just really fun being away from campus for a few hours.  I enjoyed it.  By the way, Sumner makes the BEST fried chicken I have EVER had.  And Seeley, the pie was pretty dang good considering we sort of made it all up!

It started pouring rain while we were waiting for the bus, it made for some awesome pictures!  Like this..

Here are the first pieces of Sumner's fried amazingness!

Here is the beautiful and very tasty peach pie

Sumner really gets into eating his food I guess

But that's alright because I do too!

Anyway, there has been a lot more, but I'm going to wait for some more pictures to pop up before I post anymore, sound good?  Mmkay awesome!  Have a great Sunday!

Another One Bites the Dust

Yes, I just referenced a Queen song.  So what? It goes along with the topic.  And it so happens to be the song playing on my ipod too...and I so happen to love Queen.  Very much. 

So why did I title the post like this?  Well, another school week is over of course!  Which means a crazy busy weekend.  General conference, hiking and beaches galore!  Its gonna be a fun filled two day break I believe. 
Update of my week?  Yes alright, so I was introduced to a game called "Bang!" Sunday night in the boy's hale after we studied oh so much for biology.  Promise its not a bad game, its western themed!  You know, the sheriff and his deputies and the criminals and all that good stuff?  Yeahh we also played that Monday night and disrupted the good little studious fellows in Hale 4..  Sorry guys, homework is for earlier in the day, didn't you know that?  That's what I do.  Yes I actually do study, and no I'm not lying.  I'm a good little college student!  But I like hanging out after dinner so I get lots of it done after school!
Oh I got sidetracked.. Okay okay, so Tuesday we tried playing sardines, but Seeley Dopp is one dang good player!  She disappeared for seriously two hours.  We gave up way before that and had a mini photo session with our fellow freshmen.  Would you like to see?

Here are some of the Hale 2 girls!  From the left we have Miss Jillian Sherwood, to my roomie Jordyn Petersen, and then to Miss Rachael Hancock!  (she's from AZ, this makes me happy)

For some reason, our pal D.J. thinks that Jillie and I are his personal slaves.  We have to carry him and drag him around on long boards.  But we enjoy his presence.. so we comply

However, sometimes Jillie gets fed up with his demands and as you can see, fights back!  Props to Rachael for the flowy hair effect!

And then, we are just so inspired to dance that we teach others!  As you can see, our friends like learning

But then sometimes we get a waft of the food from the good ol' Caf and can't seem to contain our stomachs!

So come Wednesday, we decided to be extra good students and went to the library to study!  And I was greatly informed and edified by my peers...  Then we got hungry for some ice cream and guess what I learned to do at the ice cream social!  You'll be shocked, promise.

I learned how to tie a cherry stem.  Without hands.  I was rather proud!

Thursday was beach day and we got beat up by waves.  And when I say we, I mean everyone but me.  I was smart about the water.  I won't be next time though, I'm pretty sure about that.  Then we all went to the caf and ate pasta and gross cardboard tasting bars.  Wasted calories? I think so.

I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to conference! I always look forward to it, but this year I'm having reservations because I won't be with my family.  That is an alien thought right there.  But I'll manage, and I'll take notes and I'll get exactly what I've been asking for out of General Conference this year, peace.  I've prayed for peace for a lot of things this year and I know I'll learn what I need to do to achieve it this weekend. 

"We face many challenges in the world today, but I assure you that our Heavenly Father is mindful of us. He loves each of us and will bless us as we seek Him through prayer and strive to keep His commandments."

President Thomas S. Monson

I'm ready to hear the Lord's word, what about you all?

What an update, and there is more to come next week!  Thanks for reading!

Haleigh

One Week Down,

Thirteen to go!  Man, I cannot wait for the semester to end!  Seriously every one is pairing off into little romantic couples.  It has been one week.  That makes me sick.  Isn't the purpose of the first week to adjust and find friends?  Oh well, I am at a BYU school after all.  Its what us LDS college students do best, meet the eternal companion.  Hah, nottt me, there is no way I'm mature enough for anything of the sort as of now..  Can you guys see me getting married within a year?  If you say yes I will personally fly from Honolulu to where ever you are and kick your butt.  I promise! 

So update on school life, yes?  Alright so I'm slowly but surely improving on friend making, good sign, and even though I am making new friends, I still love you all back at home!  No one could replace you people.  Not.Ever.  Oh and there was a "Preparing for Eternal Marriage" dance yesterday night.  It was actually really really reaaallly fun!  I forgot about homesickness for a while, which was nice for a change!  I got nearly trampled by a mosh pit, danced on a stage and head banged until I got a huge neck ache haha.  Then we went to the beach at 2AM, which was rather scary.  We played with a blue glow stick and while I was relaxing on my towel, I kid you not a huge crab creepily crawled across my shoulder and I could literally hear its nasty legs clicking against one another..  So I did what any human being would do, I shot up from the ground screaming like a little girl.  Of course the momentum of the movement nearly caused me to land on the very creature that spooked me so terribly.  Just my luck!

Umm, so does anyone hate it when you try really really hard to just let something go, and you think you did and then everything is seemingly fine, but then it boils over and just makes a huge mess that seems imposssible to clean?  Because I sure know I do.  The days go by, and things get busy and life moves on, paths diverge and move away.  Things change and sometimes the change is just the pits, but it comes with the jumbo package called life, doesn't it!  Beautiful isn't it?  Well, I'll post some lovely pictures of lovely Hawaii now!

Sandy feet picture.  Gross stuff

Angle One!

Oh look, its the lovely angle two!

Sunset beach

Well, I forgot to add this to the last post, but if you look closely, you'll see that stupid crazy bird that flew into my room right next to my roommate's shoes

College is

Draining.  Its only been a week since school started.  Oh and to make it even better, practically everyone here is in that awkward stage where all they do is focus on class and aren't willing to be friendly yet.  Yuck!  My cousin said that its gonna take about two to three weeks for everyone to find their own special routine, and when they do, thats when the friend making festivities begin!  Hah, well, unfortunately I'm rather impatient, so looks like I'm in for a rough couple of weeks!  Joy...

Anyway, I like my classes at least!  And the people inside of them seem promising..if only they could communicate. Guys seriously, Hawaii is supposed to be a fun "cultural" experience as one of my teachers would say, you can't have a good experience if you're holed up in a dorm room all day and night.  Wait, maybe I should take that advice too?  Whoops.  Like I said, Friend Making Festivities in a few weeks.  Promise.  I've even given myself a head start! Good job to me! 

On to some good news?  My homesickness is subsiding a bit, sadly, I don't think it will fully go away fully for a while.  But I'm feeling a lot better, so I am HAPPY!  Probably cause I've had at least some sort of communication with my family every day this week?  Oh and it helps that I'm constantly doing some sort of school work.  Draining, like I said.  And even through it all, I've managed to get food semi regularly.  I have to say, the food in the cafeteria isn't as totally repulsive as I was told before hand, but its still not something I want to eat with satisfaction.  Tonight featured terriyaki chicken or this gross looking stew with purple potatoes.  Can someone say vomit?  Oh and to stereotypicalize Asians, yes, they alway have piles of rice and yes they always have steamed vegetables piled high onto their plates.  And they're always always studying.  I saw a fat asian today.  Isn't that a contradiction? I think so...

So storytime?  Okay cool.  Once upon a time their were two roommates who were getting ready for school one Tuesday morning.  Suddenly out of no where, an ugly little bird flew into their dorm room and kept flying everywhere.  Much to the roommate's dismay, they could not get the ugly little bird out of their room and it ended up pooping and landing everywhere.  (Except my bed)  Finally they asked for assistance and the dumb bird was removed from the vicinity.  The end.

Ohh and I posted my address a little bit wrong, its
 BYUH# 5687
55-220 Kulanui St.
Laie, Hawaii 96762

Sorry guys!

Growing up

Today marks one week since I left Mesa for Laie, and to be frank, it sucks.  Is it because I've left my family for the next three months?  Yep.  Could it be because my mom took off at three in the afternoon to get home? You betcha.  Is it possibly because I feel like no new group of friends can match up to my AMAZING group of friends in Mesa? Oh yes. I am officially home sick.  And guys, I really do feel sick.  When I said goodbye to my mom outside of the Hale, I was shaking and felt like I was going to throw up.  In fact, if anything had been in my stomach, I would have puked for sure.  I miss my family so much, its literally hurting me.  My throat is tight with tears so I can't even talk about it, which trust me, makes it worse.  I'm so embarrassed to cry even though I know its a perfectly normal thing to do..  But still, I just want to go home and wake up in my own bed, witih Makayla asleep on the other side of the room.  I want to hear my dad coming back from his morning bike ride at seven, who cares if it wakes me up!  I want to hear my sister Jordan and my brother Bret arguing about something silly, and I want to hear my mom laugh and talk like always.  But I can't right now, I won't until I get home in December.  That is just too long for me.  Even though knew I couldn't leave, I told my mom I wanted to go home.  Call me pathetic, go ahead!  But you have to realize, this is my first time away from home, and I mean really away.  Girls camp hardly counts, right?  I can't even go home for Thanksgiving, which means my family is missing my birthday.  I just want to go home.  But this time comes for everyone, and I just had to be the unfortunate child that is really close to her family and ends up sniveling and crying over the fact that she can't see them.

I know everyone goes through this, some of you handle it a heck of a lot better than others (not me), but it doesn't change the fact that this part of life absolutely sucks.  You leave home thinking you're ready, but when the time comes and its too late to go back, you realize that you really aren't ready after all.  Or at least that's what happened to me and I wish so badly I could turn back time and go to MCC for a while instead.  Although I guess jumping right into the deep end gives more experience then anything else can. 

I guess I'm also scared that I'll never meet people as amazing at my friends in Mesa too.  And I realize that I will, but as of now, I am just being honest.  Let me describe them to you so you get an idea.

This is a lot of us up at lake Powell for our senior trip where I became super tight with Mr. Jon Lemaire and Mr. Spencer Smith.  Those two boys always had me laughing even though they stole my dumdums and Jon got me in trouble for staying up til like three talking on top of the house boat.  Coorrrrrrrnn Dooooooooooooooggg, Coooooooooooookkkiieeeee, juice!  They are my goofballs!

Those two on the right are the one and only Erin Timothy and Natalie Fielding!  They are two little spitfires that make anything a great time!  We make videos and cookies and cupcakes and everything in between.  We gots 'tude, so look out!  Anyway, Erin is like my best friend and we do stupid things that are unmentionable, but have to do with female like feelings and mixed names and such!  Look out Idaho, she's there to take charge!

 

This one here is Zachary Burton, one of my very best friends!  We meet about a year ago and have been super tight ever since!  He is the biggest goof of them all and knows how to make me laugh or feel better when I'm feeling awful about things.  He will always be a close and good friend no matter where life puts us, and when he gets out to the field, he's gonna make an awesome missionary!

Here is Matt, onwe of the best friends anyone could ever have!  We've only been friends since December, but I can really truly say that he is one of my best friends.  We've had a ton of heart to heart talks up to the middle of the night and could talk for even longer if we didn't get so tired.  I feel like Matt knows me and understands me even better than I do myself, which I find weird because I haven't known him my whole life.  He's also very very good at coming up with ideas for things to do!  If anyone knows Jones Soda Night, he is the brain child of it!  But orginally he had but a sofa on monkey bars, cool, right?   Anyway, Matt is leaving November 9th to serve the people of Argentina.  He's gonna do awesome and I'll miss the crap out of him!

I wish I had a picture of Danielle Urness!  She is the most super cute senior ever!  I love her to death and I'm so glad we met this year too!  She is full of personality and spunk and sass.  You all watch out for her, because in a year, she's gonna take over the whole world!!  Hey Danielle, gingerballs!

Oh Michael, our time together has been so short!  I started hanging out with Mikey boy this summer.  I wish we were friends ten years before that because this kid is a serious crack up!  I bet if he wanted, he could make a terrorist about to hijack laugh until he passes out, he is that funny!  You need to hear him use his Chinese accent, seriously the best I've ever heard!  And you wouldn't expect him to be as hilarious as he is because he seems so shy.  Don't be fooled by those baby blue eyes my friends.  Good news is, he's still gonna be home when I come back for break.  Michael, you're gonna see a lot of me come December, bud!  Consider yourself warned!

                                        

This is Mr. Scott Cook everyone.  Yes at one point in time I was strong enough to carry him bridal style!  Scott is the best person to go to when you want to get a hug or when you want to giggle or relax.  He is super chill and really really really good at basketball.  6'10", you know?  He's by far the coolest guy I know and I also wish I had known him before senior year because Scott is the best.  He is just the best and I love him and wish he didn't have to be so good at basketball and get a full ride to play it!

Here is Caden Alexander.  Everyone, this is my amazing prom date who put up with me for 28 hours when our prom day activity went all wrong!  He is a big teddy bear and is basically the most amazing kid ever!  Him along with the others made the best group of friends that I have ever had!  Caden is very upfront and no nonsense and can tell very good stories about ponies and golden mac and cheese.  Seriously, ask him to tell you!  He is also a flirt, which is always fun to watch, oh and he tells this great story about two turtles that love each other very much!  He's up at EAC playing baseball so go watch him!

 Here is my amazing family again.  I love them more than anything and I can't wait until I get to see them again in December.  I'm already counting the days and seriously doubting on leaving home ever again!  Love you guys!  All of you! 

Oh and if any of you want to just snail mail me, you can send me a letter at: 

 BYUH # 5687

55-222 Kulanui St.

Laie, Hawaii 96762

Seriously, I'd love to hear from any and all of my friends!