where dreams come true!

saturday was such a fun day! it started out with some snow! burr. it was pretty cold outside, but good thing i had gloves :) me and matthew first went to Sam's Club to get him some snow tires for his car. While we were waiting, we sampled some of the foods:) twice! haha they had some yummy meatballs. delicious! then we went over to the food court, shared a hot dog and a churro. mmm. then on the way out, we saw this older man pushing out one of those really big carts that people have when they have a bunch of stuff, so we offered to help him load it al into his car. He must have been buying for vending machines or a store because he had SO much stuff. and it was just drinks mainly. But, we were able to do that service for him which made us feel good :)

A little bit later, it was time for our big date :) Olive Garden, then DISNEY PRINCESSES ON ICE!!! ah. olive garden was way good, as usual. I got spaghetti and matthew got chicken parmesan. both were yum. then we headed over to the arena :) we parked in the LDSBC parking garage since it is free for students. and we walked over to the Energy Solutions Center. All the little girls were all dressed up as one of the Princesses, SO CUTE! i am totally doing that with my daughter when i have one haha. but i felt like i was the ONLY one not dressed up haha guess i didn't get the memo. But it was way fun! i have a lot of pictures up on facebook. My camera died at intermission :( so i didn't get as many pics as i would have liked to. but oh well, i got some good ones.

Throughout the whole show, there were cute little girls dancing, singing, and asking questions behind and beside us! it was adorable. There was a cute little girl right behind us who was so concerned about the little mermaid, she kept asking "Where did ariel go?! is she okay?!" haha it was precious. Overall, it was soo fun. i would definitely go again! haha


The whole thing was matthew's idea, i had mentioned that i had wanted to go, but a week or so after i had mentioned it, he bought the tickets without me even knowing! he is such a sweetheart!What a wonderful weekend it was! its been about 2 and a half months now since we started dating, time has flown by so quickly! But he is way sweet and is super good to me. He puts up with my weird self much better than anyone haha I'm glad we get to spend time together almost daily.
I also have recently come to a realization about how much i owe my mother. She, IS AMAZING. seriously. i don't know how she does it. In a recent conversation with her, i realized how much i have taken what she did/does for granted. She's had it harder than i ever thought. I love her so much!!! and i cant wait to go home in a week and tell her in person. She is my idol. :)

I get to go home in a week! but first i have about 3 papers to write.. so i better start on those!

xoxo haley jean

blessings only come to those who notice -dove chocolate

lately, I've been thinking a lot about the meaning of life and how important it is to not take anything for granted. In the past month, my bishop, an old friend who was my age, and Fort Hood victims have all passed away. All of these deaths were unexpected and way tragic. Life has so much meaning, live like it was your last day.

My bishop was in perfect health, had just had a 'checkup' with the doctor a few weeks before and nothing was wrong. He was mountain bike riding with his son, who is about 24(?), and had a sudden heart attack and died instantly. That same morning, him and his wife had gone to the temple. What a wonderful way to end your life. I was able to go to the viewing and funeral. Our ward was able to participate in the funeral by singing a hymn. it was a wonderful experience. way sad. He was able to spend quality time with each of his 3 kids before he passed away(all of his kids were married). And i found out that 3 years ago, 2 of his kids were killed in a car accident.. way sad also. Then, this past Sunday, his wife and 3 kids came to our fast and testimony meeting, each bore their testimony to us and it was awesome. lots of tears.

On a happier note, i am now the official ward pianist and music director. music director meaning choosing hymns for Sunday. it is a pretty cool calling, pretty easy not requiring too much. and my mom sent me a spiral hymn book and a spiral children's song book! so, during my free time i try to go down to the common room and practice. and i have the challenge/opportunity of going to ward council on Sunday mornings at 8 am. i say 'challenge/opportunity' because lately i have not had the best mood of going to ward council, you could say it has been a problem... and yesterday in communications i learned that we should never use the word 'problem'. if we see it as a problem, we are less likely to 'solve' the problem. but, when seeing it as an opportunity or a challenge, we are much more likely to want to achieve it. so that is my new goal, to see things as challenges and opportunities rather than problems :)

Thanksgiving is also coming up. I'm way excited to go home. I am thankful for having braces because i wouldn't be going home if i didn't have them :) I am also thankful for technology and the opportunity it gives me the opportunity to communicate with family on a daily basis. I am also thankful for my wonderful family, I don't know what I'd do without them, THEY ARE AMAZING. My love for them has grown so much while I have been away at school. I miss them dearly and can't wait to be home again! I am also thankful for my wonderful friends, including Matthew. They are such amazing influences on me and we always have so much fun together. I am so thankful for Elder Erickson who introduced Matthew and me. :) Matthew is seriously amazing! he never gets mad at me. Once, I spilled a full frosty in his car and he laughed! He didn't get mad at all. And yesterday we made mac &cheese and I pretended that I dropped the bowl and spilled it in the other room.. "UH OH!" i said.. he replied with "What happened?" "I spilled ...all of it!" and he replied with, "Oh it's okay." Now, i was totally joking trying to see what he would do. He is such a good influence! and he has been reading the Book of Mormon daily which encourages me that i need to be doing the same thing in my life.

Overall, I love my friends and family so much!!




also, just recently I have been reminded of how pretty my sister is.. please admire :)



she is amazingly beautiful! i am so happy for her! she is getting married december 23 in the Dallas, Texas Temple! :) way exciting!! it will be the a good reunion with all the siblings since June! way too long! I will be seeing Aly and Alicia tomorrow at Aly's wedding shower, I am excited. I will also be seeing my grandmother and aunt Melissa whom both i haven't seen in a long time, twill be a marvelous occasion :)

"I have a family here on earth, they are so good to me. I want to spend my life with them through all eternity. Families can be together forever, through Heavenly Father's plan. I always want to be with my own family, and the Lord has shown me how i can..."


love you all.

'live from your heart, it will never steer you wrong'-dove chocolate

hello!

I've been oober busy with school work lately, i feel like i am always behind and can never catch up. But i think I'm close! Halloween was fun. the morning started off with stake conference for church and watched the world premier of "Treasures in Heaven". our stake president is the producer or something like that of the movie, so we have special privileges:) haha then afterwards, we went home and changed then went to sugar house park and took a nap in the sun.it was a much needed nap for sure. after the nap, we went and watched ice age 3. if you haven't seen it, go watch now! way funny/cute/happy movie. after ice age we went and got a pizza. yum. and then went and watched HP6 :) both movies were at the dollar theater and i was able to finish out my cinemark gift card my mom gave me ages ago:) after the movie, we went and just watched 'Obsessed' with KaKa and Mattipoo. way fun :) love my best friends!!

so yesterday, merrili and i went grocery shopping:) we lasted three weeks this time before having to go, pretty good if you ask me! along with our starbursts, we got dove chocolate this time! way yum. especially the dark chocolate! i love eating them. not only because they taste so

good, but also because each chocolate has a little inspirational message :) here are a few I've eaten..

'Live from your hear, it will never steer you wrong.'

'Never stop learning.'

'Don't stress-think, and this too shall pass.'

'Celebrate the small victories in life.'

just want to mention. how much

this kid cracks me up.I'm so glad my facebook stalking lead to actually meeting :)

don't forget to look at the shirt he is wearing, simple the greatest one ever:)

xoxo

halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

provo

Tuesday night Erika&Matthew accompanied me to Ptown to visit Aly&Alicia! it was way fun. we took the straight shot bus from salt lake to Provo and the picture to the side shows the weather (aka SNOW) that decided to come down while we were on our way. You can also see Erika's computer playing One Tree Hill :) i think we got Matthew liking that show!

So, once we got there, our hungry tummies called for panda! Yum! it was a good choice. we got panda to go and then walked over to Aly! It was good to see her :) and then, to make it even better, ALICIA came by!! bah i miss them! but it was lots of fun. The main purpose of the trip to provo was to eat cake balls.. i mean get fitted for bridesmaid attire. haha and the cake balls were definitely a plus. and Erika and i decided we are making those on Sunday. YUM! hm so after we ate and chatted a bit at aly's, it was time for us to head home.. or so we thought. we got a little confused about the bus schedule.. so we ended up waiting at the bus stop for about 30 minutes before it came..haha and then we had to catch the trax home too. it was getting super cold too! burr!! it even started snow while we were waiting...

You can't tell too much, but i was snowing. and oober cold. but, we manage to stay warm. So, because of the extreme cold weather we are beginning to experience now, today after class i unpacked all my winter clothing from under my bed. and by "all my winter clothing" i mean a few long sleeve shirts and 10 or so sweatshirts. yeah, not much at all.. that's what happens when you move from Texas to Utah haha. oh well. my daily attire always includes my ugg boots, and my pea coat that i gladly invested in. good choice. and my gloves should be getting here soon too! and then earmuffs too. exciting! and the heater in our room has started to be used. the first time we turned it on the smell of burning filled our room, but now it is good. haha it is getting some good use, and will be used daily very soon for sure.

as for school, i turned a communications paper today, have two more due in that class next week.. and then an economics test tomorrow, economics paper due next week.. and an English paper due on Monday.. lots of paper to write. you could say ill be busy this weekend! oh yes, and this weekend is HALLOWEEN! yay! i'm pretty excited. There is a Halloween dance at school tomorrow night, and then Saturday I'm not exactly sure what my plans are... maybe a corn maze? i want to trick or treat .. but I'm not sure how many people would give 19 year olds candy.. and i don't have little siblings to steal candy from anymore! sad day! haha oh well, we'll find something fun to do.

well, now i am off to study for economics...wish me luck!

these were taken the other night on our way back salt lake from Provo :)

matthew&&mee

me&&erika

xoxo

snow in october?!?!

eeek!

That ^ is what i saw when i walked outside to go to school...yes, that is SNOW.

oh boy.BURRRR!

and after class...i walk out and see the mountains completely WHITE!

so, what i heard yesterday sure enough came true. it snowed. alot! during my communications class this morning it was snowing alot alot and we one of the walls is a big window, so i was definitely distracted. it is so pretty though!! and it's not too cold.. yet! i know soon enough it will be freeeezing.

so i have decided that i love tuesdays and thursdays. first of all, it is because i only have one class, 9:20-10-50, and then i am done for the day. all this time allows for napping, finishing homework, and just relaxing. love it. second of all, it is because me and erika have started a tradition/habit of going to the temple on both of these mornings, i couldn't of a better way of starting my day! and third of all, because tuesdays we always have devotionals at 11 at school. various people have come to speak to us, including:

-President Richards (president of LDSBC). September 8. He talked about how the LDS Business College is a 'temple of learning', and how it is a place to prepare us for the building up of Zion.

- Bishop Keith McMullin spoke to us on September 15th about the Business College itself and the history. He also spoke on what it means to judge righteously.

-Oscar W. McConkie III spoke on September 22. He focused on the U.S. Constitution. Christ taught, 'I am the law'. The reason he gives us these laws is because he loves us.

-Alan E. Hall spoke on September 29. He talked about giving to others, and referenced Jacob 2:18-19 which says it is our duty "..to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive." He has been very successful in his life and has founded many organizations that focus on giving to the poor, and feeding the hungry. way cool guy.

-Susan Tanner talked on October 6th. She focused on the temple and its holiness. She said we each need to have a place where we can go that is holy to us where we can thing and ponder in peace. Emma Smith said "Lay aside the things of the world for the things of a better."

-President Henry B. Eyring spoke at our Presidents inauguration, way cool experience. i was in the 5 row, so close! He said alot of things, but the main quote i liked was, "Don't be discouraged when things look bleek, nor too proud when things go well." He also said we need to "be optimistic, dream large, and be vigorous."

-Gerald N. Lund spoke on Oct. 20th. He is the author of many books including "The Work & The Glory" series. He told many stories about pioneers and talked about them being 'undaunted', meaning characterized by courage&tenacity nor being discouraged or dismayed.

-Andy Hogan spoke today. While he was on his mission in Taiwan the unknown bipolar disorder came alive and had to be sent home because of his outbreaks. At one point it got so bad that he thought his companion was God.. and bowed down to him.. another time he thought his companion was the devil and bit his leg so hard that today,there is still a scar on his leg.Scary.. He has written two books telling his story in detail. He said, "never quit fighting, never lose hope, LIFE IS GOOD." Way cool story, and today he has a family and is able to perform normal tasks. way cool recovery.

anyways. thats just an overview of all of the devotionals we've had so far. I haven't missed one yet! I enjoy going each week. I know the people we have come talk to us may not be as cool as the Prophet (like BYU gets) but it is still way cool and i come away learning something new everytime. love it.

later today i am headed down to ptown (provo) with erika to visit aly, get fitted for bridesmaid skirt(!!!!), and eat cake balls! YUM! and i have lots of papers due this week and the coming, so ill work on those on the way there.. exciting stuff.

xoxo

haleyjean

hello!

so, i have recently been inspired to start a blog, thanks to my sister, Aly, and cousin, Alicia. so here it goes. enjoy.

it has taken my longer than i thought it would to create this...it is definitely harder than it looks! at least for me haha I've spent a couple hours now trying to get it to look like i want.. but it still isn't there. one day.. haha

life is good. i love all my classes (but one..econ). I've made lots of new friends, and i couldn't have a better room mate! we get along so well and like the same sorts of things. it has turned out really nicely! and by chance, I've gotten to see my mom almost once a month since I've been at school. i guess there are some perks to having braces! haha i get to go home for appointments, which you would think would be annoying, but,so far, it has been sort of nice. especially since my last appointment just happened to fall on homecoming weekend for my high school!

so. my sister, Aly, is getting married super soon! on December 23rd in Dallas. craziness.

it is getting pretty chilly here in salt lake.. i don't know how ready i am for snow.. i know its inevitable though. i have one big winter coat which i am excited to wear, it's way cute! but i have considered hibernation haha i will be bundled up constantly! i really want to build a snow man though..with REAL snow.. texas snow doesn't count as real snow. but, i hear it is suppose to snow tomorrow?! eek. ready or not, here it comes...

favorite song at the moment, "Vanilla Twilight" by Owl City.
craving at the moment, purple starbursts
obsession at the moment, christmas music

I've also been missing summer lately, i am ready for it to be here again.now. haha here are some of the pictures and people that i have been missing:

the lake

kathryn&&jessie

caratolmas;;kathrynkimmell;;coreymulder

and lots of other peoplee/events.

overall, summer needs to be here already!!