this Christmas was the bomb. seriously.

but the fun is continuing so i'll have to tell about it later! but i hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season! for now, here's a glimpse into my christmas...

Twinsies!

i guess since it's facebook official, i can finally announce the newcomers to our family. when my sister told me, i felt like i was being punk'd. it was so weird. but i have proof now. i'm a believer. here's some proof for you in case you need it, too.

congrats and good luck to sarah and kenneth!

Remember Who You Are

so when my parents were here in september, i asked my dad to give me a blessing before he left because i was feeling pretty lonely and missing home. i was kind of expecting him to bless me to be able to find friends but instead he just blessed me to not have feelings of loneliness. i figured i wasn't going to make that many friends here but that i would just be content that way. and that's the way it was for a long time... until now!

i've been trying to think of a way to make this an interesting story, but i can't. i just had so much fun and i wanted to tell you about it. last weekend i went to the New England YSA dance with a bunch of people in my ward. before we went to the dance i met up with my visiting teacher so i could borrow one of her dresses. some other friends came over to also get ready and then the boys came and we went to an a capella concert at wellesley, had dinner in the dining hall and then headed to the dance. it was honestly the most fun i've had with that ward. everyone was hanging out together and i got to know so many people better. i loved feeling like i was part of their group, finally. my view of so many of them has changed dramatically and i'm so grateful for the friendship they showed me. they even invited me to hang out with them the next weekend and this coming weekend. the sunday after the dance was incredible because i had so many people to talk to and i finally felt included and like i could stick around and talk to people instead of just hurrying home right after the meetings ended. i also made good friends with mary. we made waffles together. she has actually been really really nice to me ever since i got her but we have been getting closer and she is so sweet and wonderful. i love all of them! i'm just so happy about it. it's so nice to have friends.

for a long time i've had a hard time getting along with the other people in my ward. it just seemed like i couldn't fit in and they didn't want to have much to do with me. it was hard to be in a university ward where everyone is going to school except for me. it made me feel so distant and disconnected from them. i also had a lot of feelings of self-doubt. i mean, these kids go to harvard and MIT. if you want to feel stupid, i know the ward for you. i'm not usually too self conscious but i couldn't get myself to relax around them and just be myself. i worried that they were judging everything i said. i think it took time for me to figure out that i like myself the way that i am, even if i don't go to harvard. before i could be friends with them, i had to be friends with myself. it took courage at first but now i say all sorts of stupid things in front of them and they still like me! or at least they pretend to haha. i used to always say how they were all just taking themselves too seriously and that's why i didn't get along with them, but i think the truth is that i was the one taking myself too seriously. when i just decide to be myself, i'm so much happier.

i'm so grateful to have friends and a dad who is a priesthood holder and father in heaven who knows me. my life is so wonderful.

GOOOO CRIMSON!

i went to the harvard vs. yale football game a couple of weeks ago. it's a long story so i'll just sum it up for you. thank you, MasterCard.

ticket: $44
toll roads: $6
gas: $15
parking: FREE! just wait..
lunch for me and poor college student i just met: $14
pass to ride the T even though i don't know where i'm going: $5
walking around cambridge for an hour: $my frozen fingers and toes
hot chocolate: $2
getting kellie's car back from the towing company: $64

although the day ended up being annoying, what with misplacing a car and all, i'm glad i went. i've never seen so many men in scarves in one arena. do you think that made the day priceless? why yes, yes it did. super weird. but really, i made some friends and overall it was a good time. go crimson!

One Fish, Two Fish

a couple of weeks ago reed and i went to the fish store to get a few new pals for the tank. we got two firefish, three snails, one scooter blenny, and one angel fish. they were so cute and they added so much fun and excitement to the tank! we were nervous at first because adding that many fish can be a little disturbing to the rest of the tank. they get a little petty when someone else comes into their territory. so selfish-mind the pun. but everyone seemed to be doing great! everyone was eating and sharing and playing nicely. but then, tragedy struck. you know that angel fish i was talking about? it had another angel fish friend. one who had been in the tank a long time. well, the two started getting on each other's nerves and one day they both disappeared. we couldn't find them anywhere. we determined they must be behind the rocks somewhere. so every day reed and i would search for them. we looked and looked for probably four days which is a long time for a fish to hide in such a small space. as we were searching reed suggested/demanded i hurry and look in one tiny space. such a silly idea-how could they fit in there? but sure enough, there they were! the more established angel fish was blocking the newcomer fish in this tiny hole so he couldn't get to the food! it's horrible, really. so, we moved some barnacle around and let the fish free. but the hostility didn't end there. for some reason the two of them kept chasing each other around the back and hiding for days. then one day, the new fish emerged from the rocks and he plopped himself down on the barnacle as if he had just used up his last ounce of energy to get there. his fins were all shredded and his coloring was faded and he could barely move. i wanted to cry, it really was quite dramatic. at this point, there still hadn't been any signs of the old angel fish, he just kept hiding back there. i didn't really care because i was rooting for the new fish all along (i picked him out). after a while the new fish made it's way to the back for what i'm assuming was the final battle because today was the day we found the remains of those poor fish floating at the top of the tank.

dead fish, blue fish.

BIRTHDAY BONANZA

i'm not real big on birthday blog posts, but this week is a special one. my mom and grandma are celebrating their birthday today and sarah had her birthday on the 10th! each of them are women i greatly look up to and are some of my most avid readers and therefore, deserve a birthday blog post!

we'll keep things simple and go youngest to oldest.

sarah:

i guess it's hard to say how much a sister can mean to you. if you don't have a big sister, you can't really understand the kind of love one can give. sarah has ALWAYS loved me. she loves everyone. she is patient and understanding. she lifts and supports. she knows how to give advice and more often than not, does it by being a good example. i've learned so much from watching her. she's such a good mom/wifey and i want to be like her. she knows how to make any situation light and fun and she laughs at stupid things which is a good thing because i do too. maybe i get it from her. i couldn't ask for a better big sister! (except for annie, but i think they're tied)

mommy:

how do i choose what to say about my mom? SHE IS INCREDIBLE! seriously, though. everyone who will probably read this probably knows my mom so they already know this because as soon as you meet her you know she's great. she can do everything and anything. but, not only is she a great mom, she's a best friend. i love to call her and talk with her. she is always funny and lifts my spirits. she can give great advice and has the right answer to every problem. she's not afraid to tell me how things really are and what i need to do to be better. she also knows how to make me feel good about myself when she's proud of me. she is the kind of person i want to be. everyone wants to be her friend and she is friends with all of them. she works so hard and does her work well. she taught me how to laugh with others and how to be willing to laugh at myself when necessary. she knows what is important in life and encourages others to focus on those things, too. she wants the best for others and has taught me how to obtain the things that are best for me. she has been my everything. she has taught, laughed, cried with, and most importantly, loved me. she literally is the best mom in the world.

grandma e:

if you want to meet one of the most amazing people in the world, meet my grandma eldredge. really, i don't know what our family would do without her. i would have to say one of the most important things that i've learned from my grandma is how important family is. grandma has always done things to make sure that our family stayed close. even though she lives far away, she always made an effort to come down to see us. she planned times for us to spend weekends with her and our cousins. besides all the things that she's done for our family, she's just a great person. i love the way she teaches me how to love. she is always encouraging us to look at the blessings we have and then find ways to bless others. she give us opportunities to serve each other and even those that we don't know.

i keep trying to name all of the other great things about grandma and the list gets pretty long. if i sum up grandma, i come up with Christ-like. she is such a great representative for Christ. she is so diligent in being the best that she can be. she loves completely and serves completely. i love her so much and hope that i can be as wonderful as her someday. the world is a better place because of her and i think so many people could agree with me because she has blessed so many.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

i'm about to burst

sometimes i have millions of things to say and no one to say them to. and then, i have this blog. i could share all of these things with you, but it would be wildly inappropriate.

eh...what is this?

just in case you were headed to monti's any time soon, i thought i'd inform you that in massachusetts, canadian bacon is not canadian bacon. it's simply bacon. bacon that is burnt and crispy and greasy and, at first glance, slightly resembles a slug and is on top of your large, pineapple, extra cheese, was-supposed-to-be-oh-so-delicious pizza. SURPRISE!

don't worry, it's actually better than it looks. i'll forgive you, monti.

this is all i can think about. i'd say something more, but i guess the video says enough.

Happy Halloweek Ago

BOO!!

I'm Full Mormon

i don't know how i forgot to blog about this, but i did! sorry. i had a REALLY great saturday last week. i woke up early to go down to the Head of the Charles Regatta! doesn't that sound lovely? it really was. i parked in harvard square which was buzzing with excitement and strange entertainers as displayed below.

that really wasn't the cool part of my day. i just thought it was funny.

the cool part was the regatta. it was the perfect day. it was chilly enough to make your nose and cheeks a little pink. the kind of weather that makes you feel cold and warm all at once-the air is crisp and makes you aware of how nice it actually is-you know. the bridges were crowded with spectators pushing and shoving to get from one side to the other to cheer their team on. it was like a giant game of pooh sticks. i, being inspired by the ambiance of the atmosphere, felt it appropriate to buy myself some clam chowdah in a bowl so, i did. i sat on the side of the river to eat my lunch and watch the crewing races. the races are really cool despite the fact that they aren't moving all that quickly and the boats come down the river one by one instead of all at once. the excitement factor isn't exactly there but, it's a pleasant sport any way you look at it. unless, of course, you're the one rowing, in which case it looks really hard.

let's get to the good part of the day.

so, there i am sitting by myself eating my chowder and this guy sits down sort of next to me. it was one of those situations where i felt like he could've found a spot that was much more open, but i guess he's a friendly person. he asks "excuse me, do you know when the next race starts?" i reply, "i have no clue but i think i saw some girls handing out programs over there". what does he say? i'll tell you, "that's ok, i didn't actually want to know".

okay...

so then, it's kind of uncomfortable. do i keep this conversation going or not? i don't even know how to respond to that. there was silence for a while. silence that, before would've been normal but now i feel should be filled with some sort of small talk.

"so, are you from around here?"

"yeah, but i've been on the road as a musician for a couple of years. how about you?"

"i'm from utah, but i'm working here for a couple of months."

"do you get into boston very often?"

"i come down most saturday's if there is something going on and i come to cambridge every sunday for church."

"i'm protestant. what church do you go to?"

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!" (i was really proud for getting it out correctly. it's only the second time someone has ever asked me that and i messed up the first time ha)

"that's neat"

"i'm a fan"

ok... there's more awkward silence. what do i fill it with? all i can think of is 'maybe i should ask if he wants to know about the church. no, i'll feel awkward'. to say the least, i talked myself out of it. the next half hour or so was filled with random spurts of conversations that i can't remember because they were unimportant. then, just as he was about to leave he spurts out, "good luck with your church" (is that weird? why would i need luck?) "i'd really like to learn more about it sometime"

"REALLY? because you're more than welcome to come to our church meetings anytime you want. we meet every sunday at three. the address is 65 binney street and it's three hours long but the first hour is the one i would recommend. every one there is really nice and we'd love to have you. no pressure."

yikes... did i mess that up? i should've been more subtle. he's gonna think we're all crazy.

"ok, that sounds great! so, are you part Mormon?"

i almost laughed out loud.

"i'm actually full Mormon haha just kidding. Mormon and LDS are the same thing."

well, to keep this story from getting any longer, i'll shorten it.. haha

we ended up staying two more hours talking about some gospel principles and i got to bear my testimony several times. he's a really sweet person and seems like he's been looking for some sort of direction. he said how things have been happening in his life that have made him turn to God and he's been hoping to find something that would give him the peace that he's been looking for. after he left i felt like the whole thing was planned. like i was supposed to be there to sit next to him and tell him what i know to be true. i don't know what will happen with him but i feel like i did my best and i was silently praying to have help to know what to say. i was really nervous that i might say the wrong things but i always seemed to find some sort of answer for his questions and i could feel the Spirit when i was bearing my testimony. hopefully the Spirit was able to touch him also and even if i never see what happens with him, it was a great experience for me. it was a challenge and a blessing to be able to talk to a stranger about how i feel about my Savior and the blessing of the atonement. i'm so grateful that i have a testimony to share and that i could feel it grow as i was bearing it.

after the regatta i met up with kellie and we carved pumpkins and made 67 cupcakes for our sunday school class which i feel is Mormony enough to be included in this post.

i'm full Mormon and i LOVE it!

I'm Not a Witch! I'm Your Wife!

i heard once that i'm related to rebecca nurse.. creepy, right?

reed and sheryl and i went to salem today and it definitely wasn't creepy but it was really fun. we started off the day by going to a play called "cry innocent" where they let the audience play the part of the jury during goody bishop's trial. it was a good way to get the history side of things and it was really fun. there was a junior high class on a field trip at the show at the same time so things got pretty exciting and hilarious. before the show starts you can follow the actors taking goody bishop into the town hall and act as the mob. the kids were yelling hilarious things like "off with her head!" and "kill the witch!"

next, we went to a magic show that in most situations would've been pathetic and definitely not worth the 10 dollars spent on it, but i guess the whole atmosphere made it pretty fun. there were only three other people in the show so we had ample opportunities to participate. of course, the first question this self-acclaimed vampire asked me was if i am afraid of ghosts because one was about to get very close to me. yes! i am! sheesh..

after we'd had enough witchy fun for one day we went to the house of seven gables which was actually really cool. by really cool what i mean is it's a really old house about a story that i've never read. a good historical stop, nonetheless. and i learned what a gable is. it's different than a dormer.. in case you were wondering. unfortunately, i didn't get any pictures because it was dark. i actually would recommend going there. the story of the house is pretty cool and there are all these secret staircases and such you get to go through.

here, enjoy some other sights from the day!

HAPPY HALLOWEEEN!!! MUAHAHAHA

if i've said it once, i've said it a million times: i LOVE dean park.

spiders, insects and other crawly things belong outside.

i don't have any problems with these critters when they're out where they belong. unfortunately, i live next to the forest and therefore happen to find PLENTY of said creatures in my living space. when i first moved here i would occasionally find a spider in my bathtub. that's not that weird, except it would happen almost every day. that's weird. it's also not uncommon to find an earwig making it's way across the living room floor. a couple of weeks ago, i was coming to my room and i found a giant spider on my door. it's butt was HUGE! and when i squished it with my shoe, it popped and then splattered all over my door. the worst part about smooshing a spider is that you have to clean it up and it's little body parts break under your fingers and you can feel it being all spidery. bleh.

so, here's another little encounter i had: today i was going to put reed's laundry away. i turned the corner to the hallway and what did i find? oh, just your average snake! a SNAKE! right in the middle of the hallway. it was tiny and i wasn't afraid of it. it's just that... a snake in the house.. what? i then proceeded to shoo the little guy out into the garage. i run back to reed's room, still mystified. i'm telling diane and reed what i'd just experienced and diane says "oh, that's nothing. one time i found a skunk in their garage" a skunk! just think about it, people. it's only small spiders and harmless snakes for now, but what's next?! a squirrel? a raccoon? a BEAR?! do you want a bear in your house? good grief. we have got to get this situation under control.

I'm Learning to Fly

this is me, last saturday, getting on a plane that came straight out of Hatchet. and what did i plan to do when i got in that plane? jump out of it, of course! was it everything i'd hoped for? i don't know. was it incredible? yes. here's the whole shabang only in still form because i don't know how to work this video whosiwatsit technology. enjoy!

a smile, two waves and a thumbs up. i think we're ready.

goggles? check.

12,000 feet. oh, hello world.

op, i guess we're going then!

upside down? uh, ok!

too much rock for one hand. thank you, stick it.

parachute up! (pulled the rip cord myself, thank you)

nice slide in on the buttocks. mission accomplished.

Hero x 26.2 and Then Some

Oh, this was just the beginning.

(isn't she cute?)

jamie has always said that she wanted to run a marathon someday and today she did! and she did it in 4 hours and 4 minutes! i'm SO proud of her!

it's really not surprising that she did it, though. jamie is one of the most dedicated people i know. when she decides she's going to do something, she does it and she does a great job at it. she puts forth all the necessary time and effort needed to achieve any goal she has. i'm so lucky to have jamie in my life because she's always a good example of a hard worker, and so many other great things. i just want her to know that i love her and i'm so excited for her that she finally accomplished her goal! she's definitely one of my favorite heroes!

Dean Park = Disneyland

last night i got myself all registered to go to a new england young single adult conference in connecticut that happened today. there were speakers (Pres. Eyring included!), a service project, lunch and dinner and a dance! fun, right? it started at 10 in the a.m.. i slept through it. oops! i didn't actually sleep through the entire thing, but it takes two hours to get there and by the time i woke up it just wasn't going to work out. i've been feeling bad about it. not only because it would've been a really spiritually uplifting, charitable, wonderful thing to attend, but also because i suddenly had absolutely nothing to do on my saturday off. great, just great. the problem with having nothing planned is that i usually end up at the mall or wal-mart just spending pennies left and right on things that i really don't need. so, to make up for my lack of participation in more righteous activities, i decided to be responsible! good idea, haley. i took my first trip to rockies ace hardware (not nearly as wonderful as allred's ace hardware, just saying) to get a copy of my car key made. and then that was about as responsible as it got for one day. except, i did do the cross word in the newspaper, which isn't really that responsible, but it's a grown up thing to do and they kinda fit in the same category.

ok, this story is getting too long. eventually, i had been in the house for too long and i was starting to go crazy so i went to dean park thinking i would walk around or something, but as i was going to park i spotted a sign that said "fountain music-97.1" WHAT!? turns out, there's a reason the fountains are always doing funny things. they dance to the music! and when it gets dark enough, there are colorful lights that shine on them! i just couldn't believe it. so, i quickly turned on the radio and playing was a wonderful disney medley! if i tuned out the fact that i was alone in my car, without an ice cream cone in my hand, it actually kinda felt like i was in disneyland!

oh! (this is just a side note) another grown up thing i did was read the newspaper. just the horoscope, but i think it still counts. the first line said "stick to your plans". well, that didn't happen, obviously.

anyway, that was just a really long way of letting you know that i love dean park. it never fails me.

What do you think?

my mom says i look good in red.

Massachusetts in a Week.

welp, this last week my mom, dad and brother ben came to visit me. we did all sorts of things and it was so fun. so fun that i don't even really know how to write about everything we did! they came on sunday and stayed at the nixon's house with me until wednesday. we hung out with the nixon's on those days and then on thursday i got to go with my family to do whatever we wanted for the rest of the week! so many days off. ahh. so i guess i'll just put pictures up from the highlights because we really did way too much stuff for me to write about it all. i'll expound where necessary.

we started off on monday with a tour of a cemetary. sounds weird but it was actually really amazing. we could've spent hours there.

this is us at havahd yahd. that's john harvard in the background. i touched his shoe.

mark took us on a guided tour of concord, lexington and cambridge. this is at the minute men monument. can you tell that ben was really interested? haha

we went to walden pond at the end of the day and put our feet in. (this is one of only three photos that dad is actually in. i promise he was there.)

on wednesday we started at 6:30! in the morning and did some of the freedom trail. i loved it, but i can't wait to go back and see more.

this is us at the top of the green monster during batting practice. it was way cool except i was afraid for my life the entire time! i'm pretty sure they were aiming for me! haha not really.. none of them actually got that close to me, but i was still scared. ben, on the other hand, was just laughing at my mom and i screaming and clinging to one another.

before a game, there is this street with all these fun things to do. ben had the youth record for a while! but i'm pretty sure he threw faster than a lot of the adults we saw, too. oh, and he got that cool hat that he left in my room. oops.

this is ben at his first red sox game! (that's not really where are seats were-he's a cheater)

he's good at baseball, but no good at pre-18th century games. this is the plymouth plantation where all the people dress up in period clothing and speak in funny accents and pretend they don't know what t.v.'s are.

this guy was way cool. it was amazing how they could keep their character and answer so many different questions about the time.

welcome to p-town. yikes. we thought it would be cool to drive all the way to the end of the cape... nope. turns out, provincetown is a gay community. SURPRISE! it was kind of the most frightening experience i've had in a while. i don't know who this gem of a woman is, but we took a picture of her.

here's another scary sighting of the day. don't worry, there was a furry pink tail on the back to top it off.

it was actually a really pretty place. a very scary, pretty place.

it probably wouldn't have been so bad had we known what we were getting ourselves into. but we didn't. the closer we got to town, the more suspicious we became and then suddenly it hit us! we walked up and down the street for a while because the architecture was really nice. but, after walking into a few "antique/collectibles" shops and having to cover ben's eyes, we decided it was time to go. oh, also, just to make things awkward, my mom and i were wearing matching sweatshirts! isn't that cute? i didn't walk next to her haha.

this, however, is newport, RI. and it is pretty. we went on a cliff walk next to the ocean and all along were these huge "summer cottages" what? they were mansions. and they were everywhere. it was really incredible.

this was day one at the beach! we actually went here after our little mishap on p-town. we needed a refresher haha. we even saw two sea lions, otis and spunkmeyer.

day two at the beach! we body surfed for a while, but i've watched a little too much discovery channel lately because i was REALLY afraid of sharks.

on the way home, we stopped at some places from my grandma eldredge's childhood. she grew up in the town next to where i live right now so that's way cool.

this is where she went to sixth grade.

and this is where she lived! it was white then and not as big. and cuter, if you ask me. it was neat to see where she grew up and read the stories she sent for us. i really look up to her and admire her for keeping so many records of her experiences. it helps me get to know her better and makes me want to record my experiences for my grandchildren. she's an amazing person.

to top of the week, we went to church. that was fun, but i was sad because after church i was going to have to leave them and i really REALLY wanted to stay with them. my dad gave me a blessing, though, and i'm so grateful for a wonderful daddy who is always worthy to help me through anything. i love my family so much and i'm certain they are the best family in the world. they always support me and make me feel loved. i'm sad i don't get to be with them right now, but i'm happy because eventually i'll come home and then we get to be together for eternity! all in all, it was a great week!