Playoffs

Hey everyone! I looked up the wild card games for the NFL, here they are!
AFC:
Chargers vs. Bengals
Chiefs vs. Colts
NFC:
Saints vs. Eagles
49ers vs. Packers
And the Divisional Round:
AFC:
Broncos vs. lowest winning seed from AFC Wild card round
Patriots vs. highest winning seed from AFC wild card round
NFC:
Seahawks vs. lowest winning seed from NFC wild card round
Panthers vs. highest winning seed from NFC wild card round
 If you don't understand, here's the link: http://www.nfl.com/playoffs/playoff-picture
Super Bowl XLVIII will be held on February 2, 2014 at Metlife stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.

Heat rash

Um,who would think that you could get heatrash in the middle of December? Apparently I can! Ugh! It is HORRIBLE!!! I don't advise getting it!! It is super itchy, and did I mention it itches?

Winter, blogs, tennis...

So, who here likes winter? Um, not me! I love skiing, but not the cold weather. I'm much more of a shorts and sunshine person. I still wear t-shirts in the middle of December! Hah winter! You can't beat me! Anyhoo, another reason is that it disrupts the horse show season... That's what I hate! I mean, it's pretty and all, but...
     I'm also starting tennis lessons. They're fun, but, hey, it makes your arm feel like it's going to fall off! Your wrist, too. There's more to it than hitting the ball. That's what I kinda knew, but kinda didn't... Oh well... I have this blog I read regularly, the PHB. It's really cool. Here's the link...  http://poptropicahelp.net/ Have fun reading! Haha the site is stuff about the virtual game site Poptropica... forgot to tell ya that! Bye!
-Haley

Skiing

Hello! I hope everyone is having a good week! We're going to go skiing this season! Yay! We missed last year's season because we were in Florida, which was a bummer. I hope I can still ski decently. Probably. It's one of those things where once you learn it, you can pick it up again really easily. I'm so excited!

Olympics

So, usually when I hear 'Olympics', I think 'summer'. That's not true for next year! The winter Olympics are coming in Sochi, Russia! I'm excited to see the skiing, bobsledding, and whatever else is in the Winter Olympics. I'm not really a winter person, but I like watching the extreme sports. I like the Summer Olympics better (no offense). It has horseback riding, and you can't beat that!

https://www.google.com/maps/preview?hl=en#!q=sochi%2C+russia&data=!1m4!1m3!1d7145794!2d36.6164635!3d45.1905672!2m1!1e3!4m15!2m14!1m13!1s0x40f5d4e111834423%3A0x6e6f61866a5d5df8!3m8!1m3!1d32364281!2d-95.677068!3d37.0625!3m2!1i1920!2i953!4f13.1!4m2!3d43.585278!4d39.720278&fid=7
 it's down near Georgia. I needed to see where it was, and I thought you would too.

More Michael Vey, and other stuff

I read another Michael Vey book, book 2. I am in line at the library with 5 people ahead of me for the third book. I think Richard Paul Evans is writing a book 4, don't be so sure about that.
     So, at my church, we are doing Operation Christmas Child, and I am heading it up. It is fun. I don't have that many boxes so far, but I have a few. I originally ordered 100 boxes that you have to fold yourself, and all of those are GONE!!! I then ordered 100 more, and not all of those are gone yet. If you don't know what OCC is, pretty much you just pack a box with school supplies, hygiene items, and other cool things, turn it in to a local church collecting them, and it gets sent out. And then, a boy/girl gets it, and then they get to do a 12-lesson workbook called 'The Greatest Journey' where they learn all about Jesus and Christianity, and then they graduate, and get a Bible in their language. Here's a link to a hilarious video featuring Si from Duck Dynasty. http://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/pack-a-shoebox-with-uncle-si/
Man, that is so funny. Here's a veggie tales one with Bob and Larry.
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/pack-a-shoe-box/

Niagara Falls Field Trip

So, today we got back from a fun Niagara Falls Field trip with a local co-op. It was fun. We also got to sleep in an aquarium.
      We all rode on Maid of the Mist, and then we all talked and Hannah, our leader, gave us our tickets for Cave of the Winds so we could do it whenever we wanted. So me, my mom, our friend Mandy, and her mom (we carpooled) all walked back to the car and ate lunch (btw, we got up at 6 to drive there. {21\2 hours}) and then decided to go get some souvenirs, and then go to Cave of the Winds. Man, that was cool! Our friends told us to roll up our pants as high as we could, so they wouldn't get wet. (I wore shorts) We got a yellow poncho, and off we went! (Fun fact: they take it apart every year so it won't fall apart under the 70ft. of ice every year, and then put it back together) So, we started out a little bit wet, and then when we went up on the 'Hurricane Deck', it really was like a hurricane! We got soaked!!!! (REALLY soaked) It was fun, though. After that, we went into a gift shop and looked around, and guess what I found? You know those street signs that have your name on it? Well, I found one that said 'HALEY AVE.', and I never find one that has my name spelled right!!! And then we went and ate dinner at Hard Rock Café, and then headed over to the aquarium. I slept next to the sea lion tank. They barked a lot. Mandy's air mattress deflated during the night, so she was sleeping on the floor! It was really fun.

TobyMac & Michael Vey

      I just bought another TobyMac album: 'Eye on It'. I LOVE it!!! I am currently listening to it right now, actually.


I am in a book club, and the book for this month is Michael Vey, and I finished it in one day!!! It is sooooooooooooo good. It's science fiction.

Boston, Day 2

Hello again! I have the stuff from the second day of our trip to Boston.
     So again, we took the train from our campground into South Station. We walked (well, it wasn't too bad) to Boston Common, where we looked at the Robert Gould Shaw 54th Massachusetts Regiment Memorial from the Civil War. Pretty cool. After the Common, we walked (across the street) to Massachusetts State House. In WWII, they painted the golden dome black, for fear the gold would reflect the light, and get bombed during a blackout. It must've looked pretty funny. After the State House, we walked to the Granary Burying Ground. Paul Revere, Sam Adams, Ben Franklin's parents, and a lot of other people are buried there. My sister didn't like the graveyards at all.
     After that, we walked all the way to King's Chapel, which was pretty cool. They still have church services there, in the old box pews. The box pews were there because in the winter, each family brought their own hot brick, so the high walls of the pews helped keep the heat in. After King's Chapel, we walked to the site of the first public school, with a statue of Ben Franklin. The Old South Meeting House was next. Sam Adams talked there, along with many other people. There is box pews there, too. When the British occupied that building, they tore up all the pews and stuff, and turned it into a riding school. As much as I like riding, that's just plain MEAN!!
     The Old State House was next. They turned it into a museum, with plenty of hands-on activities in there. The "T"(subway) runs right under the building, so every five minutes or so, you can feel it rumbling. Outside, they were doing a reenactment of something, and there was this guy who was pretending to be George Washington. He was so tall, I swear he really could've been G.W.'s descendant.(maybe) In front of the State House, you could see the site of the Boston Massacre. The event was running through my head, I was picturing it as I stood there.
     The next stop was supposed to be Faneuil Hall, but as you know, we already went there.  So, we went to Paul Revere's house. We walked through it, and I couldn't believe how 15 children could fit in there (yes, Paul Revere had 15 children. Next, we went to Old North Church, and like King's Chapel, it had box pews and still have services. We decided to skip Copp's Hill burying ground, because Macy had had enough of graveyards (even though we only went in one, and looked in two). We walked to the nearest "T" station, (haymarket) rode to downtown crossing, and finally to South Station. That concludes our trip to Boston!
-Haley

 

 Sugar Cones. This is how sugar came. In the Old State House museum.

 

 

 A musket with bayonet found at Bunker Hill (OSH museum)

 

 

 A bottle containing tea found in the boots of Thomas Melvill's boots.

 

 

 A musket and cannonball found at Bunker Hill.

John Hancock's coat, and the key to the Council Chamber.

 

 

 

 

 The Treaty of Paris

 

Paul Revere Statue

 

I can't believe how confusing that is!!

 

 

Geegee

On an earlier post, someone said I needed a picture of Geegee(my mom). If I already didn't put one, than here's one. The horse in the back is my sister's mini, Elle.

Boston Freedom Trail Day one

     Hi! So, recently, (last week(end)) we went to Boston, to walk the Freedom Trail. And walk we did!!! We walked so much, I should say we walked 5 miles! (maybe) Anyhow, we took the train from our campground (which had an indoor pool) to South Station in Boston. From there, on the first day, we walked allllllllllllllllllllll the way to Faneuil Hall, because there is an artillery company, (Ancient and Honorable Artillery Co. Massachusetts) which can trace its roots alllllll the way back to 1638!!!! They had FOUR machine guns, which were pretty cool. They had lots of other guns, too. This was on the fourth floor of Faneuil Hall. Faneuil Hall in itself was pretty cool, too. It was unbelievable to think that you were standing in the same room as Samuel Adams, and some other pretty cool people.
     The next place we went to was the USS Constitution, in the Charleston Navy Yard. It is the oldest commissioned warship afloat today, it STILL sails. It was built before or during the War of 1812. We took a tour, so we got to go below deck. The sailors had put in florescent lights for themselves, but when the original sailors had NO lighting, NO ventilation, and it was VERY cramped. (I had about 8 or 9 inches from the top of my head to the ceiling) How would you like that?
     After that, we walked to the Bunker Hill Monument, on (obviously) Bunker Hill. Did you know that there is a 294 step monument there? Can you guess what we did next??? Bet you can't guess!!! -------We climbed it!!!! (see face to left ) Yep, you probably guessed it. Well, my thighs were burning, but the view was cool. In the middle, there was something like a drain grate, and you could SEE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE MONUMENT!!! Yep, it was pretty tall. I took a picture from the bottom, all the way up to the top. See the white dot? That's the top. Yeah... that's really the top... Cool, huh?
     Well, that was the end of day one. I'll do day two on another post.
(sorry, the Bunker Hill monument got posted twice) BTW, we took the water taxi back. That's the bottom picture.

 

 

                                                                                  

News

     I have some sad news... all of the bunnies at Holly Mist Rabbitry got sick, and some of them died, and a person came  and took the rest away... The good thing... the horse show season is over, there is a youth group at my church, and Sunday School started.
     Can you believe that it is fall (technically tomorrow)???? I can't!!! My aunt made a blog, here it is: heartofaturtle.blogspot.com/. When she came and visited us, she asked me to help her make one. So I did...
-Haley

Haying

My grandpa is out haying in the hayfields!

Landfill orchestra

This story is AMAZING!! Be sure to watch the video. I'm getting the DVD.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/405192963/landfill-harmonic-inspiring-dreams-one-note-at-a-t

Gus

     So yesterday, I went over to my grandma's house to ride my horse, and he was lame. So the vet did an ultra sound on his leg, and said that he had an incomplete fracture. :( And then today, (My birthday) the vet called my dad, and said THAT HE DOESN'T HAVE A FRACTURE!!!!!! He just has a minor sprain. And I found this out about half an hour ago. I had prayed that he wouldn't be seriously injured, and it turns out that he wasn't! The 'fracture' was some kind of vein, or something or other. Yay!

Bunnies

     The bunnies at Holly Mist Rabbitry (BTW, I haven't told you about that) are doing great.
     Holly Mist Rabbitry is a rabbitry,(a place where you breed and sell rabbits) that my friend +Brianna Cochran, her friend (not her real aunt), Aunt Sue, and I started. We have our own Google+ page: +Holly Mist Rabbitry. Also, we have a website, hollymistrabbitry.webs.com and a blog, hollymistrabbits.blogspot.com. Check these out if you want to buy a bunny! Some new babies were born recently, and they are ADORABLE!!!!!!!! We also have some bigger bunnies for sale. Email us at hollymistrabbitry@gmail.com for more information.

-Haley





Corn

     The corn in our fields is sprouting up. It's about as big as these exclamation points.
!
!
!
So, when you drive by, it looks like a giant green carpet.

Farming

So, the people we rent our farm to, two days ago they plowed and disked. Yesterday, they picked rocks, disked, and sprayed something. Today, they (just now, for a fact) brought out the corn planter! They sure work fast. (and get up early!)

Shanghai Circus

Well, my crazy Uncle Ken wanted to take us to the Shanghai Circus, a group of Chinese acrobats that are very cool. Look them up online! So, UK got me and Macy Chinese yo-yos that are REALLY hard to do.

Big Cedar Lodge

So, the whole point of all of my family getting together was to have a family meeting. Big Cedar Lodge was a hunters' paradise!! It was built by Bass Pro Shops, so, you know what I mean. After the meeting, they had a lunch for us, and it was GREAT!!! There was roast chicken or beef, I really don't know which one, corn muffins, and blueberry cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream that was heavenly. Here is one of the chairs there, but the real pillows were brown. (drawn by me)

Triathlon

So, on March 24, we did the HITS triathlon series open race. Who, exactly is 'we'? Me, Macy, and mom. The open race had a 100 meter swim, 3 mi. bike, and 1 mi. run. Macy got second place in her age group, mom got first in hers, and I got first in mine!! (I beat a 15 year old.) also, instead of sharpie number writing, we had a tattoo that took a WEEK to get off. There was one on our arm, and one on our leg.

Branson KOA

So, our campground was the Branson KOA. It had a bounce pillow that wasn't very soft. Your back hurt if you did a seat drop. Well, with our cousins, second cousins, aunt, uncle, and grandma and grandpa, (I'll list names in a second) we had cookouts. My cousin-in-law Ryan brought pineapple brown sugar bratwursts that were really good. Okay, I'll list names now.
My grandma- Nana My grandpa- Fred. My aunt- Auntie. My uncle- UK. My cousin and his wife and their two kids- Michael, Sarah, Mckenzie, and baby Micah. My other cousin and her husband and their two kids- Crystal, Ryan, Ryder, and Trystan. My other cousin and his wife and their three kids- Mason, Gabby, Gabe, Bella, and Brayden (Booboo). There, that is all of the names of my family. Crystal's family and UK and us stayed out late and sat by the fire and toasted marshmallows. Nana has a dog named Luke, and Auntie has a dog named Bebe. I think.

Bake sales

So, in case you're wondering, my bake sale money total for my Sunday school is *drumroll* $84.50!!!!!

Happy Easter

One year ago, I posted a post about Easter. Now I will do it again.

HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!!!!

Even more stories

Yes, these are complete stories, Auntie. They have a beginning, middle, end, climax and resolution.

Best Friends
Once, there lived a puppy named Grace. Grace loved nice, friendly people who were kind to her. She lived with a stable hand in Scotland. Grace's old owners both died in 1432, so she had to live with the stable hand, Michael. When the two walked out to the stable, the horses were being noisy because they were hungry. In the feed bucket, there was no grain. Quickly, Michael walked out to the fields. Grace followed. Tirelessly, the horses were making an even bigger racket.
Grace was trotting ahead of Michael, and suddenly, she spotted a ferocious dragon. Fearlessly, the dragon shot fire at them, because he wanted them to go away. Outside the dragon's cave the two stood their ground. Grace noticed a thorn in the dragon's tail. The dragon, who realized that Grace was looking at something, remembered the painful thorn in his tail. Grace approached the dragon's cave.
The dragon sensed Grace's kindness, and let her gently pull the thorn out of his tail with her mouth. An hour later, the dragon noticed Michael carrying too many baskets of grain. He offered to help them, because Grace had helped him. They accepted his help. Carefully, they climbed on the dragon's back. The dragon flew them to the city gates, and flew away without a word. Inside of the stables, Michael fed the horses, who had stopped their racket, and were waiting patiently for their food. Grace always disappeared twice a day to visit the dragon, who had become her best friend.

To be Rewarded
There once was a very stubborn camel, who didn't enjoy carrying spices all the way from China to Europe. The camel's master led him across the Himalayas and across many rivers. Although the other trips didn't go wrong, one did, because the camel became very annoyed.


More on the camel one later, my fingers are sore. (I am typing this on my iPod.)

Drying herbs

Okay, so, like I want to use mint to make a potpourri, does anyone know a good way to do this?

Gardening

Well, my mom is going to help me start my own garden!!! I plan to grow mint, cilantro, tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, maybe lavender, carrots, lettuce, and maybe some flowers to attract hummingbirds. I am going to have a 4*4 square foot garden. Mom says I should read the Square Foot Gardening book, and I will also read 'The Country Wisdom Almanac'. My uncle got the Almanac for my mom.

Books, books, and MORE books!

Well, I read A LOT, so here are some of my favorites... (The order is just how I happened to think of them.)

1-'Winning Balance' by- Shawn Johnson, Olympic Gold medalist. (Gymnastics)



2- 'I, Q'- By-Roland Smith (VERY exciting. The Secret Service, CIA, and FBI are in this book. For people who like suspense. Aimed toward middle schoolers) There is more books in the series.



3- 'Soul Surfer' by- Bethany Hamilton (Very inspiring! Loved it!)



4-'Extra Credit' By Andrew Clements (Really shows the difference in life between the US and the Middle East.)



5- 'Island of the Blue Dolphins' by- Scott O'Dell (Very well written! Sad when the girl's brother dies.)
I read this in 5th grade.


6- 'Mara, Daughter of the Nile' by-Eloise Jarvis McGraw (Very intriguing! Set in Ancient Egypt. I reccomend this mostly for a girl, but a boy could read it too. This one I read in 7th grade)




Okay, people, only 4 MORE!!

7-' Golden Goblet' also by Eloise Jarvis McGraw, and also set in ancient Egypt. This one I reccomend for boys and girls. (7th grade)



8- 'Mystery of History' by- Linda Lacour Hobar (This is a history book, but it is written like stories, not like a history textbook)



(I think there is more but I can't be sure...)

9-' A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver' By E.L. Konigsburg. I know, I've already mentioned it, BUT IT WAS A GOOD BOOK!!! (7th grade)



10- ' White Stallion of Lipizza' by Margurite Henry It was very good!







There. I'm all done. You can click on the pictures and buy the books on Amazon.com.