HAILEYANELA

I've been having growing pains. Not the physical ones, but the ones that are forcing me to stretch  beyond my bubble of familiarity. They're of the emotional sort; pushing me to adapt and become  accustomed to a paradoxical norm. Those pesky pains inflict a hollow, emotional ache that floods my  chest as I longingly look back at still-beating memories. Change and growth are inevitable but I  haven't quite learned how to appreciate the moment. That short moment where everyone is all smiles,  devoid of concern and blissfully unaware of the fact that the happiness will fade. People grow up and  grow apart, and that close-knit fellowship will cease to exist. But in that moment it's alive. It's pulsing  with an energy unseen, an energy that infuses inside jokes, pillow talks, and wordless looks. It's an  energy that dismally dims with time. Oh, but how I miss it. halloween '13. rileigh behind the lens.

For our first official FHE activity we decided to head out to Beaver Dick ( a little campsite along the edge of the Snake River) and have a bonfire and do a bit of bonding. Unfortunately not all of our bros were able to make it out due to homework and girlfriends, but we still love them dearly despite the fact they abandoned us. just kidding.  but really. So we started a fire. Actually our Eagle Scout Brothers had to start it because Rileigh and I are completely incapable of starting one without the help of a little gasoline. Next came the mallows. Last semester we had gone on a date to Beaver Dick and made s'mores and our dates had the ingenious idea of roasting a mallow and sandwiching it between two Keebler cookies. OH MY DELICIOUS. So we recreated those little beauties and had a ball.  When our fire died down someone had the fantastic idea to tromp through the wilderness and do some "moonlight exploring". Okay exploring turned out to be us running and hiding betwee...

just a  glimpse at my extraordinarily crazy summer. a word to describe this summer: wow. these past few months have just gone by in a complete blur. when I finished up my freshman year of college at BYU-I in april I felt like my summer was stretched out before me with a million different possibilities and a trillion days before I could even think about going back to school.  when I first came home it was different to say the least . I felt like the entire world had just shifted on it's axis and everything was topsy-turvy. I got a job, and realized I hated it in the same week. For the most part a lot of my high school friends were still back at college. And the new friends that I had made while in Rexburg, the ones that had seen be grow and change in those crazy 7 months, weren't by my side anymore. To put it lightly, I was incredibly lonely. So to ease my sense of misplacement and confusion I chose to adventure up to Provo, UT and enroll in BYU summer session. ...

for our last summer fling before I leave to college, my family decided that we wanted to adventure to disneyland! sure I may in fact be nineteen years old, but for me the disney magic and happiness never dies, and is honestly irreplaceable. I was slightly hesitant to go on a friday and saturday; dreading that the lines would be never-ending and the summer heat unbearable ( like the summer's first d-land trip ) BUT to my complete astonishment and uncontainable joy, the lines were nearly nonexistent and the weather was beautifully mild! I'd like to believe that cali was giving me a sweet lil' good bye present. xoxo driving at night>>> home. a very rare picture of my little sis Skyler. our love of all things disney is perfectly displayed in our facials expressions. I'm obviously the biggest fan. the best way to end a night. SPRINKLES FOR DAYS. gas is totally cheaper in cali. the essentials. let it be known that I had to purchas...

As I was thinking about what genre of favorites I wanted to write about I figured people in my life would be the place to start. (please remember even if you're not listed I still love you lots). July was a semi-rough month for me, so to have these lovely humans by my side through it all made it all the more sweeter. So topping my list is obviously my fantastic (in every possible way) mother. I just love her to pieces! and her quirky text messages and failed use of "text lingo" and poor emoji choice always make me laugh. next is my dear sweet piece of rye bread. Oh gosh how I adore her. I'm so grateful to have a friend like her to always text me and remind me that I'm loved and her countless letters are                                                                   ...

Because sometimes all you need is a spontaneous adventure to kickstart your summer. A big thank you to my superb friends for not getting tired of me and always laughing at my dumb "what if" scenarios. You're the bestest. p.s. even though it was extremely hot, and the lines were crazy long, and Tyler got burned like a lobster, and there were crazy high schoolers running amuck (like who invited you?), and we were forced to nap on the couch in Innoventions, I wouldn't undo the trip one bit!

When you typically think of Valentine's Day you imagine yummy chocolates, a bouquet of fresh roses, an enormous over-priced stuffed teddy bear, and maybe even something sparkly. Valentine's  Day has always been catered to couples and love and mushy feelings. The girl is supposed to dress up  (red lipstick is a must) and the guy is charged with the "responsibility" to get his girlfriend the  perfect gifts, which are to be "presented" at school so that the entire student body can "oooo" and  "ahhhh" over how much he actually cares for and "loves" his girlfriend. And for those that don't have someone to fawn over them are generally left in the shadows to be  forgotten by the entire "love industry". Rare are the gifts exchanged between friends to show  affection and care. The entire holiday has been grossly exploited and blown completely out of  proportion. You should love and admire...

I feel like Im about to die. Literally these past few weeks and especially now my entire life is flashing before my eyes. I remember chasing around my kindergarden crush around the playground until he cornered me and my friends. I remember in first grade my bestfriend Kaitlyn and I would eat lunch as fast as we could so we could spend as much time playing hopscotch to our own rules. I remember when being 6 was the best thing in the entire world because all I had to worry about was getting my routine right for the school talent show. I remember getting my tonsils out in second grade. I remember having the new teacher in third grade and she never taught us cursive and it was the year I got glasses. In fourth grade I remember art class and how watercolor was something I pretended to be good at. I remember in fifth grade I swore my classmates were the best and nothing could go wrong until my best passed away. I remember sixth, seventh and eighth grade were a blur of awkward moments, weird ...

I have this bestfriend. We've been best friends for about 11 years, but right after Joe and I started dating it was hard for me to split up my time between my first boyfriend and my bestfriend. But this past summer I did a really bad job of keeping in touch with her and a ton of drama went down between us so I was frustrated and upset and wanted to go off to college without so much as a goodbye. I knew I had to see her again before I left so I timidly made dinner plans with her and expected the worst. I went and picked her up and right from the start we were talking like there had been nothing wrong between us. We went out to Cafe Rio and sat, talked, and ate until past closing. It all felt so natural and easy. I didn't feel uncomfortable and I realized that I had truly missed being around her. I took her home and we spent another 2 hours laughing in my car watching vines and talking about typical girl drama. With only a week before I go up to the cold icy land of Idaho, I real...