Crazy Hawaii Story

And here are all the pictures. I'll just post a bunch for you guys to look through. Hawaii was very fun! We had a great time with Nick's family and were able to do lots of fun activities together. We went to the Polynesian Culteral Center, snorkeled on a Catamaran trip, ate lots of yummy food, played on the beach a lot, boogy-boarded, pestered little crabs we would find on the beach, spent New Year's Eve watching fireworks off the beach in Waikiki, and enjoyed the swimming pool and hot tub at the beach house we stayed in. Others in the family did parasailing, deep sea fishing, and scuba diving. The weather was actually very rainy and stormy most of the time we were there. In fact, one evening the whole island lost power and it wasn't restored until the following morning! Another interesting thing we found out while staying there was that Obama was staying in a high-security beach house about a quarter mile down the beach from us! We walked down there and were stopped by two security guards in hawaiian shirts and dark sunglasses who told us to turn around. Nobody was allowed past the security guards down that part of the beach. Apparently the beach houses on either side of Obama's house had sharp-shooters and security personnel hiding out, ready to take anyone down who posed a threat! Crazy huh? One paparazzi was down there too, waiting to get a glimpse of Obama on the beach! Okay, well enjoy the pictures!

Hawaii Videos (Way Cool!)

Whales Diving Video!

Spinner Dolphin Video!

Another Spinner Dolphin Video! See why they call them "Spinner Dolphins"? Pretty cool huh?

HAWAII PICS COMING SOON!

Day 1 with the In-laws

Um...yeah so I am eating lunch a few days ago and am temporarily distracted by my father in-law who rushes past me with a shotgun under one arm and heads out the front door. From the front window I proceeded to watch him wait by the side of the road as cars pass (all staring at him and his shotgun with wide eyes) and then, with gun raised, he stood in the middle of the road and BAM! He shot 4 starlings out of the neighbor's tree! I was laughing pretty hard at all this! Apparently this is a daily occurence and happens as early as 6 in the morning sometimes! I'll try to secretly record his next shooting episode for y'all. 3 more weeks here until Nick and I move to good 'ol Rigby...I wonder what people do over there for fun?

Christmas Wish

Dear Santa,

My hands have been freezing
My toes are like ice
My nose is always sneezing
My head hasn't felt so nice

For Christmas I want to be warm
I want to feel sand between my toes
I want to swim in the deep blue sea
I want to be somewhere tropical (I've been good can't you see!)

If you send me to Hawaii
I'll be extra good next year
No more complaining about the cold
No more trying to grow out my leg hair

Thanks Santa.

Yours Truly,
Haley

Santa's Reply

Dear Haley,

You have been an extra good girl this year, go play!
To Hawaii you shall go
You'll run, swim, and laugh all day
Your worries will start to fade away

Just one request I make my dear
Before Hawaii please shave for I fear
You'll start complaining about the heat
And Hawaii no longer you'll think so neat!

Love, Santa

The Best Banana Bread I Have Ever Had!

I just got done talking to Tara on the phone and told her I would share this recipe with her. It is sooo good! I got it from one of Nick's relatives who got it from a friend in Boise...You will not regret making this banana bread recipe...Succulent, juicy, melts in your mouth...Here's the recipe:

Haley's Favorite Scrumtrulescent Banana Bread

3 C. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 C. butter
1 C. oil
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 C. sugar
3 bananas
1 C. buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract

Mix all ingredients together. Put in 2 greased bread loaf pans. Bake @ 350 degrees for 60 minutes!

Glaze
3/4 C. Sugar
1/4 C. prepared orange juice
1 Tbls. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract

Combine all ingredients and boil for 1 minute. Pour half over each loaf just as it comes out of the oven. Let stand 15 minutes then take out of loaf pans! Yummy! :)

*Here's a tip I heard: After mixing together all of the banana bread ingredients, let the mixture sit for 20 minutes before baking. This will make the banana flavor stand out more in the bread! (I tried this on a different banana bread recipe and it worked really well!)