Prom 2011

Benji took me to Prom this year. I have to say, my dress was pretty stunning! We went out to eat at a fancy Italian restaurant at Riverwoods, and then to the dance. The dance was held at Primrose Retreat; the perfect place! I had a great time. I hope he did too. I think he did, because Hopper told me later he had never seen Ben smile so much in his life. :)

Oito!

Spring break was so much fun! I went camping in southern Utah with the Williams, need I say more? Well... not really, but I'm going to anyway. 

We first went to capitol reef and staid in a campground called Fruita (seriously, I don't know what these crazy mormon settlers were thinking, when they named their town that!) Anyway, we went on several short hikes. Little Miles and Hope were always wanting to hold my hand. I think they were kind of getting on Chloe's nerves, but I thought they were super cute. I also carried Aiden on my shoulders through one of the hikes. We also visited the Fruita school and Pride Rock.

 We also went to visit some Uranium mines, which were full of radiation... don't worry though, Chloe and I are immune.

Whenever we loaded up the van, the Williams kids would count off. I became number 8. 8 in Portuguese is Oito. Good times, good times. 

The third day we went to Bryce Canyon. It is so pretty there! We went on some more hikes, and on that third night, we slept in a cabin. Playing games with the Williams' is really fun. We played mafia, California Speed (I actually beat Chloe once!!), and Chloe taught me how to play a game called cribbage. It was really fun!

Thank you Chloe, for the BEST Spring Break ever!

I'm Craving a Shake

Mr. Michael James Brooks, I'm sure glad that you said something, because there's no way that I would've ever come out and said it. :)

6th Annual Bob White Invitational

On Friday, March 25th, my dad drove Blake and I to compete in the 6th Annual Bob White Invitational the following day. The Bob White Tournament in Huntington Beach, was very intense. I did not place in anything- actually, no one from BLK placed. If Bao would have skipped whatever band event he had, and joined us, he definitely would have. Here's a list about the going ons of the Tournament:

• Bob White is an old guy with a hunch back
• I competed in forms, sparring, and team sparring
• There were three asian girls who were absolutely amazing in the kata division. Their forms were extremely intricate, they had strange hip movements and they hissed like snakes. Two of the three placed. They kicked butt!
• I slaughtered my form :( Sad, but true. I always get so nervous.... I messed up multiple times. When the division was over, it took all I had inside to keep from crying.
• Sam and I were on a team for sparring, along with another a cute kid named Zack. I felt a little bad for Zack, but he was a good sport about being placed on a team with two extremely nervous girls.
• Sam was kicked in the nose during her first match. It kept her from competing in individual sparring. We later found out that it was broken. 
• I did pretty well in team sparring. I lost, 6-7, due to some unfair points that were called against me. (Even Master Lawrence said so) I felt good about the match though. My confidence and performance are all thanks to Michael.
• There was a demo team from Idaho I believe. There demo was purely self-defense, and it looked mega painful. I would not want to meet a single one of those people in a dark ally way. Take that back, I wouldn't even want to meet them in a light ally way. Haha
• In individual sparring, I was put up against a third place world champion. I had no chance. I did score two point however. I was eliminated the first round.
• Michael Bartold was awesome in Sparring! He won his first three matches! He was doing fantastic until he got kicked in his already injured ribs. Even after that however, he should have won the next match. Anyone could tell you that. I swear the judges were biased against him. 

This was the first time I have ever competed (or even seen for that matter) an open tournament. It was a great learning experience. Now that I know what they are like and what to expect, I would like to compete again in the future. 

Once the tournament was over, I begged him to go to the beach. He agreed, so we went to see the ocean along with my grandparents, Blake, Sam and her dad. Grandma Decker had filmed my form, and was planning on sending it to my relatives, but I told her film me one more time on the beach and send them that one instead. That way, they wouldn't have to see all my many mistakes. For your entertainment, here are two videos that were taken on the beach, along with some photos from our trip to Cali. 

Nevermind. Vidoes not working. grrr.

Confidence?.. Uh.. Sure

Michael has been sparring with me practically every night, with hopes that I might actually have a chance at Saturday's tournament. Ha.. right... When we practice, Michael let's me win a lot. Let is the key word here. I've seen Michael spar for real, and trust me he could kick my trash. I doubt I would be able to score one lousy point!

Anyways, he always gets hyped up about how great I'm doing, and that I'm going to do really well in Cali. I'm sure he can read my doubtful expression, but he just goes on:

"Haley, your Two One Blitz is amazing!"

"Haley, your going to do so great!"

"Haley, you've gained so much confidence!"

Tonight he even got Jess to join in the flattery. I appreciate what he's trying to do, but sometimes I just want to strangle him until he admits all his lies; until he admits I'm going to get dominated in the sparring division. I'd tell him myself, but he'd just get upset, and that would break my heart. Especially after all the time he's spent dedicated to preparing me.

I'm glad I have a friend like Michael. I'm also a little scared that I like him a little too much... When all's said and done, I'm going to miss these sparring evenings.

What Time Is It?

Ever since we changed our clocks back, both my car and bedroom clock are correct; it's driving me CRAZY! Before the time change, my bedroom clock was ten minutes fast, and the clock in my car was 60 minutes fast. I've lived with these clocks for months, and grew used to them. When I get ready for school in the morning or karate after, I'd always plan on the extra ten minutes to drive to the places I need to go. I no longer have those exta minutes now that my clock is on time. Because of this, I've been tardy to Ednet atleast three times within the last week! I think I'm going to set them so they're off again. Life will be much simpler. ;)

Ironed Money

Today was a great day. I passed the first of my three tests to reach my third degree!Wahoo! :) Thank goodness for Michael Brooks, who was there encouraging me throughout the physical portion. For reasons I won't go into, the physical was extra difficult today, and it's because of Michael that I made it through the crushing self inflicted torture! I was seriously tempted to run and give him a hug when he had to take off early... but I doubt the Lawrence's would've approved.

Later this afternoon, I helped Sam out with a birthday party. She did an awesome job, especially when you look at the rambunctious children we were forced to deal with.

Christian, my reckless neighbor is coming home from the hospital tomorrow. The kid fell 70-80 ft in Moab earlier this week. He was life flighted to a hospital in Colorado. It's a miracle that he didn't die. This is definitely a manifestation of God's hand in preserving his life.

Later tonight, Sam invited me to come with her, Hannah, Nathan and Bao to the movies. I feel bad, because I'd already had plans to hang with Chloe, but I kind of blew her off. Well actually, I wanted her to come with me, but I could tell that she wasn't too fond of the idea of hanging out with people she hardly knew. I promise, I'm going to make it up to her soon.

To my great disappointment, Bao never came. It is probably a good thing that he skipped out on the event, on the account that I most likely would have returned from tonight's excursion with an aching heart. It's actually his 17th birthday tomorrow. I got him a gift certificate to Cold Stone, and dropped it off in his mailbox on the way home from Orem.

The movie that we decided to see is called The Adjustment Bureau. This movie was very well done! (I'm not saying that just because Matt Damon was in it, though that definitely contributed. hehe) If you have not seen it, I highly recommend it. Best movie I've seen in quite a  while.

Nathan Starley. Interesting kid, no doubt... In my phone he is listed as Negative Nathan. Every time I hang out with him, he proves just how perfect the given name is; truly fitting. He complains constantly! Tonight he wore white skinny pants, and we received several stares. He also informed me, Sam and Hannah how he couldn't stand crinkled dollar bills, and resorted to ironing them. Yes. Ironing! On an actual ironing board! It took me a moment for my laughing to subside after the latter comment was stated. This kid is insane! Who in their right mind takes the time to iron their money?? Hahaha

After the movie, we dropped in at Tani's house where he was holding night games. Naakaii, the poor kid was sitting in his car with his mom having a talk. He was crying; I would have never before believed it, if I had not witnessed it myself. I think it's safe to say that as of tonight, my irrational sense of intimidation that always seems to bite at me when in his presence, has evaporated. Naakaii is such a tough and admirable person. I hope he'll soon be able to escape whatever trials are in his path.

To conclude the evening, we went to Cold Stone to wait until Sam's boyfriend, Jake, got off work. We all shared a bowl of chocolate ice cream, and told stories. Jake is really nice. They make a really cute couple. Jake informed us how on slow days the employees held ice cream wars. If I didn't have a job at karate, I think Cold Stone would be an entertaining place to work.

The epic night came to an end, and after I dropped my friends off, I took the tedious drive home in the rain. It was a scary experience, but I made it home in one piece, so we're good. Tonight was really fun! I had the great opportunity of getting to know Sam and Hannah. We'll have to repeat our outing sometime soon.