Tay Tay

I absolutely love tay swift. She will forever be my favorite.. along with Johnny boy Mayer. The concert was incredible... Quite unbelievable to even try to explain. I walked away one happy girl that night and officially say it was the best birthday present everrr. Thank you daddy! Let me say.. tay is an amazing performer.. she played the piano, ukulele, guitar, bass, and wrote all her songs. so awesome. Her rendition of Fearless on the uke made my heart happy.

She sang a song i have never heard before.. it is my new favorite and explains exactly my life right now. so have a listen.. it's a definite ear pleaser.



Life makes love look hard....

Goin on a limb

i have been thinking a lot lately. Ya know what bugs? and with out a doubt everyyyone does it? myself included? well...this is going to take a lot of explaining. 

Why does everyone always have an opinion about who should date who, who goes well together, who absolutely should not date, and who one should marry..etc? It drives me crazyyyy. People do it all the time. "like what is she doing..?".... "He isnt good for her..."....."They are perfect together why did he end it?"..."oh my gosh she totally should date that other guy"...."you guys are like the perfect couple"... "why would you do that?".... blah blah blah. I am so sick of it. I know i have done it before too everyone is guilty. But now that i am on the other side of the criticism it hits all too close to home. I get that people want me to be happy. I get that people will always have an opinion of what is best for me. I get that. i get it all. What i dont get is why.. if.. [ultimately] people want me to be happy.. then why are they sooo critical? It's not their life. Who i date, hang out with, or marry, will not directly affect anyone besides myself and my future family. That alone is enough pressure right? 

I know i am guilty too. everyone is in one way or another. No one ever knows what someone else's relationship is like. Only two people are involved in those relationships.. and in the end those two people are who matter most. Are they happy? Are they good for each other? We can assume, and have our opinions, but in the end we should put all our efforts toward supporting them. Go along with them on the ride of  new, fun, relationships. Life is about learning and improving. We can all learn and improve from our friends and their experiences. 

i vow to change. i will judge less, be less opinionated on friends choices, and support them in their challenges. We can all improve, and we need to improve.  Because in the end.. all we will have left are the relationships we have built. So scrutinize less, be slower to judge, and be quicker to lend a supporting hand.

In case you didnt know..

Vampire Diaries is seriously the bestttt show everrrr. I know.. i will admit.. it sounds super cheesy and way Twilight spin off like.. but it is sooo much better than twilight. i promise. The first season starts out slow but picks up quick. They just started season two so hurry and catch up! I have the dvd's.. lemme know if you need to borrow.
Ps... the men.. umm ok SUPER attractive. And Elena.. the main character.. she is so just awesome too. Check it people!

Lovin my Utes!

For those of you that dont know... i am a HUGE Utah fan. I love the Utes. Ever since i can remember my family has been going to the Utah games. So when i decided to transfer to the U last fall.... joining the MUSS was an obvious decision. 

Now because the Utes have joined the PAC 12 the games are that much more important! Scottie and I scored with our Muss seats this year... and sneaking benjamin into our section is fun too.

heading to the airport to catch our flight to LA!

Ben and I were lucky enough to head to Cali for the USC game. Too bad our Utes lost! but it was sucha fun game and we were still way happy to go! Plus seeing the Andrizzi's was fun too!

USC's stadium can hold up to like 101,500 people..wayyyy over DOUBLE what Rice Eccles holds...

HOLY! can i just say that the Coliseum is INSANE! WAY HUGE. WAY TOO MANY USC FANS.

 We were also lucky enough to get BYU tickets in the MUSS section. Let's be honest... i dont even need to say much about that game... except it was sooo fun watching the cougs get 'jimmered'. hahahahahaha LOVE MY UTES

 How sad is that really though? i mean we left when the score was like this... add in two more touchdowns? Seriously. I feel bad for those cougars........

Next weekend is the homecoming game. I can't wait! i actually think i am going to the game with my new sorority sisters... but ohhhhhh i havent even told you about them yet! Have no fear.. that post will be coming soon. :) GOOO UTES!

A creeper that's creepin

Yesterday i got this random gem:

whoever it is emailing me is definitely a nice person.. but ok...? Really people? Am i the ONLY one that thinks this is a little weird? Does she really think i am going to give her his number? even if we weren't together? hahah people these days and their social network creepin. 

By the way.. the weirdest part of this whole thing.. i never even use the email that it was sent to. It's not attached to my facebook, or blog. I never send emails to anyone from that email. The only time i ever even used that email was to email ben on sunday nights while he was gone.  So i have NO idea how she got my email. And i have NO idea who Bella is. Perfect right? Anyway i'll keep you posted on my cute new virtual friend. 

My Dear Friend Godfrey

I have come to realize that in the past i have been horrible about telling my stories from my many travels. I always write about how excited i am for my trips.. but then leave you hanging with nothing ever really said about them. I have thought hard about why i do that.. and i have come to think that it is because i honestly dont know how to write about the things i saw, the people i met, the amazing smells i smelt, the thing i did, and so forth. It is so hard to do these things justice. They are so near and dear to my heart that it is hard to express just how much i love the people of Kenya. However, i feel that now that i have been home for 2 and a half months it is that time. The time to share.

When i went to Kenya back in 2010 i fell in love to say the least. Africa is truly magical. Anyone who has been there will agree with me. We went to a school where we had previously done a water harvesting project so the children could have water to wash their hands. After teaching, we got to play with the kids for longer than usual. At first i remember being followed around by 4 girls.. and all they wanted me to do was sing, dance, and be crazy for them. This happened at nearly every school... the girls were very outgoing and wanted to play with us, while the boys would just run off and play soccer. Well anyone who knows me well knows that i would rather be playing soccer any day than sing, dance etc. Those things just arent my forte. So i eventually snuck away and found a little boy playing soccer. We started playing together and before i knew it every boy at the school was watching me play soccer with my dear little friend, Ezra. Ezra had two other little friends, Godfrey, and Evans. I instantly fell in love with these boys. We ended up playing soccer together for a good 2-3 hours. I skipped lunch that day so i could keep playing. We set up a little field and played 1v1 and we set up a goal and shot penalty kicks. While this kids couldnt really speak english well, we communicated very well with each other. We celebrated when we scored on each other and i joked that a girl beat them in soccer. Even though they couldnt speak back, i knew they understood what i said to them.

Can you even see me? hahah :)  and the ball we played with?... a bundle of plastic bags wrapped with string. You can see it held up on the left side of the picture..

The time came and it was time for us to leave. My heart honestly hurt because i knew the odds of me seeing them again were virtually nothing. I remember sitting in our van and saying a silent prayer that i would be able to see them again someday. I will be the first to admit that i was certain it would be in the after life. I cried that night because i was so sad that i wouldnt see them for so long.

(2010) Godfrey. Evans. (creeper). Haley. Ezra.

Fast forward to 2011. This year i had the amazing opportunity to go back to Kenya as an assistant team leader. We were going to be serving in 2 different areas of kenya, one of which was the same area i was in the summer before. I made sure that we would go back to the school where the water harvesting project was done... You know... to check up on the project. :) obviously i had other motives. As we drove to that school i was so excited i could hardly handle myself. We pulled up and instantly our vans are surrounded by the school children. I kept looking and i saw one that looked a little familiar. He looked different but i could have sworn it was Godfrey. I saw him whisper to his friends and then point in my direction. But every time i looked in their direction they would look away! The younger children of the school were performing a welcome dance for us and finally i got the nerve to sneak away and grab my little friend. I grabbed his arm and said as i pointed at him "are you godfrey? you are godfrey?" and instantly he had the biggest smile come over his face! He responded "futbol! we play futbol!" Oh my gosh i am crying right now just writing this. I was so happy ..he remembered me! He knew who i was and remembered the time we shared the year previous. I'll be honest Godfrey was my favorite of the three boys.. he would laugh at the things i said and i knew he understood my english. he would joke with me and had a smile that melted my heart. i asked him where his friends were and he told me that they were at home. I was obviously sad about that, but i couldnt stop smiling all day. His english was much better this year and he could communicate with me very easily. He told me he would tell them hello for me. It was seriously the coolest thing ever. We took a picture and i gave him a hug before i left.

(2011) Godfrey and i. not the greatest picture of him.. but one of my favorites from the trip.

Once again.. as soon as i got in the van i started crying. Up to that point in my day, everything had gone wrong. The other team leader was sick so i was left to direct the team alone for the day. (SCARY!) haha.  We were behind schedule and i was stressed. How quickly the Lord can turn your day around! I cant express how much that small little tender mercy meant to me that day. And not just that day, but it still affects me today. I know my Heavenly Father hears my prayers. He is aware of our wants and desires. He knows how to makes us happy if we will just let him. I am so grateful for the opportunity i had to see Godfrey again, and i know that someday i will be reunited with all my dear little friends from Kenya!

I needed this today

"On the road toward salvation let questions arise, never doubts. 
If something is wrong, God will give you clarity... 
but never doubts." -Elder Busche-- Quorum of the seventy

Thank you Kelli  for the sweet reminder. love your blog.


And to all my followers.. i have some good posts coming. I am welcoming myself back to the blogging world after a nice little break.

just missin this place and these kids today...

Busy Bees!

Welllll the past few weeks have seriously come and gone. It is sooo crazy to me to think that ben has only been home for ONE month. yeah i know you were just as surprised as i was. Time has just flown by. But with that being said things are great and i couldnt be happier. We've done a lot of fun things so let me just tell ya about some of them ok? ..k cool....

The crew. on the soaking wet grass. loveee wet butt marks.

 We had a date night to the bee's game... summer list.. check off! i love baseball and even though the majority of the night was spent socializing, the game was still a blast. The bee's came back and won quite the intense little game!

my girls: Whit & Jess

 Ben and i have been boating a couple of times. His family loves to boat so whenever we get the chance we take advantage! Tubing is my absolute favorite thing and i have to say i was surprised when i got up on the wake board. yeahhhh baby.

Boating pics are always so attractive.

 My dear friend Jacie got married in St. George. So of course, it was natural that we would drive down for it. And even more natural that ben would come along.

Jacie was our next door neighbor my freshman year. She was the first person to come welcome us to our apartment complex and the first person to really seem to want to be our friend. She is so great and her and her husband Danny are perfect for each other.

The gorgeous Bride

That same week was the annual Kamas Demolition Derby. Carson's family goes every year and they invited Ben and I to come tag along with them. We spent the 24th of July weekend in Park city.. doing fun things like shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping... well you get the idea. The boys were loving their lives! k kidding obvi. But we really had so much fun riding the Alping Roller Coaster, shoppin at the outlets, going to the derby, swimming, and eating 2914890328498 chocolate chip cookies.

just waitin in line for the coaster. Ps WAYYYY better than the alpine slide. just fyi

The derby with heather, Cars, and benny booo

Ben and cars have always been besties and this picture just shows how big of nerds they are. Heather and i were off getting ready for the night.. and when we came out this is how we found our cute boyfriends.....

In 'towels' watching sports center. Quite a contradiction dont you think? hahaha
 They are such spazzes. But we still love them anyway :)

Right now i am job searching. So if any of you have hook ups in marketing/advertising/event planning please please please let me know! Alsooo ben and i are planning two little trips.. one to lake powell and one to Cali! you are jealous i know. But hey school starts in two weeks and we gotta do fun things before all the misery starts! 

There was this one time...

... ben surprised me with these cute things:

... i had never even tried the pair on. In his words... "i saw them and thought they were too dang cute for you not to have!" How lucky can a girl get? seriously i dont know how i ever snagged him up.

I would say he is a keeper.. wouldn't you?

week of events

Last week was absolutely crazy! And his week is going to be even worse... but a good worse of course! Things are just busy. i feel like i have sooo much to update you on.

First off.. things with benjamin are so great. It is almost like he was never gone. I would have never expected it to be like that and thinking about how normal things are kinda weirds me out, but hey i am definitely not complaining. He is finally feeling better and isn't as sick anymore, so we have been able to do some fun things.

Thursday Mike and McKinzy got married. Ben was a groomsman--mike and him have been friends since they were tiny little guys. The bridal party was asked to learn a specific line dance to preform at the reception so of course, Benny and i were up late trying to learn the dance the night before the wedding. So funny. The wedding was so fun and unique. i LOVED it. I dont have a picture of the happy couple but just trust me on this one.. they looked fabulous and superrrr happy.

Just leaving the wedding with my handsome groomsman

Friday i had the much anticipated final Omega Retreat. We officers had put a lot of work into this weekend get away and everything turned out amazingly. It was so fun catching up with my fellow "O gals", relax, and party. Omega retreats are always filled with tons of food, games, music video making, and gossiping (only the good gossip of course). It was seriously a blast! We had already decided on our theme and designed our t-shirts for next year... so deciding what to spending our budget on was a no brainer! the theme?...."Just Do It"..  with the three ideals incorporated we thought...just do service, just do sisterhood, just do omega. I dunno it was going to be soo cute but i am really glad we still ended up doing our shirts for the year! The back of the shirt is my favorite and i didnt even get a picture of it! booo.

the cabin was decorated with all our cute Omega stuff... 

Some of the girls just before we went on our sunset walk

The whole crew besides our sweet advisor 

Scottie and i throwin up some cheers for OMEGA

The O girls in our cute shirts

 Saturday was also a busy day! My dear childhood friend Lindsey got married... [a beta girl of course, and she looked beautiful ps].. and i guest played in an indoor soccer game. PLUS it was Draper Days. Which means.. fireworks, lots of scantily dressed high schoolers, games, music, friends, food, and too many people crammed into a small area. Ben and i went together and met up with lots of our close friends. It was a fun night and we both went home exhausted.

sometimes we do the same faces on accident

Draper dayss 

Sunday was the day we have all been waiting for! Not only was it the world cup finals [which by the way sucked massively].. but it was also ben's homecoming. He did such a great job and i loved hearing him talk so dearly about his mission. He summed up the day pretty well when he whispered to me.. "Homecomings are just a whole lot better than farewells." I have to say, i couldn't agree more!

well this is the best i can do.. our pics from the homecoming didnt turn out great....

Well that sums up my life in the last week.. this week we have a possible boating trip, a quick vaca to st geez for Jacie's wedding, and the DERBY in Park city with Carson's family. I can't even waittttttttt

peace n blessingsssssss

prepare yourselves..

....for some Giraffe Lovin'


Giraffe Lovin from Haley Hansen on Vimeo.

sorry it is super skinny.. i filmed it on my ipod touch.
and just excuse my annoying voice at the beginning.. and also excuse the fact that the food dropped down my shirt during my first attempt..

sunday night

Normally on a sunday night like tonight i would be typing away at my computer hurrying to get a good email sent off to Elder Woolf.



But tonight....

...instead of staying up late writing Benjamin

.... i stayed up late cuddling with  him instead. 

:) 

The Scoop

Well its true.. benjamin is back. and greater than ever. Monday he got home from Orlando where he had been vacationing with his family for the past week. His mother had texted me and told me that he wanted me at the airport and that i had better be at the bottom of the escalators around 8pm. I got ready and decided to wear a new Lauren Conrad brand shirt (of course).. that my mom had bought me while i was on the other side of the world. I rode to the airport with Carson (ben's brother from another mother), his girlfriend Heather, and his parents- Scott and Wendy.  Honestly i wasnt too anxious or nervous that whole day. I was so excited and could hardly wait to see him. Once i got to the airport though, everything changed. i was nervous and unsure about how everything was going to work out. It didn't last long once i came to grips with what was actually going to happen! i mean... it was a happy day! there was no need to be worried. Some of his extended family showed up to surprise him as he came off the plane and so that eased my nerves a bit too.

The first hug :)

There he came.. the last one down the elevator in his cute white shirt and tie.. His family started screaming and jumping up and down. I dont even really remember what my reaction was.. all i know is that i couldn't stop smiling! after hello's to all his aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents, he came walking over to our small little group. I was somewhat relieved when Carson jumped out first to give him a big hug, which then led mike to offer up the next. All while i was just standing there grinning from ear to ear in complete shock that i was starring at my dear elder woolf. After hugging mike he gave me possibly the best hug in the world! Wrapped me up and just held on tight. i didnt even know how to react. I just know i couldnt stop smiling. We sat there for a long time... (at least it seemed like it.. and i can't say that i minded) and then he let go and went and said hi to carson's family. It was sort of chaos from then on out but eventually things calmed down and we left the airport. i rode with his family up to his house, where all of us met back up and hung out until later. He was so stinkin cute and i was on cloud nine all night. Yesterday morning i had to make sure it wasn't a dream when i woke up.. it was the weirdest feeling everrrr.

L-R:
Mike's fiance Makinzy, Mike, Haley, Ben, Carson, Heather

Anyway he got officially released yesterday morning and last night we went on a little date to Rio and a movie. It is indescribable the way it feels to be with him again. I can't even begin to say how happy it makes me. I am constantly a giddy little school girl! Life is the best with my boy next to my side! :)

he's home!!!

The story will come shortly cuz i am just too tired tonight.

 but just know...

i am on cloud nine :)

Just so you know....

5 airports, 4 planes, and 26 hours later..... I am home. Finally. never doing that travel arrangement againnnn.


anddddd

...i am heading to the airport tonight to see the lovely Elder Woolf. How great.

LOTS of updates coming soon. Prepare yourselves people.

Ciao from Italia!

Italy is beautiful! i am absolutely loving it here. The sights are gorgeous and nothing beats spending time with family. 

On the Island of Capri

Eating lunch in Sorrento
The prettiest views i have ever seen! The water is soo blue!

in sorrento doing some shoppin
The lemons are gigantic.

Tomorrow we have some shopping and other fun things while saturday we have ROME! so stoked.

.....and....Simply for your viewing pleasure..

..What a glorious sight right? we like to call these ladies the "Italian Momma's"

...Every day they go out to the beach and sit on these rocks.. do-rags and all. so great

Airport thoughts

Welp i have been sitting here for the past 5 hours.. here being the London airport, and i have had quite a bit of time to think. This post is a little look into the mind of Haley Hansen in the last couple hours, and might i also add.. i still have 4 more until i can board my flight. yay.

...................

Why do people think it is acceptable to walk around airports barefoot? i mean i understand the whole security check point jazz.. but seriously! people. keep your shoes on. i dont want to stare at your nasty feet. Oh and also.. picking the lint out from between your toes is also completely unacceptable! gag me.

guessing where people are from is quite a fun game. even though i never muster up the courage to ask them, i am pretty sure that i have been right 100% of the time.

This stupid ding dong alert noise for announcements gets old after the first 3 times you hear it. It reminds me of the movie Grease when the lady dings the little bell before she makes the morning announcements. I laugh. If i could be the bell ringer i think the people of this airport would be a lot more amused.

This "charging station" is a piece of crap. Half the time it works. Half the time it doesn't.

I want to sleep but i am so scared i will sleep through my flight. .... 4 hours away? i have issues.

So sad to have left Kenya. It is a place i thought i would only visit once. I have now made friends, and maintained relationships that i can't even wait to go back again.

Feeling extremely blessed to have the gospel in my life. out of the thousands of people in this airport i might be the only one with the whole truth.

Missed the brother opening his mission call. Guatemala City North mission. How sweet. His shaking voice as he was opening the call over the phone was the most adorable thing i have ever heard.

Obsessed with Carrie Underwood's cd this past few weeks. love her. Oh and He is We. Love them too.

Can't wait to see my cute little cousins and family in Italy. If only this flight would hurry the freak up.

Ben will be in America in 3 days. I will see him in 9. i am full of so many emotions its impossible to explain. Hopefully i will talk to him before we see each other.

Cafe Rio sounds AMAZING. I am so hungry for good food! ....maybe i should get food.. but spending 15 bucks on lunch does not sound appealing.

Kali had ankle surgery while i was gone.. i wonder how our room looks?

Slightly still mad at the security lady who took my travel sized bottle of contact solution. How could i manage to get through security 4 other times with it.. but suddenly it isnt ok? anger.

Saddened that my sorority has called quits. Not quite sure on the details but the First Presidency made the decision so it must be right. still sad though.

So excited for Ute football games. Scottie and i couldnt stop talking about it this whole trip!

my traps are killing me. i think all this stress has finally caught up with me!... i get this issue from my mother.

i am craving a good run right now. hahah maybe i will take a lap around my row of chairs. next to this blasted charging station!

Laughing at the thought of our hotel in nairobi. Next to a legit African night club. Now that is a story for another time.

Amazed by the fact that i legit kissed a GIRAFFE. wanna see...? later for sure. it's on fb people. but i will post it for you followers i dont know. :)

And how about a pack of lions cuddling up to our safari van? incredible. that vid will come soon too.

...For now i am done. but soon enough you will hear all my stories from Africa and Italy. These few pics can hold you over until then. i hope all is well back in the good ol U.S. of A!

the darling children at Mundichiri primary school

Kissin the giraffe..  you're jealous i know

spending time with the Masai men. amazing.

These Lovelies..

were delivered to my doorstep on Saturday. Slightly confused, i read the little note that came along with them. "Happy 21st Birthday, thinking of you on our day" it read, with a few other sweet words also attached.. signed by who you ask?... "your boy in Mozambique".

Am i one lucky gal or what? Oh and don't worry... we are down to 28 days now. 

1 month!!!!!!!

Have it be known that today marks ONE month until i get to see dear elder Woolf. I have to say.. amidst all the chaos and total craziness of getting ready to go to Kenya, i can hardly focus. I am just so excited. i feel like two years worth of trying not to think about him coming home is definitely hitting me right now. hahah it is driving me crazy! 23:1 is the ratio now.. that seems doable right? Let me just say this.. going to back to Kenya will be my saving grace for the next month!!

Sister Conrow and BFF Haley

Well well well.. it seems as though i now have yet another missionary to write. i swear this list is never ending! just when i though i was going to be done writing one..in particular... i get to add another one to the list. This time i will be addressing my letters as 'Dear SISTER Conrow" instead of the usual 'Dear Elder so and soo'. I couldnt be more proud of this girl and i am so excited for her to serve in the Independence  Missouri Mission! Anyone know anyone else serving there? I love Paige and she is going to be the most amazing missionary!

The roommates of 6J... Whit. paige. Min. Hay.

Just ignore whit creepin in the window..

Now on to my next little bit of sad news.. my dear best friend Haley Dutson moved to Denver this week. It's a good thing we hit up 80's dancing for our last hoo-rah until August. Equipped with the overalls and all! Summer really isnt going to be the same with out her! This week has already been wayyyy tooooo slowwwww. But she is growing up and doing a sweet internship at a pharmacy up there. She is little miss smarty pants and will be applying to pharmacy school this fall! So cool.

In other Happy news! i leave for Kenya in one week. Can you say hello London, Kenya, and Italy?? WAYYY TOO EXCITED RIGHT NOW.

Just so. so. so. busy.