Say Hello to the Good Byes

As I mentioned in a previous post, school is starting up soon. Tuesday to be exact. So it's time to start saying hello to the good byes.

Good bye to all of my great friends heading off to their fall semester of college.. including my big sister.

Good bye to summer, swim suits, and vacations.

Good bye to sleeping in until noon.

Good bye to a non-hectic schedule.

Good bye to staying out late on week nights and endless hours of Rock Band with Dad.

Good bye, good bye, good bye. I hate good byes.. well usually. :)

But now we have plently of hellos!

Hello to soccer, rugby, theater, choir, school friends, homecoming, football games, etc.

Hello to the Kissinger's Walk-A-Thon on September 19th. http://kckanenwishers.blogspot.com/

Hello to trick-or-treating and haunted houses.

Hello to NEW MOON! (Twilight.. if you didn't know that you have some serious catching up to do :) )

Hello, Hello, Hello. Have you noticed my attempt at optimism yet?

I have one last thing to share before I sign off.

The first time Noah has even said "CHEESE" to the camera for me. And with ice cream all over his mouth! How could I resist? :)

Love, Hunter Bug

Tender Mercies

Some of the greatest blessings in my life are the teeny tiny things that most people would find small or even strange if they happened upon them.

One example are the cute things the Ritter B's do for me.. that they probably don't realize they do. Everytime I see Jordie she gives me a big huge hug. What she doesn't realize is that her little act of kindness makes my day so much better, and she some how finds a way to give me these big hugs when I really need them the most. All of the Ritter B's are like that. :)

Another example occured today at a time when I least expected it. I was having one of those "down days" that everyone gets once in a while (or if you're like me.. a lot more than that!) and it came around to the time in Young Womens when we do our "spotlight" of the week; a leader describes a girl and we all guess who it is and that girl gets a candy bar. Well today I was the "spotlight" of the week, and when I got up, my Laurels teacher asked me to stand up front so she could read off some things that the girls had written about me a few months earlier. The list went like this: She is so AMAZING and so is her hair. She is like an older sister to me. She is a great role model. She is beautiful. She cares deeply for others. She is an example of spiritual strength. Hunter is so wonderful. She has such a great testimony of the gospel. She thinks about her friends and cares for them.
At that moment, I was completely flooded with joy and my heart was filled to the brim. These girls had written maybe 8 words about what they thought of me, and what they may think was insignificant meant the world to me.
My older sister, Chloe, is leaving for college this coming Saturday morning. It's the little things, like how we wrote silly notes back and forth during sacrament today, that I hold on to and hopefully never will forget.
Upon returning home from my best friend's funeral in December, I went up to my room to wash my face and looked up at my mirror, only to see the note she had written a few weeks earlier with a dry erase marker saying "I love my Hunter! Love, Megan".

A little while ago, I had a friend who was really struggling. I had a card with a strange, yet beautiful picture on the front. Inside the card I wrote to him what gets me through even the toughest times:
"What may seem small, insignifcant, or even strange in the beginning makes all the difference in the end."

Love, Hunter Bug

Gettin Ready

In the first couple weeks of August, this image can only mean one thing... Back to school time! Time to get refocused and get back into the "Staley Spirit" mood! I would say that I am pretty well prepared for this school year.. that is.. when it comes to being (as my friend Devin would say) "spiritual".

Don't you think? And this is NOT even close to everything. I guess you can say I have a lot of school spirit. :)

We went over to registration yesterday, and I'm feeling pretty good about my classes. I have a good set of teachers and I have my mind set on A's this year.. hopefully I can stick to it. Plus, (I'm going to remind my Mom about this) my Mom told me that if I get straight A's this year that she will buy me a jeep.. hmmmm.

Well today Rachel and I are soakin up the sun and trying to make the best out of our last few weeks of freedom. Aubrey Anderson!!! I encourage you to do the same! :)

Love, Hunter Bug

Home!

WE ARE HOME! It was nice to go to church and see everyone! Tons of warm smiles and welcome backs!


A couple of the cuties from our trip! Left to right: Lily, Chloe, Tonia, Melanie, and me!


Four-wheeling!

Bought new prom and homecoming dresses!

And of course spent time with our favorite Morgans! They tooks us to the 2009 MLS All-Star game! Although USA lost.. it was still fun!!

Love, Hunter Bug

Good Ol' Kansas City

Tomorrow morning we are heading out bright and early and headin' home. We have had an awesome time but, as most of us know, it eventually takes it's toll. For those of you don't know...We have done quite a bit of driving in the past two weeks. From Kansas City, Mo, to Tulelake, Ca then 6 hours up to the Oregon Coast, back down to Tulelake and over to Centerville, Ut. (Don't forget all of the little trips in between.) I guess you could say I have spent enough time in the car to last me a while. BUT it has been fun to see all of the family and.. Oh my! There is just so much to say!! When I get back and have some time to download pictures, I'll elaborate a little more on what the KC Kanenwishers have been up to. But for now, I need to head back up to the condo and finish packing for the 16 HOUR DRIVE to Kansas City. :)

Hope all has been well! Happy Late 17th Birthday to Aubrey!

Love, Hunter Bug

It's All Good

Been keepin pretty busy lately, but it's been fun! We are packing all day today and then tomorrow morning we head out to the Oregon coast for a family reunion. I haven't been psyched about going, but now I can't wait to get out of here! I am bummed about a few things that I haven't been too excited about missing; my best friend Rachel is a convert, of 1 1/2 years, to the church and she is giving her first talk in sacrament this Sunday. This may not seem to significant to some.. but this is a big deal for her and I'm sad I don't get to share that with her. Either way, with or without me there, she will do an excellent job.

Now for the movie of the... Oh geez. Who am I kidding? This one is going to be a tough one to beat in my book.
I'm not spoiling ANY part of this movie! All I can say is... go see it!!!!!!!!!!!! If you share my love of Harry Potter.. GO!!! We went to the midnight showing on Tuesday night, and even at 2 in the morning when your nerves are shot and you are exhausted, it is still awesome! And added on to the fact that the movie was amazing, we had one heck of a fun night to go with it!
(Left to Right) Jenni Ashcroft, Chloe, Bridger, and Me. The four of us (along with a couple people we didn't know, but immediately became friends with) made this one of the most memorable midnight showings ever!
This is Doe-Men-Tor. We never saw his face, or learned his real name.. but we thought that he was definitely one of the highlights of the night. He would hide in the dark or behind walls in the theater and scare people as they walked in. If you plan on mimicking his hilarious act, I would advise you on one thing that we all learned.... DON'T SCARE THE BIG FOOTBALL PLAYER WHILE HE IS ON A DATE! I bet if you really thought about it you could fill in the blanks. :)
This is Harry Potter. By the end of the night we learned his name was Dalton.. I think. But any who, he was also someone who made the night so memorable. His goal was to see how many pictures he could jump into by the end of the night. I can't remember how many, but he certainly succeeded.
Can YOU spot Harry Potter in these following pictures?

In the end the message is always the same.... GO SEE HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE! :)

Love, Hunter Bug

EFY!

You know when ever you have those amazing spiritual experiences and you want to tell someone all about it and how special it was to you, but there are no words and no way to describe it? I feel that exact way about EFY this week! This has probably been one of my top three spiritual and life changing experiences. I had so much fun and met so many new strong youth, while growing so close to the Savior and my Heavenly Father. My favorite part of the week was Tuesday and Wednesday. These were the days when we would go to a hour long class and listen to these awesome teachers that were chosen for the Columbia, MO session of EFY. For example, some of the classes I decided to attend were Finding Christ While Dodging Deception in the Latter-Days, Principles of Heaven, No Burden Too Great, Gospel Sunsets, Worldliness Never Was Happiness, Be Thou An Example of the Believers, Reaching To the One, and Overcoming Anger, Offense and Other Counter Attacks on Our Agency. I was absolutely shocked with the powerful spirit that I felt and how greatly the words of these wonderful teachers effected me.
Now here is the fun part. There can't possibly be an awesome EFY without.. PICTURES!!
This is my company.. PERISH NOT! All I can say about this group of youth is... WOW! I love all of them so much! And I hope to see them again next year.
This is Toni and I! She was in my company and is one of the most friendly and beautiful people I know!
This is my room mate Sarah. She lives in Oklahoma.. :( but she is such a powerful youth in the gospel and I am so thankful for her example throughout the week.
(Left to Right) Ryn, Toni, and Shiela. All girls from my company and look how beautiful they are!!! And their personalities match it too!
We had amazing counselors!
And extremely cute guys! This is Spencer Roberts.. my COW (Crush Of the Week). :)
Like I said earlier, the classes were awesome! (Nate Thorne)

And the dances were a blast!!! (Andrew Mack and Toni)
Our service project was a success! (Joey Johnsen with black crayon on his face.)
And we developed friendships that we will never forget!

I think that every young man and young woman in this church should attend EFY when they reach the age of 14! It's such a life altering experience and I can't wait to go back next year!
Love, Hunter Bug