Mayberry

Hey guys!

We are moved in and ready for action! Jack and I started school on Aug, 25th, and I think we have both really enjoyed it. :) I love my school and teachers, and I am enjoying being back in a more traditional school. However, I still miss Monteverde and everything about it. Even the rain.

The first picture is of me dressed up as a boy for a birthday party! :) Notice that I am wearing my mom's old high school letter jacket!

The second picture is of me without braces! HOORAY!

The last picture is of a stray dog that has fallen in love with my brother and is living in our basement. His name is Puck, aka Puckerdoodle. He is a black golden retriever and is probably about a year old. My mom says he's the devil dog, but we love him!

Summer!

Summer is here and our time in Costa Rica has ended. Our year there was an amazing experience that I will never forget. Thank you to everyone that helped us out this year; we appreciate it so much!

Well, we are on our way to our new house in North Carolina! I've been training for my school swim team by running and swimming. Wish me luck!

I hope everyone has an awesome summer, and I just wanted to put something on the blog so you can see some pics.

Lots of love,
Hayley

Feliz Navidad!!

Merry Christmas!
It's been such a long time since I last wrote on my blog. So good to be back! :) My dad came home from sea a couple of weeks ago, and spent the last week with us before we left CR to go home for the holidays.
We went to my grandparent's farm in NC first. We spent the days playing with dogs and building forts in the hay loft. After a few days, we left and went to my other grandparent's house in NC as well. We'll be here until Christmas Eve when we leave to see my mom's family in SC. While we're there, I plan to see most of my friends and eat a pretzel from the Pretzel Twister. Mmmmm.. DELICIOUS!!! :)
No pictures this time, but wait until Christmas and you'll see plenty!
Great to be back! :P
Hayley

Pura Vida!

Hola from Monteverde!!

We have safely arrived in our new home! Finally. :) After 2 plane rides, and a long car ride from San Jose to Monteverde, I was ready to crash! But, as always, you can never move to a foreign country without having a little bit of drama. Sammy was supposed to fly from Charlotte to Houston, spend the night in Houston, and then fly to Costa Rica the next morning. Well, they got confused or something happened where the dogs got mixed up, and Sam went to El Salvador, while some other dog was sent here. Aye! They flew Sammy back here the next day, and now he's the happiest dog in the world. After all, he is eating table scraps. :)

Along with our new house is a new pet. The previous owners left their two cats, which we named Posie and Haynie. Posie went home with the owners when they came over to show us around, and Haynie stayed with us. We feed her, and she stays in our laundry room. Jack and I have become very attached to her.

Jack and I saw the school yesterday. The colegio, has a campus like area with separate classrooms. They aren't bunched up in one building. There is an incredible view of all the mountains. My English class has a porch where you can sit and read. They have two gazebos where you can eat lunch on top of a hill. There's a soccer pitch, basketball court, and a few playgrounds for the younger kids. Walking to each class is like walking through a national park. They have gardens, a greenhouse, and they even make their own bio-diesel for the school buses!! How cool is that?!?! I am going to an orientation on Friday so I will take pics so you can see what the school looks like.

Check back soon!!!!

Hayley

Here are the pictures:

1. Jack and our cat, Haynie.
2. Me in our kitchen. *wearing my school uniform!*

Pics

Here are some of my favorite swim team pictures:

1. Mary Katherine and me at a swim meet. Go SFST!!

2. From left to right: Me, Erin, and Ashley at Ye Ole Fashioned for ice cream after the meet!!

Snee Farm has pulled up again! 21 years in a row! We won by about 200 pts. The CCAA Championships have cruised by smoothly to bring an end to our Snee Farm dynasty.

I have been so lucky to be a part of Snee Farm and have a great swimming career. I want to let all my friends at the Farm how special they are to me. I love you guys so much and have a great year! :)

~Hayley~

News Update!

Hey!
Well, Snee Farm is winding down... for now. We have three dual meets left, one of which is tonight, and then we have to turn in the championship meet heat sheet. Then, only a few of the selected swimmers will swim in late July and represent our team well as always. :)
We certainly have some big news for you! In late July, we are moving to Costa Rica for a year! Jack and I are enrolled in a school, and we are all very excited. So is Sammy! He luckily gets to come along! :) Check for pictures of our wacky adventures there too!!!

I have to get ready for the meet tonight! I am swimming Freestyle exhibition and Butterfly for points. Jack is swimming Freestyle, Butterfly, Backstroke, and Free Relay! Whoo! Go Jack! :)

I'll upload pics of all the meets when I have more time!

Lots of love,
Hayley xoxo

Snee Farm is in FULL GEAR!

Hey!
Snee Farm has reared up to full gear and we are about to begin an amazing summer of swimming! We have our first swim meet June 9th! We can hardly believe that 7 weeks has already gone by. Snee Farm has always had the tradition of our Snee Farm famous, Pasta Lunches that will begin at 11:00 PM on Tuesday, June 9th. Can't wait!
With swim team brings SUMMER, and we all know what that means! :) BIRTHDAYS! Actually, I would like to give a shout-out to my good friend, Joanna, whose birthday was today! Happy Birthday, Joanna! And another birthday shout-out goes to one of my fave coaches, TJ! Happy Early Birthday,TJ! (His birthday is tomorrow) My birthday is coming up in July, and so is my brother's! Keep posted for pics of the big event(s)! :)
Well, after a grueling game of Snee Farm fashioned Water Polo, I am ready to just, chill. :) Check back soon!
Love,
Hayley
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

PASS testing is coming....and SUMMER!

Hey Everybody!
Well, another quarter of the PASS testing has come once again! Jack and I took the writing section in early March, and we will take Math, Science, History, and ELA in May. Wish us luck! :)
So, with the PASS testing brings another season of Snee Farm swim team! We are so thrilled to be a part of the Snee Farm family another season. Keep looking for updates with that.
This weekend we are taking care of my 3rd grade teacher's Great Dane. His name is Cooper and a total sweetheart. I will take a picture of him and post it; I'm sure you will be amazed! He is huge! He is like a horse!
Dad will be coming home soon! We are all very excited. He saw a Orca or Killer Whale a few days ago. He was very lucky to see one in the wild. Actually, I am not surprised, with him being on the ocean so much, he has probably seen a lot of things! I will see if I can get the picture from him; it was truly amazing!
The Stancil clan just wanted to give you an update. Sorry we haven't been on the blogs that much! We have been very busy!
-Hayley *xoxo* :)

Boston!!

Hey there!

We just got back from Boston! It was great! Very cold, but wonderful! It snowed on the last night we were there for about 3 hours, but then it turned into rain. :( We had our fun though!

We went to Harvard, the Harvard Natural History Museum, the Old South Meeting House, Frog Pond, and (of course!) Mike's Pastries! We didn't want to pack everything in too much, so we tried to keep everything to a minimal.

Hope you guys have a great weekend!

Hayley

Photo #1: Jack and me at Cheers at Fanueil Hall

Photo #2: Me with a Mayan king statue

Photo #3: Me at Harvard

Photo #4: Me at Boston's Best with all my LBs' (lobster buddies)

Birds of Prey

Hi Guys! A few days ago, we went to the Birds of Prey in Awendaw. It was really neat! We saw several different species of owls, eagles, falcons, and vultures.
We also saw a flying exhibit. They flew a Indian Tawny Eagle, which was really cool to see. She was really large, and very shy. Eventually, she came close to us, and started " yelling" for us to give her food. She became really comfortable then! We had a really fun time, and it was really interesting to see all the different kinds of birds!

Hey guys!

Hey! I don't know why the pics from Costa Rica didn't show up...I guess my computer whacked out or something!

SORRY!!!!!!

-Hayley

PIC #1:OUR GUIDE ZIPPING DOWN!!!!!

PIC #2: ME AND MY DAD WHEN WE WENT ON THE ATV TRIP!

PIC #3:THE BEAUTIFUL ARENAL VOLCANO, STILL ACTIVE!!!!!!!

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SLEEP NEAR THAT THING EVERY NIGHT?!?

KIDDING! IT ONLY ERUPTS ON 1 SIDE, THE OPPISITE SIDE OF WHERE WE STAYED!! WE DID GET TO SEE SOME LAVA FLOWING DOWN THE SIDE THOUGH! WE WERE REALLY LUCKY BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE COME AND STAY FOR LIKE, 5 DAYS AND NEVER SEE ANY LAVA! WE WERE THERE FOR ONLY 2 OR 3 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A GUY TOLD US SOME OF THE LOCALS NEVER SAW ANY LAVE UNTIL THEY HAD LIVED THERE FOR 5 OR 6 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAVE A GOOD THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAYLEY & THE STANCIL FAMILY

Costa Rica Pics!

Here are some of our fave pics!

We'll be uploading Jamaica pics when we get back from Peru!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love y'all!

Hayley

Jamaican Me Crazy!

Hi everyone!
In September we're going to Jamaica! We'll be going to Costa Rica in a few days so make sure you check the blog for pics of Costa Rica and Jamaica!
Hope you guys have a great first couple of weeks at school!

Costa Rica Here We Come!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Y'all!
This summer has been great so far. The Championships were fantastic (as usual:)) We won our 20th year in a row. Although we won only by 10 pts., we are glad we won, because our coach thought we weren't going to win at all. The pics haven't been downloaded yet, but they will be soon.
My dad is still at sea, but, he should be home soon.
When my dad gets home, we will be going to Costa Rica, so make sure you check the blog!

My Graduation

Hi everyone! This month I graduated from Mamie P. Whitesides Elem. It was a great year and I'm having so much fun this summer already. I can hardly wait to see what happens next year!

Here are some pics. of my fun day!

1st pic: The "Guys" (left to right)

Tyler, Eric, Lejend,Jake, and me.

2nd pic: One of my best friends, Erin,and me.

I'll keep y'all posted!

Horseback riding! Like Cowpokes! pictures

Here we are horseback riding in Mancos, Colorado! For those of you who read my parents blog, we are home, but we couldn't get the pictures off the other camera until now. We are heading for one last camping trip to Hunting Island tomorrow. Keep checking the blog for updates!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Four Corners and Anasazi Dwellings

Pic.#1 Me in Arizona,Colorado,Utah and New Mexico all at once

Pic.#2 The Village of Ancient Puebloans

FOUR CORNERS,USA

Today we went to Four Corners. I was into being in four states in four sec.! Sammy sat in all the four states at one time!

The corners are on a Navajo Indian Reservation. Native Americans were selling their jewelry and arrows.

I was happy to see the corners! I had always wanted to stand in four states at once!

THE VILLAGE OF ANCIENT PUEBLOANS

These are the Kivas and buildings. They were outside people. The houses were just an area to sleep. We enjoyed seeing the ruins of cliff dwellings!

Horse Back Riding!!! Like Cowpokes!

Yesterday, we went horse back riding! For TWO WHOLE HOURS!!!! My horse's name was Jasper, a Chesnut gelding. He had to be in the front... or I would of been on the ground! He was a stubborn old horse and had to get his way! The trail had some hills and sharp turns... and I got some practice! I was in Heaven!!!!!!!!! I really enjoyed it!

Mesa Verde

This is a typical little town in the rockies! This town is Durango,Colorado.

As you can tell (maybe not) the Rocky Mt. are in the background. This picture was taken from the library.It is a long drive to any BIG town from here.

After Durango, we went on to a little town called Mancos. There, we stopped to stay to see Mesa Verde. (that means Green Table in Spanish. They call it green table because it is a flat top Mt. with lots of green growth on top.)

The people who lived here (Yr.800-1300) were called Anasazi. They were ancient people. They built Cave Dwellings that had 50 rooms or more. In each home a living room would have a hole in the floor. The hole was a path to the underworld where they believed people began. They would also have a basement like room under their main living area. This room was called a Kiva and was like a church. They would go there to pray for good crops, rain, and a good hunt. They would also have ceremonies inside the Kiva.

The top of the Mesa was cleared for farming. They grew corn and squash. They had to grow a lot in case of a drought. To get to their crops they had to climb steep cliffs. It was a lot like rock climbing! They would hold on to rocks that were sticking out of the cliff.

Today, we woke up to see snow! The snow was wet and coming down hard! But, soon the sun came out and the snow melted little by little. I hope the weather clears up so we can see the Cave Dwellings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mt.Rushmore

Pic.#1 Mt.Rushmore in snow

Pic.#2 A family of Mountain goats chomp on grass at Mt.Rushmore.

While in Custer,SD we saw Mt.Rushmore in the snow! The weather was supposed to clear up (meaning the snow was going to melt!) Well, the weatherman got that very wrong! It snowed the whole time we were there!

Mt.Rushmore was carved (or sculpted) by Borglum. He died before it was finished, so his family finished it for him.

South Dakota needed a tourist spot. They were going to carve wild west heroes, but Borglum took one look and said he was going to make it National. (By Carving Presidents in it) Now, we have a amazing carving!

When we were leaving Rushmore we spied some Mountain Goats! They were just chewing away! I thought they were so cute!!!