LUAU Cake

Rachel’s friend Wendy had a birthday, so we threw a big Luau Birthday Party at our house. Rachel is AMAZING at planning parties with decorations, food and the works. Rachel made the cutest cake- a hula dancer. It was from a shaped pan and she did such a remarkable job decorating it, so I thought I would show it off for her…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!!

Andrew turned 7 and had a Racecar Birthday Party. It was so much fun to hang-out with family (and the Wilson family) to celebrate Andrew in our lives.

"Don't get hurt!"

Ben went to play basketball with the men in our ward. As he was leaving I shouted to him, "Don't get hurt!" Which turns out to be a bad omen...
After jumping up to rebound a ball Ben landed on an apponents foot and sprained his ankle. He is swollen, black and blue and in a lot of pain. We are waiting a day before we go to the doctor to get a prognosis- hopefully it is good.

NEW HAIR CUT

I decided to cut my hair and take a chance. It is really short- I am still unsure I like it and I am getting used to it. I can keep it straight, flip it under, flip it out and... blah blah blah.
Here are some pictures (oh, but the one of the back of my head is crooked- it is hard to take a picture of the back of my head).
-Do I have a weirdly shaped side view??

Settlers Seafarers, Cities and Knights

Tonight we learned the intricate game of Settlers Seafarers, Cities and Knights. Although we had previously been introduced to the ‘normal’ Settler’s game we had not yet learned the insane rules and regulations of the ‘advanced’ version. After four hours of confusion the game was won (not by either of us, although Ben was close) and the mystification subsided.
It was defiantly an interesting game with a lot of trickery and deceit. I think we would both play it again- after our brains have time to re-solidify (from their current stages of mush). It was a fun night and an interesting experience.

One Year Out, Forever to Go

Yesterday was our one year anniversary. When talking and looking back last night we decided that we had a crazy ride, but that it was definatly worth it. We are so happy and we are excited to spend the rest of our lives together!!

CAR TROUBLE

(Sunday July 20, 2008)
We packed the car and prepared for the three hour trip to the Family Reunion at Bear Lake. We stopped in Idaho Falls for about an hour to help Grandma Lewis and then around 2:00 headed out. We made it about an hour when the car started acting up and died- on the highway two miles outside of Pocatello. We thought it might have been over heated so we waited about 30 minutes (with no AC on the side of the highway- ahhh) and then tried again. We made it about 20 yards and then the car died again. It was at this time we discovered that our fuel pump was out and the car was broken.

So…we continued the slow 20 yards every 30 minute pace to Pocatello where we parked the car at a dealership to be looked at and fixed the following day. Then we waited for three hours (in the parking lot) for Brea’s cousin to come (on his way from Rigby) to pick us up and take us with them to the Family Reunion.

It was a long day. We left the house at 1:00 and didn’t arrive at our destination until around 9:30 (in which time we could have traveled all the way home to CO) - but we learned a lot about patients and enjoyed being together.


**We left the car there and the fuel pump was replaced (urgg) and we got to get it back on Wednesday. Since then, its been running great!!**

SCHOOL'S OUT!!

Yesterday, Friday July 18 we finished the summer semester. Finals are over. Papers are turned in. We are both so relieved (it was very stressful towards the end of everything).
Ben might have found a new job for the fall semester and Brea won her Program Planning thing.
We are both so excited for the break. [We have 7 weeks off of school (between semesters) and we are going to family reunions and then to Colorado to work for a while. We will keep you updated!!]

One semester to go....

BODY MOVIN'

I was in an Improve and Choreography class this semester. For our final we each had to choreograph our own dance and have it preformed (we were not supposed to be in our own dance). I choreographed a dance to the Beastie Boys song, Body Movin’. I had some people who had never danced before in my group and it was hard at times but very worth it. The dance turned out perfect and everything (and everyone) looked great.

I was in 4 other dances that people in my class choreographed. It was hard because I had to learn how to dance contemporary, modern and ballet. I worked so hard and I really enjoyed it. I was even in a cha cha and Ben agreed to be my partner- he did wonderfully. (He has very good latin hips…) Toward the end we were practicing 3-4 hours a night and my body was sore. The performance (Wednesday July 16) went well. It seemed like such a short night for all the work that we put into it. It was so wonderful to be dancing again. I really enjoyed it.

*And Mom, Anne, Grandma Baker, Jesse (cousin) and David (cousin) came up from Utah to see the performance. It was so wonderful to see them and to have their support.

*Movies will come-once I figure out how to do it!!!

Health Promotion Program

Breanne was in a Program Planning class this last semester. In this class they were put into groups and had to plan a health program that would be implemented on the BYU-Idaho campus. Breanne and her group worked so hard and made a great program. They wrote a huge report and nailed their 15 minute presentation (they did very good). At the end of the semester only one program (from the 5 in the class) was chosen to be implemented on the campus. Breanne and her group’s program WON and their program was picked. They are so happy (they can now put this on their resumes) and they can see the fruits of all their hard work!!

Canoeing with Friends

We went to Rigby Lake with some friends to go canoeing. We rented two canoes and spent the day on the lake. We had hot dogs and smores and a lot of fun. The boys probably spent an hour and a half longer then the girls on the lake trying to sink the canoe like they did on Pirates of the Caribbean. It was a really fun day.
(And we didn’t get sun burnt to bad because we used a LOT of sunscreen.)

Ben at the Wind Caves

Ben went hiking to the wind caves near Driggs Idaho (actually he was in Wyoming)with two guys from our ward, Glenn and Brad. It was beautiful and he said he got to see some great waterfalls. The whole trip was about 10 miles including altitude. Ben is a little sore, but is happy he got back to the great outdoors.

...Hit by a car...

After the fireworks it takes about 2 hours to get home (which it usually takes about ½ and hour) because there are so many people there. So we tried to go through the back roads to get home, but the back roads were just as busy and crammed.
So we had been waiting on this one road stopping and going and we were parked in front of this family out in their front yard setting off fireworks. It was really the Dad’s setting off the fireworks and the kids running around like crazy. To give you an idea of the type of people (just for future clarification) the Dad’s were smoking while setting off fireworks (not to smart), the Mom’s were no where to be seen (probably drinking) and it was midnight and there were children running around everywhere.
Well, there was a truck in front of us and they called one of the guys over and gave him a dollar if he brought them a soda- so he walked to the truck to get the dollar and one of the little girls followed him. When he turned back to go get the soda there were cars coming, so he waited but the little girl didn’t look and she just jetted out in front of the traffic. Well, this little girl (probably about 7) got hit by a car right outside Ben’s window. The car was only going about 5-10mph but it bounced the girl off. The parents of the girl ran over and started cursing and screaming at the woman in the car (I thought they were going to hit her). They completely blamed the woman and didn’t think it was their girls fault at all. The little girl wasn’t hurt- but they took her away in an ambulance (probably not knowing how expensive they are).
When the police got there Ben gave a statement as a witness. It was all really upsetting to him (he was afraid the family would come after him because he said what he saw- that the little girl ran out and the car wasn’t speeding.

Independance Day!!

Rexburg does a ‘large’ 4th of July Parade down Main Street. Like some crazy parade lovers, Ben and I went an hour and a half early- so that we could get a good seat. The parade was WAY bigger this year then in the past- there were a lot of people there watching. Parades, we’ve decided, are large walking advertisements, yet they are worth it because they give away a lot of free stuff. There are two main ‘floats’ that make the whole experience worth it indefinitely and this year NEITHER of them were there. We love the Reed’s Dairy’s float because they pass out free Chocolate milk (but because there were SO many people this year- they didn’t). And we love the Ray’s Car washing float- because they have all their car washing boys do a dance in the middle of the road. But even without those two floats, it was still really fun to go to the parade.

We went to Grandma Lewis’ house in Idaho Falls for lunch. She made homemade fried chicken and pasta salad. It was so good. Then we got to spend time helping her around the house and talking with her. It is so fun to spend time with her and get to know her better.

After eating with grandma we went to the Greenbelt (the river right outside the Idaho Falls Temple) where we met with some old roommates and friends. We had a barbeque, played games and had lots of fun. Ben and I staked out a spot (with blankets and chairs) before we went to Grandma’s house so we got an okay spot. People here will stake out spots the night before to get prime firework viewing. Our spot was good, but there were a couple of tree branches in the way. The fireworks show in Idaho Falls are said to be the best show west of the Mississippi River. They have the show set to patriotic music (that we had blaring on a radio) so it is really touching and emotional. The fireworks are also set off above the river- so it looks really neat. It was so wonderful to watch the fireworks and remember those who died for our freedom.

THE BIKE!!

Ben crashed and broke his bike and since we have had it here meaning to get it fixed. Well we FINALLY got it fixed. Ben was so excited.