Cake Decorating

For Christmas Ben signed me up for Cake Decorating Classes and him (and my parents) got me a bunch of cool cake decorating stuff. So I have been taking the first Wilton cake decorating course at Hobby Lobby throughout the month of January with Rachel, who is taking them with me. The first week was mainly just talking and explaining and we missed one week- while in Idaho for the funeral. So this last week was our first “hands on” week of decorating however with frosting catastrophes (on our side, the other students side and even the teacher had difficulties) we only practiced (making roses) and didn’t actually end up decorating the cakes we took. So when we got back I decorated my cake- with the wrong frosting (cream cheese frosting instead of gross Crisco frosting) and using ‘advanced’ methods (the basket weave- which is not taught until the third corse). The cake was lopsided and odd colors, but it tasted good. Here are some pictures; there will be more to come next week.

Grandma Lewis' Funeral

Ben’s grandma (his mother’s mother), Norma Andersen Lewis, passed away on January 10, 2009 at the age of 90. Grandma Lewis was born July 16, 1918 in Vineyard Utah. She had four children; Larry, Nedra (Ben’s Mom), Sandy and Kent. She was an amazing pianist and musician. She was a work horse- and still had a garden last summer. She baked bread and was an exceptional cook.



















Ben and I had the chance to get to know Grandma Lewis very well when we were at school at BYU-Idaho. We would go to her house and help her garden and help her around her house. She would tell us stories about her husband Bud, her kids and her childhood. It was such a blessing to get to know Grandma Lewis and such a privilege.

We went up to Idaho Falls with his mom, dad, and sister, Rachel to help get things arranged for the funeral. The funeral service was beautiful and was a wonderful tribute to the life of Grandma Lewis. It was wonderful to see family and friends but a sad time to say goodbye to Grandma Lewis.

Happy New Years!! Happy Birthday Ben!!

Ben is now 26 years old! He is so lucky because he never has to go to work or really… do anything on his birthday! He gets to sit and watch football and veg…lucky!! He also always has a big dinner, this year he has steak and shrimp with cheese cake for dessert. We ate, played games, he got to open presents and he got to hear from lots of brothers/sisters and nieces and nephews. Even though he is growing older, I think he still loves birthdays just like he was a kid!!

Organization Freak

Ben and I are listening to a motivational speaker on CD about strengthening marriage relationships (it is called “For All Eternity” by John Lund and I would defiantly recommend it). In this CD it talks about setting boundaries in your marriage and that one spouse or partner can not control everything- or else it is not a marriage but parenting your spouse. He state that you must be willing to compromise and say will want this done, but I will let this go, because my marriage is more important to me than that one material thing.

Through this CD and other events, we have recently begun to discover that I am an organization freak. When we lived in our own home it never was an issue but now that we are living with Ben’s parents (the life of job-less college grads) I have begun going crazy that everything isn’t how I would have it or that the house isn’t how I would run it. I have had to step back and remember that my family is more important than having the towels folded correctly or the laundry done on the correct day; so I have been making an effort to compromise in my insane organization.

The Newson’s have been SO patient with me and have been giving me things to do around that house, that let me feel like I still can have my grip and handle on my own crazy organized world. Here is one example; they let me organize the pantry. It seems like a small thing, and maybe an awful job to someone else, but I LOVED IT!! (Yes I even labeled the tubs.) Slowly I will get over my controlling organizational behavior and I am learning to love a little chaos (a very little) in my life!!

Manhood in the Snow

Bocci Ball is an ancient game dating back to the Roman Empire and is a symbol of masculinity. “This ancient game, whose modern adaptation most closely resembles bowling, requires skill, strategy and just a little luck.” (How To)
This game, which is usually played by seniors outside in the warmth of a beautiful day, was the main attraction to the Stones Family Men on Christmas. Out in near freezing weather they showed their manhood as they threw 3 lb balls across the partially snow covered yard at a target. We will see if this attraction is still as exciting in the summer!

Merry Christmas

For Christmas this year all of our Christmas traditions were reversed and messed up (both families did things backwards and WRONG)!! But in the end it was a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas and it taught us both that it doesn’t matter what you do, but the spirit that you do it in and the family and friends you share it with. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas filled with the Saviors love!!

Car Wars

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away…
We went together to run errands and while on this voyage of extraordinary undertakings we found ourselves on a journey of a greater magnitude and caliber. At first we realized our ship; the old blue millennium falcon would not survive much longer if not sanitized from our previous passage through the asteroid fields of Laramie. We had to do something; we had to save our ship. In this season of our planet Tatuin-Lafayette, our two moons have failed us the weather is so severe to repair the damage of our ship, we had to leave. Through our journey we got stuck in an asteroid and large scrubbing like minocks attached to the ship, chewing through our power cables and leaving us without any weapons to arm ourselves from future battles. Just then we were bombarded by large robotic jets, which shot at the millennium falcon throwing off the minocks and cutting off all communication with our commanding Rebel base, therefore putting us directly in the emperor’s hands. At this point we had no way of communicating and no way of defending ourselves. The one thing we hand now was to jump into hyperspace. However as Ben tried to put the millennium falcon into light speed it stalled and nothing happened. “I fixed it, its not my fault!” Ben roared as he quickly tried to repair the ship before we were overtaken by the dark side. Just then the princes, Brea (but with better hair) fixed the ship and they made the jump into hyperspace, blowing all water and debris off of the ship as they went. It was a close encounter with the dark side but the force will always prevail.

As we pulled out of the carwash and went on with our day we realized that we have extraordinary imaginations and that we probably need to get more exciding lives!!

Elf Yourself

I found a fun new thing to play with, it is called Elf Yourself (Thanks Olave's). I have ‘Elf-ed’ my entire family doing an array of dances (but Ben said I shouldn’t post them all). Here is one video of the Stones kids (minus Elder Stones- because he probably shouldn’t be dancing). I hope you enjoy.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Holiday Questionnaire

I realized today that Christmas is in just four days, and I thought I still had over a week to spare. Oh no, there is a lot to do, and I still need to get into the Christmas spirit!! So, I don't usually do these blog questionnaires but I thought I would try this one, in light of the holidays.
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper
2. Real tree or Artificial? Real tree- to get the smell
3. When do you put up the tree? A week or two before Christmas
4. When do you take the tree down? Two or three days after Christmas
5. Do you like eggnog? Yes (but I usually drink 1/3 eggnog 2/3 milk)
6. Favorite gift received as a child? A pet rat- with a “Do Not Touch Without Parents!” note from Santa
7. Do you have a nativity scene? Nope note yet but I hope too…
8. Hardest person to buy for? Ben
9. Easiest person to buy for? Myself…ha jk… any kids are pretty easy
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Coal…ha jk…I’m a saint
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? How a Grinch Stole Christmas- the original cartoon (but Elf is so funny)
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? It just depends
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don’t know…
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Christmas Bread Wreath
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear
17. Favorite Christmas song? Oh I cant choose… I like them all!!
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay at home
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Yes
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel (I am super into tradition, and that’s what I grew-up with.)
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Deep Red and Silver (again…tradition)
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? We don’t have Christmas dinner, but for Christmas EVE dinner I like Ham and Cheesy Potatoes.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A JOB!!

Graduation from Brigham Young University- Idaho

After walking up and down ‘the hill’ in the dead of winter, living with roommates, watching the construction of the Rexburg temple, bridge jumping, finals weeks and clean checks- we are finally DONE. Brea made it in 9 semesters (only one longer than planned) and Ben made it in…well, he made it. We are both now officially college graduates- Ben has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Brea has a Bachelor of Science in Health Science.

Neither of us were thrilled about the idea of walking (we did it once) but we decided to do it anyway, for the experience. So the day finally arrived- finals were over, family arrived and cap and gowns were in place.

The first thing that was really special was the entrance into the graduation commencement. The faculty of the entire University lined the hallway and congratulated and applauded the graduates as we walked towards the auditorium- it was amazing to see everyone who helped up get to this point and who contributed to our education. Then as we got to the main entrance the President of the University, President Kim B Clark said “Smile, You’re on TV.” We looked up and there we were on the large screen marching into the auditorium as the graduation march played. It was an overwhelming feeling and was the first time that it felt real that we were actually graduating.

During commencement we heard talks from President Clark and from the guest speaker, President Dieter F Uchtdorf (2nd Counselor of the First Presidency). They spoke about not fearing the future and going forward in faith.

After commencement everyone split into different buildings into their individual colleges for convocation (and to get their diplomas). Because we were graduating in different colleges, I decided not to graduate with my college and to walk with Ben in his college, so that we could be together. Ben and I were in the choir so we got to sit up on the stand for the majority of commencement and then our names were read toward the beginning of the names to get the diplomas. They read our names at the same time, so we got to walk across and get our diplomas together, it was really cool.

It was a great experience to know that we accomplished such a great thing. We are so proud of each other and are so grateful for everyone who helped us to succeed and excel in our education. Thank you!!












































With Brea's grandma, Grandma Baker.













Stones Parents













Newson Parents

















Here we are standing with our diplomas...















Here we are standing with Eva, the Secretary of the College of Business and Communication, who works with Ben.













This is Brother Bair (adjunct faculty of the Communication Department) and Sister Bergstrom, the Dean of the College of Business and Communication. Ben also worked closely with both of them.

Married Greenbrier Reunion

Last night Ben and I went to a Married Greenbrier Reunion. When we were single we lived in a complex called Greenbrier, and all of the people who got married while living there got together to remises and catch up! There were probably 14 couples there. Our old Bishop’s were even there (Bishop Galbraith and Bishop Smith) and one of our counselors (Brother Hadry). We had desserts and a white elephant gift exchange. It was so fun to see everyone and see what they are up too.


























One of the white elephant gifts was these adult nighties (seen here on Brother Hadry)...and the old Bishopric members really wanted them...I think the Bishop ended up with them!










Group of some people! (Abbotts, Smiths, Newsons, Galbraiths, Mangums)

Homemade Christmas Wreath

I really wanted to try to make our little apartment feel a little bit ‘dressed up’ for the holidays so I have been searching for cheap Christmas decorations, but everything is so expensive. Then we saw that they were having a wreath making class on campus for only $7 (materials included) so I decided to go. It was a little sap messy and harder then I expected but I successfully made my first ever homemade wreath. We gave it a 12 hour bath in our bathtub (which made our apartment smell delightful) and it is now hanging outside our door. It adds a little bit of Christmas flair to our hectic college holiday lives!!

Quiet Study Area

I take headphones to school and I listen to music (on the internet) while I study, or else my mind wanders and I end up listening and watching all the people that go by in whatever library or study room that I happen to be in. Today I was in a large computer lab studying (I had been in there for about 20 minutes) when a guy tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I realized that my head phones were not plugged in all the way.... Meaning that while I was studying hard, trying not to disturb anyone, EVERYONE in the whole QUIET study room could hear my music the entire time. Why didn't someone tell me right away? Why did people just walk by smiling and say nothing? I was so embarrassed!

Thanksgiving Break

Ben and I stayed in Idaho for the Thanksgiving break. Monday and Tuesday we studied hard and got a TON of homework done. Wednesday afternoon we went to Idaho Falls, where Ben's grandma lives, to start our holiday break. In Ben's immediate family, the biggest thanksgiving tradition is baking pies. So Wednesday Grandma Lewis taught me how to make pie crust. It was so much fun to cook with her and learn all her tricks.


















Grandma Lewis is an amazing cook (and it is her love language, so she cooks A LOT) and she was able to teach me all her cooking skills throughout the break. It was so much fun to have the whole family in the kitchen, skirting around and trying to get things ready for thanksgiving dinner. We ended up eating around 2:00 and it was delicious. We had so much extra food that we had a second thanksgiving (almost comparable to size) Friday for lunch also.












The rest of the time was spent playing card games (which Ben and I both ended up beating the master, Uncle Dwight, at this own games) such as Golf and Shanghais. And we even watched some Football games (poor CU lost- but it was a good game).


















It was a great couple of days and it was so wonderful to relax and be with family. We are both so grateful for our families, both those we were with and the many we were not able to be with. Ben and I are so grateful for our health and that we were able to get through this holiday scrape, bruise and hospital-free. We are grateful for each other and the blessing of eternal families. We are especially grateful for the gospel, in the special holiday season, and the opportunity we have to know and share the gospel with those we know.















We hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving and keep the spirit of thanks in your hearts and we all get sucked into this hectic time of life and the holiday- and try to remember what we have been given!!
Happy Holidays!

Practically Free, Bum-Like Homeless Fast Food Date Night

Saturday night (10:00-ish), we decided to go on a quick Fast Food run to quench one of Ben’s craves. We had a coupon for one specific place in town (the name will be withheld to prevent judgment and discrimination) to for buy one specialty burger and get one free (that’s a full meal for two). WHAT A DEAL!! So we decided to go there. No, we are not poor college students spending all of our grants and your tax dollars on fast food we have some gift cards for some Fast food places in Rexburg (Ben gets them for holidays/birthdays/ect because he is a fast food junkie and likes that more than candy, birthday cake or anything else).
So we went to ‘this place’ with our coupon, gift card (we only has $1.53 left) and all the change that we had in our car and ended up…43 cents short!! I was determined not to use our card (the only other form of ‘money’ we had) for 43 cents and especially not for Fast food (which is a luxury and something we really didn’t need) and so we began to search. We went out to the car (in freezing weather) and searched under, in and all around the seats for loose change (the car has never been cleaned so thoroughly); we (well I should say, I, Ben was too embarrassed to do this) walked around the parking lot looking for dropped change; we even drove across the street to a different fast food place and asked them if they could give us money off of their gift card, which they couldn’t (we didn’t just eat there because we didn’t have a coupon for there). Finally I got up the courage to ask two strangers who were walking buy if I could borrow some change- which isn’t too scary since we are in Rexburg and the odds of them being nice safe LDS college students is VERY high.
Finally we got the money we went in, got our burger and two free waters and sat down to eat our date night dinner. Then as we sat there, the only two in the restaurant (because it was so late), we heard the employees complaining about burning the fries. I jumped up and ran to the counter. “You know, it would be bad to throw those fries away, you can just give them to us! If you are going to throw them away anyway…we will eat burnt fries…” So, the manager made me swear I wouldn’t tell anyone (which, since I am not telling you the location, I do not think this breaches that deal) and they dumped the ENTIRE BASKET of overcooked fries on a tray and gave them to us. They were defiantly overcooked but they were free and that made them taste SO much better.
So we had a practically free, bum-like homeless wonderful Saturday Fast Food Date Night!!