St Patties Family Get- Together

Yesterday we had a Stones family get-together to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day (hence the green hair- from the parade in Denver) and the latest family birthdays- Aaron’s (Feb 21) Alice’s (Feb 13) and Sean’s (March 17). We met at Erica’s house and had homemade Corned Beef and Cabbage, with potatoes, with a delicious chocolate rainbow cake and ice cream. It was wonderful to see family and be encircled with the joy of childhood. We played boci ball in the backyard and eventually ended up at the park playing baseball- with the entire family joining in on the fun.

I love families and the joy they bring into our lives!!

Driving to the Shower

I got my drivers license back after a 6 month absences and have had no accidents, tickets or near death incidents. However on Friday I got VERY lost out near Loveland, CO going to Amy Gibson’s Baby Shower and had a 45 minute driving detour. It was a reminder of every stress that accompanies driving and temperamental cars- with high way driving, nearly running out of gas, the setting sun in your eyes and nothing on the radio.

The red line on the following map is the crazy unexpected detour that I took in order to make it to point A.

















However I made it to the shower, better late then never, and enjoyed seeing Amy (beautifully pregnant) and wishing her well on her pregnancy. We are so happy for her and so excited to see the newest addition to the Gibson family!!

Dance Internship

I got a dance internship at Booth's Ballroom Dance Studio in Denver. It is an unpaid internship and I am going to basically be shadowing any and all of the instructors and see their teaching techniques and will also see how a large dance studio is run and organized.

I started yesterday and I am still a little iffy on what I should do. Because I am not getting paid, they are okay if I just stand around… which is not the kind of thing I like to do “at work.” But I will hopefully find my footing and get more comfortable with things.

Nissi’s

Last night, Ben went (with his Mom and Rachel) to Nissi’s, a restaurant/music club. They heard Eric Forsyth, a guy in our ward (and who we know from school) perform and said it was great. They stayed to hear the other performances and said it was a great atmosphere and Ben said it would be a really fun “date spot.”

Free Steak Dinner

Ben took a survey over the phone for the Fire Department and his name got put into a drawing for a ‘Promotional’ Free Steak Dinner and he was chosen. So we got to go to a Free Steak Dinner (with friends, so Mom came with us) at Magnolia. While we waited for our food a man taught us about fire safety and the proper care and maintenance of fire extinguishers and fire alarms in our homes. It was very educational and informative and….it was free.
Ben and I thought it was funny because we were BY FAR the youngest people there!!

Final Cake

I finished my cake decorating class and here is a picture of the final cake. (Well I can’t find batteries for my camera- so I will get a picture off when I find them.)
After we finished the class Nedra had to do the food for a post funeral luncheon and so Rachel and I decorated all the cupcakes with mini roses. It was fun to see all that we had learnt come to use in a ‘real life’ experience. (Pictures of cupcakes to come!)

New Church Callings

Now that we are living back at home, we are going to church with Ben's parents to their family ward. It is quite an adjustment going to a family ward with not just young children but an entire primary and youth program. Speaking of which...
Ben and I just got our callings in our new family ward. Ben got called to be the 9-10 year old primary teacher. He has about 4-5 boys in his class. He really hasn't shared too much opinion on the subject- whether he is excited, happy, sad, nervous or worried. But I am sure he will excel in whatever calling he does in the church.
I was called as the 2nd Counselor in the Young Women’s Presidency. I am so excited my nerves could reach the same caliber. There are not many Young Women in our ward (like my ward growing up) and as the 2nd Counselor I will be over the Beehives (which makes me a little farther from their age…ha ha). The program has changed a lot in the few years I have been out but I am excited to have something to do and some outlet to put my creativity and organization.

We are both excited to be welcomed into the ward and we feel like we are starting to be a little more grounded in our situation and spot in life!!

Playing with the Kids!!

Mat and Andi went on a trip this weekend and so Mom and Dad babysat the kids (Andrew and Mylie). We were able to go and to play with them and hang out with them all day- it was so much fun!! They had a fun morning with Nana (Mom) at the Children’s Museum in Denver and then we got to spend the afternoon with them. We went to McDonalds and played on the play place; Went on a big walk along the river to Grandpa’s work, and found walking sticks; decorated gingerbread people-yum; we roasted hotdogs and marshmallows; Watched Jurassic Park Junior- Andrew thought it was fun and Mylie thought it was very scary; and we had cake and ice cream. It was a busy jam-packed hyper kido day but it was SO fun to be with the kids!!!



Mylie scared by the T-rex in Jurassic Junior.



































































Decorating gingerbread people...men, women, children and dogs!!













Most of these are the adult decorated, we had already packed the kids up- so they could take them home (to show their parents).

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!!