ONE MONTH

Happy One Month Anniversary!

Can you believe it?! We have survived one month of the marriage life! People keep telling me that the first year is the hardest and if it is- score! Because its going pretty nicely.

I love Ben so much, but that's old news. He's just so easy to love!
~I loved when I got my calling as Primary Pres's Councilor and he prayed for me the rest of the week.
~I love that he's obsest with Halloween.

~I love that his number one joy is making me happy.

~I love that texts me almost everyday just saying how much he misses me or is thinking about me.

~I love that adorable gleam in his eye just after he kisses me.

~I love of great he looks in all our pictures together!

~I love when he cooks Italian food.

~I love that he constantly encourages me to keep writing and wants me to succeed in whatever I choose in life.

~I love that he's so neat and tidy.

~I love that remembers to say morning prayers every day.

~I love that he takes the time to explain the 'star wars universe' to me while we're watching the movies.

~I love when he's already seen an intense movie and warns me not to get attach to a certain character he knows is going to do so I won't be sad.

~I love that he reads ALOT.

~I love his artistic skills and marvels at how fast he can finish any art project or craft project.

~I love that he chooses to do his very best in whatever calling the ward gives him.

~I love that he calls his mom and checks up on her.

~I love that he loves to garden and can't wait to have our own!

But most of all, or at least, most recent

~I love that when I asked him last night what his favorite part about the past month has been he said, "I love that I come home to our little place and to my family everyday." And I thought he was going to say the food!

So for our first anniversary we pretty much stayed in! I cooked up some stir fry with an AWESOME homemade sweet-and-sour sauce. I got the recipe from a lady on my mission and its sooo easy to make and just tastes fantastic! The best I've ever had. If you want the recipe let me know and I'll make sure to post it!

When Ben got home he brought me a bouquet of Roses!!

I almost didn't hear him knocking when he got home because I was listening to 'Cash Cab' so loudly in the kitchen. When I looked through the peep hole to make sure there was someone at the door all I saw were those beautiful pink flowers! I felt bad thought because while I was in Nebraska I bought a little somethin' somethin' but can't find it anywhere in our apt! All I remember was thinking, "oh i'll put it here so he won't find it." and can't remember where 'here' is! I'll look again today and hopefully it'll turn up!

After dinner we took a nice stroll down to our favorite creamery which is a couple blocks from our apt. The weather was perfect for walking and since the high will only be 44 tomorrow we figured we better get the ice cream now!! Its called "G's Dairy" and we both ended up getting our favorite Gorilla Munch even though we both said we'd be getting something new. Gorilla Munch consists of banana ice cream with peanut butter swirls in and Oreo cookie pieces- heavenly. Pure celestial.

A better week

Actually better then just a better week- a GREAT week!

With the new arrival to the Beams house and David getting the Job I think our family has had a great week!

Thank you so to Katie for sending me ideas! I have done a bunch of them ex- writing down the hopes and dreams, and making elaborate dishes (ben really likes that one too, homemade rolls and chicken tetrazini) I boiled a chicken for the first time in my life. Gross smell, but tasty!

Another BIG thank you goes to my mom (wait, am i at the Emmys or something) for sending me LOADS of swedish weaving supplies. For those who don't know what swedish weaving is its like crossstich on a LARGE scale. You take one long piece of yarn and string it through the holes of fabric while turing the needle in a backwards direction. Its actually really easy and turns out beautiful. I'm working one a girl baby blanket and a soon after a boy baby blanket. Not too shabby huh? No, this isn't how i'm announcing a new "little darling" just preparing for the future when we do! Another idea from katie.

A rough beginning. A lot more rows to go!

In all its been a about a 3 hour process so far. This is a patient project.

Ben, with his new work schedule, gets weekends free. A whole Saturday to ourselves and what two things does my husband suggest?!?! Shopping and Crafts. Did I marry the perfect man or what?!!?
So I.F. we went to get a couple more things for our apt thanks to the random wedding gift cards that keep coming in. What a great time in our lives where going out to the mail box means making another 20 bucks! The extra money we had left over went into this weeks Halloween craft project:

Its 10 times cooler then the tree because Ben was there to help. We spent about 45 mins in the Rexburg's mini version of Hobby Lobby called 'Porters'. We took a big black square of poster board, bent it in half in an 'L' shape, cut out the mansion for the bask piece, cut holes in the bottom to add lights, super-glued the tombstones in, cut up pieces of bone hands to make bones, tore apart spiderwebs to make the fog, and cut grey card stock for the fence. Needless to say it took all afternoon. And for those wondering, Ben painted the blood on it - not me!

Yeah, we're pretty proud of it. We joked while making the haunted grave yard that our kids are going to have AWESOME science projects. And possibly they'll have nightmares from all the halloween stuff in our house! Looks like we won't get any more stuff till the AMAZING day after halloween sales. I love that day.

Part of our shopping extravaganza took us to target where I got a halloween bowl for the youngsters. Sure it was only a dollar and i'm pretty sure its too flimsy to stick in the dishwasher, but this bowl means so much more to me. Its my halloween bowl, for my house, where my husband and i will hand out candy, on my favorite holiday. It took me about 8 mins just to pick the exact right one and i held it close to me the rest of the shopping time and refused to part with it to put it in the cart.

Oddly enough though, we've had our first trick-or-treat-ers. Well, sort of. This prized piece immediately took a place of honor on our coffee table and already got filled with left over movie theater contraband that we snuck in. So here i am sitting in the afternoon with our front door open waiting for some friends of ours to come over when I leisurely pick up a snicker from the bowl and sink into a fit of caramel delight. In mid decent and wrapper still in hand I get that 'some one is watching me' feeling. There were 2 soon to be 3 then 4 sets of little eyes spying on me and the large candy feast. I happily let them have some and even take some pieces for later. I love kids and there innocence. I wish that i could go sniffing about the neighborhood for whoever is cooking the best dinner that day and expect to get fed!

This wonderful week ended with more sugary niblets, at least these were mostly given away to an old mission buddy of Ben's and our new dinner friends the Coons. They were surprised at the decorations, considering its still September, but loved the fact that they were all homemade right down to the butter cream frosting. Oh yeah, I'm officially enjoying my time away from time.

Next weeks blog: How I spend all my time at the Gym.

I'm alive - i promise!

21 days married, 13 days as a housewife

Hopefully you'all were able to check out facebook and see the pictures we posted of our honeymoon! It was so much fun to just relax and for the first time since Ben and I met each other we didn't worry about jobs, school, or wedding plans. Whoever invented 'the honeymoon' should get a Nobel peace prize! We've already planned out our 1st anniversary to (hopefully) Las Vegas!

And for all those who have even the slightest creepy bone in their body I highly suggest staying at the Stanely Hotel. I promise anyone who stays there will hear things that go bump in the night and (especially if you take the haunted tour like we did) you'll get to hear an abundance of stories of ghostly things that have happened. The reason I happily suggest this place for anyone is because even when we would hear or feel stuff it never for a minute felt evil. Not even a little bit. The theory of why there is so much post mortal phenomenon is because this was were people were the happiest in their lives and just wish to come back and dance in its halls forever.

Our Ghost Tour guide

This is our tour guide how closely infringed upon the lines of peppy and annoying. One part of the tour she told us that up on the most haunted floor -(the 4th floor, which reminds me, if you do stay for a night or two DO NOT stay on the fourth floor. that's where the ghost hunters could see the doors opening and closing. That's a little too much for me even if it is just Casper) ANYWAY - theres a bench that constantly moves on its own and even between tours you can hear it moving and sometimes be able to see it slide to the other part of the wall. After our hour and 1/2 tour Ben and I decided to be a little devilish ourselves and slide the bench to the other wall. We really wanted to wait in the stairwell behind us to hear here reaction when the next group came through, but the cleaning ladies came up.

BOY we're cute!

On Wednesday we made our 11 hour trek back to rexburg and finally Thursday we moved in! After unloading all our stuff we drove separately to Idaho Falls and shopped from 12:30pm to 8pm non-stop. We didn't even eat dinner until we got back home! The first night we slept in the living room because it was the only spot that we'd cleared enough room.

Walmart has been our saving grace! When we first went out shopping we went to target because that's where most of our giftcards were for. We got most of our shopping done there and figured it was the lowest prices - OH NO! After getting to our last stop Walmart we realized that most of the stuff there was $5, $10, even $20 cheaper at Wally World. So we bought from there and then went back to Target and returned items we had gotten 3 hours earlier.

Our first dinner that we ate sitting at our coffee table. This is Ben's "I'm so tired, why are you still taking pictures, but I'll smile because i love you" face. I know it well.

At least now we've gotten into a routine. 6:15am we get up and get ready for work which starts at 7am for the both of us. I work till about Noon sometimes One and then eat lunch and work out. Clean up the house, clean up myself, and maybe get dinner started around 5 or let him get dinner started when he gets home which is usually 4 or 5pm.

Something I didn't know about being a housewife- WOW its lonely. Luckily I have this amazing husband encourages me to go shopping or out with friends, but when all your friends are single they just don't want to hang out. Sucks, but true. They have their own lives and I feel a little pushed to the side. In there eyes I have an eternal companion so they see it as some one whose always there. But it just doesn't work out that way. Plus theres only so many times that i can go to Idaho Falls by myself and shop without buying anything simply because theres nothing there I want to buy.

BUT here's what I do have that happily occupies my time: CRAFTS ( i made a Halloween tree from scraps, beads, and a well used sharpie marker), the anticipation of wedding pictures that will need to be scrap booked, BOOKS I'm reading 3 different ones and writing one as well, CASTLE CRASHERS Michael and Cris will be proud that I'm up to level 19 with one of my guys, THANK YOU CARDS they are never ending and going out in instalments. And finally Calling my mom about twice a day. :D All things i love to do.

My 'charlie brown' halloween tree. Of course we already have our halloween decorations up! Well, these are the only ones we have so far. I bought the wire tree for 1/2 off (SALE!!) for Ben and then made every last stinkin' plastic decoration on there. Took me three hours. Sing it with me - "Too much time on my hands!"

Stanley Hotel Ghost

The house warming gift mom and dad got us- LOVE IT

Its amazing what you can accomplish with beads and a sharpie

As I embark on this new chapter of life, "Married and no kids- feels a lot like being single" i do so with enthusiasm and spark. The windows of adventure are open and life awaits! Any Suggestions of how you did this part of your life?