Halloween!!!

So, what's a better way to celebrate the new year than by posting pictures from Halloween? I felt like that's a great idea. So here are pictures from the Halloween parties Ben and I attended during the week of Halloween. We decided to be The Incredibles. I guess while Ben was on his mission in Argentina all the Argentines told him he looked like Mr. Incredible and called him Elder Incredible so it was only fitting that we made that a reality. Oh, on a side note, I tried to dye my hair red like Mrs. Incredible but the pkg said that it may permanently make blond hair red...and I just wasn't ready for that kind of change so I was a blond Mrs. Incredible. Enjoy :)

There was a donut eating contest and no girls participated so I felt like I had to represent. I lost horribly...
Ben was a close 2nd in the donut eating contest. He had frosting all over his face by the time it was done.

Horseback Riding

So just to set the record straight. I hate animals. I hate how they smell, how they shed, and how they drool. It doesn't help that I'm allergic to them. Yet Ben is always trying to get me to do new and exciting things. Our bishop lives on a ranch and is your stereotypical cowboy. He owns about 10 horses and constinently encourages us to get up to his house in Elk Ridge and ride them. So Ben decided to take the bishop up on his offer and schedule a time to go for a horse ride. I was not excited for this at all. We get there and I'm terrified of the horses and terrified I'm gonna end up being kicked up or that the horse if gonna run off somewhere. I struggle getting on the horse and feel really uncomfortable on it. We get situated and start trotting. I have a hard time trying to figure out how to steer my horse and it keeps wandering off to eat hay. After a few lessons from the bishops wife I finally take charge of my horse and we start trotting up a mountain. After we got going and started to see the amazing views on top of the mountain I started to enjoy myself a little. It ended up being a fun trip and I actually got on top of a horse. Not something I ever thought I would do.

Yeah, probably a once in a lifetime picture right here.

Our horses kept eating...they are very determined animals when they eat and hard to control

Stewart Falls Round Two

So when I was going through my pictures on my computer the other day I stumbled upon these. These were taken in July, about a week before I got my wisdom teeth out to be exact. Ben planned an elder's quarum activity to hike up to Stewart Falls one Saturday afternoon. Here are some pictures from that day.

Here Ben is underneath the actual waterfall itself. He ended up getting soaked!

Stewart Falls

At the base of the waterfall

Our close up :)

Me leading the pack.

Baker Beach Day

A little over a month ago Ben & I had the chance to go back to Washington to visit our families for the first time in about 8 months. It felt so good to be back home and be around friends and family. I love Washington and miss it so much when I'm not there. I love the low-key lifestyle there and all the trees, lakes, and rivers everywhere. It was so good to be with our families too. Ben's brother Ryan came home from his mission to Jamaica so it was really good to see him after two years. My sister got engaged while I was away so I got to spend time with her and her fiance Will.

One of the funnest things we did was go to Seaside, Oregon. It is my favorite place in the whole world. When I was younger my family would go camping there on the beach multiple times every summer. I feel like I almost grew up there we were there so much so I absolutely love going back. My Mom had her birthday while we were home and she wanted to go on a family day trip to the beach. Here are some pictures:

So I absolutely love the Tilt-A-Whirl. Everytime I get on it I laugh non-stop and I can't help it. Here is me, Ben, and Kyle (my brother) in motion. I really am laughing but it's kinda hard to tell.

My brother had always wanted to go boogy boarding but never had so Ben taught him. He is now addicted and has already been a couple more times since we were home.

Kyle decided to dig a giant hole. It was like 3 feet deep. So my Mom and I jumped in for a picture.


Family Picture!!! Except for my Dad because he was taking the picture. From left to right: Will, me, Ben, Mom, Shannon, and Kyle is buried. He didn't like being buried so much and it took awhile to get him out of there.

Ok, this is one of my all time favorite pictures. This is taken at my favorite spot in the entire world. It's the South Jetty in Astoria, Oregon but I call it the rocks. These are massive boulders that jut out into the ocean to change the water current and tide so ships can sail closer to land. It was used in WWII. I like to sit on the rocks and stare out in the ocean. Here there is nothing but the ocean and you and it's the most peaceful feeling and beautiful sight I've ever seen. So this is Ben & I sitting on The Rocks at sunset.

Smith Family Reunion

Well, this post is about 2 months late, but better late than never I guess. Over the 4th of July week and weekend, Ben's extended family, his Mom's side, had their annual family reunion. This year it was at the KOA at Bear Lake in northern Utah. It was a lot of fun. We made family reunion t-shirts, rode wave-runners, played all kinds of games, went swimming, and ate lots and lots and lots of food.

My favorite part though was one afternoon we drove to southern Idaho and visited the Minnetonka Cave. It was a guided tour through a sweet cave about two miles into the side of a mountain. It was crazy to think how much rock we were under. I've never been inside a deep cave before and I love anything geologic so I had a blast. Also, another highlight happened the very last night of the reunion when I wanted smores. You can't go camping without some smores. But a massive thunder & lightening storm came with hail. It was a pretty intense storm. After it passed over, Ben wanted to make me a fire so I could have my smores. I told him he didn't have to but he wanted to anyway. Everything was completely soaked so he spent two hours buidling a fire so I could have my smores. It was the nicest & cutest thing ever. It really made me happy :) Anyway, the reunion was tons of fun. I LOVE camping and grew up spending my summers camping at KOA so I loved being there. Also Ben's family is super nice and very welcoming of me. Here are some pics from the trip:

Cindy & Aubrey's KOA Kamping Kabin

Ben & me at the end of the Minnetonka Cave....this is my favorite picture.

Me with Ben's cousins, Maddy & Jessica, waiting to go into the Minnetonka Cave

Family Portrait...my shirt is way too big on me :(

Ben's family going into the Minnetonka Cave...I'm at the end there

Manti Temple & Pageant

So our ward did a temple trip at the Manti temple. I thought doing a live session would be really weird but it wasn't. I loved moving from room to room. It made everything so much more meaningful and easier to understand. Also the temple was super old since it was built & furnished over 100 years ago. It made for a really neat experience. I was also taking a Utah State History class at the time so I kept thinking about the pioneer people & Brigham Young the whole time we were there. We then went & watched the Manti pageant which I thought would be this dinky small town production but it wasn't. It was massive with tons of costumes, cool sets, and lots of fire. It was freezing because a storm had just passed before the pageant and everything was wet & damp but it was still really awesome to see. Here are some pictures from our activity:

Where the pageant took place just below the temple

Waiting for the Pageant to begin

Our bishop took this picture. On a grass field with the temple in the background

In front of the Manti Temple

Hiking in Stewart Falls

So this last Saturday Ben & I decided to go hiking. We both love being outside & being active so it sounded like a great activity. The weather said it was supposed to rain that day so we brought umbrellas & jackets and went on our way. The hike is just under 4 miles round trip. Well, about half a mile into the hike it started raining, then pouring, then hailing, then thunder & lightening. We found a grove of trees and put our jackets on and got our umbrellas out however we both managed to get soaked!! We waited for about 25 minutes hoping the storm would pass and when it didn't we decided to head back. We then ate the picnic we had packed for when we got to the waterfalls in the truck and then drove around the national park for a little while. It then started to clear up and we embarked on the hike again. It was a fun hike and so nice to be outside especially after the rain. The waterfalls were really pretty too. Utah is not normally this green this time of the year so I really reminded me of home which I loved. Here are some pictures after we got soaked and made it to the falls.

Stewart Falls

Sitting on a giant rock enjoying the scenery.

Us at the base of the waterfall.

Us as we begin our 2nd attempt of the hike.

This is Ben staring out into the forest, I think he's trying to look explorerish.

Ben & Stephanie

So my computer crashed a few months ago, so tonight I had some spare time and I was uploading pictures from my camera back onto my computer. I found these random pictures of Ben & I.

We are at the TCU/Utah game. I was completely frozen by this point.

Us at the Jazz Game

Us on the Trax on our way to a Jazz game.

Here we are at Halloween last year. Our pumpkin is in the shape of a football.

Memorial Day Weekend - Tour of Idaho

For memorial day weekend we had a packed 3 days. We went to Ogden & watched Terminator with Ben's uncle, cousin, and grandpa. Yep..I was the only girl. On Saturday we headed to Rexburg to go to Sam's sealing. I've never been to Rexburg. I almost went to BYU-I so it was interesting to see the campus. That school is practically the whole town. I'm glad I eneded up at BYU. Ben took me on a tour of the town which took a whole 8 minutes :) The sealing was great. I'm glad we got to be there. Audi looked beautiful and Sam couldn't stop smiling the entire day. We then went to Idaho Falls where Ben suprised me with a hotel reservation for that night for our 1 yr. anniversary! So we went and walked around all the parks around the snake river and saw the Idaho Falls. Amazingly pretty parks there. We went to the mall, got coldstone, and sat in the hot tub at the hotel with a large man who was putting away the beer. We then spent the rest of the weekend in Ogden with Ben's extended family. It was so much fun to just get away and go on a mini road trip. Here are some pictures of us in front of the Idaho Falls.

A Black Tie Affair

So at the beginning of May Heidi and Janelle hosted a dinner party called A Black Tie Affiar. We were supposed to dress in nice clothes and enjoy an Italian dinner with a group of our friends. We had appetizers and a nice Lasanga dinner with homemade breadsticks. Ben and I hosted the dessert in which we had a cream pie with blueberries and strawberries on top. We then played pictionary and Catch Phrase (my favorite game). It was fun. Here are some pics from the night. I love how Ben rebelled and wore a red tie. It's a black tie party and he wears a red tie. Kinda funny.

Heidi's Birthday

This is a really late post, but I finally got to updating my blog and need to go back and post some pictures that are a little late. For Heidi's 22nd birthday party we went with our group of friends to a resturant in the Riverwoods called Happy Sumo. Really good and fun enviornment, never been there before. It was a really fun night. I hope she had a happy birthday!

Protien

Do we get the necessary amount of protein we need each day? According to the National Health and Nutrtion Examination Survey about 7% of teenage girls and 8% of adult women do not get the necessary amount of protein they need. Protein is important to many physiological functions, from building muscle and bone to keeping cells in good working order. Recent studies suggest that protein makes a meal more satiating, which in turn could help people maintain a healthy weight. Meat is known to be a great source of protein. But is this really the healthiest source of protein? When choosing meat as a main source of protein aim for lean meats like chicken, pork, and fish. Eggs, beans, and nuts are also excellent sources of protein also filled with Omega-3 fatty acids that help with heart health as well.

High Blood Pressure Levels

Blood Pressure is critically important in maintaining a healthy heart but also maintaining healthy blood vessels. If we do not keep our blood pressure down under healthy levels than significant damage can happen to the blood vessels due to such high pressure which leads to wear and tear on the vessels. If the vessels get worn down they lose their elasticity and become hard. Blood clots may also form on the interior of the vessels leading to ateriosclorisis. These blood clots may than halt blood flow which with stop the flow of oxygen and other nutrients to the heart or brain which can cause a heart attack or stroke. Here are the healthy and unhealthy levels so we can better understand what those numbers mean when we go to the doctor's office.

Below 120 & Below 80

Normal - Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

120-139 & 80-89

PreHypertention - Adopt a healthier lifestyle

140-159 & 90-99

Stage 1 Hypertention - Adope a healthier lifestyle, possibly need to take medications to help

lower blood pressure

160 or more & 100 or more

Stage 2 Hypertension - Adopt a healthier lifestyle, definently need to take medications to

lower blood pressure. May need to take multiple medications. Risk is high for heart attack,

heart disease, or stroke if not already sufferning from those diseases.

Farrah Fawcett's Cancer Battle

Farrah Fawcett was recently hospitalized for complications associated with her battle with anal cancer. She received some unconvential cancer treatments in Germany which caused a large blood clot in her leg. The cancer is quickly metasticizing and has spread to her liver. However, the survival rate is 71% for this type of cancer in women so hopefully this is something she can beat.