Our First Christmas

After returning home from a six-day business trip in Denver, I was surprised to find a lit tree and a nativity scene in our apartment - cutest husband ever! Ben had done some cute decorating - complete with a Santa Claus tree skirt. So cute!

Ben let me decorate it... it was a lot of fun. I had a few sparkly fruits, some ribbon left over from the wedding (and some I've been saving), a work in progress for sure. But it was really a fun thing! My sister-in-law worked at Modern Display for the month, so I stopped by to pick up the rest of the ornaments I needed to fill in the gaps. :)

I found myself making adjustments every few days, as I would walk by and see something out of place... I guess it'll only go up from here.

23rd Birthday

Was turning 23 fun for anyone else? Yes, any birthday is of course exciting, but turning 23? 16 was cool, 17 was great, 18 was too... 19, 20, 21, college (when you had dessert parties and fun dress-up parties and invited everyone, rad!), and 22 maybe. Now I'm just getting older. Which is guess is just the way it is. I guess one of the good things is that now when I tell people my age, they'll no longer reply, "wow! you're only --??? (fill in the blank)" At least 23 demands a bit more respect, right?

Well I had a great birthday. Ben gave flowers and took me out to a nice steak dinner at Ruth's Chris to celebrate. He even let me order french fries as my side and as many Diet Cokes as I wanted! The atmosphere in the restaurant is what I'd describe as a Contemorary Art Deco. The center of the restaurant is the lowest level, and from there, different tables on different tiers of the floor. did I mention the up-lighting? v. cool. So I dressed up accordingly, (surprise surprise). Even bought a new lipstick for the occasion. (tried to match it to this font color) ;) Here's a pic from dinner. Do I look old or what???
Ben said "happy birthday" to me at least 55 times throughout the day, which was nice - I think he was trying to fill in for the six family members I didn't get to see that day. Here's to another year - on to the next!

The Lights at Temple Square

I'm posting some pictures for those of you who are away from Temple Square this season. Ben and I went with all the family to see the lights last Friday, and yes, in true form, it was windy and freezing! Wowee it was cold. But we had a really fun time. Although... I think there are fewer lights this year. It seemed like the usual 40-minute lap took only about 20 minutes. hmm... maybe it was just me. It was fun to see the Temple in the middle of all the lights and visit again the place we were married. PS - I got my wedding video back today. It's really great!

Jury Duty?

I've had the most interesting experience this week. Since Sunday, I've been in Denver at a grant-writing workshop presented by The Grantsmanship Center and sponsored by the State Scholars Initiative. (Utah Scholars is the Utah version of the SSI program). All of the other states participating in the Initiative are here as well... bringing a total of 21 people from various states around the country, not to mention various ages, races, socio-economic levels, education levels, etc... you name it!
I am the youngest person here by far... probably young enough to be the daughter of at least 70% of the people here. We meet from 8:30 to 5:30 each day, and have all lunches and dinners together. It's nice to be put up in the Westin, and nice that the conference is right downstairs in the hotel. However, today (day 4/5), while looking around the table at lunch and observing the various and varied conversations happening, I realized what this feels like... Jury Duty! But not just the mundane jury duty, rather the kind where the group is sequestered and has only the company of one another for an extended period of time. Like "12 Angry Men" or "Runaway Jury" or something. It's so interesting to be learning about different people... from the 'haves' to the 'have nots', from old to young, fat to skinny, from a Louisiana-bred Southern Belle to a South-Dakotan "dontcha knoow, eh", and today I even sat by a Vegetarian! It's like a different life, where these people are the only world you know, and since it's been a few days, it kinda feels like an alternate universe where this becomes your reality and normal life is hard to remember.
I just have to sit back and laugh - adults are so diverse! I'm lucky to have friends and family who I know will develop as cool people. Haha - there really is something to be learned from everyone.

A month-long vacay

What an amazing November I had! First, you might have noticed that I changed by blog intro-paragraph from 'unmarried' to 'newly married'... November 10th was definitely the highlight of my month, but it didn't stop there. After 22 years of planning my wedding, everything turned out perfectly! :) The only thing I would've changed was the passage of time, what a blur the whole day was! People are right, the day does go by SO fast, I wish I had a 'slo-mo' button. The temple was an incredible experience - and the reception that night was everything I envisioned and more. Those of you who were there- thanks for making the night so special.
Here is a pic from our "exit"

Ben surprised me with a night at Little America that night, and then it was off to Mehico. Puerto Vallarta was great! The weather was warm and just what the doctor ordered, but I would say we had a rather cultural experience. Here's a lesson... Cancun feels like Miami, but downtown Puerto Vallarta feels like Mexico. God Bless the USA - :) We had a great time though, and I think Ben was impressed with my conversational Spanish.

After returning, we worked two very short days, and then off to Monty for Thanksgiving! It was SO nice to spend some quality time with the family... even when they were in Utah for the wedding it seemed like we didnt' have time to really visit, with all the last minute errands and various other pre-wedding functions. Taryn planned a truly fantastic menu for our Thanksgiving Feast... and feast doesn't even do the meal justice. Taryn is unbelievable - and so ambitious. (buy her stock now... and one day be rich!) Three cheers for Taryn.
So while we were there, my mom set up a Cooking demo with an Italian chef who owns/operates/cooks for his own restaurant in town called Moroldo's. It was fun to be in the kitchen with him and listen to his awesome accent. He'd demonstrate each course and then serve us the food. Yummy! Here is a picture from our 'fieldtrip'. (and just to clarify...Ben found my high-school softball jacket and made me wear it in the picture)

Another fun thing we did was head down to this painting place in Whitefish... the place was called "Stumptown Art Studio" - what a name. We all painted our own pieces while we sat around a big table... and it was a blast! On the back of our plates we all named this fieldtrip: Stimpson Stompdown at the Stumptown Art Studio. We are so clever - it was really hilarious at the time. Here we are!


The trip was so much fun- we decided to ditch work another two days to play some more. Ok, just kidding, a blizzard blew in and delayed our flight for 2 days! Whattaya do? We pulled another week-long vacation out of this trip too. I think I worked a total of 5 days in the whole month of November. Made me wonder if I ever wanted to go back. :)

Ben and I are having so much fun right now. Still getting our apartment furnished and such, but for now we're livin on love, and Ben's mom's leftovers (I don't cook yet, and she's just so charitable!). We're looking forward to Christmas and cuddling up as the weather turns cold. Back to reality for us (I have no more vacation days until next April I swear), but it sure was an Exceptional Month-Long Vacay!

Here's to You, Dessa/ Tuffy

I have long wanted to blog one of my favorite couples of all time, Tessa and Duffy. Not only are they dang-cute and a striking pair, they are what I call a traveling party! Extemely complimentary of each other in more ways than one, this couple has it all: creativity, giggles, good looks, intelligence, enthusiasm, excellent and well-versed conversation, and a genuity that is unmatched. To know them is to love them. I can't think of any activity that wouldn't be ten times more fun with this pair!

Wishing you the best, here's to the cutest couple in the Bubble!

Well it Ain't Brain Surgery

So for Ben's birthday, I bought him surprise tickets to Jim Gaffigan, arguably the funniest comedian alive. It was so genius! We've been watching the tivo-ed show of his just about every week since March. We were excited to go see him and loved the
show. So did Tessa and Duffy - I was glad they came too.

Afterwards, the announcer came on and said, "Jim Gaffigan will be signing DVDs in the upper level balcony following the show." I said to Ben, "oh yes! Honey, we
have to get a picture with him, how funny and great would that be?" But Ben
said it'd probably be really crowded and not really worth our wait. So I
agreed and we headed for the exit. Being seated pretty close to the doors, I
was the first person to exit our section, and I nearly hit Jim Gaffigan
himself with the door as I flung it open!
WOWEE! So being the go-getter I am, (thank you mom), I asked him if we could be
first to get a picture. The rent-a-cops looked questioning and dumb-founded, but
Jim said okay and I asked one of the security guards to take a picture. Cause
c'mon, "It ain't brain surgery!" (but obviously she doesn't know how to take a
picture)


So how awesome! If you haven't heard his shtick, go rent it, or watch for it on
Comedy Central. Beyond the Pale is a great and memorable routine! Thanks for the laughs Jim! (by the way, he really IS pale)

Greatest day of my life!

So this afternoon... I got home from running some Saturday errands, and waiting for me was... my Degree! Some of you may know just how long I've been waiting for it... I threw a party! I made my roommate take a picture immediately! I danced all around the house. "I love today!" I thought to myself.

Then, later that night, Ben picked me up to go to dinner, and when I opened the door, there he was, wearing a shirt and tie and holding the most beautiful arrangement of roses and lilies. Cute! He made me swear to keep my eyes closed as he drove to dinner.
The evening was so beautful, when we pulled up to La Caille I was stunned at how pretty it was. It was a really nice night, but sorta cold as we started walking around the paths there. I had a thought he may propose, but I didn't think it would be before dinner. After we'd made one lap, I looked at him and said, "well, shall we go in? you're kinda cold I can tell." Ben was unresponsive, shivering, and staring blankly off into space. hmm... So we started taking another lap. He walked us over to a quiet spot on the water, and sat me down to face him. He just stared at me for a while, speechless, motionless, our faces pretty close - and then I knew it was coming.

He gave me a sweet little speech - got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him! The whole time I was wide-eyed, giggling, and grinning from ear to ear. I said YES and he gave me the most beautiful ring. We stood up to hug and I could hardly contain myself, I started squealing and hopping in place exitedly... (scared the ducks from the water, and the other people walking around)

It was the perfect proposal - he was so cute! When we went inside for dinner, the waitress came over and said, "so how are you this evening?" My response, "We just got engaged, right out there!" : ) I couldn't keep it in of course, hello! Scream it from the rooftops, right? The chef prepared an appetizer for us, a bottle of 'bubbly', and then chocolate-dipped strawberries with a lit firework inside (wow) for dessert. It was such a fun night.

Here is a picture from after dinner -

And here is a picture of us after we'd gotten back from dinner. I tried to hold the camera close enough to get both of us and the ring. I said, "okay, this time, kiss me" but Ben kind of looks asleep. No matter, I was most set on getting the ring in the shot. Taryn sent me a text this morning that said, "how long have you been staring at your ring" - well, let's just say I have trouble sleeping and I am pretty slow in responding to people when they're talking to me, "oh, what? wait, I'm sorry"


We've chosen November 10th for our wedding day, in the Salt Lake temple. We'll have a small family/friends dinner that evening at the 23rd Floor of the Wells Fargo building downtown, complete with candles, toasting, Sinatra, and dancing! I am really excited to finish all the planning - although I feel a bit rushed with only 54 days to go. www.mywedding.com/laurenandben/

Most of all, I LOVE my sweet Ben and am really excited to get married. After all these years of dreaming of weddings, my future family, and a manly husband (tee hee hee : ), I've found my perfect match, and I'm so glad he chose me back!

My long-awaited degree AND a proposal in the same day? - this was arguably the GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!

Nannying Mushers

Here are the mushers I've been nannying this weekend. Ben's sister and her hubby went away for their anniversary, and I thought it'd be fun to offer to watch them. I was right! They are mushers! We've had such a blast... yummy pizza from the Pie last night, baths, storytime... and today, Saturday morning cartoons, cereal, hose fights, tots and frozen chicken dinosaurs for lunch, and then a trip to the playplace @ "Ol' MacDonalds" (Gabe calls it this, so we sang the song all the way there!) Gabe is 3 and Jed is almost 2. They're so energetic!
One more funny... Gabe's dad Tyler got a great deal on a flatbed trailer the other day, and today in the car, Gabe says, "we freakin stole that trailer" omg guys, hilar! he's 3!

Hermana Estimson

I haven't blogged my sister yet... bless her. My older sister Lindsey is on a mission, only about 12 weeks out. She's in Guatemala, currently serving about 6 hours from the city, a rural jungle-like place that seems full of tree-houses. She write us hilarious emails about the chicken/rooster fights that take place in the middle of the family room, in the middle of a discussion. Hilar! She is so darling, and writes such wonderful things home to us. It truly is a blessing to have a missionary out, as much as we really miss her.



Here is a quotation from Joseph Smith, in 1840 from Nauvoo:

"Love is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race. This has been your feeling, and caused you to forego the pleasures of home, that you might be a blessing to others, who are candidates for immortality, but strangers to truth; and for so doing, I pray that heaven's choicest blessings may rest upon you."

Coming soon to a showchoir near you

THE unicorn shirt is coming soon... due to popular demand. Stay tuned

I have a boyf

So I can't believe I forgot to 'blog' Ben... after all we've been through! : ) Don't tell him I haven't blogged him yet, ok?

Well, in a nutshell, Ben's the best thing that's ever happened to me. Now I know why all my friends got married. Before, I was bewildered... "What? You found someone who wants to laugh with you, love you, take care of you forever and ever, and you actually like him back? Not possible. Everything all in one boy? No way."

But I've fallen victim. To quote Will Ferrell in his most hilarious skit on his SNL dvd, "I've been bit by the love bat... and it's Driving Me MAD!"

Each day is better and better, and hopefully, someday not too far away, it'll jump a thousand steps ahead in just one day.
Here we are... do you love us?

Born my to unicorn?, wait, what?

The deal with the pic is that I was trying to post a photo on my blog page... but it turned into a post of it's own... gotta figure that out.

This pic was taken inside Urban Outfitters in Denver, Co, at one of THE most fantastic malls ever built. Don't ask Abby how good of a time she had there!

The shirt actually says, "Born to be my Unicorn" although it took us a while to figure out the order of the words. I liked the shirt but not enough to spend $30+ on it... plus, I already HAVE a unicorn shirt, hello!

Blythe asked..."is that a ring on your hand?" well, yes. but not "a" ring. I was just practicing, tee hee hee. The pic is from Niki's wedding back in May.

And no fear, when I DO get a ring, trust me, there'll be a much better picture of it! : )

I outsmarted the system

So I'm logging on with another mindless blog - but it's this week's excitement, and I simply have to share. For about a year now, I've been looking for the perfect flatware. (forks, spoons, kinves, etc - place settings)
Being the queen of "e-window shopping" - I would argue that I reached the end of the web in the lengths of my search. My requirements: 18/10 stainless steel, forged, 16 settings, heavy-weight and anything but retro-modern. Oh, and my budget was considerably low. I'd done my homework, searched high and low, and would even open boxes and feel the pieces I found locally, Costco, Targ, Meier and Frank, Potterybarn ($$$).
"What exactly am I looking for?" was the question I kept asking.
Well, one day, I found a fabulous set. Heavy weight, beautiful lines, good scale, unique, with the perfect classic style and even feminine hints.

One small problem.
It was online at Williams-Sonoma.com, and at $38 for 1 place setting. I wanted 16. Do the math - no wait, DON'T do the math... ahh! $608 and all my dreams would come true? I don't think so.
So I continued to browse. Every site I could google - from the online powerhouses like overstock.com and smartbargains.com, down to the hole-in-the-wall shops (if you will).
And low and behold - I found the EXACT Williams-Sonomie "exclusively ours" pattern for a steal! Instead of $38 per setting, I paid $14! Sight-unseen, I signed-in and checked-out, my fingers crossed the whole time. (I even got free shipping! what?!)
So now, after waiting patiently, the Retroneau Laurel pieces are safely in my kitchen. They are a perfect size, a perfect weight (so important! absolutley hate flimsy tin flatware), stunning in person, and unique.

(the same - the same I tell you! amazing!)

Thus proves these age-old proverbs, if I may quote a few... "thing things worth having a worth waiting/working hard for"... and... "it pays to shop around!"

Now to find the perfect drawer/storage/utensil divider/organizer.......

Full Canine Property Ownership

Here is my logo! It's my baby. Well, I didn't create it all on my own, but I'm claiming "full canine property ownership", "and enforcing said ownership... right now." (I LOVE elle woods)

Our letterhead, envelopes, business cards, etc., went to press today. Only a few more weeks and the website will be finished too. Stay tuned!

Working Girl

Early this month I started a new job coordinating the Utah Scholars program. I'm working with an office full of rising stars - the Commissioner of Higher Education and the Board of Regents. It feels great to finally be in a field where I can use my degree , and it feels even better to be a part of such a great cause. Go to utahscholars.org to learn more. (I'm working on the website now, it should be up by early September)
Here is my advice, now a seasoned veteran with 1 year of work under my belt: "If you have to be full-time, be sure it's something you love!"

I'm on the Blogwagon

This marks the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Me and my blog.
Makes me think of that jingle for the toy "My buddy":

My friend Heidi is a bloggin fool - I'll attribute her with my catching the Blog Fever!

Beidi meets Bauren

Originally posted on Diva Blog by Heidi

Last night we saw Lauren and her man at the Oakley Rodeo. We felt lucky to finally meet Ben! Great guy Laur, we both really liked him.

We also saw Katie and Scott sitting not too far away, but when I tried to catch up with them after the rodeo I saw her siblings but no Rynearsons! This means I will need to arrange some sort of Diva dinner in the next week or so. I guess I will email everyone about that. I wanted to crop and take out the red eye of the pic above, but my parent's computer does not have that program and we didn't bring our computer from home. O well! Hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July. Tonight we are having a family dinner but fireworks might be a no go since it's pouring rain. What did everyone do to celebrate? -Heid

The Goodbye Gift

Originally posted on the Diva Blog


Tonight we had a dinner to say farewell to our sweet Diva Taryn. She is off to Virginia as Mike begins law school at George Mason this fall. It was great to see everyone, and especially Katie who is days away from being a mommy!
Tary we'll miss you!

A Three-Hour Tour

Originally posted on Diva Blog



So here are a few pics from Lake Powell- 22 people x 6 days x a 1b/1b houseboat. But I never felt cramped! I had such a blast you guys, Ben has such a fun family. I was one of two guests (ben's sister has a boyf)... so we switched off turns being in the family photo. hee hee.





The other pic was taken after a small prank was played on us. Ben and I stole away to the anchored ski boat, to discuss our future ;), and Ben's older brother zoomed by us in the jet-ski and created a SeaWorld- like tidal wave over the boat. Ben, of course, managed to run for cover; I, however, tried to stay put and duck... notice who's drenched. and on second-look, why the hey does my butt look huge in this pic? yes, I uh think I was sticking it out. why?

I'm still waiting for more pics - I'll post when I have em. Ben had the camera and doesn't quite sense the urgency of the Diva Blog!!!

Blind date magic

Originally posted on Diva Blog


Bauren? Len?

Well girls, believe it or not, I have a boyf! Lacey set us up on a blind/blind date back in February, and after a month I finally realized I should hang on to him. He is a great catch! Ben is applying to dental schools for next fall ('07) and currently pursuing a few real estate ideas in the SL area. He's almost 26, served in Taiwan, from Layton, and if you can believe it, I like him more and more each time I see him. :) I'm off to Lake Powell on Wednesday with Ben and the entire Oviatt family, 8 other couples. uh, wish me luck! I'll keep you posted on any and all updates. Don't you just love love?

Divas Graduation

Originally posted on Diva Blog


April 2005: The Divas finally graduate! So great and unexpected that so many of us were able to 'walk' together! There's something so special here... think about it... we all started together, and took our own paths along the way, and finished together. We are blessed - and I don't think for one second that our Diva-hood was just happenstance - there are higher powers at work here.
A few of you are missing, but in a way you were there with us that day. - Laur (now if I can just find some incriminating freshman year pics...)