Why I wasn't at the Young Women Activity last night....

One of the many perks of working at my job is that we sponsor the SCERA (Center for the Arts in Orem), which means our company gets free tickets to their Summer Concerts. Of course, not all of these concerts are even worth a free ticket (i.e. Swedish Tribute Band, Three Dog Night etc.)
But...when I heard on Movin' 100.7FM that Jordin Sparks was coming, I thought "Wow. Good job, Scera. Bringing a Headliner". But, I didn't think, "Oh..I want tickets!"

So, yesterday our company had a "lottery" of sorts to distribute out the free tickets. And, since I work at a Technology Company, my chances were pretty good, considering most of the "Techies" wouldn't be chompin' at the bit to see little Jordy.
Well, I called Brandon yesterday and said, "Guess What?! We might have a chance to go and see Jordin Sparks tonight, and maybe even go backstage!" And, true to his manliness, his response: "Well, I bet Tiffany would probably really want to go. I don't know any of Jordin's songs. And, the Young Men have their Stake-sponsored Pizza Party tonight." (P.S. the pizza party was at the Pizza Factory...another perk of living among the Riches). So, to make a short story even shorter, I won the lottery and also won 2 backstage passes to meet Jordin Sparks. Let's just say Tiffany was the perfect candidate, because she was soo excited!

So, we were off to the "VIP Pre-Show" at 6:30 to eat a nice, catered dinner and meet Jordin. Since the SCERA isn't your typical "Coliseum", the "backstage" was actually in the backyard of some woman's house. Haha. Funny. So, that's why these pictures are outside. On the grass. But I swear....we were backstage.

This is Jordin Sparks

This is Jordin with her two best friends: Erica and Tiffany

And....this is a close up for proof.

Pre-Concert...anxiously awaiting to cheer on our new BFF

For some reason, Jordin didn't get us front row seats.

And, seriously...Jordin was extremely nice. Since she won during the season of mine and Brandon's engagement...I didn't have much time to "fall in love" with her voice. I was too busy falling in love with my husband ::insert cheese::
So, I wasn't very familiar with the Jordin. BUT, now that I went to her concert...SHE ROCKS! Seriously. Not only is she incredibly talented, but she is so genuine. And...since I am 6 years her Senior...it is a little embarassing to admit. So just bare with me.

I would recommend Jordin Sparks to be in your Summer Concert Series, and I would recommend all of her songs to be on your iPod. And...for those of you who *despise* the song "No Air," I recommend you to reconsider. Immediately.

Wilkinson Repair Shop

Well...I thought I would actually start using this blog as a "journal" and start making entries on what we are up to. (Don't get me wrong..the Celebrity Morphing is definitely journal-worthy).
So, let's start with what Brandon is up to...because, let's be honest: my 9-5 job isn't as exciting.
As mentioned in previous entries, Brandon is the "Landscaping Guru" of some sorts for our house. He works so we can get free rent. And, even though I know my readership mainly comes from women, I thought all men might be jealous that Brandon gets to do something like this for his job:
Yes...this picture is sideways. And no, I don't know how to make it upright. Deal with it. This is Brandon borrowing our 2nd Counselor's (of our Church) Bobcat. Because, when you live in an area where we are, you own a BobCat. (Read: another reason why we don't fit in). He was moving large boulders to landscape the front of our house. And then he drove this little machine down the hill and moved boulders at the Business he is landscaping. That boy has some serious Bobcat maneuvering skills.


Here we are off the clock. We went to Strawberry Days Rodeo on Saturday night. We love us some Rodeos, and I have mapped out all of the Rodeos/Carnivals in the greater metro-area of UT for the summer. You can leave me a comment if you want the schedule :-)
These are our weekend playmates. A.K.A. family. Mike, Tiffany, Kimberly (and baby Jackson in the womb), TJ, Brandon and me. It's so nice to have such cool date-partners, especially when you're related to them. They are our rodeo/carnival groupies. And, don't even get me and Tiff started on the fact that we have had TWO chances to ride the Zipper (all-time fav ride EVER), and we haven't ridden it yet. Don't worry...my schedule shows that we have 4 more carnivals left this summer to get the chance. Expect a post on that one.
And, I am only halfway bummed that my cowboy boots didn't get any airtime on the blog. If you'll notice, I did try to wear a semi-peasant dress...assuming that's what cowgirls in the West wore. And, I did wear my hair curly, because that's what Rodeo princesses do. But, I didn't wear tight Wranglers that were red. Next time. Next time.



And...last but not least. I introduce you to the newest member of the family. Some people call him "Hog".
One of Brandon's favorite pasttimes is cruising through KSL Classifieds. He likes to find any machine that says, "In great condition. But, it doesn't start". He has fixed 4 tractors, one engine, one tiller, and one motor bike. I know this deserves an entire post all on its own, but I thought we'd at least introduce you to "Hog" (Pending on the name...). Brandon found this bike somewhere between Santaquin and Tooele....wherever the population is below 300. The bike sold for $100 because it didn't work. Of course, that is no small feat for anybody to fix a broken bike. But, within one week...the bike is working good as new. Now, Brandon just needs to work on the aesthetics. Please notice the seat. It's already uncomfortable to feel like you're straddling a log...let alone when you get off the seat, you have some sort of orange "sand" all over your bum. Next on the agenda: custom-designed Memory Foam seat.
And this is my man attempting to put a towel on the seat so that we didn't get the aformentioned "sandy butt". We opted out of the towel though. And, yes...Brandon is in his Sunday best. And yes, we did drive it to his parent's house. And yes, he wore the suit. But no, I didn't wear a dress. I threw on some pants so that nobody between University Ave and State Street could see my goodies.

And...thought I'd never say THIS: but, that motor bike is SWEET!

Prayers for Uncle Mike

This is a message from my cousin Kim's blog. This is our Uncle Mike. They could use your prayers:

"My Dad was in an accident on Friday. He was riding a Harley and slid out in some gravel. He has been in ICU since then. He is doing ok. Please keep him and our family in your thoughts and prayers."

Friday gone TERRIBLY bad...

I've been enjoying the cute Celebrity-Look-Alike stuff going around on blogs lately. Though I never thought I should actually do one myself, I always wondered what celeb was my twinner. So, my cousin Kim had this cool new "Celebrity Morph" on her blog. And the results were pretty good: she was paired with Jessica Simpson (but, Kim is beautiful...and she actually DOES look like a celebrity). My hopes were up. So, I sauntered over to myheritage.com to try out the new tool.

I uploaded a picture of myself. Mind you, I chose a good picture. I had make-up on and my hair was nicely curled.

The results? (not on a 100% scale):
72%: Katie Couric
63%: Diane Keaton
42%: Barbara Walters




Yes, Katie....I felt the same way.

Can't take a break from Prison Break

It has happened. What I thought would never happen has happened. Tiffany and Mike introduced Brandon and me to "Prison Break-Season 1". And, I am sure there will be a Season 2.
So, for the last four nights, Brandon and I have been camping out in our bed from 10PM-2AM watching Season One of "Prison Break". And, it's good.

In way of defending these bad habits, I have started to justify that it is helping me open my eyes to the "other side". Aside from the fact that I have spent my fair amount of time in jail (that's another story), watching "Prison Break" has definitely helped me realize that I don't ever want to break the law. EVER! So...that's why I watch it. It's more of a reverse-psychology service for myself.

However, I was on my friend Morgan&Steph's blog, and was led to an article about a sheriff in Arizona. He is the Warden of the prison there. And, let's just say that he has the right idea about how prison should be.

Quote:

JOE ARPAIO, HE IS THE MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFF ( ARIZONA) AND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

These are some of the reasons why:

Sheriff Joe Arpaio created the 'tent city jail' to save Arizona from spending tens of millions of dollars on another expensive prison complex.

He has jail meals down to 20 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them.

He banned smoking and pornographic magazines in the jails, and took away their weightlifting equipment and cut off all but 'G' movies. He says:
'They're in jail to pay a debt to society not to build muscles so they can assault innocent people when they leave.'

He started chain gangs to use the inmates to do free work on county and city projects and save taxpayer's money.

Then he started chain gangs for women so he wouldn't get sued for discrimination.

He took away cable TV until he found out there was a federal court order that required cable TV for jails. So he hooked up the cable TV again but only allows the Disney channel and the weather channel.

When asked why the weather channel, he replied: 'So these morons will know how hot it's gonna be while they are working on my chain gangs.'
He cut off coffee because it has zero nutritional value and is therefore a waste of taxpayer money. When the inmates complained, he told them, 'This isn't the Ritz/Carlton. If you don't like it, don't come back.'
He also bought the Newt Gingrich lecture series on US history that he pipes into the jails. When asked by a reporter if he had any lecture series by a Democrat, he replied that a democratic lecture series that actually tells the truth for a change would be welcome and that it might even explain why 95% of the inmates were in his jails in the first place.

With temperatures being even hotter than usual in Phoenix (116 degrees just set a new record for June 2nd 2007), the Associated Press reported: About 2,000 inmates living in a barbed wire surrounded tent encampment at the Maricopa County Jail have been given permission to strip down to their government-issued pink boxer shorts.

On the Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing pink boxer shorts were overheard chatting in the tents, where temperatures reached 128 degrees.
'This is hell. It feels like we live in a furnace,' said Ernesto Gonzales, an inmate for 2 years with 10 more to go. 'It's inhumane.'
Joe Arpaio, who makes his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic. 'Criminals should be punished for their crimes - not live in luxury until it's time for parole, only to go out and commit more crimes so they can come back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things many taxpayers can't afford to have for themselves.'

The same day he told all the inmates who were complaining of the heat in the tents: 'It's between 120 to 130 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in tents too, and they have to walk all day in the sun, wearing full battle gear and get shot at, and they have not committed any crimes, so shut your damned mouths!'

Way to go, Sheriff! If all prisons were like yours there would be a lot less crime and we would not be in the current position of running out of prison spaces.

Sheriff Joe was just re-elected as Sheriff in Maricopa County, Arizona

Ode to the Dad's

Anybody who knows my Dad can agree that he is one of the nicest Dads around. My Dad always made it a point to get to know his daughter's friends, and in turn, our friends loved Dad. He has always been a jokester, and one of his favorite lines is "More Cowbell!" When he went to Austria five years ago, he took a picture of a store with humongous cowbells, and sent me a letter with the picture saying, "Did somebody say more cowbell?" That was it...no other words. Just a simple cowbell question. My Dad also is one for inspiring sayings. I think I could give you a quote for every situation life throws at you, thanks to my Dad. Because his daughters were always shorter than most of their friends (not to mention, Dad is 5'9" :-), he would always say "It's not the size of dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog". Being a Dad to five girls really turned him into a mushy Dad. He has a heart of gold, but has the fight of a tiger (possibly a random animal choice, on my part..but you get the point). He has worked hard his entire life to provide for his familiy. When we lived in Montana, he was a High school teacher, coach, and truck driver. When we moved to Colorado, he decided he wanted a better life for his children and worked his TAIL off to become one of the most successful Insurance agents in Colorado.
Thanks to my Dad, we were able to take a family vacation every year. He always said that he wanted his girls to be best friends, and knew that if he threw us all in a van for a 15 hour drive...we'd have no choice. Thanks Dad, your daughters are best friends.
Since I am the youngest of 5 girls, I was always the odd-girl out. The two older would pair up, and the next two would do the same. So, Dad was my buddy. He would swim in the ocean with me when all my other sisters wanted to only tan. He would build sand castles with me, he would take me to movies, and he would pay for my gas in High school. THANKS DAD!
And, lastly, he has always emphasized education in his family, and thanks to my parents, all five of their daughters are college graduates. AND, even better....Dad and Mom put their daughters through college. That was a major blessing, as I know not everybody is blessed with that. He would do anything for his children, and well...he has done almost ANYTHING so that his children could be blessed. He bought my sister's house for her family because the market was so bad, but they were needing to get out of the payments. He paid for practically ALL of my medical treatments last year. He bought me a car, and then when we sold it...he let US keep the money.
Dad-thank you for teaching me how to work, how to pray, how to be nice, how to not judge, how to do the laundry, how to serve, how to be selfless, and how to be a successful person.
You have done so much for me, I can't possibly repay you, but maybe this post will somehow get me even with you.
We love you, Dad!

Brandon's Dad is also an amazing man. (Don't know how we got so lucky, but we seriously did). He has taught all of his children the importance of work. Brandon spent his summers during high school working with his Dad, and I have heard Brandon say more than once that his Dad taught him that "Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence." And, that is true for Dad Wilkinson. He seems to do everything perfect! It is a tribute to him that his children also are hard-workers and seem to do everything perfect as well. He knows a good joke, and always looks forward to sharing a new joke to his family. He has worked hard his entire life to provide for his family, but especially to make his wife happy. The way he treats her and the way he serves her is such a great example to me. Brandon and I always look forward to spending time with his parents, and even on some occasions: they will come over and surprise visit us! He gives great advice, and has amazing insight. The Wilkinsons have a Family Night with all of their children once a month, and Dad W. always has amazing insight to add to the lesson. He is a very smart man. Also, he too would do anything he could for his children. We have been blessed to be the recipient of his generosity on many occasions. If we need help, the Wilkinsons come. I am sooo glad that we can live so close to them, because they really have taught me a lot.

We Love you Dad!

And, as a shameless plug. I know Brandon isn't a Dad yet...but he is going to be an AMAZING one. I think the greatest gift I could give my children was to have Brandon be their Dad. He is so patient, kind, honest, loving, hard-working, sincere, etc. etc. etc. Our kids will be lucky to have such a well-rounded Dad as their example. (And no, we're not pregnant. Sheesh, people).
I love you Brandon!

Chit Hoobie

You're probably wondering what "Chit Hoobie" is. Well, that is my sister Rachelle's alias name. Today is her birthday, and she pretty much rocks the house.

Rachelle is the second oldest sister, and my third Mom. Luckily, even though I was the youngest (read: I was a lonely child at home with mom and dad) Rachelle and her family lived in CO while I went to High School. AND THEN moved to Utah when I went to BYU. I'd like to think it was because we couldn't live without each other, but realistically...it was her husband's job.

During high school she was always my fashion consultant. And because she has always been so beautiful, it was easy for me to take advice from her. I solely give her credit for me getting braces when I was 14, because she seemed to be the only one who noticed that I had a tooth growing out of my nose. I have always had so much fun with Rachelle, and she was my buddy to go and see "A Walk to Remember" over ::cough:: five times in the theatre.

As I have mentioned before, she is a GREAT singer/songwriter, so I have a plan to be her backup dancer when she gets big-time. Hence, the alias name "Chit Hoobie" will be the name she will have to use if she ever wants to be under the radar. We came up with that name all on our own.

She is an amazing mother, sister, friend. And I am grateful to have her as my lifelong coach. She has always shown so much love and concern for me. And, she is a great asset to our family.

LOVE YOU SHELL!

Introducing Kesly Chay Wilkinson!!

Our 4th Niece :-)

Congratulations to Brady and Chay Wilkinson! Our brother and sister-in-law had their baby girl on Monday night at 11:17PM. After almost 20 hours of labor, the cute baby girl came with her angel wings weighing in at 7lbs. 13 oz. Since Brandon was trying to meet his Med School App deadline, we were unable to be there on Monday night. But, we went and saw the beautiful baby yesterday, and she is the CUTEST! She sat in my arms and Brandon's arms for an hour without a pacifier. Hopefully it stays that way. (And, since Brady and Chay are so loved, they haven't had a chance to just sit together, alone, and decide on a baby name. I'll let you know when they decide :-).
We are so excited. It is the first grandchild for both Brady and Chay's family. YAY!

(And, our cousins: Curtis and Jenny had their little girl, Bailey last night!)

Grass Cutting Monster

So, since my extremely smart husband has been working his gluteous-maximus off trying to finish his Med School application, our weekend was mainly based around: Med School app, Redbox, $1 Movie, Sonic, Soccer Game, Cleaning, and LawnMowing.
Lawn Mowing, you ask? Yes...that was me. And, contrary to popular belief: I DO know how to mow a lawn. Let's do the math: I was the youngest of five GIRLS. So, when the older girls left home....guess who's job it was to mow our lawn every Saturday? Mine. My Dad meticulously taught me how to line up the lawnmower wheels with the lines on the yard so that I could mow a straight line. Got it, Dad. No need for practice. And, I am proud to say that I was a pretty mean grass cutter, if I say so myself.
So, ever since Brandon and I started dating, and I realized that the man of my dreams owned his own Landscaping/Mowing business, I started to talk myself up.

(Somewhere back in '06)
B: I can't go out tonight, I have to finish mowing lawns.
E: Oh! I can help you. I know how to mow! Seriously.
B: (uhm....no) Actually, let's just go out. I'll mow tomorrow.


So, it wasn't until last Saturday that I was able to exhibit my AMAZING mowing skills for my husband. Since we had a soccer game in the afternoon, and Harbor Freight was having their Sidewalk Sale....Brandon wasn't able to get around to his lawns until Saturday evening. And, normally our bro-in-law TJ works with Brandon, but it was his and Kimberly's 6-month anniversary...so Brandon decided he could do it. And where did that leave me? Well, I could either hang out by myself, or prove to my husband that he had the right woman for the job. My only stipulation: it had to be a push-mower, because I don't know how to work with those fancy tractors.

So, once we showed up to this entire city block of homes, I thought to myself, "This is going to be EASY." These are small homes in South Provo, so the size of lawn at each house equalled 1/8th of my Dad's backyard.

Brandon unloaded the beautiful push-mower off of his trailer, and proceeded to give me instructions on how to use it. "Pssh." I thought. "I know how to work a lawnmower, Sweetie. Come on." So, I pulled the "starter cord" to start the engine. Success. I was on a roll.

So, I don't know how best to explain this next part except that I thought Brandon wasn't watching, and I definitely thought I knew how to work a lawnmower.
Well, apparently, on these so-called "new" lawnmowers (read: post 1992), there is a handle that controls the blades. Oh, and also...let me mention the fact that the handle ALSO controls the speed of the mower. Well, on my Dad's old mower, this so-called handle was a one-handle-does-all. So, I would pull that handle up and start a-mowin'. So, I proceeded to pull this handle ALL the way up (a.k.a. 10 MPH), and the mower took off. All of a sudden, I was behind a grass-eating MONSTER! The tighter my grip on the handle, the faster the mower would go. I was doomed. And, there was a chain-link fence about to fall victim of this Villain. So, the mower took me for a ride. And, luckily, the chain link fence was strong enough to withstand the blow. But, the worst part? Brandon saw the whole thing. I thought I was in the clear. I figured he was on the other side of the house. No. He was watching.

And, let's not even begin to talk about the sprinkler head and the hose later that evening.

Moral of the story: Insert foot in mouth. And, kick that wretched lawn mower.

St.George

So, I figured out how to upload pictures from our trip in St. George. Thanks to my mom's newfound photography obsession, we were able to capture the weekend festivities.

The slide show is mainly of the grandkids (since my mom took the pictures), but you'll still get the jist of how warm and nice and fun it was.

Unfortunately, Brandon didn't feel very well on Saturday, so he just tried to sleep all day until the Bday Bash for Tim that night.

We stayed in a beautiful home that my mom rented for the weekend. It had a hot tub, pool, and bunk beds! It was a short weekend, but fun nonetheless.

We made it over to the Outlets, and for the very first time in history: we bought Brandon something, and I didn't get anything! Amazing, I know. Mainly because there was a Ralph Lauren outlet and a Nike Outlet...so, I feel like these outlets catered more to my husband than me.

Dad, Lindsay, Sophie, Brandon and I went to Frost Top and got possibly one of the best shakes ever. Mainly because there was chunks of Reeses peanut butter cups in every bite. Possibly the highlight of the trip. :-)

Tim's birthday bash was a lot of fun as well. Krista threw a great bash for him, complete with mexican mustache's, and steak fajitas. It was authentic and DELISH! They stayed in the owner of NuSkin's home. AMAZING. The owner of NuSkins' son is their cousin-in-law (follow that?), so they have some nice hookups. When I asked the "son" (who is super nice)about the home, he said this was the first time that he had ever stayed in the house for more than one day. Must be nice to have so many options on where you can stay.
Unfortunately, our photographer (a.k.a. Mom) went to bed before we got the RockBand party started...so there won't be any pictures of the Rockers. But let me tell you this; Brandon is a genius, and he is amazing. 'Nuff said. Since they were trying to hook Rockband up to Owner-of-NuSkin's big screen TV, they couldn't quite get the sound and picture to work simultaneously. Enter Brandon. He can fix anything! So, within minutes (or like...30 minutes..it was complicated!), Brandon had the thing working like a charm. And we were ready to Rock.
It was a lot of fun, though I probably started to fall asleep 30 minutes into it.

On our way home (thanks for carpooling with us, Dad!), we stopped at In-N-Out Burger. That's all. I have nothing amazing to say about that. Except that I like that they toast their buns.

Highlight of the trip:
Brandon and I had our own room in the house, and it was a bunkbed. Don't worry...the bottom bunk was a double...so we could both sleep together. Well, this is what happened on Saturday morning when I was swimming with Kordin:

Kordin: Do you and Brandon sleep together?
Me: (worried where this is going) Yeah, why?
Kordin: Oh Good! Do you mind if I sleep on the top bunk?
Me: (trying not contain the laughter and relief at what might have been asked) Uhm..you'll have to ask your Uncle Brandon.
Kordin: Okay. 'Cause your bed is really cool, and where I sleep is boring.


Haha. Kids these days.

**P.S. If the slide show is unavailable, just click on the "View All Images" tab and you can view them. If you so desire.

Check out my Slide Show!