Go the Distance 2008

I am absolutely convinced that you are not a real BYU Cougar unless you have experienced a BYU Homecoming Dance. Unfortunately, my husband is convinced that you are not a real BYU Cougar if you ever GO to a BYU Homecoming Dance.

Last Monday, I went to bring Brandon lunch on campus. Much to his dismay, I noticed "BYU HOMECOMING" banners adorning the campus, to which I exclaimed, "Honey! You haven't creatively asked me to Homecoming yet and you only have five days!" Brandon must have thought I was not serious (pssh...silly), because he said, "And I won't be asking you to Homecoming. Only losers go to Homecoming." ::this is the part where I make a blanket apology statement to any of my [5] readers who attend Homecoming every year:: Well, lucky for him, the prodding didn't stop there on that beautiful Monday afternoon. Since we live in the heart of Provo, we were lucky to drive past a Homecoming banner on our way to work, school, football games, church, and even walking the dogs. (okay, we don't have dogs...but seriously, if we had dogs and walked them...we would have seen these banners). So, I kept on keeping on. "Honey! You only have 3 days to ask me to Homecoming!" and you know what? The response never changed, "Only losers go to Homecoming."

Come Friday night: I was sitting on the sidelines of our husbands' flag football game with Tiffany, and she said, "I want to go to Homecoming." Of course you can imagine the crowd reaction THAT statement got from me. I told her how I had been wanting to go all WEEK, but that Brandon was adamantly opposed to frolicking around BYU campus in a suit and tie. She said that her husband had said he would take her to Homecoming if she wanted to go. ::insert screeching halt noise:: "Your husband will take you?!" I was obviously green with envy. So, the rest of the night involved Tiffany and I trying to convince our husbands that we needed to go to Homecoming, as this would be our last chance! We bargained, we bartered, we bet, and we plead with our husbands. I even made a deal with Brandon that if he threw the football to me, and I didn't catch it: we would go to Homecoming. Fair Game.

Well, Saturday was just any other day. We watched the BYU Football game and then went home, thinking Brandon would go back to work on the *cute* laundry room, and I would go grocery shopping. I was a little bummed, so I stood in the kitchen ready to head to Macey's. Brandon beckoned me into our bedroom, "Baby, come give me a kiss." To which I slowly schlumped into the room to give him a "wish-we-were-going-on-a-date" kiss. I went in the room to find Brandon dressed up in his suite and tie.


Yes, that's right folks! My Prince Charming took me to HOMECOMING!!!

And, here is our couples picture:

Parts of the evening Erica enjoyed:
1- Dressing up and wearing diamonds
2- Going on a date with her Prince Charming
3- Dancing to "Hannah Montana"
4- Seeing Tiffany, and realizing that we won.
5- Watching the gross skinny white boys try to have rhythm
6- Watching the gross skinny white boy's date utterly embarassed
7- Being the only two couples dressed up at the "casual" Homecoming dance.

Parts of the evening Brandon enjoyed:
1-eating dinner at GoodWood
2-leaving the dance


And, I do have to say that the "Dance Patrol" that walk around with their saber lights think they OWN the dance floor. During the slow dances, they patrol the floor to make sure nobody is "dancing too close". Well, Miss Light Saber Patrol...I am MARRIED. And, I guarantee you that I will be dancing close to my husband. I had an urge to freak dance Brandon, but ran into two obstacles: 1) I don't know how, and 2) Brandon wouldn't let me.

The VERY happy couple

The other Happy Couple

Skinny white guy trying to either do the "ants in his pants" dance, or the "I'm too sexy for this Dance" dance. Not quite sure what he was trying to accomplish. (Please note the embarassed date in the brown shirt...poor poor girl).

And, in other news: The Wilkinson family planned on getting their family pictures taken on Saturday up in the Canyon. The snow made for a rough photo-op, so we rescheduled the pictures. But, this didn't stop us from showing off our freshly cleaned hair and makeup. On our way down the canyon, we stopped at a park for a quick shot.

And, the Happy Couple's One Year Photo

Happy Homecoming from the Wilkinsons!

Ireland Part Deux

And, I failed to give this picture any air time, but I thought I should direct your attention to the corner of the red door where I am posed. We thought we would cleverly pose a "Senior Pictures meets Anthropologie" -esque picture...and do you know the only thing I got out of it? A humongous cobweb caught in my hair and all down my back! Seriously. Disgusting. And, you can bet your bottom dollar that I felt like I had creepy crawly heebie jeebies for the remainder of the trip!

Where I Been...

Would you believe me if I told you the reason I haven't been blogging for the last three weeks was because I was in Ireland? My extremely generous Dad took my four sisters, aunt and me to Ireland for 10 days. He just retired from his business, and to celebrate his retirement he treated US to Ireland! Not the most typical retirement party, seeing as how he did all of the buying. But it was amazing. It was a wonderful opportunity, and such a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We saw the lights of Dublin, the Castles of Dungairre, the sheeps of Dingle, and the rolling hills of Ireland. It was beautiful! And, since I took too many pictures, I of course, will direct you once again to my slide show...and as they say in Ireland, "Please mind the captions on the pictures". (a.k.a. make sure you remember to read the captions!)
And, what better to compliment a slide show than a Top 10 list?

Top 10 Things I learned from my trip to Ireland
1. Even if you get seated on the plane next to an Irish girl with an awesome accent, tell her you have to sleep the entire flight...or else she will talk for the duration of the flight...and you will be very tired.
2. Just because the Euro money is cute and shiny does NOT mean it is play money. It actually means you only get $.76 for every US Dollar. Ugh.
3. Irish accents are the coolest, but NOT if you try to imitate one. The Irish don't think that is funny.
4. My Dad knows the entire song of "Whiskey in the Jar," which allowed us to fit right in at every singalong night at the pubs.
5. Rush hour traffic is actually when the cows/sheep are crossing the road.
6. Driving on the wrong side of the car AND the wrong side of the road can be very very scary.
7. Don't talk politics with my Aunt.
8. Chips are french fries and Crisps are potato chips. And, if you order a "grilled cheese sandwich" they will have no idea what you are talking about.
9. Chocolate in Ireland is delicious, and my Dad never seized an opportunity to stop at the local market to grab a chocolate bar.
10. If you are trying to search for your Irish Ancestors in Ireland, make sure you have the right information. We just might be from England after all! :-)

And, of course I was jonesing for my sweetheart every single day, so I made sure to get a calling card and check-in with him every single day. And, do you know what HE was doing while I was away? Surprising me with my very own pink laundry room! Our laundry room was just in our unfinished basement, so Brandon spent every waking moment painting/drywalling/building a laundry room for me! I LOVE IT!

He even decorated it with a sign!

Notice the shelf, the paint job, and the wooden border around the wall. Such a handy man!

And, he even put in a sink! If you can read the sign, it says "Welcome to Extreme Home Makeover: Ireland Edition"!!! So cute!

The Luck O' De Irish

B. Randon

I couldn't NOT (love the double negatives) blog about my husband's 26th celebration. So, I introduce you to yet another slide show. Sorry, sometimes I get picture happy and just can't keep adding pictures to the blog. Does anybody else get annoyed that you can only upload 5 pictures at a time to the blog? Seriously blogspot...get with it.

Nutshell: In this slide show, if you so choose to watch it, you will find a family party at Brandon's parent's house, a double-header flag football game with the brothers, a weekend getaway to Park City (thanks Mom and Krista), a ride on the Alpine Coaster (which was tons of fun!), and a parts washer birthday present...set-up and assembled in our 4x8' kitchen. And, the first pictures are of the new diamond ring Brandon gave me for our 1 year anniversary. He is such a stud. He surprised me with it on his Birthday Eve! I think he trumped my birthday surprises for him (as always).

And, in other news....I successfully won a new Toilet Seat! I know...not the most likely giveaway prize, but hey...I'll take what I can get. And, since Brandon was busy working on his Med School apps, I decided to apply myself and install the toilet seat all by myself. I mean, come on...it only had two screws. Please enjoy my handy workmanship.






Did you watch the slide show? Did you say you liked my hair? Did you just think to yourself you wish your hair looked like mine? Then you can email my AWESOME Hairdresser, Debi at: debikay82@yahoo.com

A few things I love about Debi:
1- She will do my hair EXACTLY how I ask her to do it. And, she does it perfectly.
2- I am not a natural blonde (I promise...I know, you had no idea) and she gets the hair dye RIGHT to the root. Seriously, you wouldn't really know with her amazing skills.
3- She is pregnant...which means she is adorable!
4- She is super cool about talking about girly stuff, like gas pains, menstruals, gossip, bras, lingerie stores like "Husband and Wife", etc.
5- If you have her do your hair, you will automatically be your friend. She is like an insta-friend with everyone she meets!

Brandon's Birthday Brouhaha

Dreams are only thoughts you didn't have time to think about during the day. ~Author Unknown

If you were to be so lucky to sleep in my bed, here are some of the things you might experience:

Exhibit A:
I have officially become as much of a football fan as my husband. I dreamt about the BYU Cougars football team the other night! I had a dream that Brandon and I both played on the team, because we wanted to be able to spend more time together. So, I suited up and played on special teams. My only limitation? I told Bronco (yes, I literally called him Bronco) that I didn't want to have any physical contact with the other team (I think we were playing my high school football team?), so he just told me to charge the field at kickoff. hahah...it was AWESOME! And, on the sidelines when Brandon and I were both sitting out, we would be in our football gear and holding each other while watching the game. Everybody in the stands was wondering why the two football players were cuddling (we had our helmets on...naturally), until they realized that we were married! Apparently these Provo fans have never heard of a husband-and-wife football pair. Oh man...I have never been one of a competitive nature, but boy oh boy...did I feel like I could take on the PAC-10 in my dream!

Exhibit B:
This dream happens to take the cake...do you ever have those dreams where you feel in bondage because you can't talk/listen/see/use any form of your senses? Well in this dream, Brandon and I went to get a Redbox but I accidentally put $100 into the slot, instead of $1...so we got $99 back in quarters. I was soo annoyed at this, that I walked right into ShopKo (of all places?), to see if I could exchange the quarters for some paper dollas. I set my purse down in a shopping cart, and went to the cashier. I noticed a man-of-not-much-money-or-riches walking toward my purse, so I started walking towards him. He grabbed my purse and walked off. I followed him, but I couldn't say anything...I tried to yell but nothing came out. Alas, the next thing I know I am sitting up in bed yelling, "HE STOLE MY PURSE!" Brandon woke up and said, "What?" And I said again, in a quiter tone, "He stole my......oh, nevermind...it was a dream."

Exhibit C:
Some nights, Brandon will stay up in bed and finish his homework , and as he is ready to go to bed he will wake me up for prayer. He usually offers the prayer when I am already halfway into dream world, but one night he asked me to say the prayer. It went a little something like this: "Dear Heavenly Father," ::::enter dream, Brandon and I are at a restaurant ordering food::::, "We're thankful for the soda..." Then I woke up to realize what I had done, "Uhm, maybe you should finish the prayer,"...to which Brandon said, "No, you're doing a great job...keep going". I continue, "Please bless everything that I would normally asked to be blessed if I weren't so tired. Amen."

Okay, SUURE it's Rose McGowan's birthday today, and Jesse James and Beyonce Knowles. But the MOST important person we celebrate today is THIS guy:

Yes, I know he's a hunk!

Not exactly sure where to begin...so I suppose I will start back in September 5, 1982.

September 5th 1982 the future World Champion of Husbandry was born.
Although I didn't know him as a lad, many say he was active, playful, smart, mischievous, funny and light-hearted. I think his Mom says it best though when she once told me, "I tell him he has a 10 foot tall spirit in a 5'10" body!" And, that about sums up his 26 years of life. I have also heard that he came into the world running...and I believe that too. So, to prove to you that he truly and literally has made the MOST of his 26 years of life I will offer this Ode to My Hot Husband, Brandon Garth. (I know, I truly despise the word "hot"...it is just so...degrading? But, really...when it is used to describe my husband, it is just so...perfectly true).
Brandon loves to throw-down a Gangsta rap at times. And, though he is fairly good with his beat-boxin skills...I thought I'd throw in my game at Gangsta rap.

Ode to My Hot Husband
(to be rapped to the tune of "Number One" by Nelly)

Since I first met you, my spirit was at peace
But not until two more years did I realize I wanted a piece.

I love how you have me in your phone as "Princess Erica"
And I really love your love and patriotism for America.

You bought me my dream car on my honeymoon
And then a beautiful diamond for our anniversary
And well....this one doesn't rhyme, because it's just too amazing.


Everytime our eyes lock, my heart goes a' patter
And everytime I'm sad you never fail to ask me 'What's the matter?'


You love to eat cold cereal at midnight, you're satisfied with 4 bowls
You'll go shopping with me for hours, even if it's to Kohl's!

I love your prayers at night, and how you hold my hand,
And don't even get me started on how you dance to the NSYNC Band!

You can fix anything that's broken, and even know how stuff works
You fixed our broken car(s), your tractors, our window A/C and even the Neighbor Jerk.

You get scholarships every year because you are so smart,
And you know I get the tinglies when you call me your "Sweetheart".

You will dance with me and sing to me and call me your "Hot Mama"
Thank you, honey for not calling me your "Baby Llama" (random? sorry).

You kill all of the spiders and open all of my doors,
And you always ALways AlwaYs help me with the chores.

You mow lawns, you shovel snow, you landscape and study,
Baby I don't know how I got so lucky and married such a Stud(ly)...sorry, can't find a rhyme.

You love to ski, you're better than me on all the slopes in Park City,

But it doesn't ever matter to me because on the chairlift you'll sing me a ditty!

You make friends wherever you go,
You have friends from three to ninety years-old.

Your muscles are so strong, please hold me to the end
I can't help but feel so lucky that I am holding my Best Friend.


Honestly, I ask myself everyday how I got so lucky but am so blessed to have you as my eternal lover and friend!

I LOVE YOU BABY!

And THIS my friends, is Jackson Trent Ewing

Check out that hair! And the adorable face! Now that I have pictures and stats, I will give them:

Weight: 7lbs.11oz.
Height: 19''
Time of Arrival: 5:20PM
Birthday: August 27, 2008

This is the Story of a Boy and a Girl...

**Do the pictures upload now? For some reason, it wasn't working before. Let me know!**

Setting: Especially for Youth
Year: Summer 2006
Subject: Love


So, we have these EFY friends that had an idea when Brandon and I worked together. They were coordinators as well, and they wanted to do a "spoof" on EFY-dating for one of the trainings for counselors.
Conveniently, Brandon and I were the perfect "actors" to do the job.

We didn't want anybody to know that we were dating while we were co-coordinators during the summer. And, despite my attempt to hide my "adoring eyes" from my partner, I'd like to think many people had NO idea that we were secretly dating.

And now...I present to you: Act ONE

Do we look like naturals? OH! That's because we have secretly been holding hands for SIX MONTHS!
And, I hope we don't look like Naturals here. Because, this was the first time we had ever done that....er....or second.

Not quite sure what scene we were trying to create here, but I'm pretty sure I was just trying to keep my eyes closed so that the passersby didn't catch me in my googly-eyes towards my co-worker!Seriously, do you see his body language? He totally wants me. (and, let's not pretend that I didn't have my lips puckered up for no reason here, folks!)

This scene ironically became far-too-familiar for Brandon, as he would sit on occasion and think, "Why is she so emotional?" The 'director' was trying to create a break-up picture. Pretty sure Brandon didn't have to pretend on this one...poor guy. Another reason why I love him. He loves me and my emotions (well, that may be going a little too far)

"Just pretend like you like each other! Hold hands!" yelled the director, as I secretly couldn't help but think we were actually locking pinkies ::note the way we are holding hands:: ::sigh::

I actually remember seeing this picture and asking if I could have it. And then, my better instincts retracted when I realized that the 'others' would be even MORE suspicious on why I would want a picture of Brandon giving me a flower... ALL to myself.

I don't think I'll ever understand why my prop-of-choice was a garbage can. Memory lapse from 2 years ago should lead me to believe that I was forced to sit on that dirty, ketchup-stained, black garb.

And, as if SITTING on the garbage can wasn't enough for posterity, we now have a forever collection of "Grandma and Grandpa Wilkinson" looking into the future through a trash can. By no means, symbolizing anything.


And, I'm almost too weary to put this picture in because it clearly exposes me as an angry wife. But, come on folks...it's called 'Acting'!

Another break-up scene. And a peek at my tempting cleavage

**Thank you to the beautiful, and always resourceful Megs, for actually HAVING these pictures and forwarding them to me. I think it's safe to assume, now that we're married, that I would want ALL of these pictures...gems, really.

Snips Snails and Puppy Dog Tails...

We have now added a new addition to the Wilkinson-side of the family! Kimberly and TJ Ewing had their baby boy yesterday, August 27th!
I don't have a cute picture yet of him, because when we saw him he was being weighed in the nursery room. But, he sure has a full head of dark hair! The nurse even gave him a faux-hawk!

More to come on the little angel we like to call: Jackson Trent Ewing

The ol' saying

So, I was reading this and realized that the ol saying still goes:

MODEST IS HOTTEST


And, as cheesy as I may sound by actually repeating the three worded, ridiculously cheesy, LDS phrase...I do have to say...it's starting to catch on.

I never thought my layered Shade shirts, and spandex pants would ever look so good.

Now I'm finally right up there with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. So glad that the article points out that girls follow the "trends in media", and not their conscience or dignity, or even faith for that matter. No! Heaven forbid...we must follow the trends in the media.

Thank you, Miley Cyrus for finally putting a cardigan on so I could have a reason to dress modest.

Lunch Hour

So, Brandon is at Youth Conference as the one-and-only Male leader up there. I know...good man. He went up with two Young Women leaders and 25 boys and girls. And I really do believe the ol' saying of "Distance makes the heart grow fonder." Because I wake up missing him, I sit at working thinking about him, and I go to bed missing him. (You can trust me that I am not as pathetic as I sound). So, in lieu of his presence I thought I would give you a little dose of one of our conversations (Thanks, Allison Riley...always thinkin!) that happened during my lunch break.

Background: Brandon grew up watching "Matlock" with his family, and he even tries to go over to his Mom's house on occassion to watch the reruns at 1:00PM every weekday. He still tries to watch it every single day he is home during the lunch hour, so some days I try to make it home during that time. I have heard Brandon say, in all seriousness, "Matlock is so smart". Let me just mention that Brandon LOVES Matlock. And, I never even knew what it was about until last year.

Lunch Conversation (with Matlock playing in the background).

E: Why is Matlock defending the real killer? (Yes, this is how much I don't know about the show)
B: He's not. He is the prosecution. He is defending the innocent guy.
E: Oh...well, the episode made it look like he was defending the bad guy.
B: Dude, Ben knows his stuff. He is always quick and always doing the right things.
E: Ben?
B: Yeah...B-Dizzle. Matlock?
E: So, you're on a first name basis?
B: Yeah, he's my man. Ben keeps me company when you're at work.
E: Babe, you need to get out more.

Where I Been

Yes...I am alive. And the only reason I haven't been blogging is because I just can't keep my eyes off of the Television! I know...I thought I'd never say this one. But, I LOVE THE OLYMPICS! And, many of you who know me will remember just how much I love the Olympics.

I hate to toot my own horn, but allow me to toot away (I'll keep it appropriate...no real toots, here...sickos). My sisters, Lindsay and Krista were head honchos of the SLOC (Salt Lake Olympic Committee), and Krista even worked close enough with Mitt Romney that I'm pretty sure she heard him drop the "F" bomb (Fetchin'). And, to make it even better...my Mom and Dad were Olympic Torch Bearers in Montana. So, we have...count it...three 2002 Olympic Torches within our family. I know none of these cool facts have any direct relation to me. But, we're blood. Contrary to the idea that my sister's used to taunt me that I was adopted...these are my kin. And by glamorous design, I may ride on the coattails of their Olympic coolness.

So, if you're wondering where I am at. I will be sitting with my wonderful, willing husband...in front of the tube...cheering on Team USA. And, in my downtime, I will be trying to track down the real age of the Chinese gymnasts.

Your Highland Idol

With the weekend fast approaching (read: 7 hours away), I thought I would hurry and post our happenings from last weekend. What with the Olympics and Brandon's cousin's wedding tomorrow, I knew I would be bound to get behind. And, although you may or may not think our last weekend was even blogworthy, I feel the need to make mention of a few things for posterity's sake.

I have always loved to sing. Most of you may know that. Many of you probably had no idea. My family always made it a point to seek out the best Karaoke bar on any family vacation. And I'm pretty sure I had every single local Karaoke night penciled in. So, as to not put my karaokeing days behind....I signed up to perform in the Highland Idol.
You had to be a resident of Highland Idol, so luckily my Rainman skills helped me regurgitate the address my sister had three years ago when she lived in Highland.

Fast forward to Friday night. I don't think I ate all day. I kept telling myself, "Come on, self. You used to do this all the time in high school...and you even had to DANCE while you sang!" Well, that just made it worse. With quite possibly the largest fan club at the Idol competition (thank you, Family!), I got up on stage and sang like a lamb. I would like to compare it to the actual sound a lamb would make if you were to pick it up in a frenzy. And, because I was singing a faster-esque song...I decided to throw in some movements. Bad idea.

So, needless to say, I didn't take the competition. But I am pretty sure I came in a close 4th place. And, Brandon recorded my "efforts", so while I was re-watching it I noticed that I noticed that I actually threw the Two-Step into my stage routine. Seriously? The two-step? I'm pretty sure that only works for Dolly Parton. Actually, it doesn't even work for her!

Here is my wonderful fan club. Seriously, thank you for coming to support me!

And, here is my #1 Fan (after my husband, of course!). Tiff had been so excited for me that she even made a sign. I felt like a celebrity. Thanks, Tiff!

Saturday we went boating with Kelby and Nicole Koop. Kelby and Brandon are BFF from high school, so when they get out on the tubes together...it's havoc. They were switching tubes, jumping on each other, kicking each other. Honestly, I am surprised they didn't get hurt. We had quite an eventful day on the Lake. We went to Utah Lake, quite famous for crappy water apparently. So, it was PERFECTLY choppy for tubing. The waves were so huge that we had a lot of things happen: Kelby ripped the handle, and the entire cover off of his tube, Nicole lost her swim bottoms, and....let's just say that I am a little bitter that the most careful, cautious person gets hurt....


When I got out on the tube, Kelby told Brandon to drive the boat because he didn't want to be "responsible for hurting me". So, Brandon took the wheel and jokingly taunted me that I would have the "ride of my life". Well, the ride was actually quite smooth and slow...just the way I like it. Until, after going seriously 5MPH I saw a wave coming toward me that was literally 5 ft. tall. I slammed onto it, but wanted to hang on to the tube, so when I landed my nose must have smashed into my fingernail. Just glad Utah Lake doesn't have sharks, because there was blood EVERYWHERE.

Here are the boys about ready to do some serious damage.

The Koops

And on that note....

Oh the humanity. (Don't zoom in too close. I am already hesitant posting a picture that makes me look like an orphan)

Sorry for the blood and gore...but, as I was getting back in the boat I asked for some tissue and Brandon said, "Wait, you have to grab the Camera!" My wonderful husband did feel really bad about it though, even though it wasn't his fault. So, even after 6 days, I am still trying to milk it. (::not::)