Takin a BrEaK with the girls...part 2

 After an extremely late night of crafting and visiting, we woke up early the next morning to get ready for our visit to the audience of "Good Things Utah" (Salt Lake Television Show)...we were just a "LITTLE BIT" excited! (mmm...maybe a BIT MORE THAN A LITTLE EXCITED)...we left Orem early and in plenty of time (or so we thought) as to avoid the rush hour traffic as we headed into Salt Lake. We had directions to the the studio, but for the most part they didn't get us to where we needed to be....so we ended up using our GPS  for more "detailed" directions. After exiting and entering a few WRONG  freeway on and off ramps, zipping (yes, literally) across 4 lanes of traffic to hit the RIGHT exit, and KNOWING we were ALL GOING TO DIE...WE FINALLY made it SAFELY to the Channel 4 Studio  (a little SCARED and sick to my stomach...but we made it none-the-less)!!...AND we even arrived a few minutes early!

For some reason I thought the studio would be DOWNTOWN...not the case, 

I thought it would be larger, not the case

 I thought the parking lot would be full of cars...also, not the case.

 We were all setting our phones to silent as we got ready to enter the studio

 One of the "important" people took our picture in front of the big ABC 4 news sign...Pretty Cool!

 We got to peek in at what happens "behind the scenes" of the ABC 4 news as we 

entered back stage of the "Good Things Utah" Set. I guess NEVER being on a TV set before, I was a little taken back by how different things looked in real life than how they are portrayed on television. The set

to "Good Things Utah" was much smaller than I thought, there was talking amongst the hosts and camera men during commercials (like every day talking, laughing and shooting the breeze)...AND THE AUDIENCE isn't always full. We were 3 of.....ONLY 3, in the audience...Although, I have seen shows where there

are TONS of people...evidently the day we went was not one of those days.
 It was a bit weird and awkward at times as they hosts sat and chatted and we totally felt like the third wheel. The platform that they sit on doesn't even face the audience (which I found to be completely different than I thought). The girls are ALOT thinner in real life (THEY look thin on TV...but in real life they are sticks) and Neica (the blond) is SUPER tall...I felt totally at home standing next to her!

 After the show was over we got to go meet and take pictures with the girls, Breanne, Neica and Gretchen...such sweet ladies! I had such a fun time! They had "Papa Murphy's Pizza" do a segment on the show...they brought in a Artichoke Bacon Pizza and a Pepperoni Pizza and talked about some promotion they were doing (have to admit, I wasn't paying much attention to that segment or to what they said, I was checking out the set and all the amazing things I was shocked about seeing)...BUT after the show was over, the girls gave Dayna, Kim and I a piece of pizza! I happened to have the one with Artichokes on it and LOVED IT I might add!!

Since we were in Salt Lake we decided to take advantage of 

the CHEESE CAKE FACTORY! DIVINE, SCRUMPTIOUS, FANTASTIC are the words that come to mind...the only problem was, there was so many

yummy choices of things to eat on the menu, it was very hard to decide what to order!

We had a great time chatting while we waited for our food........

Kim wasn't sold on the dressing they brought her for her salad...it WAS a little weird!

DEEEEE-LISH!!!!

Then we headed to IKEA (which was a new adventure for Kim and I)-

It was very cool, different and fun!!

Poor Kim was packed in the back with the loads of goods we bought from

all the different places we stopped....

a little here and a little there adds up to be ALOT!

We had a super time...its great to just get away from the hum drum everyday things

and do something different. I always have a blast when I hang with my girls!!

Thanks girls for the fun, the food, FOR KEEPING me safe and sound

and for thinking that its still okay to hang with "Da Mom"!

NOW TO THINK OF SOME OTHER FUN ADVENTURE we can take!!!!

Takin' a BrEaK...with the girls~ (part 1)

A few days ago I took a little venture out to the city to hang out with Kim and Dayna. Isn't it funny how when your looking so forward to something, the wait to get there seems all that much longer?!...it felt as though I DROVE AND DROVE AND DROVE for hours...(it WAS a FEW hours drive, but certainly not as many as it felt like).

The girls and I spent the afternoon taking in a little "retail therapy"...checking out the Malls and stores, trying on a BILLION outfits and shoes...

but lucky for our pocketbooks, we only settled for a few odds and ends!

These pictures don't do ANY of these shoes justice...they were so stinkin tall...I wear

heels frequently...BUT these were CRAZY TALL!. 

YOU will be happy to know, that WE TALL FOLK, opted out of buying any of them...

instead I settled for a pair that were ONLY 4" tall. 

I have to say that Kim sported the hat pretty well...I thought she should have snagged

it up so she would have something to wear out on the farm while 

she helped Mike cut hay....she didn't take my advice...somehow "MOM advice" lost its value 

with the "I do's"......

For some reason sun glasses just don't look as attractive with a BIG BLACK security clip

on them...THAT must HAVE been the ONLY reason Dayna and I chose NOT to buy ours...

We made "chick food" for dinner........a little Italian Pasta Bar! TALK about SCRUMPTIOUS!

(thats the way I like it...uh huh uh huh...thats the way I like it)

okay if you don't remember the 80's you won't get that...its the lyrics to a very dumb song~

OH YEAH, and we got CUPCAKES from the Sweet Tooth Fairy for dessert...(and snack time)

UMMM...MOM ADVICE, IF you have NEVER had one of their cupcakes, 

you should MOST CERTAINLY  add it to your bucket list....

THEY ARE TO DIE FOR! MY personal favorite is the "sweet potato cupcake"...they are all divine and no matter which one you eat, you would feel as though you were biting into a little piece of heaven...just sayin'

I make cupcakes often at my house, but these...THEY ARE HEAVEN, mine...don't even compare!

Dayna whipped up a craft for us to create while we were hangin at her house...

It's a darling sign that has the date we first met our spouse, the date they proposed

and the date we got married. THEY were so much fun to make and 

turned out adorable (if I do say so myself)!

We also made these fun little "love note" containers for the men in our lives too. 

We wrote down something we loved about them on a piece of paper and put

the paper, along with a little treat, in a GIANT pill holder. The guys get to read a 

note and eat a treat every day for a week...........too cute!!

AFTER a long day of playing...I was ready for some rest.....(yes, this is my "I am tired, put me to bed" face)

because the following day, we were going to head to Salt Lake for a visit to the ABC channel 4 studio.... 

"Takin' a BrEaK with the girls"

TO BE CONTINUED...................

Lounging at the Lake

A couple of weeks ago I received a phone call from Kim telling me that she and Mike were going to make a surprise visit to our humble abode and wondered if the "Wilkerson Suites" (what we nick named the spare room) was available for guests!?...I have to say, I was thrilled!!! Its always fun to have the kids come home. While they were here we took an evening and headed up to the lake for a little picnic and some swimming and fishing.

Erik did his best to catch a few fish...but didn't have any luck~

he even braved the cold water and waded out to see if he could have better luck out there...

BUT still, NO Nemo!

Halle was all smiles...BEFORE stepping foot in the water (it was too cold to smile much

after getting in)!

Mike considering a dive into the frigged water below

...while Kim cheers him on~

...even Little Mister was a little shell shocked by the freezing water

Little Mister and Papa playing in the sun...(much warmer than the icy cold lake water)

Since open flame fires have been banned (because of the EXTREMELY dry conditions here in UTAH)...

we took our little portable propane cooker and roasted up a pretty mean hot dog

We even made a few smores over our trusty propane cooker...(improvise, imporvise I say)

Little Mister enjoyed a cookie...smores are for big people

After dinner, I tried getting a shot of that "cool" jumping picture that you see EVERYWHERE...

we could never peg it right on like the PRO's 

BUT personally, I like mine best...everyone showed off their own style of jumping...

EVEN Averee put her own special "twist" on it~

Mike decided since the water was so stinkin' cold, he would try his hand at "rock skipping"

which, I would have to say, was pretty fun to watch.

Little Mister and Halle played on the beach and dipped their toes into the water

As the sun was setting, the gang turned their chairs around so they weren't looking into the sun~

the funny thing was every time Deron put his chair in the water and sat down, it sank...and sank...and sank...

pretty funny stuff...but I guess you had to be there

From the looks of it...everyone had a great time. There were lots of laughs, smiles and fun times to be had!

AND the sunset was GORGEOUS I might add...

made me want to spend more of my evenings on the sandy beach

The night was so still and quiet that we listened to this lady (look in the lower right corner of the picture) singing from the top of her lungs out in her kayak...couldn't tell what she was singing but whatever it was, she was having a great time.  

Deron enjoying the sunset.......

And so goes the Summer of 2012...a perfect ending to a perfect day!

My "little" pioneer children~

A couple of weeks ago, Cam and Halle ventured out with the youth in our church to attend a 3 day youth conference at Martins Cove. They got up before the birds and were on their way before the sun came up over the mountains. They walked, and walked, and WAlked, AND WALKED...just like the pioneers did coming into the Salt Lake Valley. They both had some very special experiences while they were there, some that will stay with them for years to come. I am so grateful for the many leaders who gave of their talents and time so that my kids could have this opportunity. It was a wonderful experience and my kids came back different people.

Happy Trails~

PS... I had to BEG for a picture before they left (because I thought they were so darn cute)...being the early hour, neither one of them were much in the mood for mom's picture taking fetish...but they smiled and pretended to be happy for me.