I'm a fan

of Miss California Carrie Prejean. Speculation is that her answer (though maybe not the most eloquent... and FYI that they have edited out the booing in this video from the audience) may have cost her the Miss USA crown on Sunday night (more reason for me to be a bigger Miss America fan), but the fact that her integrity and honest answer was more important to her speaks volumes about her character.

It's been a little bit

of a quiet couple days this past weekend. A trip to the temple, a night at Chili's finishing off our coupons for free entree's, watching Pride & Prejudice (the much more condensed Provo version), visiting grandparents, and making cheddar potato soup.

Brant's Second Love

Is his garden. And is the first thing he checks on when he comes home after a trip. Over the past couple months, he has spent hours over this garden - going to a gardening class, planning, plotting, planting, researching the best types of seeds, etc.

In fact, one of the reasons we chose the place where we live now is because the owners have three gardening box spaces in their backyard that they don't garden with anymore and loves when their tenants use the space to garden.

I tell him that patience is the number one ingredient for growing a graden, but still- there are times when Brant agonizes over his garden because it doesn't grow fast enough or because its not raining enough (apparently rain water is better than water from the faucet?) I seriously even caught him reading in Jacob 5 (what more can I do for my vineyard?) the other day. hahaha.

He's on a trip right now, but can rest assured- that with the FIVE OR SIX INCHES of snow that we've gotten over the past 24 hours (in this lovely spring month of April), that his garden is getting PLENTY of water.

He's missing the snow AND his garden is getting watered.

What a lucky guy.

Georgia Easter Weekend Highlights

Friday evening: After hearing that there would be thunderstorms and heavy rain during the Braves opening game that night, Lacy instead rounded us all up for dinner in Atlanta at Noche's. Living in Utah these days, I often get comments about not having a southern accent...all four of these girls had such strong southern twangs that it put a smile on my face all night long.

Friday night: Picked up Brant from the ATL airport after his long work week.

Saturday afternoon: After visiting Falcon Field in Peachtree City, we got 5 sibs/ spouses piled into the car and headed over to the local ball fields for some sweet hitting practice.

Saturday night: My mom wanted to reminence of her BYU Old Testmant class days and for a cultural learning experience for us, put together a Passover Seder that one of her professors had done. She made sure that it was complete by leaving an extra chair for Elijah and keeping the front door open a few inches.

Sunday: An updated family photo after church (including Nathan's 'non-homecomming' talk) and Easter dinner with the entire Kimble extended fam.

Sunday's Fun dicovery: A few weeks ago, Brant and I were sitting in church and I noticed that on the back of the program (where they list all the missionaries that are serving from the ward and their addresses) that one of the missionaries was serving in the Atlanta mission. It so happens- that for easter dinner my mom also invited the missionaries over- and Elder Roberts was that same missionary! The missionary from our ward in Utah is serving in my mom's ward in Georgia! What are the chances?! We made sure to take a couple photos to bring back for his family here.

Sunday evening: back to Salt Lake and some cool conversation with a guy from South Africa on the plane.

Welcome Home Elder Wilson

We'll be spending the rest of the week acclimating my bro Nathan back to the real world. That means lots of bowling, softball playing, movie watching, and whatever else we can think of.

And not to mention- eating the sweet 30 German candy bars he brought back with him.

F.G.T.

Since yesterday afternoon, I've been down south in my hometown of Fayetteville, Georgia - and tonight had some lovely fried green tomatoes.

Which reminded me of this movie-

which was also partly filmed in my hometown (well, back when the Winn Dixie grocery store still existed. Think of the scene where the woman hits the teenagers car repeatedly in the grocery store parking lot).

Provo City 5K

(the court jester cheering the runners on)

Besides watching conference over the weekend, we got up Saturday morning to run the Provo City 5K. We didn't improve much on our time (only 7 seconds)- we'll try again. Next stop: Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure on May 9 (we'll be at your wedding that evening too, Linsey!)

Overnight in San Francisco

Brant has been on a 3 day trip and yesterday arrived in San Fran at noon for a 22 hour layover (how boring to be in a hotel by yourself for that long...) So, I headed out there to keep him company.

While I was waiting in the SLC airport for the flight out there, I realized that one of my mission companions, Kelly, is not far from the San Francisco area going to grad school. So I called her up- and I was in luck! She had the day off and could come meet us to go galaventing.

(When Brant and I were dating, we discovered that he actually knew Kelly's sister from BYU. Small world.)

(Isn't pink precious?)

After settling in at the hotel, Kelly came and picked us up- we headed to a Mexican resturant for lunch, hit up Mickey D's for an ice cream cone, then headed back to the hotel so she could meet with her study group.

Back at the hotel, we caught 'cocktail hour' for the free chips and nacho cheese (sweet) then utilized the hotel's work out facilities (gotta prepare for tomorrow's 'grueling' 5K). After the study group, Kelly came back to the hotel while Brant hit the hay and we hit up the pool.

After breakfast this morning, Brant went back to work, and I came back to Salt Lake.

Good times.

Ta-Da!

My first sewing project! Now that I've given it to her, I can post about this baby quilt I made for a friend. Well, when I say I it means there was a LOT of help from Andrea. She was great at teaching me how to use the sewing machine and how to piece it all together.














All wrapped up and ready to go!

Weekend Review

Friday evening - We headed over to watch BYU's improv comedy group/club putting on a show on campus (it was okay, but just that - I would have been disappointed if we had paid anything to get in.) Afterwards we headed over to Pudding on the Rice and was disapointed to find that it no longer exists in Provo... in fact that entire shopping center that it was in is almost a ghost town- most stores have closed.

Saturday a.m. - I went to a quilting class at Joann Fabric store. There were 10 people in the class and we all stayed for over three hours making a place mat (I think that's what it was supposed to be). The class was just to show how to do a specific kind of quilting, except I think that I had more fun talking to the other ladies than doing the actual project.

Saturday afternoon - Since there weren't any organized 5K's going on this weekend, we went back and re-ran the course from the Rex Lee run the other weekend to try to improve our time. We started off well, but about 2/3 of the way through, I decided that I wasn't really in the mood for running and decided to walk the rest of the way... haha

Saturday evening - Brant cooked us some 'homemade takeout' while we watched a redbox movie.

Sunday - super low key. After church I tried to make the enchiladas that Grandma Harrison had given me the recipe for- along with the exact ingredients that she uses. Of course, whenever you try to make Gma's recipe, its never as good as hers.

4 years ago yesterday

I got back from my mission. Has it really been that long??

Here's a favorite memory that didn't get posted before...

Meet the Buckleys... about 5 months into my mission. (Sugi was taking this picture.)

The Buckleys again 1 week before I was released from being a missionary (I was transferred back into the same area in St. George). Stephanie had wanted to be baptized for awhile, but was conerned about her Catholic family's thoughts. Those are twins- not sure where their other daughter McKensie was for this picture. With Sister Kunzi from Sitzerland.

I've never seen anyone so excited for a baptism- Stephanie's husband, Larry, went out and had "CTR" shaved into the back of his head the day of her baptism!!

Good times.

P.S. Blogger's spacing is driving me nuts. I've got to figure out what I'm doing wrong.

A Tuesday Tip

Last week while during lunch with a friend, the topic of how to respond to nosy/inapporpriate questions came up.

A few Emily Post retorts to these questions:

How much money do you make?

"Not enough to buy the house that's going up down the road."

"My mother told me never to discuss money, except with my accountant."

How much did you pay for that suit?

"Why, does it look expensive?"

Are you feeling okay? You look tired.

"Actually, I feel great!"

What are you two talking about?

"Nothing to write home about."

Response Rescues


Use humor - make a light joke out of the question

Tell it like it is - "I'd rather not say" or "I'm not comfortable answering that question."

Back atcha - When all else fails, turn the tables with "Why do you ask?"

Weekend Road Trip to AZ

Friday pm: After 9 hours in the car, a stop to eat lunch at the scenic view of Lake Powell - and being pulled over for speeding (Brant's 1st ever ticket) we arrived at Brant's Grandma and Grandpa Harrison's in Payson, AZ.

Saturday am: We piled into the car for a outting that Grandma Harrison had planned for the morning... a trip to Roosevelt to visit the nearby Ancient Cliff Dwellings & Indian Ruins.














On the drive out to the national park to see the ruins. How beautiful is that lake??

Grandma and Grandpa Harrison stayed down at the visitor center while we hiked the mile and a half up the trail to see what all the hoop-la was about.














And found a 32 room Indian ruin at the top! I'm sure glad that wasn't me living back in those days on the side of a cliff. They had to hike miles just to bring water back up. After about 20 minutes and some conversation with the park rangers, we headed back down the trail.

Don't pet the cactus!

Saturday pm - Grandma Harrison made an amazing meal of roast and mashed potatoes. Afterwards Brant and I headed out for a drive around the booming metropolis of Payson, AZ. After passing the small airport that back in the day Pops used to fly the fam into to see the grandparents, we passed through this nearby neighborhood.... what a sight!














My sister once told me about these kinds of neighborhoods- where people fly into the small local airport, and then taxi back home and park their private planes in their garage at home!














These people must be some serious high rollers- they've got a plane, a golfcart, AND a mini semi truck/ trailer home in their garage hanger.














And of course, airplanes for mailboxes.














The stop and street signs are even lower to the ground so that the wings of the planes don't clip the signs when they taxi through.














After our tour of Payson, we headed back and had some fun conversation with Grandma Harrison.

My two favorites:

Brant: I'm growing another garden this year, but I'm kind of worried about the varmits (sp?)

Grandma H: Oh yes- we have problems with squirrels with our garden. I stand here at the kitchen window and take care of that.

Brant: What?? You shoot them? With what?

Grandma H (proudly): With my 22 riffle - right here from the kitchen sink!

(Whaaaaaat? Where was I to get a picture of that??)


But the funniest...(after being back home from the hike to the Indian ruins)

Grandma H: I saw a young couple heading up that trail with a baby in the stroller. They didn't have any sun protection for the baby and the only thing they had on was thongs!

Brant (with a disturbed look on his face): Oh wow, Grandma- I'm sorry you had to see that. Some people these days!

Kristen: Uh, Grandma Harrison- are you talking about flip-flops?

HAHAHA!!! I've never seen a Grandma laugh so hard!

Sunday am- stake conference, Grandma Harrison's Enchiladas, then time to hit the road for the trip back to Orem.

Thanks for a fun trip (and excellent food!) Grandma and Grandpa Harrison!

Warm weather is so nice

(From Google Images.I actually had that same pair of flip flops in high school that I wore for Hawaiin Day.)

We're taking advantage of this amazing spring weather and heading out this morning for a weekend road trip. Payson, AZ - here we come!

A Tuesday Tip

Disclaimer: This isn't from Emily Post or an online article, but purely my opinion and may or may not be helpful. Or maybe I'm just slow and you've already thought of it!

Last night we headed to Outback Steakhouse- to spend a gift card that's been burning in our pockets since it was given to us last Christmas. As we were sitting there, I realized a very simple, very objective way to determine the tip for your server (our server last night was- at best- mediocre). Before, I generally used to just always tip 20% (having been a server in a steak resturant one summer, I know I always appreciated it when people did that). But lets be honest. There is some terrible service out there.

If you figure that in general, people tip 15% at restuarants, and then 20% for excellent service, I figure that a way to determine 'excellent service' is by allotting the server the full 20% tip when you first sit down at the table. As the meal progresses, for every detail missed by the server (i.e. no lemon in the H20 when you requested it, having to ask for silverware or straws instead of being offered them, an empty H20 glass, etc.) you dock them 1% (not to fall below 15%). But if the meal is flawless and no detail is missed, then a full 20% is deserved.

Kind of like at the beginning of a semester in school where you start the semester with an A grade.

Weekend 5K Highlight

Brant and I have decided that running 5K's is our new favorite thing to do together. On Saturday we ran the Rex Lee Memorial 5K around BYU campus. This course was a little more tough because of all the inclines around campus- we only shaved about 3 minutes off from last weekend.















Not sure where Scooby came out from on BYU campus, but got a pic with him anyways...It was just a little (a lot!) chilly that morning.

Next up - Provo City 5K on April 4th!

Farewell Elder Harrison

Brant's youngest brother, AK, entered the MTC yesterday and will then be headed to the California San Bernadeno Spanish speaking mission.

I told him my favorite part of the MTC was the underground pool beneath the gym floor and the MTC dances.

(Oops- I've let the secrets out now ; )

P.S. Where do I go to vote for the Called to Serve video that they show to be updated? I cringe every time I see those 80's style sister missionaries on the screen!

Let's Be Honest

How many of us feel this way?

This bumper sticker was a recent topic discussed on The View (one of the two daytime shows I allow myself to watch 30 minutes of).

Weekend Spent: O-Town Style

Friday Afternoon - After a short, 14 hour overnight visit in Atlanta on the way, we arrived in Orlando, got the rental car and found the hotel. After our quick power naps we headed out to Disney's Wide World of Sports to pick up our race packets for the next morning's 5K.

Friday Evening - after taking care of our registering and picking up our packets at the Disney's 'Fit for a Princess' Expo, we headed over to the ball fields at the DWWS and bought lawn side tickets to watch the Braves play in spring training against the Houston Astros (naturally, the Braves won :)


Saturday Morning - up and to Epcot by 6:15am (the race started at 7am and they wanted everyone there EARLY so the race would be done and over by the time the park opened to the public). The course took runners through Epcot's 11 countries World Showcase, the Fountain of Nations, Spaceship Earth, and the Leave a Legacy sculpture.


I'd like to say that this was an intense race; but really- how hard core can it be when your running behind two grown women dressed as fairies in wings and tutus??


And when there are characters along the course to cheer you on (good thing Brant didn't mind running with his camera).

By the end of the second mile, we knew we wouldn't be able to finish in 30 minutes like we first thought (could you blame us with all the dristractions? We literally had to stop running to stand in line behind other runners to take these photos...but its ok- it was worth it :)

As we passed Spaceship Earth (aka the big golf ball)

This one's for Sugi. As we passed by Japan, this cute girl was cheering us on :)

At the finish line... our final time was 38:08- with a slow start stuck in the middle of the pack at the starting line and stopping to take photos througout Epcot, we figure we can shave about 5-8 minutes off our time when we run in the BYU Rex Lee Memorial 5K next Sat. (This one we won't be traveling almost 4,000 miles round trip to run. ha!)

Saturday Afternoon - Since we were done with everything by 8am and our flight back to Salt Lake wasn't until 5:30 that afternoon, we went back to the hotel for naps, got ready, checked out, then cruised down International Drive before heading to Orlando's Premium Outlets. Too bad our adrenaline had run out by that time because we were exhausted (I didn't even care that we were missing out on all the FANTASTIC outlet sales- after a few stores we both just wanted to sit on a bench and rest!)

Saturday Early evening - flight back to Salt Lake with nothing out of the ordinary.

Sunday - church, nap, dinner, then to bed for the night to catch up on sleep.

All it all, it was a pretty magical weekend.

The race begins

We're headed out this afternoon for Disney's Royal Family 5K going on this weekend in Orlando. I'm not a strong runner and haven't ran in a 5K since I was a freshman in college (so I'm definately passing on the 'Princess Half Marathon' that will also be going on while we're there). Hopefully I've built up a little more endurance since my college days.

Have a good weekend :)