BRAD PAISLEY CONCERT

One of my Birthday gifts (or Christmas gifts...I can't remember) was tickets to the Brad Paisley concert on the 24th. As a disclaimer I was not nearly as excited for the Brad Paisley as I was for Keith Urban, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack Johnson or a few other concerts that I have been to. But, man he puts on a good show and wins you over. Clayton and I are now total Brad Paisley fans!

My pictures turned out crappy, but this one is of Chuck Wicks. He was the first opening act. He is the guy that sings "Stealing Cinderella". Good song, but the only song of his that I know. He dresses very metro, the guy wears a man scarf...not impressed. On the weekends he probably puts on his best pink polo shirt with the collar up (hope I didn't offend anyone). He looks like a young Donny Osmond, Clayton disagrees and thinks that he looks like the guy off of 27 Dresses, James Mardsden or something. I dunno...you can be the judge.
There was plenty of time to kill between opening acts. YES that is right TWO opening acts. For normal people this isn't a big deal, but for us "can't stay awake for the second episode of Scrubs at 830pm" people this huge. We found things to keep us entertained though, like sticking earplugs up Clayton's nose. He is very strange that husband of mine, very strange.
Rodney Atkins came on next (thankfully without a scarf). He sings that "Watching You" song and showed pictures of his little boy during it and he is so cute (the little boy not Rodney Atkins). However, one of the concert highlights was during that song. He forgot the words and it was hilarious! It wasn't like he was waiting for the crowd to sing, he seriously messed it up and it was funny.

Just pic of us right before Brad Paisley came on.

Brad Paisley is amazing. If I had the opportunity to see him again, I would and that is saying a lot. Couple of highlights during his performance were:

1. He sings this song "When I Get Where I'm Going" and during it he showed pictures of people who have passed on (presidents, Elvis, Johnny Cash, etc) or tragic events (9-11 attacks, space shuttle disaster, etc)The last picture he showed was of Heath Ledger and it was kinda touching. I enjoy Heath's movies, but I'm not a a die-hard fan, however it was neat to recognize him because he had only died a few days before.

2. Brad's (yes we are on a first name basis) band left the stage and let him rock out with the crowd for awhile. I loved it. It was just him and his guitar. Clayton also loves Brad because he plays lead in his own band. Not too many singers do that anymore.

3. Had to be his guitars. He had a new one after almost every song and they were all so cool. They all had a different paisley design on them.

Since the concert got out so late (which I stayed awake for...yay me!) we spent the night at Spencer grand'rents. They are always so sweet to let us crash at their house at all late hours of the night. On our way home on Friday, we stopped to have lunch with my sister Kami at the Rumbi Grill (I love that place)!

IN LOVING MEMORY OF PRESIDENT HINCKLEY

IN LOVING MEMORY OF PRESIDENT

GORDON B. HINCKLEY

"His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant..."

-Matthew 25:24
I just wanted to take a few minutes to express my love for President Hinckley. The news of his death really shocked me yesterday and it is still having a hard time sinking in for me today. I guess I thought that he would never die, that he would be the prophet who would be here when the second coming came. The news was bitter sweet for me. I had grown to love and admire him so much that I didn't want him to be gone and even though I had never met him personally he was very much apart of my life. The passing was sweet because he was back with his wife. The love that he had for Sister Hinckley was so evident in his face and in every one of his actions. You could tell that he missed her so much and sometimes it just made me so sad that they had to spend that time apart. As Clayton and I were watching the news last night I asked Clayton what he was going to remember the most about President Hinckley, he replied "his charm and charisma." I agree with him 100%. He could charm any age group, young or old. He had a strong, positive influence on all people, whether members of the church or not. The thing I will remember most about him is his overwhelming love. Like I said, I have never met him personally, but I have been to General Conference, regional conferences and devotional's where he has spoken. My first experience of being in his presence was at a regional conference when I was pretty young. The conference was at the USU Spectrum. Prior to the beginning it wasn't the most reverent of places. All of a sudden President Hinckley walking in and the crowd went silent. I remember feeling the spirit so strongly. It testified to me that he was a man of God. I don't remember much of that particular talk, but I do remember other talks which he has given where I was in attendance. I felt his love so strongly, not just for the Gospel and for our Savior, but for ME! However, it just wasn't times where we were in the same place where I felt that love, but even on TV when he gave General Conference addresses, firesides or TV interviews. I can't even begin to comprehend having such a gift, a gift where you could make people feel so loved...people you have never met. There will be so many other things about him which I will miss, his humor and the waving of his can to name a few. I love him and will miss him so much. I can only imagine what a glorious reunion he had yesterday with his wife, the Savior and our Heavenly Father. I sure that our Heavenly Father welcomed him with open arms and said something like, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant..."

BIRTHDAY

Not all of us were privileged enough to have MLK day off. When I was in school I loved MLK day because it sometimes fell on my birthday and that meant no school. It is unfortunate now that I am an adult that I don't work at a bank or have a government job where I get every possible holiday off (including suicide awareness day...right Nate!?!). So yep this year I celebrated my birthday by going to work. It wasn't all bad. When I got to work there were a dozen red roses there for me. I wasn't sure who they were from because Clayton NEVER sends flowers. Well...I shouldn't say never because he did send me some one other time on Valentines day when he was living in Hawaii (he sent these Hawaiian flowers and they were absolutely beautiful). Surprisingly the roses were from him and they were gorgeous. Later that night he surprised me with a steak dinner. I wasn't much of a steak eater (even after growing up on a farm) until I met Clayton. The McMurdie steaks are the BEST steaks that I have ever eaten. I am now a hard core carnivore.

I must get a little mushy now by saying that my husband is the most wonderful, caring man that I have ever met. He always looks for little ways to let me know that he loves me and he always, ALWAYS puts my needs above his own. I know that Heavenly Father put him in my life for a reason and to that I will be forever grateful. I LOVE YOU CLAYTON. Thanks for making my birthday wonderful!

GOOD TIMES WITH SPAUB

Last Saturday, Spencer and Aubri came over to hang out. Good times were had.

It was good that they came over so that they could witness the smackdown I put on Clayton.

Hey Clayton...remember that time I knocked you out boxing...Awesome!

Hawaii...ALOHA

Which Hawaiian Island Are You?
My Result: Kauai

Your curiosity and sense of adventure make you a natural explorer! That's not to say you can't enjoy a little downtime. It's just that you might prefer to enjoy that time on a secret beach, or in a little known cove, or at a quaint and cozy hideaway. You like discovering new experiences and sharing them with others — and you're not afraid to make friends along the way.

You know there's lots to learn wherever you go. So whether you're hiking a breathtaking trail along the Na Pali coast, strolling the quaint shops of Hanalei, or viewing the spectacular expanse of the Waimea Canyon, you'll never be at a loss for fun. And you'll always be on the path to a good time.

I posted this because Clayton and I booked our tickets to Hawaii yesterday! We aren't going until the end of JUNE (so far away), but I am still excited. Thanks Mom and Dad!

BIRTHDAY FESTIVITIES

Happy Birthday to US! Clayton and I celebrated our birthday's last Sunday with mom and pops and the rest of the Andrew family. Rachel decided to take away some of our glory and attention by suggesting that we celebrate Tydon's (aka THE DESTROYER) birthday that day as well. So naturally Tydon being the cute, smiley, ball of baby fat that he is got showered with all the love, attention and gifts. Meanwhile, Clayton and I sat in the corner silently singing "Happy Birthday" to ourselves which went unnoticed to the rest of our Tydon adoring family.

Ok so maybe the whole singing to ourselves in the corner was a little fabricated. Mom fixed a awesome dinner followed by the birthday cake and the traditional Andrew family rendition of "Happy Birthday". I wish that I would have recorded the song and posted it on the blog, but I didn't. It is something that I can't even begin to describe of explain...it is something that definitely needs to be experienced to understand.














After dinner Kace decided to attack Grandma Andrew with snowballs. It was kind of funny to see a 5 year-old and a 81 year-old engage in some snowball action.

Later we settled down to watch some football. This was probably a bad idea because it was NOT a good football day! First the Colts lost to Eric Weddle and the SD Chargers. Then Clayton's FAVORITE team the Dallas Cowboys lost to the NY Giants (Jessica Simpson was not even in the stands!). I must go on by saying that in Pre-Clayton era I did not like the Cowboys. In fact they were one of my top 3 most hated NFL teams. However, seeing the strides that Clayton has taken to become a BYU fan (which in all honesty I don't think was all that hard seeing how he was already attending BYU-Hawaii) I figured that I could cut him some slack and start trying to like the Cowboys. This has not been easy, but after 3 years of marriage bliss it is slowly improving. Now I am rooting for anyone who can beat the devil's team...THE PATRIOTS.

To cheer ourselves up we went outside for a brisk ride on the four wheelers. We only had one sled and two four wheelers, so dad rigged up a make shift sled. This consisted of a large tarp, some baling twine and...yep that's pretty much it!










Clayton is being pulled on the sled in the first pic.


Cort being pulled on the sled and Cort after he fell off of the sled.
Kami, Kace and I on our tarp.


Clayton and Cort found this old knee board thingy in the garage so they attempted to knee board behind the four wheeler. They were really quite good and it is a lot harder than you might think...I soon found that out.
We ended the day with a little DDR. It was fun for me because playing against my family means that I can actually win some songs. I never, ever win against my dancing king, Clayton (this does occasionally cause contention in our little 2 man family...mostly on my side. Clayton is one that is hard to get riled up). The most amazing part of the night was that Dad got up to dance. However, he did have limitations, he would only dance against Kace. I am very proud of Dad.


Sorry that I gave pretty much the play by play of our day! Thanks to all that helped us celebrate our birthdays!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLAYTON

Friday,(January 4th) was Clayton's birthday and it was a very busy weekend. Friday night after work we drove down to Salt Lake to see his friends Mark, Echo and their little baby Addy who were visiting from Hawaii. Why anyone would want to leave the sunny shores of Hawaii to visit the cold, miserable, snowy land of Utah is beyond me...way, way beyond me. We went to dinner with them and Clayton refused to let the waiter sing OR bring him a birthday dessert. What the...? Who would refuse a free dessert...STRANGE! Later that night Clayton and I went to a little Bed and Breakfast (emphasis on "little").

Clayton after opening his birthday presents.

Saturday, we hung around Salt Lake killing time before we had to go to the wedding reception of my former roommate Vicky. We first went to Ikea. After spending 3 hours in that store I begged Clayton to divorce me before we build a house! The man can not make up his mind. He is extremely indecisive and that is putting it nicely.

Clayton found a Kitchen that he loved. I could not tear him away (he is the cook of the family after all...the ONLY cook). Seriously he stayed in that kitchen for hours. I finally dragged him away and then 15 minutes later he wanted to go back and take a picture so that he could remember what it looked like for when we do build a house. After a visit to Kami and Grandpa and Grandma Spencer we headed out for the reception.

Sunday we were at the McMurdie's for some birthday cake and some DDR (dance, dance revolution).

Clayton and his sister Jessica kick butt. Jessica was a natural because she was a High Stepper at Bear River, but Clayton??? I'm a little confused about that one.
Apparently the dancing was too much for Nana Shira and Chloe.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLAYTON. I LOVE YOU!

NEW YEAR'S

Well New Year's wasn't the big event I wanted it to be. On New Year's Eve Clayton woke up in the early A.M. extremely sick. He spent the majority of the day in the bathroom or asleep on the couch.

I also spent the majority of the day on the couch, not because I was sick but because I got this book for Christmas that I could not put down...literally just ask Clayton. The book is called Twilight and I highly, highly, highly recommend it. There are so far 3 books in this series and I have read every one of them since Christmas. Clayton probably feels like a widower, but I feel ok about it since he can't put Guitar Hero 3 down.
Yea, so New Year's was kind of a bust. No fireworks, pots and pan or blowers. I did stop reading about 11:40 to start watching Dick Clark and the gang ring in the New Year with Clayton (who had surprisingly woken up), but being the "very exciting" people we are we both fell asleep about 11:50. HAPPY 2008 EVERYONE!