# 1 It brought my Dad and I back from my mission. It was lovingly given to my by my 2nd cousin who lives in Valencia, CA. They drove it to Ventura where the mission home was and we drove it back to Kaysville, UT.

# 2 It was purchased by my great uncle in Cedar City, UT brand new in 1986 and has been owned by family members ever since.

# 3 This is the first car I’ve ever owned and also my first vanity plate: “PLAN IT”. I get a lot of laughs and compliments about that. I figure it’s motvation to succeed with ma business.

# 4 This is also the car I gave my first ride to Janie Thompson in. I can end a sentence with a preposition if I want to. Lotsa memories, lotsa memories.

# 5 The Jetta has prevented me from marrying a gold digger. I go to pick girls up and they have to love me for who I am

# 6 I took it on a 3,000 mile road trip in the summer of 2007 that completely rocked. It was Provo to Phoenix (sister) to LA to Santa Barbara and Santa Maria (mission) to Sacramento, CA (cousin) to Portland (grandparents) to Jerome, ID (mission buddy with many moo tows) to Kaysville, UT (parents). I found out on this trip that a) I’m kind of crazy in a car by myself as evidenced by the crazy videos I took b) the car can do 515 miles on one tank of diesel and c) I ain’t afraid of road trips and doing what I feel would be fun/good.

# 7 Some value other people’s possessions very highly as evidenced by the $2,225 price right now on eBay. It’s still got 1 hr 50 mins at this point. Kelly Blue book is $750.

Here’s the little you tube video I took to help sell it:

It’s Father’s day today. I’m at church but this is kind of like my journal, so Wordpress for iPhone, I thank you. I’m sitting by a friend who lost her dad a few years ago to cancer so my heart goes out to her today especially when all the songs and talks are about fathers.

My dad totally rocks. We had tons of fun growing up. We made up this game called Parker Ball where you hit a soccer ball with baseball bats into opposing goals, sort of like polo without horses. We also went camping quite a bit with church folk. My dad was always at our sports games, too. I can’t think of a football, baseball, or soccer game I played in growing up that he didn’t attend. He always volunteered us to do stuff at church, too. We forever moved people and helped out.

I wrote a song for my dad 2 years ago for Father’s Day but never recorded it. I still have the lyrics and remember the song, though, so I’m going to put it on YouTube here when I get home.

Happy Father’s Day!

First, this video is for those who know anything about “sauce”. Yes, you know what I’m talking about.

Yeeeeuh. It’s funny that my hip hop side (if I even have one, man I find it VERY entertaining that I taught the kids how to break dance and rap, yeah I’m so hood ) came out this week. I do like some hip hop music and used to listen to a rap-rock band named Rage Against the Machine a lot. Those roots do go all the way back to high school, I suppose. And Phoenix is pretty gangster.

Here’s us rapping on the last day.

I think my favorite part about EFY last week was how much we all cared for each other. Lots of love in that group.

It’s that time of year, folks. Candy, candy, and more candy time! Eric and I went to the eSmifs last night in search of Easter joy only to find this!! AHhhhhhhahahahhAHHHhaAAAHhAAaaaaAa.

I know. How could this happen? Where are the Cadbury eggs? The big and little ones? That one kind with a matte-finish shell and solid chocolate goodness inside!? WHERE? We still managed to find some starburst jelly beans, peeps, and a twix, but man I really wanna Easter fun. Looks like it’s off to Walmart later this week for some bonus discounted Easter treats.

Today my beloved BYU 106th ward becomes the Young Single Adult 130th ward. The Church made a change recently that affects student wards in that they will no longer be student wards but YSA wards. I just got called to be the membership clerk so it’s back to getting to know everyone in the ward and stalking them a good one. A year and a half at executive secretary got me pretty up to speed with my ward friends. I just love talking to people, meeting them, and hearing about their passions and what makes them tick.

Eric and I put some more stuff in the crock pot today. I love that thing! Bless crock pots and rice cookers! You can’t screw it up!

I just got off the phone with my older brother, he’s awesome. He’s very mechanically inclined and likes to buy wrecked vehicles for cheap, fix them, and sell them. Right now he’s got an ‘09 Yamaha R6, a Ducati 1198S, an ‘02 Corvette Z06, a Tundra with a 6″ lift, an ‘05 545i with a V8 and a 6 speed. Man that’s some seriously fast and sweet stuff. I went down there not too long ago and got to ride the R6 a tiny bit. Man new motorcycles are just fabulous. They start, go, stop, and look soooo well. Yes, they look well.

Here’s a video of the Tundra playing in the Sand. This was so FUN!!

“I’m so glad you’re you, but you should really be more like me.”

This is something we all do. We thinly congratulate others of their hard-earned success only to give them a sharp left hook to the jaw of how they could enjoy so much more happiness if they had just done things a little more like we would have, if given their same opportunities.

I forgive others of the crime because I do it myself, but it’s a pretty egotistical way of communicating any way you slice it. But hey, we’re all a little egotistical

Blessed and rare is the soul that can talk to someone without offering advice. It’s nearly impossible to do. Try it, I dare you.

I’m an entrepreneur; not the drop-out-of-school-all-guts-raging-success-or-death type, more the kind that gets a college degree from a good school while running a business as a student. The mostly-guts type that will give it a boy-scout try before assuming that succeeding with your own business is for the lucky or evil.

So because most people have not heard of Parker Planners but they have heard of BYU’s accounting program, it is everyone’s job to tell me that my business is “nice” but I should really use that accounting degree for something useful. Thanks everyone, but next time I want to silence my faith and crush my own dreams I’ll go read despair.com posters until I start to believe them.

Love,

Ethan

This trip we had my dad’s go-kart with us which was perfectly suited to the terrain. Way fun, and the best part is you can take a passenger along for the ride, too; this time it was a niece or nephew saying “go crazy!” or ” no jumps this time”. We also shot some guns and oddly enough there were hundreds of little tiny frogs all over the ground to entertain everyone.

Enjoy the documentation:

We went to a demolition derby Saturday night and it was they best one I’ve been to! Oh man you wouldn’t believe it! Normally they do cars, old weird cars with no traction and there’s a few bumps, but nothing spectacular. Ever seen demo-derby trucks!?! Yup, they got ‘em at the Washington County Fair! Oh yeah. We saw one get nailed from the side and flip over. So sweet.

Enjoy this demolition derby worker:

I’m here right now with all my immediate family! There are 8 original Parkers, 3 spouses, and 9.7 grandkids. We are having such a blast. My neice Sienna who is 9 is an amazing dancer, if she goes to BYU she’s cougarette material all the way. I beat box and she grooves to it

We all got here tonight and we’re all staying at this sweet house. It was built in 1870 but has been added onto and rennovated since then. Lotsa bedrooms, pool, hot tub, tennis court, wifi, flatscreen tv and dvd player- what else do you need?! This place is awesome and no better people to be here with! Really looking forward to these next few days!

THEN I put some new tires on my car! They look great, feel great, and now my car doesn’t pull to the right anymore! Oh yes. Next it was off to Sport Clips for a haircut and shampoo by someone else. Shampooing your hair isn’t hard, but man it’s great when someone else will do it for you.

I have some funs to look forward to! I’ll write more when they happen.

Ok they happened.  A buddy of mine wrote me a birthday song! It was played on a guitar and sang with a voice to the tune of  “don’t worry, be happy” but instead the song said “Ethan Parker . . . it’s your birthday!” Loved it. 

Now it’s training time for our new sales intern Nate. He rocks, very smart guy. Then two other wardies and I practiced for a musical number we’re doing on Sunday It’s an octet, 4 guys 4 gals. Sounding pretty good! All in the area are welcome to come. It’s in the SWKT at 9am.

Now it’s Eric time. My younger brother is the coolest ever! He took me to lunch/dinner at Nicoitalia Pizza. If you’ve never been it’s like pizza heaven on earth. Even the owner is from Boston and has a sweet accent! That was some good grub. You have to try their cannoli’s. Really. You have to. My beloved brother then took me to see Karate Kid. Very cool movie, I really liked it a lot.

That makes a pretty good birthday right? I thought so but there was more! We came back to the apartment and it was full of people wanting to surprise me on my birthday! They surprised me and we ate food and grooved to groovy melodies. Then volleyball and then Eric and I watched the end of  The Wedding Singer. Very good birthday indeed!

Thanks for tuning in.

Love,
Ethan

I have decided that I’m going to be in the world and try  not to be of it. Because my father, grandmother, bishop, and Church now have facebook pages I figure it’s finally time.

Yes, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a facebook page; it has  177,416 fans.