Chicken Festival

We attended the Chicken Festival in London, Kentucky this past weekend. First off it was an experience! I actually love fried chicken, but when I saw the "Worlds Largest Skillet" frying the chicken I became ill and could not stand the thought of eating it.

B in the car with two friends

World's Largest Frying Skillet

Piece o' chicken

Wouldn't you know it, they had to bring one of Jr's cars to the festival. We walked up as it was being pulled out of the trailer. A just 'bout had heart failure. The guy was trying to back it out and pull it out so people could take pictures, but A walked right up to it to touch and would have climbed in if it was not moving. The guy was really cool about it and A was in "Nascar" heaven. BTW, Dale Jr. is our favorite driver!!

EKU Women's Youth Soccer Day

On Friday night at the EKU women's soccer game, they recognized the kids that attended the camp this summer.

During the half time show B & A played a game called "Survivor Goalie". They had five kids rotate in the goal as a goalie and the other kids took shots on them. The goalie who remained in the was the Survivor. Wouldn't you guess, my A won. He was the youngest goalie and saved the balls from kids up to the age of 12. He stayed out there the entire time of halftime, until the girls actually were back on the field ready to play. No one could cause him to miss a ball. I guess he takes this after his daddy who was a keeper in high school.

After the game that evening, they had an autograph session for the kids and a 30 minutes skills training. Here is a pic of B doing hitting the ball with her head. Nice job B!!! My little Mia Hamm in the making.

Cub Scouts.....Can I please go.........

A brings home a paper last Friday about joining the cub scouts. Now note that both the kids play soccer, B is on a traveling team, A plays soccer and will be trying out for the traveling team next year, he plays basketball, baseball, and they both play indoor soccer in the winter. We did not allow B to join girl scouts because their meeting times interfere with soccer, however cub scouts does not interfere with any of A's practices. This is just great!!

So, all weekend he talks about being a cub scout. I am just thinking its a phase he will forget and then we can get out of committing to another thing. I know that is wrong, but come on, I never have a free moment, we go, go, go, and go some more.

On Tuesday, A gives me a piece of paper with the phone number for the dad that leads the cub scouts. I am thinking, What the crap!!! He says I got his number so you can call and talk to him about what all we will be doing. So this means he really wants to be a part of it. After some long talks Mike decides that he will go, because I just can't do anymore. Plus this is cub scouts he needs dad, not mom.
Last night he tells me how the guy said they were going to go camp out on the Legends baseball field, learn to shoot a bow & arrow (a real one, he added), and do a lot of cool and fun things.

The meeting was last night, when I asked A what he thought he said: it was so cool, he gets to camp out, shoot BB guns, bow & arrow, and race cars. He even said a pistol, I said now I know that is not true. He said, okay not a pistol but it would be cool if we did...lol!!

Basically Mike paid the fees so now we have cub scouts every Thursday nights, so the we now don't have a free night during the week at home, yeah!!! I guess that as the ol' saying goes, "I'll get enough sleep when I am dead" will apply to us for the next 15 years while we have little ones in the house. I do love it and it really is worth every minute of it!

Another Bee Sting

Yesterday when I get home A asks, "When you get a bee sting, will there be a scab?" I am like no because you were stung on you tongue (read the previous post). He says no I have a bee sting on my arm now. I am like what?!?!?!?
He proceeds to tell me how there were a bunch of bees at the top of the playground equipment at school and that he and four other little boys were up there trying to the keep the other kids from entering that part of the playground so they would not get stung. In the process he along with the other four boys get stung.

Two hours later, Austin walks to me at the computer and says see mom this is my bee sting and I see that it's dripping with blood. I was like, well, yeah there will be a scab. Please wash it and don't touch it anymore.

My son and these darn bees will not leave my son alone!

Bees will sting, anywhere!!

Yesterday, A had a soccer game at Lake Reba at 1:30. This meant that in order to grab a bite to eat that we needed to leave church at 12:00, since our church services always tend to run till 12:15-12:30. We leave and on the way decided to stop at McDonald's for a bite to eat. We are sitting in the drive-thru and A decides that he would just like a blue powerade as opposed to food. He says he will wait and eat afterwards, I am fine with that. We arrive at the game and A plays the game and then at half time he takes big gulp of powerade. I look up to hear screaming and see A running across the field. He is screaming, "I GOT STUNG BY A BEE!!!" I am like okay, calm down. He is in a complete panic. I find out that he has been stung by a bee on the TONGUE, yes the tongue!!!! I check his tongue and yes there is the stinger sticking out of his tongue. Imagine a 7yr old in panic mode, a tongue that won't stop moving and me scraping and digging trying to get rid of the stinger. I got it and we give him a dose on Benadryl, because I am not for sure if he is allergic to them or not; he has never been stung by a bee before. After he is calm I ask how on earth did he get stung on the tongue. He says the bee was in his straw and he sucked it up in his mouth and that is when it stung him. A's tongue is swollen where the bee stung him at, but he is okay.
So this morning, we are ready to leave the house and he comes in my bathroom and says Mommy will you check my tongue. I am like sure, does it hurt? He says no, but I still see some black on it where I was stung at. Sure enough there is still a part of the stinger in his tongue. This time I used tweezers and pulled the rest of the stinger out. If I had only had the tweezers at the game it would of helped.
Moral of the story, don't drink from open cans or straws when it's hot and bees are everywhere!!!!

Keaton Douglas Benge

I just want to make a note that my prayers are with the Benge family during their time of need. I know that God will pull you through anything, if you just trust and put your complete faith in him. We love you Keaton and know that you are safe in the arms of the Lord now.
Keaton Douglas Benge
June 24, 2008 -September 13, 2008.

Comment from A

This morning......
I asked A why he does not have his shirt on yet? His remark is, "I am wearing a collar shirt (polo) because Zack and I can get more "GIRLS" if we wear that kind of shirt!"

I am in so much trouble, holy crap!!!!

Party Time, Birthday!!

Our baby has now turned 7 years old, can you believe it???
This year we decided to not have a big bash, since we had only been home from Disney World 2 days until A's b-day. We decided to just get a small cake and have the grandparents over for a cake and ice cream. It was a very laid back affair and not stressful like most of the parties I tend to have.

In these pics, A had just opened a box of golf balls and was begging daddy for the rest of the present. He knows he gets more than a box of balls. BTW, he had only wanted new golf clubs for his b-day. Golfing is his favorite past time with his daddy, of course.

Very intently reading his cards. A reads very well, Ms. Montgomery, the principle loves to listen to how well A reads.

Thanks to Grandma Banks, we have a new WWE shirt with not just John Cena, but all the wrestlers. Now he thinks he can act and look like a different one each time he wears the shirt.

BB's gets Baptized

Well since I didn't post much over the summer, I am trying to get caught up with my home life and the online world.

BB accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior on June 26, 2008. This was a joyous day for our us because I know now that one day she will be with Mike and I in heaven, yay!!

In the past Bethany has wanted to go to the bible school at Bethlehem Church down the road from where we live. This was the church I attended as a kid. We were always so busy and never could let her visit bible school on the weeks that they had it. This year we found a way or might I say that GOD had a plan and made a way. God is so good!!!!

I got to the church to pick the kids up, the pastor is talking with the kids and what it means to be saved and accepting Jesus as their Saviour. So I get in the car and I tell that BB has something on her mind. I ask her what wrong, she says nothing. I wait and ask her again. This time she looks at me with puppy dogs eyes and crocodile tears falling. She says, "mommy I need to be saved". I say okay we can do this. When we got home Mike and I sat down and went through the sinner's prayer which BB prayed and asked the Lord to live in her heart. We had tears a flying that night.

Then on July 13, BB was baptized. My dad, her grandfather is an ordained man of God and he got the honor to baptize her. It was one of the most emotional experiences of my life. We are so proud of her and most importantly thankful in her decision. I now just pray that AB will be convicted when the time is right to make this very important decision in his life as well.

The Saga continues........

As the last post stated, AB had some major drama yesterday. I get home to hear how he has pulled BB's hair, pinched, and slapped her at their grandmothers if she said anything to him. When I arrived home AB was sitting in his room totally being an angel. He was an angel all night. I am not for sure what Mike said or did but AB was a new lil' man last night. The ironic thing is that I find a black backpack in AB's bedroom floor and I ask him where he got it. Get this, he was named "Student of the Week", lol. Mike and I are in utter shock that he is such an angel for school, daycare, and everyone else but for family he is a holy terror!!! We love him so much and really think he is so funny, its almost like he bottles all the goodness up and expends it at school. Then when he gets home he just can't take it anymore he has to release the pressure which means he has to go against the rules. We stand firm though and in time he will be such a well rounded little boy.

BB on the other hand is a sweet heart most of the time; other than the fact that all the hormones are setting in. Yesterday I get home and she is so proud of herself because she is doing research. Since I do help students do research, she thought she was something because she had used the right keywords and found exactly what she needed. I was very proud too. Of course "momma hen" had to verify that she was using reliable sources, but I was there for support. She is doing so good. I can't believe that she is going to middle school next year.
Time ZOOMS by when you're having fun!

Picture Day Drama!!!

So this morning is picture day at school. BB has her stuff together and ready to get up early and spend extra time on her hair; instead of putting it in a ponytail, right. AB, however is not.

This story begins last night when we decided to pick out clothes for picture day. AB first picks an outfit that as I am ironing realized that its dirty and he has chosen not to put it in the dirty clothes. We then find another outfit for him to wear. Then we search for his shoes last night, which at bedtime, he tells us he has found and are laid out with the other outfit I ironed. Still with me?????

We wake this morning with plenty of extra time to get ready and of course AB has a meltdown. He tells us that he can't find his shoes, the shoes that were supposed to have been found last night before he went to bed, might I add. Mike goes into the room and helps him search for his shoes. We find them under a stack of dirty clothes that he has stashed under his bed last night so he would not have to walk to the bathroom and put them in the laundry basket. (I am a neat freak and do check for dirty clothes, however he finds new places to stick them daily.)

Next I hear Mike in the living room with AB sitting on the couch with a big fat pouty mouth. Mike is telling him how important "responsibility" is in life and how he should not be a "FLOATER." At this point I can't decide when to shut Mike up. I am cracking up and want to stop him because AB is lost, but I want to hear what he has to say. Poor AB is in complete disbelief and is clearly lost, wondering what the heck a "floater" is. We deal with this and get teeth brushed and I am thinking that its all going to be okay.

Now its time to feed and water the dog. Instead of slipping on an old pair of flip flops or crocs to do this, might I add that he does every morning, he decides to wear his shoes for school out in the yard. He steps in a big ol' pile of dog crap!!!!! Granted, we pick up the crap from our dog, but our sorry neighbors allow their dogs to use our yard as well. AB made the decision to leave his shoes on the deck, smart decision at this time in the game, right? I tell him to put the shoes back on and get in the grass and rub the crap off in the grass. At this point, I am in the bathroom fixing BB's hair, still not mad, but getting there. I hear the outside spicket turn on and off, twice. I decide to see what he is doing. Ready for this??? He is scrapping it (dog poop) off with water and his HAND!!!! I scream bloody murder, wake up the whole neighborhood and really want to give him a responsibility talk now! We decide on another pair of shoes, sterilize his hands and decided to move on with the day.

On the way to school I hear AB huffing and puffing in the backseat. He is mad because his lunch box will not fit in his backpack. I encourage him nicely to carry them each seperately. He explains that he can't handle the "responsiblity" because he is known to forget one or the other in the cafeteria or gym. I then to proceed to finish the conversation on "responsibility" that Mike had started earlier, only to see the blank look of confusion and disbelief that we were talking about his topic again. (What again is a floater???)

To finish this day, I just received a phone call from Mike where he reports that he has been phoned by his mother over the uncontrollable actions that AB is exhibitng today. What will I do with him??? Is there a full moon tonight?????
Stay tuned tomorrow to see what occurs when I get home.............

Vacation: Disney World

Our vacation to Disney was so wonderful. I have always been a big Mickey fan and enjoyed going to Disney as a child, however I could have never prepared myself for this trip. I experienced my first time in an airplane, fun, but scary. The kids were in complete shock and over stimulated the entire trip. The stimulation at Disney was too much for me alone. Mike and I were asking for trouble with this "vacation" since our kids have so much energy as it is. BTW, if you go to Disney take another week off just to recuperate from that trip.
Here are few pictures from the trip to enjoy.

Here are the kids the night we ate at Chef Mickey's. They are enjoying their hug from Minnie. Minnie apparently thought that Mike was a hottie, she kept coming back to blow kisses to him. We all got a big kick out of it and of course he was very flattered.


Can you see the exhaustion on the kids faces???? This was our last night at Disney, we had been sitting at this spot for 45 minutes waiting for Fantasmic. This was the best fireworks show at Disney.