Travel & Frog in the Blender

Three of our best friends had the opportunity to do some mission’s work over in Haiti. They have been there since last Monday and will be back home in a few days. I think it is such an amazing opportunity to experience and I’m very thankful that they were able to serve the Lord in this way. I would have loved to have gone with, but it just didn’t work out for me and Ben to do so. It just never seems to work out to do these types of trips.

I had a chance to go to the Dominican Republic in High School, but it fell through. I remember being really bummed and hoping that I’d have another chance. My freshman year of college I thought that it was finally going to happen for me. My softball team offered a chance to go to the Dominican over Interterm. It also fell through though.

The fall semester of my Junior Year I was all signed up and paid for to spend my semester in Africa. I was very excited to go, but felt God calling me to stay at Greenville. I was the captain of our softball team and the RC of my floor. I felt that I had a lot of opportunities right there in front of me. So I reluctantly backed out of the trip and stayed. I did end up dating my future husband that semester and I formed some great relationships with teammates, roommates, and dormmates. So I’m definitely not complaining…I just can’t figure out why these trips have never worked out for me.

Maybe someday…I know they will go to Haiti again in two years. Fingers crossed!!

We’ve had a fun week though. We did the following:

- Test drove bikes. Ours got stolen. Boo to that!! Bikes are darn expensive though…boo to that too!

-Had our first Shaved Ice of the summer. One of my favorite kinds is Frog in a Blender. It is Green Apple with a splash of cherry. Morbid name, but very tasty!

-Played some washers. (read previous story)

-Ben got his XBOX 360 back. It had the Red Ring of Death. I thought he was going to cry. He is happy that he has it back. He hugged it when he got it back. It was precious.

-Had the chance to chat it up with my friend Emily. She is quite the bike riding stud now.

-Had dinner with the Churchills. Talk about some great people…we love hanging out with them. They have the funniest stories.

-Worked on a video for our nephew Simon. Almost done…the party is tomorrow at noon. I better get moving on finishing that up. I hope they like it!

That’s about it!

AFV Worthy

Tonight Ben and I were playing some washers in our backyard. (See photo of the day)

This is a very low key game. There should be no physical contact or injuries. It isn't lawn jarts for goodness sakes. Lawn Jarts could possibly be one of the greatest outdoor games ever created though. If anybody knows where I could get some we would be willing to play big money for them. (They are illegal now and are not sold anywhere!)

Anyways...so both of us walked away from our game of washers with an injury.

First I tried to stop one of Ben's wild throws with my foot. Instead it hit me square in the ankle and made quite the tink noise. I of course did a little hopping, that hurt, dance! It instantly puffed up and turned a dark shade of blue. Wow. I am talented.

Then about 10 minutes later I threw a wonderful toss that swirled around inside the cup and popped back out. It was almost a 3 point toss. Anyways, it ended up popping right up out of the cup and hitting Ben in the crotch. I some how managed to hit him in the crotch from 20 feet away with a washer! Now that's some skill. I of course bent over laughing almost to the point of tears. Ben was also almost in tears, but for a very different reason.

Then he beat me both games. I think God was rewarding him for taking a shot down there. Ben did successfully cover himself during each of my throws after that. I guess he just didn't want to take that chance again. Maybe he will wear a cup next time.

Baby Mama

I haven't blogged for over a month. That should tell you how stinkin funny I thought Baby Mama was. Go see it! Pick that friend who laughs when you laugh or that friend who still quotes Anchorman, Mean Girls, or your favorite Office episodes with you and go see it.

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are hysterical and the Lamaze coach has a lazy R. I'm not sure the technical name of it, but when she wants to say really she say weawwy and when she says lesbian lovers she is really saying wesbian wovers. I almost peed my pants I was laughing so hard.

Plus it has Steve Martin who gives one of the best performances I've ever seen him do. It's filled with amazing quotes!

If you've seen it let me know what you think!

Oh and I watched the new Indiana Jones movie and was very disappointed. It was cheesy and played the theme song a whopping 9 times. Oh plus Shiloh LeBoeuf swings from some tree vines with a bunch of monkeys. WHAT?

Chad and Megan's Wedding

Yesterday Chad and Megan tied the knot. It was a bit chilly outside, but beautiful none the less. They are a wonderful couple and we were glad that we were able to be a part of their special day. I have some pictures on my photo of the day blog and here are some other photos from the wedding...

ben's ninja turtle birthday party

So tonight we threw Benjamin a birthday party... a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Birthday party to be exact. It had cookie pizza dessert, eye bands, lots of green, and fellowship with friends and family. Ben was so excited for his party that I couldn't help but smile! His actual birthday is tomorrow and he will be turning the big 24, but tonight we celebrated like his was 10. It was fantastic!

He was spoiled rotten of course. He finally got an XBOX 360 that he has wanted so badly. Friends and family all pitched in with me to purchase him one. I really did think that he was going to wet himself when he opened it. Here are a few pictures from his birthday party.

Stranger than Fiction

I just watched Stranger than Fiction last night. It was excellent and that came as a bit of a surprise to me. I had seen previews for it before it came out and the concept of the movie didn’t interest me in the slightest. After it was recommended to me a few times and just recently by a co-worker, I thought I would give it a try.

It was very well done and I loved Will Ferrell and Maggie Gyllenhaal in it. Maggie is becoming one of my new favorite actresses. She doesn’t always play roles where I love her character, but she’s a fantastic actress!

There was so much witty dialogue and narration in this film that it made me wish I was a better writer. The soundtrack was also amazing. I downloaded Whole Wide World by Wreckless Eric and have already listened to it like 8 times today. It’s a very catchy song!

If you haven’t seen the movie, I strongly suggest you give it try. It’s not for everybody though. My mom said, “Yah I saw it, it was weird!” She’s more of a Wild Hogs/It’s a Wonderful Life movie watcher.

If you’ve seen any great movies lately…I am open to some suggestions to add to my See-List.

A few on that list include:

- Casablanca (nope never seen it)
- Requiem for a Dream
- Gone Baby Gone
- American Gangster
- Secretary
- Hotel Rwanda
- Sweeney Todd

Shake It Like a Salt Shaker

I finally have a chance to write about the earthquake from last Friday. Unfortunately we slept right through it. I don’t’ know if it’s because we already toss and turn all night anyway or if it’s because of our abnormally loud fan that we didn’t notice. I did feel the aftershock that happened later that day…so I was happy that I at least got to feel something. My co-worker crawled under her desk after it happened! It was very entertaining!

I did happen to come across some great stories that others shared regarding the Earthquake at 4:30 am. Here are a few of my favorites including comments from the local online paper…

1. That's the first time MY headboard has banged in years :) (Thanks for sharing lady!)

2. Thats God warning the pedophiles they better repent because He is serious about his Children and their will be a judgement day (WHAT?)

3. Make me glad I drive a big Ford F-250 and vote Republican!

4. I don't so much mind the shaking, it's the strong winds after the quake that bother me. I opened the windows to reduce the air pressure, but the dang wind blew down my beer can collection.

5. The quake actually woke my man whom I claim could sleep through a hurricane...guess not :-) Now I'm wondering why he doesn't ever get up for the baby?

6. Here I am.....ROCK you like a hurricane! I think the Scorps made a comeback at 4:37am.

7. But, I just thought it was some restaurant's breakfast buffet opening!

8. Called my neighbor, I thought she fell down her stairs. Just wanted to know if she was ok!