Can't Wait

My very best friend in the whole world, (can you tell I've known her since I was a teen) Robin, is coming to visit this week! I can't wait. She and her adorable little boy Reese are coming into town Tues. We try to see each other every couple of months. The kids and I went to Va to see her in June.

Ben is doing good. He's still adjusting to the heat. It's hard to feel sorry for him when he calls me from his hotel and he's sitting in the marble jacuzzi tub and ordering room service. The kids really miss him.

Drama Runs in the Family

Today I took John William to the eye doctor for his yearly exam. Ben is blind and Lexie has needed glasses since she was 8, so I take always take him for a checkup. He decided that glasses make him look smart,so he tried to fail his eye exam. What a nut! We all caught on very quickly, especially when he couldn't read the big E at the top of the page. His vision is good and he doesn't need glasses.

Sophie had her open house for preschool today. She's having a hard time understanding why she has a new teacher. She loved her teachers last year and has spent a lot of time talking about Miss Sue and Miss Monica. We saw them tonight and it made her cry. I'm sure that she'll love Miss Rochelle in no time. She can't wait to start school and play with her friends next week.

Gone Again

We had a hectic weekend! Ben's parents were in town for a long weekend. We spent Fri and Sat house hunting. I never knew how exhausting it was! After much debate and lots of time online, and lots of walking around houses, we found a house that we really like. I took my parents over today to see it. It's beautiful and would give us more than twice the living space we have now. Plus it has a 2000 sq ft unfinished walkout basement that would be great for all of Ben's work stuff and a rec room for the kids. It would be so nice to finally use the garage for my car. So we'll be keeping our fingers crossed and seeing if they accept our offer in the next few weeks. It would be perfect!

Today, Kimie and Brad had baby David dedicated at church. He is just so precious! We went out to lunch to celebrate afterwards. Then we went to a surprise 40th birthday party for a friend of ours. Ben stayed home and packed his gear. My parents took him to the airport for me so the kids could say goodbye at home. Sophie has been very clingy and is so sad that her Daddy is gone. Hopefully this is the last time he has to travel. With such a busy week, it seems like we hardly had time to spend together.

A Phone Call from the Teacher

Yesterday John William's teacher called me. It was only the 3rd day of school. She told me that he was talking disrespectfully to her. Great, just what I need. So when he got home we talked about it....

Me-Your teacher called today and said you back talked her

JW-She asked a question and I answered her and she didn't like it

ME- What did she ask?

JW- She asked if we wanted to play a game, I said no. She asked if we wanted to do Math and I said that I hated Math, she asked if we would write down our homework and I told her that I didn't feel like it


So we had a big discussion about how when his teacher asks a question, it doesn't mean that she needs his opinion, she wants him to obey her without answering. What a mess. He has had a bad attitude lately and it's really bugging me. He seems to think that he's grown and gets to decide what he does and when. If it were up to him, he would never sleep or shower or go to school. Hopefully he'll get back into the swing of school quickly so that I don't have to talk to his teacher again.


Lexie is doing great in 6th grade. She seems to have mastered the lockers and changing classes. In 6th grade you don't have recess anymore, you have PE. She takes after me and hates PE. She likes her teachers and is happy to be with her friends again.

First Day of School

Here we are again. It's the first day of school. John William is in 3rd grade and Lexie is in 6th. Lexie starts middle school today. She was so nervous in the car. We organized her locker and put away all her books and decorations. Her best friend, Atalie, is going to our school this year. She and Lexie have been friends since they were 5. They were so cute today in their matching outfits. John William let me kiss him goodbye today. I asked him is I was embarassing him and he said no, so I kissed him again :). He's a mess! He and I were both ready for school to start. He and Sophie have been at each other's throats all summer. I need a break from all the arguing!

House Hunting

I am not a good house hunter. I love everything that I find and I want to move in today, right now. This is a problem for Ben. I drive him crazy. We have found a house we both really like and 2 others that we are interested in seeing more of. We're going to view them all on Monday with my dad, he gives great advice. We want to find just the right house and also find a great deal. We're so blessed by the opportunity we've been give by Ben's folks.

Everyone is healthy and the older two are dreading the start of school. They go back on Monday. Open house is tomorrow. I can't wait!!! Sophie goes back to preschool the beginning of Sept and will be starting ballet the same week. She is so excited about ballet. She has new ballerina sheets for her bed and has been wearing her hand me down ballet clothes. Lexie had her allergy testing done yesterday and she is allergic to all trees, grass and cats. We have 3 cats. So she's starting some new allergy medicine that we hope will help.

Ben leaves for Dubai again on the 24th. He won't be gone quite as long this time. I'll have a lot to keep my busy. House hunting, homework and chasing Sophie around will keep me on my toes.

My car is finally in the shop. It should be done next week. What a pain! The rental car is fast :). I got my first speeding ticket last weekend. I've been driving for 16 years and this was my first ever ticket. I told the officer that, he wasn't impressed.

Go-Carts and Laser Tag

JW's chocolate chip army cake


JW and his friends ready to drive

JW and Uncle Drew

Lexie and Atalie terrified before driving

We had a very busy weekend! John-William's party was Sat. He and his friends drove the go-cart track. They were all so nervous at first, except JW. All those Wii driving games gave him an advantage. Ben, my dad and another dad all drove a race also. I think they had more fun than the kids. Then we played a game of laser tag. I joined in on that. It was so much fun! His army cake turned out so cute. Then that night we had his "family" party. Ben's parents came into town for the weekend so they were here. We had 21 people in our house, it was busting at the seams.

Sunday we started our house hunting project. We had fun just driving around checking out houses. It's been 6 years since we bought our current house. It was our first, so now we have a better idea of what we want. We just need more space for all our kids and all my animals. My goal was to be in our new house by the end of summer. With Ben heading out of the country again so soon, my new goal is before Christmas. I guess we'll see.