CAMP!!!!

Sorry, but we neglected our blog for a while due to church camp. Monica would be the better one to tell you about it since it runs in her blood. I am on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to camp.
Monica told me before we got married that she wanted to marry somebody that would be able to direct a church camp session like her dad does. Whoops... that is not me!! I'll have no problem sending the kids to camp, though, no matter how many times they get baptized (that's a little joke I have with somebody).
So as not to give you the wrong impression, camp was incredible! Monica's dad Larry was the camp director & Jo, Monica's mom, was the ultimate behind the scenes worker. Even Michael, her brother, was the lifeguard & a cabin checker along with Monica. It is absolutely amazing to see them all work together. Trent Tadlock was a co-counselor with me in the 13-14 year old boys' cabin. I would like to say I'm sorry to anyone who has boys that age--send them to boot camp... NOW! It was a lot of fun playing sports & swimming & going to devos all the time. Not to mention the SPAM throwing, Mud Pit & the Theme Nights (i.e. Hawaiian Night, 50's Night & Indian Night).


Anyway, we're back & I have heard that some of you went through withdrawals because we were not updating our blog. I promise that soon you will get tired of hearing all about our big move & graduate school & stuff like that. About the middle of August we will start asking for moving donations, so get your PayPal accounts ready. Camp pics are below:


Ben, Monica & Bubby, Ben & Trent's Cabin @ Hawaiian Night, Monica's Cabin, Cabin Check, Petey - the camp dog (yes, he's still alive), The Mud Pit, Mon & Ben on the golf cart

Self-Checkout Lanes

After traveling to somewhere exciting & writing about it on your blog, it always seems a bit hard to follow up with when it comes time to write your next blog.
So what about these crazy new self-checkout lanes @ Wal-Mart? I know that by now everyone has had a bad experience with one of these Jetsons contraptions. It's not that they're a bad idea, it's that the human species isn't intelligent enough to use them yet. I will say that they need some tweaking (the machines) because it's almost impossible to go through a self-checkout lane without having a problem with the weight being wrong when you put your items in the bag, or without it thinking you put something in your bag that you haven't scanned. It can be VERY annoying & make you wish you would have done it the good ole' fashioned way! Then there are those REALLY smart people that try to scan large furniture or take their basket full of @ least 100 items that they plan on scanning one by one through the self-checkout lane. Thanks people, you're making this 21st century technology advancement thing a lot easier (or not!).


Here are a couple of articles I found about the new replacement Wal-Mart cashiers: Article 1, Article 2.

The Windy City

We've been on planes, trains & almost a trolley the past few days. Chicago is one of our favorite cities & every time we come here we dream about living in a downtown apt. & only owning a car for long trips. Ben feels right at home in the Windy City--take that however you want to.


Last night we went to my sister Sarah's graduation from her ER residency. It was a pretty sweet ordeal and we had tons of fun after the ceremony. It was at the Olympia Fields Country Club--home of the 103rd US Open last year. It is nice celebrating with doctors and enjoying a nice meal. This is huge milestone in her family's life.
We never leave Chicago without eating deep dish pizza. Today we went with Mark, met Preston and Sara Ackerman at Giordano's and had some great deep dish pizza and conversation. A random homeless man saw our doggie bag while we were walking through town and he also got to share in the good pizza. We also never leave Chicago without going to H&M</a>. If you know what H&M</a> is you are really cool, and if you don't know H&M</a>, I'm sure Monica will provide a link for you to go to.


It was a wonderful trip, but now we're going back to Oklahoma. It's funny to think that here in a few months we'll be calling Tennessee home. We'll keep you posted on all of our summer activities and try to make them sound interesting. Oh, and just for the record our favorite brother-in-law took this picture of the Chicago skyline - thanks David!

A Normal Week

What can we write about? After 201 things about ourselves, you probably know everything about us. So, I'll just tell you what we've done and what we are planning to do.
This last weekend we kicked it in Springfield, MO, and had a great time with the family. It was a nice, relaxing, and otherwise uneventful besides Monica's haircut.
Thursday, we are flying to Chicago for Sarah's (Ben's sister) graduation from her residency in the ER. She is about to be a big time doctor. We are excited to see her and David and their two boys. We realize with moving and starting a new job and a new school, our chances to see our family are going to be less and less. Maybe we are also really excited about going to H&M</a> for our bi-yearly clothes shopping trip.


Some of you might find this amazing, but I have a summer job! I am making copies full-time at a place called ImageNet. I am a high-volume, professional copy boy. I get to work downtown 20-30 hours a week. As long as all of my earnings go into our savings account and nowhere else, we'll be in good shape. Now, if we could only figure out how to live on a budget...
Hopefully, we'll have some real excitement to write about when we come back from Chicago. A couple weeks ago our nephew Garrett said, "My favoritist uncle is Aunt Monica."

101 Things About Ben

1. >I do my best studying & reading
   standing up.


2. >I do not have a large vocabulary & get
   confused when people use big words.


3. >I am the only one that really thought
   my beard looked good.


4. >My five o'clock shadow hits at noon >.


5. >I hate driving above the speed limit.


6. >I have determined that class=SpellE>Atkin's is a huge conspiracy.


7. >I am not a breakfast eater.


8. >I cringe when I think about people
   paying for pancakes at IHOP because pancakes
   are so incredibly cheap to make.


9. >I am the cook in my residence.


10. >ESPN is my favorite channel, not because
    I am a sports junkie, but because it shows the best part of sports -
    the highlights.


11. >I cheated my way through 4^th grade
    math.


12. >I enjoy biblical references in movies.


13. >I watch The Shawshank Redemption for
    the very last scene.


14. >I cried when I watched class=SpellE>Benji.


15. >In kindergarten & 1^st grade
    I had glasses with Smurf stickers on the side.


16. >I have been trying to develop a photographic
    memory for 5 years now.


17. >Castaway is one of my favorite movies
    - I like Tom Hank's beard.


18. >I was more romantic before I got married, & I
    really want to know why it is harder to be romantic post-marriage.


19. >I am only writing this list to make
    my wife happy.


20. >I do not read forwards, even if I
    like you.


21. >I got a 23 on my ACT.


22. >I have an academic superiority complex.


23. >Coffee gives me the shakes & interferes
    with my studies.


24. >Reading > is like morphine in my system, it
    makes me really drowsy, so I keep reading because it feels good.


25. >I work to get paid & don't get
    jobs because I think it will be fun.


26. >I watch TV shows until they become
    trendy & then I quit watching them.


27. >Popularity is a turn off for me.


28. >I've owned 4 pairs of jeans in the
    last 6 years.


29. >On >Pac Rim > I remember thinking I would never
    date a girl like Monica.


30. >I eat even when I am not hungry & then
    feel sick in the morning.


31. >I have a really hard time throwing
    old papers away.


32. >If anyone tells me I didn't do something
    when I did, it makes me mad.


33. >I stole a little Bible when I was
    a little boy.


34. >I think the whole world we be 100
    times better if TV was never invented.


35. >I do not believe in preaching a sermon
    for more than 25 minutes.


36. >I love double cheeseburgers at McDonalds.


37. >I lose 10-20 pounds every time I am
    sick.


38. >Luis reminds me that anything can
    be fun.


39. >I don't usually laugh at other peoples'
    jokes because it makes me mad that I didn't think of the joke.


40. >I feel like a failure when I make
    B's.


41. >I define myself by my academics.


42. >I have a big ego, but try to hide
    it.


43. >I like movies about smart gamblers.


44. >I like big dogs & despise little
    ones.


45. >I travel more for the experience than
    for the location.


46. >I am extremely jealous of anybody
    that has a job with the travel channel.


47. >I sweat when I am really nervous.


48. >I use a poof in the shower.


49. >When I go to Major League Baseball
    games, I almost fall over when I come out of the tunnel & see the
    field - it is absolutely beautiful.


50. >I want to mow MLB fields
    with a push mower.


51. >I am very shy.


52. >I don't read my Bible as much as I
    should.


53. >I love my wife more than life itself.


54. >I only cry at funerals.


55. class=SpellE>Abuelo's > is my favorite restaurant.


56. >I am an idealist.


57. >I don't think it was God's plan for
    the whole world to be a democracy.


58. >I procrastinate when it comes to calling
    people.


59. >It is hard for me to watch TV without
    doing something else at the same time.


60. >I am becoming more & more like
    my parents everyday.


61. >I have never voted in any election.


62. >I don't even pretend to understand
    the concept of grace.


63. >I feel like my summers should just
    be for volunteering at camps.


64. >I do not clean up after myself in
    the kitchen (or any other room).


65. >I have a North Face jacket even though
    I think North Face is way too trendy.


66. >I want to canoe down the >Mississippi River >.


67. >I have never carried a balance on
    a credit card.


68. >I am bad about making jokes about
    money & it makes my wife feel bad.


69. >I am a minimalist.


70. >I love having a lot of space in a
    room, even if it means stacking stuff that doesn't need to be stacked.


71. >I feel overly guilty if I go to Starbucks
    or Panera & don't buy anything to eat,
    so I try not to study at those places.


72. >I want to live in >Europe > for a few years.


73. >I am amazed at eBay, but more amazed
    at how much junk the world has.


74. >I can get really grumpy when I haven't
    slept much.


75. >I can never remember whether I locked
    the apartment door or not.


76. >I do not trust car mechanics, even
    if I know them.


77. >I think it is a great disappointment
    that Christian education should be so expensive.


78. >I don't understand how anybody knows
    how to program computers.


79. >I spent $150 on a pair of sunglasses.


80. >I am addicted to video games, but
    have no way to play them.


81. >I have also been to >Tonga >.


82. >I have come up as extremely introverted
    on several personality tests.


83. >I do not like C.S.
    Lewis's writings because they are too confusing & hard to read.


84. >I always look at the pictures first
    before I start reading a magazine.


85. >I am against big business, but go
    to Wal-Mart & have a Sam's card.


86. >I want to work for myself someday.


87. >I used to drink pickle juice without
    getting sick.


88. >The warmest, kindest people I have
    ever met are Brazilians.


89. >I used to bug my brother Mark relentlessly
    when he was on the phone with his girlfriend.


90. >I like for the washing machine, dryer,
    or dishwasher to be on when I go to sleep - it makes me feel safe.


91. >I never liked church camp growing
    up because it was always hook-up central.


92. >I taught kids to juggle at >Camp > class=SpellE>Funnybone > for several years.


93. >I never wear my gold tie when I preach
    because I think it looks too gaudy.


94. >Half of the shirts I wear, I had in
    high school.


95. >I am very indecisive when it comes
    to choosing what to eat because I will eat anything.


96. >It is my life goal to teach Monica
    that the expiration date & sell by date are not
    the same thing, & you don't have to dump milk out on the sell by
    date.


97. >My favorite movie used to be Message
    in a Bottle until I realized love didn't have to be tragic.


98. >I enjoy writing research papers, but
    I enjoy complaining about writing them even more.


99. >I will probably own a portable storage
    building behind my house one day.


100. >I am a pessimist about most things,
     but I like to think of myself as a realist, which really means I am a
     pessimist.


101. >I like to do a little better than
     the one before me.