Road Kill game...

So this is kind of sick and twisted but... I got a text message on Sunday talking about a road kill game. It really made me laugh. It's something I see on a very daily basis. I think its worst in Ohio. Well as compared to the other places I've been anyway. Maybe I just drive more back roads here.

So I know this first picture isn't even road kill but the text I got wasn't either. It was just a sick dead roasted animal. So basically the idea is just when you see roadkill, just stop and take a picture and text it to your friends. The first thing I thought of was my friends dead bird in his gutter at his house. I told him...didn't get rid of it until I get to your house even though its super disgusting and a bird hanging in your gutter really should be disposed of pronto. Don't worry, we knocked it out and I got this picture. Gross, I know, everything about this bird and the whole game but sometimes the drives get long and boring. I listen to my music, but its nice to mix it up every once in awhile. So I had to babysit for the nephews a few times this week. I filled them in on the game.
The first one is a deer. We had to turn around and stop in the middle of the road to get this one picture. I think more than anything its a shame that a deer had to die from a car hitting it rather than just being shot and put out of its misery by some man who wanted to take the kill home to his family or something.
This picture was of some other random road kills. I honestly didn't feel like getting close enough to really figure out what it was. We pulled over hoping we could get a better picture. No, this was the best. So Brandon and I were talking about it. I was just telling him, sorry I don't know what it is there are flies and things and I don't really care to get close enough to figure out what it is. While we were at wal-mart later that day I was getting some fabric cut and Brandon figured it would be a good time to tell me he figured out what that dead animal with flies on it at the side of the road was. I'm sure the wal-mart woman was thinking, what in the world is this child talking about?! I had to chuckle a little and then I asked him what he thought it was. It was just so funny that it sorta dawned on him that is MUST HAVE been a Lemur! haha! Kids are great! I think he has been watching Dora or Diego or something and learning about Lemurs. And just as another funny kid story that doesn't even fit in with the road kill topic. I was talking to another little girl about the same age as Brandon this last week. I was trying to see what she thought about boys and stuff so while we were watching TV and I made a comment about "stupid boys"....and without even skipping a beat she said..."yeah, but NOT MY DADDY!" haha. Adorable. I guess its probably something I would've said about my dad when I was little.

THE TWIN

So here's to you...Eric! I told you that I'd put you up here next.

We spent monday night at our friends house watching a movie. Eric was less than excited to be watching this crazy movie. Zorro The Gay Blade. Weird 80s movie.

I was taking pictures with my phone to pass the time and capture Eric displaying some serious text messaging skills. For some reason me and this other girl are always texting him at the same time. oops. I dont know how we coordinate that one, it just happens.

He was texting me (who was on the other couch) and this other friend of ours that had to go home early. He works the 3rd shift at a local grocery store. I think it's hard for him to keep up on sleep, but still he manages to keep up on all the texting. I'm not sure we would be friends if he didn't text like a maniac. That's been the bulk of our conversations since we met a couple weeks ago. This second picture best displays what I'm talking about. He can catch some sleep while holding his phone, wake up, text some more, then...fall right back asleep. Amazing Eric! And just so your brother knows. NO! I didn't get any pictures of him sleeping that night, only you.

really awkward conversations that made me laugh

Since a week ago Sunday I have been remembering this conversation I had with a guy in my singles branch. I just can't get over how funny it was when it all happened. I have shared it multiple times with other friends since then. Which is why I'm going to see if I can put it into words and do the story any justice on the blog here. It's a lot easier to make this story laughable if you know me and the other guys involved. And...well try hearing my voice and we will see how it goes. So after church the chapel area clears out kind of fast except for the usual few groups of people chatting. The socially awkward guy who was the main culprit here was sitting in the row on his laptop....i think probably writing parts of his story. He had in past weeks tried to talk to me to see how I was doing since I was back in Ohio. He had finally gotten my name right so I decided to welcome the small talk. All the while....Holly and Jason were close by chatting it up probably about some date they were getting ready to go on. And Jason's twin brother was kind of waiting for Jason pacing the aisles. Kind of listening to both conversations not really wanting to be a part of either one. So awkward kid in small talk says to me. Beth, have you lost weight? and then my response....um...no not really. I don't take compliments from this kid very well...and soon you will find out why. yeah, so "not really" is what I said...which is when he proceeded to say, "Well i was just trying to be nice!". And then i think he really did realize that it was awkward how he phrased that one and tried to re-nig by saying..."I'm fatter than you are". To which I just kind of had to start laughing and turned to the twin brother that was pacing behind me and saw that he had heard this whole thing. I looked at his face and HE was the one blushing! ha ha I about lost it! (I'm laughing right now just thinking about it) I said to awkward boy, you really just better stop, you are making the twin blush and things are just getting more and more awkward! We laughed some more and then awkward boy continues. As if this wasn't already enough. He says, "well at least so-and-so isn't here" (so-and-so is going to be another unnamed guy in the branch that would be more on the hefty side as well) WOW.....oh the torture of conversation when no one knows what to say. I can't tell you how long I laughed. I think I just walked away and said I need a break. I think the thing that makes this story so funny was that holly and Jason had no idea what was going on right next to them....AND....Holly and Cathie, two of my old roommates used to love, wait, still do love to quote movies. We had watched hoodwinked and about lost it when we found a funny quotable line that when a little something like... "Hey, have you lost weight?" to which the reply is "no". Then next response being, "I didn't think so". We would always just laugh because of the shock value when we quoted that around people who had no clue what we were doing. I guess it always just makes people awkward when you bring up the weight topic with people who could OBVIOUSLY stand to lose a few. Oh well. I'm sure this blog is an English teacher's nightmare. again. OH WELL. Had to share my story. Hope you found it entertaining....at least a little bit.

Batter up!

I got to go watch my nephews baseball game last night. It was a gorgeous day. The way the play was pretty entertaining. I should see if I can upload the video from my phone too. dont know.

The coaches pitch to them. 3 tries and if they dont hit it they get to move on to use the T. Then they just swing until they hit it. Brandon was so proud of himself when he hit it and actually ran all the way through first base. We had practiced at his house for a good hour before the game. We set it up in the front yard. During our practice he was getting upset that he couldnt hit it. He was saying things like...I cant do it...i'm not good. I said...Brandon, you just have a bad pitcher. He liked hearing that much better than anything else.
This is Brandon on first base totally cheezing for me to take the picture. Jake was out by second base doing a little coaching for the kids. Apparently he was having a good time talking to the kids out there on the field.
Bryce playing catch with Stacey. He really hated wearing the glove, but he was catching so many more balls that way. When he wasnt playing catch with his mom he was sitting on her lap cheering for the kids up to batt. It was so funny. Anytime someone missed a ball he would yell "NICE TRY". Hilarious. He has the sweetest little voice.
I dont know if this is very visible but Brandon's attention span is very short. He was out there by second base wondering around. There was a plane that flew overhead. That kept his attention a little bit better. He was turned around not even paying attention to the batter or ball in this picture. When they were warming up he was playing catch with this little girl. Neither one of them could throw very well, but he ran to go get the ball once and walked in front of the ball some other kid threw. I have never laughed so hard at little kids getting hit by balls. I must sound so mean right now. Oh well. I had a few good laughs going out with my brothers fam.

Then when I got back to his house the kids were excited to know I was just going to stay the night. I gave them a bath and got the ready for bed. My favorite phrase their mom uses is. Flush, wash, and brush. Thats the order they have to do things in at night or else ...well or else they throw a fit saying thats not how my mom does it. Which was another hard lesson in the morning. Apparently they have a routine. I had to make hot chocolate and put it in their mugs while they sat through one cartoon, then it was time for cereal then...then...then....beth, thats not how my mom does it. HOLY COW>...i didnt know she had them programmed so well. They finally got on the bus and to the babysitters house and I was free to take a nap. I'm not used to getting up so early. Good times.

Signs of the times??

This is what we call Giant Jesus or Touch Down Jesus. I love that I got this picture on my phone. You'll notice the sign of the church on the right. Usually flashing pretty bright lights and times when they hold services or things like that. "SRC"= Solid Rock Church. This was one of the sites along I-75 on your way to Cincinnati from my house. I think one of these days I'm going to go stand by it to get my picture so you can see how big Jesus is compared to me. Amazingly HUGE!!! Oh and I'm not sure why they put this Jesus here, but some people think its because there is a hustler store right at the next exit. Some of us need to be given other things to ponder as we drive the long freeway mileage I guess.

We are pretty religious here in Ohio.

So a month or so ago on my way to Columbus via I-71 I remembered about these billboards and made my mom slow down enough so that I could get some pictures.
I just find it true...and also just somewhat entertaining to see these signs every time I take this specific route from our home to Columbus.
I also love that its not advertising a church or something either. It just speaks the truth. Interesting. I'm not sure how long they have been there either. Seems like a long time though
And the all important thought provoking question. I mean something that huge you can't miss!!! If I was to take the other way to Columbus (I-70) There would be much more construction along the way, but I would be able to see the message that "Jesus is REAL". I took that picture awhile ago and I can't remember where I saved it.

Basket Case

When I visited my sister a week or so ago we went to Newark Ohio to see the Longaberger basket building. We didn't even go inside. I'm not sure if its just offices or something in there. Tina cracks me up. She couldn't believe how much we look alike. She said, "BETH! We have the exact same teeth!" haha. Well duh, we do come from the same family. It was fun spending time with her again. It feels like I haven't seen her in ages.

We walked around to the side you see from the highway and I was playing with my settings to get a picture of it. Can you even tell how big it is next to these trees?
And I changed the settings some more. I love the Ohio state flag. Very unique.
This is the cute little house my dad bought up in Adamsville Ohio when he took a temporary job in Zanesville last year. My dad lived here a whole year and I never got a chance to come see him while he lived there. My sister is the one living in it now...which is why I finally got a chance to go there. Its a fixer upper. Slowly but surely things are looking better in it.

Sheriff and his Jr. Deputy

This is really only funny to me...but I had to post it anyway. I went to my friends house. We will just call him. "The Sheriff" cause that's what everyone calls him. Its just a joke, he isn't really THE SHERIFF. His little brother was there. We will just call him Jr Deputy :) He was snuggled up on the couch with a care bear. Awww special. Jr. Deputy keeping all warm and cozy. I had a good night. Toured the house and saw all of the Sheriff's ongoing projects. Wish I would've taken some pictures of some of his cars.

And this other picture is "The Sheriff"...We went bowling after institute on Wednesday night. Good times. I bowled a pretty good game, and KICKED the Jr. Deputy and Sheriff's BUTTS in the overall score of 3 games total. The evening was a success. I love bowling. AND I just have to apologize that my camera has been broken for awhile. I probably won't get it fixed. So I'm stuck posting these pictures that I take with my phone. It serves its purpose.

Princess?

Me and Jennifer. She cracks me up that she loves to suck her thumb and hold her ear. My little brother Jared has recently gotten out of the Army after having been in for 7 yrs. He is now living close to home. In fact...everyone in my family now lives in ohio again. Crazy. Jared has been stopping by my moms lots more with the girls. He watches the girls and his wife works.
Apparently Jennifer will sit at home just saying "grandma?" I guess that's Jared's cue to come on over. My mom has been putting him to work with things like cleaning the garage and working on the cars and taking Jordan and Justin to play practice. In the mean time I have gotten to play with the girls lots. I pulled out some old stuff of mine. I got this jewelry a couple years ago for my birthday...yep it was my 25th or 26th birthday. I can't remember which. My friends are funny. Jennifer was so excited to wear all this stuff. She can be a rough little one, but just watching her be all pretty and girly is funny too. You have to remember this is my first neice. I'm used to the rough way that boys play.
And then ...well here is Justin wearing the princess wear :) I would have to say it looks better on Jennifer. And wow, that hair color is something else. What a goof ball. Glad I got this one on camera. No worries, its obviously clip on.

"Feels Like Home"

CHANTAL KREVIAZUK LYRICS

Somethin' in your eyes, makes me wanna lose myself

Makes me wanna lose myself, in your arms

There's somethin' in your voice, makes my heart beat fast

Hope this feeling lasts, the rest of my life

If you knew how lonely my life has been

And how long I've been so alone

And if you knew how I wanted someone to come along

And change my life the way you've done

It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me

It feels like I'm all the way back where I come from

It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me

It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong

A window breaks, down a long, dark street

And a siren wails in the night

But I'm alright, 'cause I have you here with me

And I can almost see, through the dark there is light

Well, if you knew how much this moment means to me

And how long I've waited for your touch

And if you knew how happy you are making me

I never thought that I'd love anyone so much

It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me

It feels like I'm all the way the back where I come from

It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me

It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong

It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong

( heard this song yesterday on a soundtrack...then again last night one of my friends told me it was one of his favorites...its a good one. Just wanted to share and I found it on myplaylist!)

And another experience I wanted to share. I should make another post of it, but just easier to keep typing. My best friend called me today and left me the nicest message. Met her the first sunday I moved to Ohio my freshman year of high school. We have been friends ever since. She and I lived together one semester in 2001. I moved to provo to be with her. No other reason. Just sounded fun and she wanted me there. Well, that semester a good friend of hers, someone I knew, but not as well as she had known him. This friend committed suicide. It was a really rough semester for her. She has told me a couple times since then that Heavenly Father was looking out for her and knew she would need a friend to help her get through that loss. I'm glad I was that friend for her. She called me today after having stopped by his grave. She reminded me how much it meant to her to that I was there that semester. I honestly can say that was a very uneventful semester for me. I don't think I did much for myself that semester so its nice to know I was able to be there for a friend. And even 7 yrs later its nice to get a random message saying thanks for being there for me. I love having friends that tell you when they are grateful. It's good to know that God puts us where he wants us, WHEN he wants us there. It is really true that Heavenly Father knows what we need and when we need it. I'm just feeling really blessed to have such wonderful people in my life right now.

Habitat for Humanity

These are just a few pictures from my phone of some of the service project I got to go to on Saturday with the YSA in Cincinnati and Dayton. We all had a pretty good time. We were working on two different houses for two different families but right next to each other.

We got to do some framing. It was pretty funny to see Holly just take charge and tell us all what to do. I love it when people dont mess around and just get right to work.
This is Reilly and James putting up the roof. I wasn't about to step foot on the roof. I'm sort of a chicken when it comes to heights. They must've had 20 people on the roof. It got done pretty quicklike. We worked from 9 in the morning until at least 4 in the afternoon. Some people stayed a little longer than that though.
They had given us all different color shirts to distinguish which crew we were on. Eh, I was a pink shirter....We didn't have a leader, so I just kept myself busy with random things.
This is a few of the house halfway through the day from the backside and you can see the second house right next to it that's not got nearly as much done with it. Overall it was a great day. They fed us 3 meals. We played a little corn hole then after we drove back to dayton we played some frisbee. Then went back to my friend katie's house and visited for awhile.

Old News...

Not sure I ever mentioned how much fun it was to go see TSO.
My sister in law Stacey took me to see them as a birthday present last year. I have always wanted to go see them and, ta da! finally! I got to go. Thanks Stacey!

Here are some pretty sweet pictures that came from my phone. What and awesome laser light/music performance.
I love that for one song they had everyone pull out their cell phones and open them up and wave them around. I guess lighters are out!
They strapped in the guitarists and then raised them up on this platform while they were jammin' out. It was a really long loud show....and worth every minute of it. :)

And of course, I didnt want to forget any of the little details so I took a picture of the ticket before it got hot being stashed in with all my memorabilia and then turned completely black. December 27th, 3:00 pm. It was in Columbus at the Nationwide arena. We used the GPS to get there. Those things make me laugh. We had to follow the traffic signs for construction downtown and it went crazy on us telling us to turn around. Thats when its time to turn the thing off. I have mixed feelings about ever really wanting one for myself.

"Best High I ever had in my Life" -Jared

Teen Challenge Graduation

Milford, Ohio

All the boys there sang 3 songs
Jared (me and my cheezzzy smile) Ty

4 guys were completing and got to share testimonies.

Two of them were my friends Jared and Ty who I met on my trip to mexico about a month ago. Amazing boys. (humidity & heat...blah killing me tonight)

It was a great night.
After I left the ranch I text Jared and told him how happy I was for him that he made it through the whole program. He said he was nervous to share his testimony with so many people. I know the feeling. Makes you feel like your heart is ready to explode. That is the best way I can explain it for myself. I like the way jared put it though, "Best high I ever had in my life!"

One of the guys shared a scripture that I really like too. Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Amen to it all...

1999 Mitsubishi Gallant

Here she is! my new ride (with a couple of friends who wanted to pose with her)