It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...(for mom that is!)

Today is a first of a last for Krysta. It is the first day of her last years in High School. And in true Krysta fashion, she didn't get to bed until 1 a.m. this morning finishing up her summer reading assignment. She had to read 5 books this summer with several writing assignments but thankfully got them done. Here she is fixing to take off this morning in her new car. Good luck Krysta!!



Natalie is the least excited to be going back to school. As you can see in the picture I was able to get this morning...her feet are all I could capture since she wasn't too happy about me wanting to take her picture. The other picture is one she took yesterday after some shopping. This is a first/last for Natalie as well. This is her first day of her last year in Middle School. She is never ready to get back to school but hopefully once she gets back in the routine, she will have a good 8th grade year.


Maggie had to be the most excited to get back to school. She starts the third grade today and her teacher is Mrs. Jones. Maggie is thrilled to be in her class because they will have several class pets in the room. A rabbit, 2 guinea pigs, 2 birds and an aquarium of various reptiles and amphibians. Mrs. Jones also loves art and Maggie is excited about that as well.


And now it's just me and little man. He loves to sit and watch for the bus to come and pick up Maggie. His big day will be tomorrow when he goes back to pre-school three mornings a week. :)

The Big Premier...High School Musical 2!!

Emily, Maggie & Bella all smiles!
Maggie having fun.
The girls enjoying the finale!!
Finally...the night that Maggie and her friends had been waiting for all summer arrived!! High School Musical 2 premiered on the Disney channel and Maggie enjoyed watching it at her friend Emily's house with several other friends from school and the neighborhood. Pizza, popcorn, games, & karaoke were just the beginning of a fun night for the girls before the movie started. It was a fun way to end summer before school begins on Monday!!

Happy 13th Natalie!

Today Natalie celebrated her 13th birthday with friends at Olive Garden. She started her day off by reading cards from family and friends and got her new digital camera from her mom and dad. She got lots of nice cards, well wishes and gifts from friends and family. Her birthday celebration will continue on the 24th when we drive down to Louisville to see her all time favorite band "Switchfoot" in concert.

Who-Dey!!

What do you do on a hot, sticky Friday night in August? You head down to Georgetown to the Bengals training camp along with 8500 other people and watch them scrimmage. Krysta, who is the true Bengals fan in the family, had to work so she wasn't able to make it down with us. Jake loved watching them play and evidently enjoyed the "Ben-Gals" (the cheerleaders) performance because when they ran off the field, he wanted to know where they were.

Summer Fun with Friends

We have enjoyed some beautiful weather the last couple of days with our out of town company, the Tipton's. Sandy and Brian and their boys came up for a couple of days and as always, the kids had a blast together. We spent some time at the pool and also went to a Florence Freedom baseball game. They are our local team where Krysta works concessions. So...on an unseasonably cool July night we enjoyed free food (Krysta took care of us) and a fun game and fireworks.

Just bein' silly!

Jake and his monster mask!


Jake discovered his Uncle JJ left his KC Chiefs mask when they were here for a visit. So...Jake likes to pretend he is a monster and put on the mask and try to scare us. Saturday night we took the kids (excluding Natalie who already had plans with a friend) down to Newport for dinner at Joe's Crab Shack then happened to see a fireworks show off a barge in the Ohio River and watched it from Eden Park.

Sisters take a vacation

Fun times in Florida
Nana & Pop Benson (Michelle laughing at a wise crack from Uncle Dennis)
The Benson & Barlar girls (Have known them since 1st grade)
Michelle had the pleasure of meeting her sister Heather down in Florida for some much needed R & R! With no kids...time was spent at the beach for a few days and it was wonderful! Michelle actually read a whole book on this trip...something she hasn't been able to do for a very long time. We got to visit with Nana and Pop Benson and were surprised to see Uncle Dennis there who had just gotten in from North Carolina. He was always the funny uncle from my memories when growing up. Had some great cuban food with them. It's always a treat to see old church friends when there as well. All in all it was a nice break from the every day routine at home.