Stuck in Portland

Oh, what a road trip this has become! We left Dallas on Friday and flew to Portland. Then took a bus to Eugene as we had a game on Saturday at U of Oregon. Won that game, 81-71.

They say that they only get one snowfall out here a year. Well, there's enough here now to take care of the next five years.

Since we had reservations to fly out of Portland at noon on Sunday (today) to fly into Oakland, we decided since the weather was bad and supposed to get badder we would bus to Portland after the game last night. What would normally take two hours took about 3 1/2 hours. The last 90 minutes was verrrrrrrrrry slow going, since the roads were total ice. Props to Richard our bus driver for getting us to our hotel in Portland around 3 a.m.

Since the weather is so bad, all the flights out of Portland were cancelled today. So here we sit. We had to cancel our game at Cal on Monday. We don't know if we'll even get out of here tomorrow. Hopefully we'll be home by Christmas. Let me just tell you, we won't be singing the song "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" any time soon.

There are various other dramas associated with this trip as well. When we arrived at the hotel in Eugene on Friday, one of our players got a call that her mother had been murdered. You can read a very well-done story about it on the Waco Tribune Herald's website: wacotrib.com.

The picture I posted is from the player's outing into the snow today. They were playing and having snowball fights and tackling each other. Then they saw a car that couldn't get into the hotel parking lot so they trekked to the top of the parking lot and pushed to get him going again.

Check one off the Bucket List

One of the things I have always wanted to do was go parasailing. I got the chance when we were in the Virgin Islands over Thanksgiving. So, I got to check on thing off my bucket list. But, through the process, did add another item to the list.

Lori and her daughter Emilie and Makenzie (Mulkey's daughter) and I all went parasailing on Saturday. Since you go in pairs, that is Makenzie up in the air with me. They said we were about 400 feet in the air. As they're reeling you back in they slow down so you can dip your feet in the water, that's the only time we got wet. Took off from the boat and landed on the boat.

Sorry it has taken me so long to get pictures up but I had to get them from Lori.

It was a totally awesome experience. Although one of the other parasailers on the boat said that it was fun but what we really need to do is the one behind the speedboat called the Screaming Eagle. Hence, another addition to the bucket list.

Enjoy.

Missing You All

Since I am having to be away from the family for Thanksgiving, I guess St. Thomas, Virgin Islands isn't too bad of a place to be.

We got here late Tuesday night, sharing a charter flight with Texas Tech. It was a four hour flight which wasn't bad at all.

Today we had practice after lunch, then went on a snorkling trip then came back and went up a tram to Paradise Point where we saw a bird show then had dinner.

I am posting some picture for you to enjoy (if I can get them to upload, the connection is reallly slow). We are staying at the Frenchman's Reef which is a Marriott property. Iguanas roam free around the grounds, big ones too.

We start our games tomorrow. We play Central Florida tomorrow, Villanova on Friday and Wisconsin on Saturday. We leave here early Sunday morning and should be back in town by noon.

Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

MOOOOORE FOOTBALL

For the first time since 2001, Lorena football has made the playoffs. That means Jon's high school football got extended by at least one more game. In order to advance to the playoffs they had to beat the league's top team which, up until Friday night, was undefeated in league action.

Jon was credited with two touchdowns and 102 yards in the victory although he said he only scored one. The error makes up for the one that he got shorted earlier in the season!!! He is now over 1,200 yards for the season.

I didn't get to see the game as the Lady Bears had an exhibition game last Friday. However, Heather and Brodie each kept me informed throughout the game via text messages. They will play on Thursday night so both Bruce and I will get to see it.

The roaming photographer again captured family pictures in the stands and I've included one of Megan, Heather and Parker.

Friday Night Photo Bug

Since I am friends with most of the media/photographers that cover high school football games, it gives me a hook up to get pictures taken. Friday night Lorena had a home game and the photographer got several good pictures of the Bennett Clan.

In addition, there’s a good article on Lorena’s game and Jon made the front page of sports. He ran for 196 yards and four touchdowns.

To view the article and pictures go the to the Waco Tribune-Herald's website: click here.

Scroll down to the High School Section and click on the Come Back & Vote link. Jon’s action picture should pop up, you will also be able to read the article. From there if you click on Fans in the Stands: 3A Games: Oct. 17 you will be able to see several family pictures: 113 – Me and Parker; 118 – Chris; 153 - Heather and Jon; 159, 171, 172 - Jon; 290 – Heather; 298 – Parker sleeping.

Enjoy!!

Friday Night Lights Again

Went to Jon’s game again last night. They went into the game underdogs, the local paper had them losing the game 28-24 on the road. Oh, how wrong they were!!! The Leopards won 56-35.

First off, Jon-Boy just busted it loose last night, 38 carries, 202 yards rushing, a couple of caught passes and THREE touchdowns. Not only that, he really punished some tacklers and also laid some hellacious blocks for others.

Noticed a big difference in him this season as compared to last. This year he keeps churning when the tacklers get him, last night he was twisting and turning and gained extra yardage most of the time.

For the second straight week, he made all the local TV station’s highlight reel. In fact one of the stations said this during his segment. “And here’s Lorena’s Jon Bennett a favorite and his grandma too, here’s to you Julie….” Talk about doing a double-take when we heard that!!!!

Gotta go for now, am at the football stadium getting ready for our game with Iowa State, GO BEARS!!!!!

Frisco Softball

On Saturday, Ninny and I went to Frisco to watch Ashton play softball. She plays every Saturday morning and since I'm either working on a media guide or at a football game, I haven't gotten to see her play.

Thursday morning on my way to work I realized that if I got up early and headed up there, I could be back in time to do what I needed to do at the equestrian match. So, mom and I left at 7 a.m. and drove to Erin and Bobby's house. We didn't tell Ashton we were coming.

When we rang the doorbell around 9:15, Ashton asked Erin, "who's ringing our door bell on a Saturday morning." Erin said, "go open it and see." The look on Ashton's face was priceless! She was totally shocked that we would drive up there just to watch her play. The game reminded me of when we used to watch her mom and aunts play at that age.

After the game we got food from Rudy's and spend some time visiting before heading back around 1 p.m.

We had a really good time not only watching softball but playing with Landry and visiting with Bobby and Erin.

Picture Shows

Last night Lorena played at the Waco ISD Stadium, a first visit there for any of us. It is a really nice complex.

Jon had a really good game although he only played three quarters. He got his knee bunged up in the first half, he played a little bit of the third quarter (I think the offense was only on the field once, it that tells you how the game went). The trainer and the coaches decided to hold him out the rest of the game as a precaution.

I don't have his stats but do know that he had two touchdowns, gained lots of yards, had a touchdown called back and laid two awesome blocks that resulted in touchdowns.

On the Waco Tribune-Herald's website they have a slide show of pictures from various high school games, both fans and game action. On their fan site there is one of Megan and Parker (#57) and on the game action Jon's pics start about #155, he's #21.

Go to the following link, at the top of the page you'll see Photo/Video, click on that then go to Fans in the Stands (3A) for Megan and Parker and High School Action (3A) for Jon's pics. Click here for pics.

OH CANADA!

Wow, it is sooooooooooo beautiful up here, and cool (weather wise) too.

We left the Ferrell Center at 12:45 yesterday and despite a large amount of traffic heading north, didn’t make too bad of a time getting to DFW. As soon as we got in the terminal, a big thunderstorm blew through the area. Well, you know what that means, DELAYED FLIGHTS!!!

Ours was supposed to leave at 4:45 but they kept posting delays. We finally took off about 6:35. The four-hour flight passed pretty quickly and since I didn’t get to bed until 1:30 a.m. the night before, I slept for the major part of it.

The Vancouver airport is gorgeous. They are hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics and they probably have been working on it. There are several historical and Native American art areas that we passed through on our way to customs. May I just say, MY PASSPORT IS NO LONGER A VIRGIN. Although I was disappointed that they didn’t stamp it, I was really looking forward to that. Luckily, the lines for customs weren’t very long, I’ll bet we didn’t stand in line for more than 10 minutes. Maybe it would have been a longer wait if we had landed at our original time.

We got up this morning, had breakfast in the hotel, and then got of our bus to do a little sight seeing. We went to North Vancouver to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. It is this neat nature area that features seven suspension bridges and a rain forest. Everyone, even a couple that had to be talked into it, ventured across the main bridge. We all received a certificate that has an official stamp and states, “I made it across world-famous Capilano Suspension Bridge. Be it known to all people that the bearer of this certificate braved the heights of 230 feet and a 450 foot span across the raging (they sure weren’t raging today) waters of Capilano Canyon in North Vancouver British Columbia, Canada. In due respect for this act of daring bravado, the proprietors of the world’s greatest suspension footbridge hereby grant the bearer bragging rights for the period of two years from the date of issuance (but there’s no date on it!!)”

Our hotel, the Fairmont Waterfront, is right across the street from where all the cruise ships dock. When we came out of the hotel this morning there were two of them that had docked this morning. Boy, are they big.

That’s all for now, we’ve got a game tonight against Simon Fraser University. Not expecting too much since we have seven newcomers and have had only four days of practice.

Later.

BUZZZZZZ

Buzz goes the clippers. Yep, Jon did it, joined some of his football teammates in getting a buzz job.

This took everyone by surprise as Jon is one that likes his hair long and usually keeps it as long as the football coaches and school's dress code will allow.

On Thursday before a scrimmage some of the boys decided to join the ones that had already cut their hair short.

Practice began at the beginning of August and they've been working hard. They've had a couple of scrimmages, one which I got to see. The other was in McGregor.

This is his senior year and I hope he is able to stay injury free and have fun.

Another Factoid

One factoid that I forgot to include on my final blog about our Road Trip 2008.

You know when they say they have graves of racehorses at Churchill Downs? Well...they don't bury the whole horse, just the head, heart and hooves.

Don't know about you but I wish they hadn't told us that!!!

Back to Work

After three weeks of vacation, it's back to work for me tomorrow.

Two weeks of my time off were spent in a car on our 'road trip' and the other week was spent on Bennett Acres.

Bruce and I both had the past week off and spent it doing 'projects' around the house. When I stopped by Pilot of my way to the grocery store this morning one of the cashiers said, "Has Bear (that's what they call him there) been enjoying his vacation?" I replied, "I don't think Bear would categorize this past week as a vacation!"

We spent the mornings working in the fields. For those of you who haven't been to our house, we live on two acres and have a large field behind the house and one to the side. We mowed and cleared both fields, Bruce had to do most of the 'dirty' work because there's a lot of poison ivy/oak around and we have found that I'm highly allergic to it but it doesn't bother him.

One thing I did was add our house number to the front of the house, after living here for 15 years I figured it was about time that we had our address on something other than the side of the mailbox post!

The around noon we'd move on to projects inside the house.

I did go into the office a couple of times during the week for an hour or so and Bruce did the same at Pilot.

I go back to work on Monday facing two media guides and several other immediate projects. Bruce will return to work on Thursday.

Also this week, Erin, Ashton and Landry came down and spent the night. We all went out to dinner on Monday, besides the Bryce's, Ninny, Megan, Ricci, Parker, Heather, Jon, Chris and Brodie joined us at Texas Roadhouse.

Tuesday morning Brodie, my sister Sara, Bruce, Erin, Ashton and Landry all went to Waco's Cameron Park Zoo. It is a fairly small zoo, it took us two hours to see, but was perfect for Ashton. You are able to get much closer to the animals than you can at the larger zoos and it wasn't too crowded.

That's all for now...later.

Random Stuff From the Trip

Sightings:
- Black squirrels at Fort Meade, Md.
- A red fox on Fort Meade
- A Longhorn in every major city (guaranteed Becky that in Baltimore, Boston and NYC we would see someone wearing something from TU, it happened)

Don’t let the tree huggers tell you there’s a shortage of trees…In the East, you get away from the big cities and that’s all you can see.

Most people say that ‘Easterners’ are unfriendly…NOT…every time we asked a local a question (which was often, especially in NYC), there always gracious in helping us. Oops, one exception, the guy from the hotel in Princeton who picked us up from the train, needless to say, he wasn’t rewarded. He should have checked with his cohorts, they would have clued him in.

Seems like it took all day to drive across Massachusetts, I can imagine what people say about Texas.

Even is you have a GPS, it’s a good idea to have an atlas with you. Bossy was generally on target, only misguided us twice, once which resulted in us ‘visiting’ Maine twice and New Hampshire three times in the space of 30 minutes!

Duck Boats are a good way to see everything if your time is limited and you don’t want to walk miles.

New York City
- Crowded (of course we were there on a Friday night)
- It would help in navigation the subway system if we knew if we were wanting to go uptown, downtown, etc.
- Crowded restaurants (we ended up eating our meals at Penn Station, there’s Nathan’s hotdogs down there that we patronized twice)
- Forget Krispy Kreme, Duncan Donut shops were everywhere. There were more of them than Starbucks!!
- Who knew that one end of Manhattan Island is all trees.
- The statue of Liberty is awe inspiring, so majestic.

Baltimore
- Went to a visitor’s center at the waterfront and asked directions to Charm City Cakes. I already had directions but wanted a backup. The gentleman was gracious and said that he gets requests for directions there about four times a day. I reassured him that I knew that we wouldn’t be able to go in, etc. All the while one of the other volunteers was muttering “I don’t know why anyone would want to go by there, you can only see the outside of the building.” I was ready to tell her to stuff it but refrained.
- The waterfront area was a very nice area to visit, very clean and lots to do and see.

Boston
- Very clean city
- Dodging traffic to get a picture of Sara crossing the finish line of the Boston Marathon (good thing it was a Sunday)

Hampton Inn – Evolved into our home away from home.

Pilot Travel Centers – passed 41 of them on our trip.

I got Becky hooked on sun flower seeds, she can now pack a bunch in her right cheek instead on going at them one at a time.

Passed the following baseball stadiums: Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies, Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park (Boston), Camden Yard (Baltimore).

Best way to see the big cities is to stay out in the ‘burbs’ and take a train in. Hotels are cheaper and you don’t have to worry about traffic and parking.

Home Sweet Home

We are finally home…got home on Friday afternoon. I think the last time I posted was when we spent the night in Jamestown, N.Y., my how time flies.

The last couple of days of the trip I didn’t have any internet access and have been lazy since I got home. That’s why some of you out there thought we were still in the Chicago area!!!

Tuesday morning we got up and as usual left around 8 a.m. We thought we would spend the night around South Bend, Ind., but we got there in early afternoon and decided to go on. At South Bend we turned north on Highway 33 and went into Michigan, checking off another state.

From there we headed to the Chicago area but it was fixin’ to be rush hour traffic so the decision was made to keep south of the city on I80. We angled up to I39 then stopped at Rockford, Ill., for the night.

Wednesday morning we got up, hopped in the car and drove to Wisconsin, which was about 10 miles north of Rockford. With that state ‘visited’ Mom and I have now been in 49 states.

Once crossing the Wisconsin border we turned around (how sick is that) and ‘headed for home’, mission accomplished!!

We traveled on to Raymore, Mo., (just south and east of Kansas City) by way of Des Moines and spent the night with Kim (Becky and Les’ daughter) and her husband Steve. They were very gracious hosts and it was awesome to get to know them better. We briefly met them when they came down to Stillwater in January for Dad’s memorial service.

We have always heard what great people they are and now that we’ve gotten to know them better we can definitely concur with that. We also got another treat while we were there, we got to meet one of their children, Mike, his wife Nani, and their adorable daughter, Alana (I hope I am close on the spellings!) Being around Alana made me miss my grandchildren even more.

From there we traveled to Stillwater, Okla., arriving early afternoon. Stopped by and visited with our Aunt Vera (her granddaughter Britton was there too), then went to the Pryor’s and visited with John, Bonita and Aunt Olive. It was Olive’s 88th birthday so that was special to see her. From there we stopped by the cemetery and visited Dad. Becky and Sara hadn’t been there since the headstone was placed.

We hit the road again that day and spent the night in Norman, Okla. It seemed weird to be in Norman and not be going to a basketball game. One ‘basketball’ tradition we did keep when visiting Norman, we ate dinner at my favorite Norman restaurant, Charleston’s.

Friday morning, the last day of the trip, we headed to Frisco, Texas, to drop in on Erin, Bobby and the girls. Everyone had a good time visiting and playing with Ashton and Landry. Then we headed to Waco, making sure we stopped at Braum’s in Hillsboro for one final treat.

We gladly arrived back in town around 3:30. I was glad to get home and I know mom was too. Poor Becky and Sara still weren’t home though. Becky arrived back in Reno on Monday and Sara hung around Waco to help mom with some painting. She’s going home on Thursday.

I will post one more blog about the trip, mainly just some random stuff. Check back in a few.

Monday

Today was at travel day for us. The only "touristy" thing we did was bop up into Vermont, 10 miles into to be exact. It was a first visit to the state for all four of us.

We began the morning in Portsmouth, N.H., leaving the Hampton Inn (which has become a favorite of ours it seems) by 8 a..m. From there we went south then hit the Mass Turnpike to the west. We continued west on the pike which turned into the NY ThruWay. At Schnectady we cut down on I88 to Binghamton, had dinner in Horseheads, NY (just past Elmira). From there we had a two-hour drive to Jamestown where we are spending the night. It took us almost 13 hours to get here, Erie, which was our original destination was still another two hours. Don't know what made us think it would be doable (is that a word?) distance.

Tomorrow we will check off three more states. We'll leave here go through Erie, Pa., Cleveland, Toledo on I80/90. The interstate runs along the border of Ohio and Indiana to the south and Michigan to the north. At some point, we'll jaunt up a couple of miles and touch Michigan which will be a new state for us. Don't know how far we'll make it tomorrow but hope to make it to Elkhart or South Bend, Ind.

From there it will be to Chicago, turn north until we get to Wisconsin, turn around then head south.

The scenery going through New Hampshire, northern Massachusetts, and across New York was absolutely gorgeous. It seems like since we got to Arkansas and east, all we have seen is trees. Becky says she doesn't know what the tree huggers are complaining about. Obviously they haven't been to the northeast!!!

That's all for now....later.

Oh, BTW, Jennifer reminded me that it was my second time in the Atlantic and she's correct. I was there in North Carolina when she and the girls came down there when we played there. We took a boondoggle to the beach.

PS - sorry no pictures on this post, for some reason nothing would upload.

Boston and New Hampshire

This post is going to cover a couple of days...they are running together and it is hard for me to remember what we did which day. Also, what day it is.

We left the New York area on Saturday morning and drove towards Boston. Sara was a champ at driving through New York. We stayed in Newton, Mass., which worked out really well as the hotel was next door to the T station. That afternoon we caught the train into Boston (we could take that particular station straight into the Government Center stop) and went to Fanuiel (sp) Hall and Quincy Market. We ate dinner at Quincy Market where mom got her fish and chips. Then we caught the train back to Newton. Going in, we were on the train that was taking fans to the Red Sox game as that particular train passed by Fenway Park.

This morning we left the hotel at 8 a.m. then took the train back into Boston to take a Duck Tour. We had planned to take the 9 a.m. tour but didn't get on one until 10:30. It was a very interesting tour and on Sunday morning, they didn't have to deal with the Boston traffic. By the time we got back to the car it was 1:30.

From there we headed towards New Hampshire and Maine by way of Glouster, Mass. We went through Glouster so we could see the coastline, etc., but it was raining so hard we didn't get to see much and didn't get out of the car.

From there we traveled up north and stopped at a little shop in Ipswich (sp), Mass., and I got my fresh lobster dinner. Sara had one too and the guy/waiter/owner graciously got it all cracked up, etc., so all we had to do was eat it and make a big mess, which we did.

Then it was on to New Hampshire and Maine, both new states for Becky, Mom and me. We decided to spend the night in Portsmouth, N.H., because the traffic going back south was backed up for miles. I guess everyone was going back home from their weekend trips.

The last three days we have not travelled as many miles as we had planned so, since we have around 2,000 miles still left to travel we have decided to skip the Niagara Falls part of the trip.

The picture that I have posted to this blog is what New Hampshire trees look like. Not really, I just saw on the beach where someone had made a sea weed tree and decided to pull your chain.

Becky and I both stood in the Atlantic Ocean today, a first for both of us. I will try to upload some slides for the slideshow so check back when you get a chance.

PS - Mom/Ninny has been a real champ on the trip. We've drug her all over the place, in fact, if her knee didn't make it hard for her to navigate steps, she'd be leaving us in her dust!!

That's all for now, later.

New York City

Whew, what a busy, busy two-days we've had! I know it's hard for any of you who aren't from back East to comprehend, but in one nine hour span, we had been in five states.

We left our hotel on Thursday morning and headed to New Jersey via Annapolis. Smooth sailing until we got to the Bay Bridge that takes you across the Chesapeake Bay. Traffic was backed up and it took us 40 minutes to get through the toll booth. We thought traffic would take off once we passed that point but, NOT. The traffic was all being channeled into two lanes to go across the bridge. Becky was driving and as we were merging, she saw a state trooper coming up behind and stopped (no one else was) and waited for him so he could merge in front of us. Amazingly, no one honked or raised their middle finger at us. Anyway, once he got in front of us and he made his way up to the front of the line, they opened up a lane on the other side of the bridge and he motioned for us to follow him. He led us and all the rest of those behind us across at about 60 mpg (speed limit on bridge is 45 mph). Meanwhile, all of those that wouldn't let him in or had cut in front of us, were on the other side of the bridge creeping along. See, it does pay to be nice!!!

From there it was smooth sailing. We proceeded up and went through Philadelphia, man I didn't know there were so many bridges in Philly. We passed Trenton and went on to Princeton where we were going to spend the night. Once we checked into our hotel we headed for NYC.

OMG - what an adventure that was. We took a train to the city (a 70 minute ride). We were hoping to make a 4:30 boat trip at Pier 93. We got off the train at Penn Station then took a cab (not as much of an adventure as I expected it to be) to the Pier, but just missed the boat. So we caught a bus up to Times Square and bought tickets for a double-decker bus tour. We took the tour called the Downtown Loop. It took us through/past the following areas: Greenwich Village, Times Square, Empire State Building, Union Square shopping district, Soho, Chinatown, Little Italy, East Village, Rockefeller Center, Central Park and many, many more areas. It was totally worth the price.

After the tour we took the subway to Penn Station then caught the train back to Princeton, getting back around 11:15.

So, we experienced a NYC cab ride, train, subway, bus and tour bus!!

Friday morning (we keep having to ask each other what day it is) we caught the train back to NYC as we had bought tickets the day before for the 12:30 cruise around the island of Manhattan.

Let me just say, today was much less stressful as we knew which subway to take, which bus we needed and which train track we needed to go to to get home.

We made it to Pier 93 with about an hour to spare and waited for our "cruise" to load. The three hour tour was fascinating. I had no idea there was so much wooded areas of Manhattan. The highlight of the tour for me was seeing the Statue of Liberty.

Off to Boston tomorrow. I've been having trouble uploading pictures so Megan can add them to the slide show. I'll keep trying.

Later!!!

Baltimore

Thanks to Bossy we made the trip to the Fort Meade area just fine. We left Charleston, W.V., at 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning and headed for Alexandria, Va. to pick up sister Sara. She had spent the last week in Hawai'i, taken the red-eye back to LA (that's where she lives), didn't even leave the airport before catching a flight to D.C. She got there about 6 p.m. Monday. Even thought she made it to D.C., her luggage didn't arrive when she did. She finally got it on Tuesday, an hour before we were to pick her up.

Bossy got us to her hotel in Alexandria, then from there we tasked her with finding our hotel in Hanover, Md., which she did.

My nephew Reese, who is in the Air Force stationed at Ft. Meade, Md., got off work around 3:30 so he, his wife Heather and her sister, Jamie, came to our hotel. We all went to dinner at Famous Dave's BBQ, which was pretty good even if it isn't in Texas.

This morning we went sight seeing in Baltimore. We went to the Inner Harbour and took a Duck Tour. It was very interesting and informative and we really enjoyed it. We wandered around for several hours.

From there we tasked Bossy with getting us to Charm City Cakes, site of one of my favorite TV shows, Ace of Cakes. They never let anyone come in and they were on vacation anyway. But all I wanted to do anyway was get my picture taken in front of it and I did.

Tonight we will go out to dinner with Reese, Heather and Jamie. Tomorrow we will leave to head to New Jersey and on to New York City.

Check later for more pictures to be added to the slide show.

Later!

West Virginia

We arrived in West Virginia on Sunday morning. It took us an extra 10 minutes as we took Becky to Ohio because she hadn't been there before. Just before Huntington, W.V., you can take the Ironton exit, go across the river and you're in Ohio. We did that, flipped a u-turn then, crossed back across the bridge to WV.

After an afternoon spent relaxing, Jenn and the girls fixed a delicious dinner. The we just lounged around the rest of the evening.

This morning we went exploring some of the WV countryside. Becky says she's seen more trees in the last four days than she's seen in her whole life. Anyway we went to Hawks Nest State park and took a tram down to the river and saw some gorgeous views. From there we went to the New River Gorge. Also went over the New River Gorge Bridge which I think is the longest/highest bridge in America. They close the road down once a year and people bungee jump off of it. In fact, I think that a few years ago there was a commercial made there where they dropped a car off the bridge or something like that.

After that we were all hungry so we found a Pizza Hut. Let me just say, all the Bennett girls and their dad will all remember this, it was an experience duplicating a certain trip to the Old Country Buffet in Nebraska. There is a picture that Megan is adding to the slide show that should give you a clue.

Anyway, since I'm a "slideshow dunce" I have to get the pictures to Megan to add to the slideshow so she'll have them up soon. She's just adding to the current one as she gets them from me.

We'll be off to Maryland tomorrow to visit Reese and Heather, stalk Charm City Cakes and tour the Baltimore waterfront. We should be there until Thursday morning , then look out New York City!!!

Later.

Road Trip - Day 1 & 2

Mom, Becky and I left Waco around noon on Friday and drove several hours before stopping in Foster City, Ark., for the night. I know, we broke our cardinal rule on not spending any money in Arkansas but couldn't be helped. Foster City is about 30 miles west of Memphis.

Mom asked us of Friday night what was the earliest she could wake us up n Saturday morning. We told her 6:30 but we were all awake and up by 6. After eating breakfast which was complimentary at the cafe next door, we were on the road by 7.

Our goals for Saturday was to go to Louisville then go on to Lexington and stop for the night.

Let me tell you about our neat toy before I go any further. I bought a GPS for the trip, which after a day of listening to a female voice tell us where to go, we have given the GPS a name, she is now referred to as Bossy. She came in pretty handy today. Between Memphis and Nashville, Mom decided she needed to stop at a Wal Mart. So, Becky told Bossy to find a Wal Mart in Jackson, Ark., and she guided us directly to it. Oh, and remind me next time you talk to or see me, to tell you another story about my gullible sister.

We got to Louisville and went to Churchill Downs. We went to the museum there and also had a tour of the racetrack. It was really cool. We got to see a retired racehorse, the paddock area, then on out to the racetrack to the winners circle then back to the museum and gift shop area. The winners circle we went to wasn't the one they use for the Kentucky Derby that is on the infield and is only used for the KD. I will try to figure out how to post a slide show of our visit there.

After touring Churchill Downs we headed east to Lexington. We there early evening and checked into the hotel. Then climbed back in the car and I took Becky and mom on a tour around Lexington which included, Keeneland Racetrack and a we stumbled upon a scenic driving tour around Keeneland. After that we went to the Kentucky Horse Park and drove around the whole place. Let me just tell you, I'm a sucker for white fences.

We're hunkered down in the hotel for the night and will go on to Jennifer's in the morning. We should be there by mid-morning.

I will try to post to the blog daily, depending on internet access. We plan on staying at Jenn's until Tuesday morning then go on to D.C. and pick up Sara then off to Reese's in Maryland.

That's all for now, catch you later.

PRECIOUS!!!

On July 6 our grandaughter Ashton celebrated her sixth birthday. We weren't able to go up there to help celebrate but did send a card and some money. Yesterday, we received the most precious thank you card, one that we will keep with our important papers!!!!!!!!! I scanned a copy of it and have posted it with this blog, however, I am providing a transcript in case there's a couple of works you can't figure out.

Grammy & Grampy,
Thank yall for the birthday money. I loved the card. Whose idea was it to get the card? I wanted the Ariel nightgown but they were out of them. So I don't know what I am gunna get.
Love, Ashton

Bruce's Birthday

Bruce's birthday was yesterday but the Bryce's hosted a birthday party for him at their house on Sunday afternoon.

Mom and I had been to Stillwater to the Ham-Bilyeu Family Reunion on Saturday and drove down to Frisco on Sunday morning. Everyone else came up from Lorena on Sunday.

This was the first time that Parker (6 months) and Landry (5 months) had been together since either of them has been able to "do anything". It was fun watching them lay on a blanket together. Parker, who is an arm flapper, was continually clubbing his cousin with his waving arms. In order to combat that, we switched them so that her feet were at his head and vice versa. That resulted in Landry rolling on her side with her feet in his face and she was chewing on his fist. Neither action phased him in the least.

After a delicious lunch, Bobby took Jon, Chris, Brodie and Bruce on a ride and showed them where Deion Sanders lives and well as Torii Hunter and a couple of other pro football players whose names I can't remember. The boys were impressed, not only with being able to see these 'houses' but the fact that their Uncle Bobby has hung out with some of them.

While the guys were touring, Ashton and I went to the pool while Megan and Erin fed the babies. That Ashton is a fish...she takes after the Botts and Bennett girls in the pool, might we have another competitive swimmer in the family?

After returning from the pool we had cake and ice cream (Bobby made a very tasty peanut butter frosting) and then Bruce opened presents and cards. Ashton made Bruce a birthday card of her own, featuring phonetic spelling, a hot air balloon, blue shirts (she picked out the two blue shirts they got Bruce), two birthday cakes, more balloons, a butterfly, a lady bug, a sun, carrots, a tomato plant and flowers. It is just precious.

Did You Know?

DID YOU KNOW? ( a friend sent these to me and I thought I'd pass them along).

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.


For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!

Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza.

Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.
panding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper weeds away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.
Broken Glass
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in nar-
row openings.

Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... ta da! ... static is gone.

Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the window s fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS
The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material ... I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. Well ... the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free ... that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box. well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!

Slow summer, Not....

I thought things were supposed to slow down once summer came! That doesn’t seem to be the case this year though. And, I can’t believe it’s the middle of June already.

Actually I think the reason things don’t seem to have slowed down is that I’m trying to get ahead of the curve for next year. I’m trying to get as much of my three media guides (equestrian, basketball, tennis) updated and done as I can this summer.

This weekend is the annual Ham-Bilyeu Reunion in Oklahoma then on Sunday, Erin’s hosting a birthday party for Bruce. Mom and I will leave on Thursday afternoon so she can have some time to visit with Stillwater/Perkins friends on Friday. The reunion is on Saturday then on Sunday morning we’ll get up bright and early and trek to Erin’s house.

The next weekend I will leave for Tampa and our annual CoSIDA Convention. The convention will be at the Tampa Waterside Hotel & Marina and that’s where I’ll be staying as well. Sounds like an awesome site and Tammi (Texas Tech) will be my roommate.

After that, I’ll be home until Mom, Becky, Sara and I begin our road trip on July 26. First stop will be Jennifer’s, then on to Reese and Heather’s, then who knows what route we’ll take.

Sometime during the summer, I plan on doing a little trim replacement and painting on the outside of the house. Now, if I could just decide what color to paint (that’s the main stumbling block, that and the fact that it’s soooooooooooo dang hot!).

Sorry I don’t have any good stories to tell like Erin and Jennifer do. Guess Bruce and I are just too boring!

Awesome Mother's Day

Even though I had to work on Mother's Day, it was an awesome one!

All my 'chicks' had checked in by noon. Jennifer called before she went to church with her girls on Sunday morning. Heather and Megan and their families came over at 9 a.m. They brought brunch over (two breakfast casseroles, blueberry muffins, cinnamon rolls, OJ and chocolate milk. That was a special treat. I talked to Erin before I left for town.

The girls all went together and got me a "Grammy" bracelet. For those of you that want to see which one I'm getting, I chose the Vicky bracelet. Can't wait to get it!

On my way into town to tennis I stopped by and visited my mom. She had one of her back muscle spasms and wasn't feeling too great.

Heather's oldest son Jon celebrated is 18th birthday on Saturday. We're all going out to dinner tonight to celebrate.

I'm off to Tulsa on Wednesday. Both of Baylor's tennis teams have advanced to the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament so I will go up to cover them.

Later!!!

A break in the action, summer travel

After spending three days last week (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) driving back and forth to College Station for Big 12 Tennis Championships, I actually will have a weekend off. Well, at least a weekend with no Baylor stuff. But, alas, there's plenty of stuff to do at the homestead.

I've got a few traveling things coming up. On May 14 & 15 I'll be in Dallas for Big 12 Conference meetings, then on to Tulsa (driving up there) for the NCAA Tennis Tournament. Hopefully I'll be there until the 20th (that means one of the teams are playing in the championship match).
Things slow down a bit after that, that will be my last official Baylor sports obligation for the year.

June 28-July 2 I'll be in Tampa at our annual sports information director's convention.

Then from July 26 - August 10 we will making the first annual "Botts Female Road Trip". I have a personal goal of visiting all 50 states. There are only eight states that I haven't been able to check off: Delaware, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin and Alaska. I mentioned to Bruce that I wanted to take a trip this summer and told him I wanted to go to New England, stopping by West Virginia and Maryland. He wasn't interested in going so I enlisted my mom and sisters.

First stop will be West Virginia to visit Jennifer and her family, then on to Ft. Meade, Md., to visit my nephew Reese and his wife Heather. From there we'll make our way east and north with plans on hitting Delaware, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and Maine and any state that we pass through on the way to those.

Besides going to the above states, we'd like to take a train into NYC, visit Ellis Island, and eat a real lobster dinner (not at a chain restaurant). Also, I don't think you can go through Baltimore and not drive by Charm City Cakes (they don't allow tours).

If time allows (depending on how much we putz around along the way), we may drive across NY to the Niagara Falls, then go into Canada, down to Michigan and then "swing by" Wisconsin. Not a huge priority but a possibility.

So, I will be able to check off at least five states on my 'yet to visit list", and maybe more.

I know of two trips that I will be making with the Lady Bears next season. We'll be going to Canada in late August to play two exhibition games. Then over Thanksgiving we'll be playing in a tournament in the Virgin Islands. It will be my first visit there.

That's enought gibberish for now.

The mayonnaise jar and two cups of coffee

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cup of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes'.

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. 'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life...'

'The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions. And if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.'

'The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house and your car.' 'The sand is everything else---the small stuff'. If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.' 'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with your grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.' 'Take care of the golf balls first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' 'The coffee just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

Sorry...

I'm sorry that it's been so long between postings. I thought that once basketball was over with I'd have some free time but that hasn't been the case.

We are hosting the Equestrian national championships next week and I've been busy putting together (literally) a 32 page program for the event. Luckily, I had started on it early but still it has been a very labor intensive project. I sent it to the printer today.

Now the next challenge will be hosting the event. This is my first season working with equestrian so I'm a rookie. Hopefully all of my hosting experience from other sports will help me out.

Bruce and I worked outside all weekend, cleaning up limbs, mowing, etc. We were sure feeling our age this weekend! Muscles that I didn't know I had (or forgot that I had) were making their presence felt. I just hope that I was able to stay out of the poison ivy. I have found out since we moved to Texas that I'm highly allergic to it.

I didn't work the Final Four this year and really missed being there. Although if I had worked it, I never would have gotten the Equestrian program finished.

Megan and Ricci's son, Parker, was baptized a couple of weeks ago. Erin, Bobby and the girls came down for it so we all went out to dinner afterward. It was good to get most of us together (Bruce had to work).

That's all for now...hopefully I'll post more often from now on.

I was Tagged

Jennifer tagged me and I enjoyed reading 10 fun facts about her and Erin (Erin tagged Jenn), I decided to accept the challenge.

10 Fun Facts About Julie:

1. I like cold tuna but not hot tuna...I will eat a tuna sandwich but won't touch tuna casserole.

2. God got the Bilyeu women's butts and bellies switched...Our (a lot of us that is, not all) bellies are the shape that our butt should be and vice versa.

3. I am the runt of the family ... I am the shortest of my sisters and all of my girls are taller than me.

4. I passed my drivers test (a loooooooooooooong time ago) on the first try and got a 100.

5. I only will eat cheese if it is melted or very finely shredded...I will eat a grilled cheese sandwich but won't dare eat just a piece of cheese.

6. As a senior citizen...I still love to drink milk. In fact, my husband and I go through three gallons a week.

7. I will go anywhere by myself if I want to go bad enough...Have driven all the way to West Virginia and back solo.

8. I love women's basketball...Not a fan of the men's game, especially the pros.

9. I love to read books...The latest author I'm hooked on is James Patterson. He writes mystery books, the new show on ABC, Women's Murder Club (with Angie Harmon and Rob Estes, two of my faves) is based on a series of his books.

10. Last but not least, I have no fettishes like Jenn and Erin...I will eat meat off a bone (love Buffalo wings and ribs) and it's OK for feet to touch me!!!!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Now don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't like Albuquerque but geez this is the third time we'll have been there for NCAA Tournament play! We will be playing 'our' alma mater Fresno State in first-round action on Saturday at noon (Albuquerque time) on ESPN2. Those of you in the central Texas and central California area should get the game (or most of it) in its entirety, the rest of you will get snippets of it in what they call 'whip around coverage'. If we beat Fresno State, we'd play again on Monday night but won't know the time until after Saturday games are finished, it's an ESPN thing. If we lose, our season's over. For once, I won't be rooting for the Bulldogs!