[0:00] Hello, friends. Welcome to another episode of Tell Us Good Story. Today, like every fifth episode, it’s Steph and I sharing our own stories with you. And this conversation is with our friend Adam Bennett and Steph’s sister, Katie Keller-Schnitzer. You guys, this conversation is all about my favorite event of the year, our school’s mother-son laser tag and dodgeball event. So did my wife and her sister get a little too competitive at this event? Uh, no. Did my wife and her sister trash talk a bunch of middle school boys? We were just telling them that Jesus was watching them. And by the end of this episode, did I feel like I needed to publicly apologize for my wife or sister’s behavior? You’re ridiculous. The answer to all these questions is 100% yes. You guys, we can’t wait for to hear this conversation with Adam Bennett and my sister, Katie Keller-Schnitzer.

[0:48] I’m Kevin. And I’m Steph. And during our marriage, we’ve dealt with an electrocution, a brain tumor, brain surgery. Then doctors telling us the children were not in our future, followed by miscarriage, and then Kevin’s cancer diagnosis. However, today we live a life completely healed, completely restored with three healthy children who doctors said were not possible. And we’re here to tell stories that inspire, give hope and brighten your day. Welcome to Tell Us A Good Story.

[1:15] Okay, friends, before we get to this episode, just a friendly reminder to please hit the subscribe button on YouTube and Apple Podcasts or give us a review. Five stars, please. In our world, this is super, super important because it will help with the algorithm to make it easier for people to find us. And thank you for sharing our posts across your social media. That really helps with engagement and with us getting guests. Yes. So, hey, if you want us to keep working our way up to talking to Chip and Joanna, please share us with your friends. But regardless, thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story. All right, Steph, welcome to episode 260. Is it really? 260. Yeah. And we’re here with our friends, Mr. Adam Bennett. Adam Bennett. I can’t stay away.

[2:02] Your sister, Katie Keller-Schnetzer. Katie Keller-Schnetzer. Thank you so much. And this is like her ending time with us because baseball season starts. Yep. Sweet. It is literally Saturday morning. It’s the only time that we could fit this episode in. And my boss reminded me I can also not do any more episodes because my baseball voice is back. Oh, it’s true. No, I don’t have a voice. I’m going to have to have a whiteboard. Yes. So, Adam, I asked how baseball was going when Katie got here. Apparently they have cowbells at their 10U baseball game that Katie and her parents bring. I’m like, how annoying would that be?

[2:46] It’s up there. We have a reputation. Oh, I’m sure you do. Is it positive? Sometimes. Let’s transition to an event that we all love. Oh, everybody’s favorite. And we need to give Adam and our listeners context. Yes. Okay. Grace Christian School, which our kids have gone to since they’ve been in kindergarten, there is a father-daughter dance, okay, which I love. It’s one of my favorite things of the year, right, is going to the dance.

[3:15] If there was a mother-son dance, I probably would say, Tate, let’s do our own thing. We’re going to go laser tag. I have gotten out of every father-daughter dance. You’ve never been to one? No. Here’s why. It’s one of those things where it’s like, my family’s like, well, you have to do it. I’m like, I have to do it? Yeah, that’s why I’m not doing it. I do everything else. If I want to pick one thing that I don’t want to do, I’m putting the flag in the ground.

[3:41] I don’t go to the bars after work. So I can pick this one thing, and the more you say, well, you have to do this, and we’re like, it shall never happen. Hey, I thought that was family pictures. They got one of those out of me, so I had to move my piece to another space on the board. Adam hates pictures. I thought it was going to Disney. That too. Cody’s on that train now too. She’s like, Disney. Disney eats it. I’m not going. Really? Yeah. We’re going on a cruise next year and it’s deliberately not Disney. So we’re very happy about it. Dude, we are not Disney people. We are not cruise people. We did a Disney cruise a few weeks ago and loved it. I’ve heard they’re great. It was freaking amazing. I have never felt so important in my life. the children came off this cruise feeling so entitled they just dropped trash on the ground. That’s what I’m worried about. Because that’s what happens on the cruise. You live so well. You don’t have to take care of anything. There is somebody coming up behind you. Catering to everything. Catering to your every need.

[4:46] And I was just like, this is not real life. Okay, so what will be paid off first? The Disney cruise or your mortgage?

[4:56] That’s the question. Well, let’s just say I really wanted new floors this year. But we wanted to cruise. I think I already spent that money. Okay, so back to the event. We keep getting sidetracked. We do. Dang it. So for the fathers, right? We get the father-daughter dance. Yes. But the most popular event of the year is the mother-son laser tag and dodgeball event. Yes. So our friend, Mr. Jeremy Hartman. Who can’t be here. Who can’t be here today. Oh, Big A. He is getting ready. God bless him. He’s getting ready for the eighth grade field trip that he is chaperoning to D.C. Bless him. Oh, man. That’s where love blooms.

[5:35] These eighth grade field trips. Oh, gosh. So God bless him. He’s a chaperone and his son’s in eighth grade. So he is getting ready to leave for that. So he created this mother-son event.

[5:48] And it is the most popular event of the year from what I’ve been told. And it keeps getting bigger and bigger. Because it’s so much fun. It’s awesome. And tell them the best part. What did Hartman say at the event? That he has gotten requests from girls at school. Yes. That they want to swap out the father-daughter dance. Oh, really? Father-daughter laser tag.

[6:12] Be careful what you wish for. Like, are you sure you want these dads going against these girls in dodgeball? You’d have to have like one arm behind your back or something. You’d have to do something. Blindfold us. You don’t want that smooth. Throw it like the opposite hand. Scene from Billy Madison where one guy just… That’s what it’s going to be. Yeah, yeah. You’re going to have to pick something else. Okay so let’s give context okay so year one katie went to this mother-son event and our kids were not of the age yet not yet so katie shows up and i saw pictures later on and she’s dressed like a ninja with her two sons yes all black eye black and all that does that help for dodgeball yeah okay oh because it just puts you in the mood okay right like you just it is game time savage mode but there was no dress code like there it wasn’t encouraged i thought i thought it was like halloween right like you dress up as a character for this event and then come to find out no.

[7:12] Katie’s the only one at this event who dressed up not true there was a william william wallace there was a william wallace there which i greatly appreciate super cool a kid was dressed as william that would have been super cool to see but so katie shows up just ninja ready to go yeah game face on. Love it. So then year two, Mr. Hartman asked us to go and not ask us. He asked me to volunteer. Yes. To help out. And you went. Allowed Tate and I to partake. Yes. In the event. Which was amazing. Amazing. So year two, these ladies obviously coordinate outfits. Uh-huh. Well, was there a theme? A theme. There was a theme. So Hartman decided to start having themes to get Like more participation. Yes. And the ages go from preschool to, was it second or third grade?

[7:59] Third. Third. And then fourth through eighth. Yep. Okay. So that year’s theme was superheroes. Yes, ma’am. So we got our outfits. We each got a different superhero. Yep. And we had masks and we had capes and we had slap bracelets. Yes. Yep. So we were ready. So I am referee on all this and I’ve got the microphone the whole night. You’re a dodgeball referee? Dodgeball and laser tag. And he had a legitimate referee. Well, tonight, this year I did. So the honor system not working for these people, for dodgeball. No. I’ve noticed that. He’s getting called out. I used to occasionally help rack time, and you will see kids. You have the bruise. You have a hematoma, and you’re saying that you didn’t get hit.

[8:41] It’s unbelievable. 100%. Do you not fear God? 100%. Okay. But here’s the thing. I’m ruffing this dodgeball. I have the microphone and all that. And Mr. Hartman’s wife, actually, who I didn’t know that closely at the time, at the end of the night, she came up to me. And again, I’m a volunteer, Adam. I’m doing the best I can on one court.

[8:59] And I very quickly realized you need two referees on dodgeball, one to look at the left side of the court, and another to look at the right side of the court. Otherwise, your head is on a swivel the whole time. So Mr. Hartman’s wife, Amber, came up to me afterwards like, hey, I just want to let you know, I got somebody out five times, and you only called four. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I am so sorry. Do better. I thought it was to thank me for volunteering my time. That’s coming. To referee this. No, that never came. What I noticed was when you instant, so when I kind of took over that role for the youth rack time, There was a rule in place where if you got hit in the head you were not out correct and the idea was to avoid, Deliberate, you know getting killed shot. Yes. Yes. What happened was then kids use their head as a shield To stay in and I said I suspended that rule unilaterally. I was like Castro I go that rule is gone you get hit in the head. You’re out in fact I want to see I want to see these melons rattle I, And so I got rid of that because they were using their heads. That’s interesting. I’ve never heard of that. I’ve never heard of that. Not worth it. Okay. So Mr. Hartman told me this year that his wife on the way to the event said, please don’t put me on the same dodgeball at court as Kevin.

[10:19] That’s amazing. I don’t trust him. Nope. He’s not any good. Adam. Okay. Again, give context. We’ve already explained this, right? But for listeners who don’t know what we’re talking about, that first year, you ladies were involved together. Yes. You play dodgeball together and Steph was super excited because she said ahead of time that she could take out her aggression on these kids and not go to jail. Yes. However, every mom’s fantasy. I’m repping one day a year. I’m repping this game.

[10:47] Katie gets trash talk apparently by her son. All right. Her son then goes to the baseline and is wanting to throw a fastball at her son to get him out. Okay. The thing is, she has a cannon of an arm, but lacks the accuracy. Doesn’t know where it’s always going. So Katie goes to throw a fastball at her son. And to be fair, I was going to have to thread the needle. Yeah. There’s a lot of bodies there. There was a lot of bodies. Which is not your strength. Not my strength, but I thought she could do it. I was like, I can do this. Obviously. She goes to thread the needle, and Sam is what? 25 feet away, 30 feet away. Pretty far. Okay. Well, there’s a kindergarten five feet away in front of her. So she throws his fastball and drills his kindergarten. That’s what he called the kill zone. That’s five feet away. He shouldn’t have been there. The kid just dropped. He shouldn’t have been there. And Katie yelled, Out!

[11:42] Go sit and yell! That’s what I yelled. Sit out. And then the kid claimed he wasn’t hit. Just friendly fire. Okay. Then later on, I’m seeing this preschooler on this one team and the kid, he’s clueless, right? He’s just like dancing, dancing in the front of the line and stuff. That was the following year, wasn’t it? Was it the same year? Oh, okay. Lesson incoming. He’s just, yeah, he doesn’t really know what’s going on. Just happy to be here. And I see this kid get drilled in the face. All right. And he stops and all

[12:13] of a sudden just starts bleeding. Okay. Oh, wow. Yeah. Starts bleeding. So then I turn to my wife, who is a registered nurse. I say, honey, can you help this kid? And the look on her face was like, but I’m playing dodgeball. Yeah. Right. Like, don’t bother me now. So then I get the microphone. Everybody, pause. His seizure will end. I’m playing dodgeball now. Yeah.

[12:35] Like let’s pause let’s get this young man help and then i turned my wife put the microphone behind my back now can you help this kid and you’re just like like walk across the line and help this kid take him to the restroom and all of this i’d have thrown at you while you were helping him okay see you cut me out here’s the bad part of this mr hartman came up to me he’s like hey what are the odds that kid got hit by your sister-in-law or your wife? And I’m like, oh, that’s a good point. So I came home and I said, Steph, tell me something. That preschooler, that four-year-old who got hit, could he have been hit by you or your sister? And come to find out, you are the one who drilled this kid. But in my defense, when I hit him, not on purpose with his face, but again, got a little too high. When I hit him, It stunned him, but his nose wasn’t bleeding. Yet. How did you? So I kept rapid firing to other kids, and then I hear, whoa, whoa, whoa. And then when I look back, the blood was coming. So she can’t confirm or deny. That it was her. Well, you delivered the care after the fact. That I did. Remember when I got hit by that car in the crosswalk, and then the lady came up? Yes. She’s like, I’m a nurse. And she was the one who hit me.

[13:55] It was. It was. It was, okay. Yeah, she was the one. As you’re laying in the road. She’s like, okay, I’m a nurse. And then the next words out of her mouth were, I don’t know how I didn’t see you. I’m like, oh, it’s come full circle.

[14:09] So, at the end of that night, Mr. Hartman was like, remember what your wife said about taking her aggression out on these kids and not going into jail? That got a little too real tonight because this is the first time in the history of this event that a kid is left with a bloody nose. Not on purpose. I would think dodgeball is just a matter of time. Yeah, that is true. Thank you, Adam. It’s bound to happen. Were they the rubberized outdoor? No. They’re squishy.

[14:36] You gave a kid a bloody nose with a foam ball? You can squish them into your hand. They’re really squishy, but you can still throw them. Okay. I mean, you put enough pace on it, I guess. I guess. Okay, so fast forward to this year.

[14:48] Thankfully, we were still invited to the event. Yes. Thankfully, the event was still on. That’s true. So one family didn’t ruin it for everybody, and they still have the Dodgeball Leisure Take event. Yep. So Mr. Harmon is kind enough. He invited me to emcee and help out, right? So when I say emcee, right, he gives me a microphone and I, you know. You get everybody amped up. Yes. Yes. Like DJ Khaled of church. Right. Exactly. Exactly. So the week leading up to the event, my wife, is just trash talking our six-year-old, well, now seven-year-old son, Tate, the whole week. Son, hey, just wait until Friday night. Oh my gosh, we are not on the same team, son. Just so you know. You know how you’re supposed to like talk positively to your kids? Build them up? Yes, and build them up. I’ve never heard that, but go on. Yeah, well, you’re supposed to in this day and age. That’s what the books say. Well, Friday morning, I wake up and usually I sing them a song, like a fun song or whatever to wake them up. That morning, I woke up, I’m like, wake up loser time to take your medicine step please and then the night before i’m tucking him in bed adam thursday night and then you hear from the other room good night loser.

[16:07] Hey jake you see that other kid i gave a bloody nose that’s gonna look like christmas to you.

[16:14] So apparently tate went into his class his first grade class on friday morning we get a note from his we got a note from his teacher okay she said that tate walked in the room that friday morning and was just like girls you are going down tonight and she she didn’t know what i don’t know where this behavior comes i don’t know where this came from well it’s because his mother has been trash Chugging him the whole week, right? And so now it’s Friday. It’s the day of the vet. And then she realized, oh, he’s talking about the moms are going down. She’s hyping it to get more pay-per-view buys. That’s what they all do. All right, friends. We want to hear from you. Every fifth episode has been us telling our own stories. But now we want to share some of your stories. That’s right, you guys. If you have a fun story you would like to share, please send it to us. You can email us, DM us, or even leave us a voicemail. And I will share our contact information, including a phone number in the show notes. If you call us, just leave us a voicemail and I will transcribe it and read it on one of our upcoming episodes. And don’t worry if you’re not a master storyteller. That’s okay. We want to share your stories and then you will hear us comment on them. I promise you, this will be so much fun. Oh my gosh, you guys, so much fun. You guys, thank you for listening to tell us a good story.

[17:33] All right. so ladies why don’t you share the outfits that you ladies wear and by the way i was planning on just wearing a school t-shirt yeah to the event well because the theme was green and yellow or green gold green and gold so that was the theme of this year and my wife was adamant and daughters as well that i wear a referee jersey so i do have one of those from a reffing a prior basketball Game right that went well from when I remember not go well. So I wore that so but can you please share what your attire was for the night. I think sis plans it everywhere and sit or every year and sis killed it this year.

[18:15] Yes, because I don’t have like a GCS t-shirt. All I have are like sweatshirts, long sleeve shirts. And you guys, when we are in Dodgeball Lasertag, Katie and I are running. Oh, we’re working hard. Like we are sweating. We are running. So I can’t be wearing a sweatshirt. Nope. So sis, what did you pick out for us this year? Or pants. Okay. No pants. We do not have time for pants. You’re wearing shorts. Yes, we are wearing shorts. We’re wearing bottoms. It’s just not long bottoms. They could get into a church, just not a 7-Eleven with what they were wearing.

[18:55] No, so the five of us just had green Nike headbands. Yes. And we had green, white, and gold face paint. We had tall, knee-high, tall, like varsity socks, like old-school varsity socks. Green and yellow. Yeah. Yeah, and then all black. Otherwise, we’re so good. Sounds like roller derby attire. Yeah.

[19:19] It actually does. It very much was roller derby. Okay. So here’s the picture of you ladies. Yes. At the event. And I will use this as the episode image. Okay. We were serious. Okay. So one of the things going on right now is during Easter,

[19:35] I had a friend of ours say, hey, have chat GPT roast your Easter family picture. I was like, oh, okay. so i uploaded into chat gpt our family picture and it spit out some funny stuff right about what we’re wearing so i was like you know what i should do this for other pictures yes so i uploaded a chat gpt this picture of you ladies at the dodgeball event and i said roast this dodgeball event picture i’m already mad i’m already like excuse you chat gpt i don’t even know you and stuff you did not did you read any of these i can’t remember if i did or not all right so this is what chat gpt said after i asked to roast this picture of you ladies from the dodgeball it says oh wow this dodgeball pick is giving off we trained for three straight days to lose in the first round wow next comment i mean there’s like this machine is brutal really accurate next comment okay that hurts those matching green headbands and war paint you’d think they were suiting up for hunger games instead of dodge phone balls.

[20:47] Those Nike t-shirts say softball, but the energy says we came for drama tonight. Oh. And let’s not ignore the synchronized nail polish. Those ladies have coordinated outfits and emotional support routines. They’re digging deep. They are. That’s a deep cut, I think is what you call that. These ladies showed up to dodgeball like it’s the Olympics of Instagram. We didn’t put it on Instagram, so excuse you. I might have. Oh, you did? Well, because it was cool. But only me and little man. Oh, yeah. Those green Nike headbands say we mean business, but the vibe screams we peaked in intramural volleyball. It’s like Don Rickles.

[21:38] So Katie’s fourth grade son, Sam, is just beside of you, kind of in the background in this picture. And it says in that kid question mark he’s 20 excited 80 wondering how he got roped into this team mascot for team midlife crisis yeah okay the the the machines are taking over it’s it’s terminated too it is isn’t it i agree with you i i was i was in the car visiting my grandmother And so a bunch of us were in the car together. And my mom was in the car, and my son was in the car. And she had no idea about chat, GBT, AI, anything. And he started showing her. And you could see her expression really went from, wow, this is cool, to a slight bit of terror. Yeah. It can do that. And he goes, yeah. Then it was just kind of quiet for five seconds five seconds bam yeah it’s wild.

[22:38] So let me share i guess my perspective of the event all right so jeremy gives me the microphone and says you know take it away and i just he gives me basically time limits on how long laser tags should be for each group because there’s multiple groups yes and multiple kids right so So there’s a first session is from pre-K to third grade. Yes. And then the second session is from fourth to eighth grade, which is what you ladies were part of this year because Sam is now in fourth grade. Yep. And I had told you beforehand, it is much different. It is much different. The groups of moms playing against their sons who are pre-K to third grade. Which is fun. Then when you’re playing against an eighth grade boy. Which is serious. But this is laser tag, right? I was just going to say that’s serious. And dodgeball. Uh-huh. I was going to say laser tech is probably more self-regulating because of the equipment. You would think until these ladies get involved. All right. But like in dodgeball, now you have these eighth grade boys are just rifling these foam balls at older mothers than the moms that are in the younger group. Okay. So it gets a little worse. I have to step in and adjust rules and stuff to make it a little bit more fair and all that. Right. Because otherwise some moms may get injured. Oh, yeah. Eighth grade boys can hit 85 miles per hour on the gun. Yes. that’s exactly right that is exactly right adam so that’s kind of what it turned into can we yeah.

[24:01] It all worked out everybody loses an equal number of teeth it’s fine so i get the mic they’ve got the timeline on the scoreboard and i’m like okay we get we got you know one minute moms get your laser tag guns come over here and so then i’ll explain a couple things to them and then i’ll get my arm in okay hey mom’s on three here we go one two three moms and then i get the microphone boys come over here follow me follow me and i’m like hey you guys cannot lose your moms tonight like that’s embarrassing you cannot lose it no no okay let’s go win on three here we go one two three win and i’m like all right on three one two three and then i blow my whistle right since i have the referee uniform yes blow the whistle and it’s off and then they turn the lights off They turn the music on, and you’ve got seven minutes to go. You get a point for every gun that you take back. So if your gun is out of ammunition, you take it back to the desk where there’s dads volunteering. They give you a new gun, and then they put a point for the other team. Oh, okay. If you’re out of ammunition. Okay. Because you got shot. Yep. You did. So if you’re out of ammunition, you just take it back, get a new one, and it’s a point for other team. All right. So… I’ll let you ladies take it from here in your group because it is much different, your group, than the younger kids.

[25:16] It’s the first year that you were with the fourth through eighth grade boys. Ladies, tell us how you ruined it. Yes.

[25:26] So Katie and I are so in this. We are doing plyometrics before we start. We are stretching. We are warming our bodies up. That’s right. Are you sweating before the event even starts? No. No, but we were warm. But we were warmed up. We want to make sure we didn’t pull anything. Was this event drug tested? I think I still did, though. Should have been. Okay. I know if the Nevada Gaming Commission had any part of this. No. So, like, we are high-fiving other moms. That’s right. Pumping them up. Like, we’ve got this. Like, other moms, some of them are dressed really cute, and we’re like, no, no, no. This is serious. I need you to focus. I need you focused and ready to go. We’re not here to have fun. We are not. This is serious. Fun timing. No. This is Hunger Games. This is Hunger Games. Yes.

[26:10] Absolutely like there are moms walking to turn their guns i’m like pick it up come on ladies i need you to pick it up again i’m emceeing because i’ll be like all right we’re halfway done moms you’re up to mom’s up to pick it up boys and i’m just you know moms were up to on the older boys yeah it’s stressing me out him just saying that i was like yeah i remember that yes like i’m amping it up as the music going tell them how much time’s left all of that and there are two moms adam who once their gun was done would sprint back to the desk to get another gun literally pushing children as you can imagine most moms are walking back getting another gun and then going no these two ladies in their outfits are sprinting back to the desk getting a new gun and taking off well when you’ve when you’ve wagered a month’s worth of grocery money on this game. It motivates you. For sure. You know what? I bet Amber was sprinting. I bet Amber was in it. I don’t know if she was sprinting. She was definitely into it. I don’t recall her sprinting. I only saw two moms sprinting. Don’t drag others into your hyper-competitive pit. So it comes down to the last 30 seconds. In the first round.

[27:23] We were down the whole time. Down by eight, down by six. But then you took the lead. Then they tied. The first game. The moms up by two, that was something else. but this round we were never up we were always losing but that’s what i’m yelling that’s what i’m kind of saying into the microphone right and then for the first time ever the boys and their moms died and it was like we lost our freaking lives like the worst thing that could happen.

[27:56] Nobody’s happy like and there’s no overtime because hey we’ve got the next group that’s to come in here whoa so you go sudden death just because we were down the whole time i was so happy that we were able to come back and at least tie it okay so you play you play dodgeball twice and you play laser tag twice each group okay so the ladies then have to go get a snack and the next group comes in and we’re gonna do the same thing all right and then once they’re done after seven minutes then these ladies are gonna come back in and try again yeah so let’s talk about what happened during snack time. Yeah, let’s talk about snack time. So, this is between the two laser tags. Okay, got it. So, sis and I took it upon ourselves to call out some of these kids. Because they, you were not happy with tying and felt like these eight-grade boys were cheating. They were cheating. They were flipping cheating. Yeah. Dirty little cheaters. And after this, also when they tied, you ladies and another mom came up to me and were upset that they were cheating. I’m like, I don’t know what to tell you. How are they cheating? Oh, let us tell you. We’ll tell you.

[29:04] So they will stay out in the hallway, which is fine. I went after them in the hallway. Oh, I sprinted after one. I was like freaking out of here. Into the boys’ room. That’s what they would do, though. They would go in the boys’ room, and then obviously we’re not going into the boys’ restroom. But they would go in there. Obviously. Obviously. That’s where we drew the line. Yes. But then they would just stay there. So the problem is, so people are probably at home like, well, then they’re not shooting you either. Shooting you, which is fine. But then they’re holding on to their guns, not taking them in. So we can’t get the points. So we can’t get the points. So we’re still doing max effort, turning our guns in, but then they’re not. Also, what I’ve seen, I will pick up. Guns that no longer have ammunition on it, but instead of turning them in so we can get the points, they stashed them. They stashed them. That is a little dirty. Yes!

[29:57] And two other things, Adam. That’s pretty bad. They evidently helped Hartman with the setup. They knew how to reset their guns without turning them in. Yep. Those two words. Yep. Sure did. Yeah, that’s okay. And you still tied them on the first round. Yes! Yes. Because we were giving max effort. Okay. There you go. Lessons we learned. So we do. Another thing they did is you’re allowed one gun. Kevin’s just smiling. You’re loving this, aren’t you? We’re getting all worked up. So you’re allowed one gun. Well, these kids would get one gun, hide it, then get it out. And then come back and get their other one. Okay. Which should not happen. And I explained this to you ladies afterwards. Because, again, we’re three weeks out. And you ladies are still salty. Oh, we’re still dead. Yep. 100%. Run. Because you can’t just go up and get another gun. A dad has to hand it to you and replace it, right? Because the kids were hiding the other ones. And the dad’s like, it’s dark. Yeah. So they’re just taking another one. Yeah. But this is even before the game started. Yes. So you’re taking your gun. Yeah. Like a dad’s not handing me a gun. I’m just grabbing it because the game hasn’t started yet. Exactly. So that’s what they did. And you’re saying they’re taking multiple guns. Yes. Okay. Yes, absolutely. So during snack time, we might have confronted a group of these boys. I wasn’t having it. In the hallway. In a hallway Excuse you Good Excuse you This is not how we play. Yep. Right. It’s not how we do. Please tell me you did not pistol whip one of the boys in the hallway with a laser tag gun. No, we had our guns taken away. This was a friendly conversation.

[31:26] Those boys do need to have some soul searching about, okay, we’re cheating to beat our moms. Okay. We are a group that is eligible to be drafted into military conflict in a matter of like three to eight years. And you can’t handle your mom. And we can’t handle our moms in a combat situation. Yep. And we told them about themselves. Okay. Yeah. Okay. We let them know. They’re like, hey, you guys stashed in some guns? No. No. Jesus is watching you. Yep. Jesus, you are here. Let me remind you, Jesus is watching you as well, ladies. No, we are justice.

[31:59] We were honest and we did the right thing. All right. So I called or I talked to Mr. Hartman the other night because he was not, he’s unable to be here. Yeah. I asked him, hey, give me some intel on what you saw at the event. One of the things he told me was he saw you ladies in the hallway trash talking to 8th grade boys. No. It was a conversation.

[32:22] He heard specifically that Katie went up to a 4th grader and said you know what? When we play dodgeball I’m going to hit you in the face and I don’t care if it doesn’t even count.

[32:33] I’m going to hit you in the face and not with a dodgeball. I don’t recall. He said he thought it was one of Sam’s friends that you said that to. But he said he did observe that in the hallway. What do they say when they get called to testify on Capitol Hill? I don’t recall. I can either recall. We’re going to be playing Dodge Rock in the parking lot after this time. I do not. Don’t recall that conversation.

[32:59] Mr. Hartman? We was a friendly conversation and we just called them out. First of all, I’m sure he said something to me first. She was provoked. I was provoked. but no friendly conversation to let that’s what it was friendly jesus was watching and saw all i don’t think you ladies were that friendly when you were talking to me oh no we were mad you were mad at me you were mad at me yeah and the whistle i was like do your job 10 points do your job so each each group adam of course gets to play laser tag twice okay so i’m doing like a pre-game huddle, and get, you know, getting the boys involved. Right. So the next time you ladies come in, right. I tell you what happened with the event that just happened. Right. And I think it was, Hey ladies, the moms just got smoked. All right. You cannot let that happen. And I think I, I think I gave the moms tips on, Hey, I would hang out over here and do whatever. Yeah. Okay. They’re like, Oh, okay. That makes sense. That makes sense. Right. And then I go to the boys and I just turn, I just start lying to everyone. Right. I’m like, listen, The moms just smoked the boys in this last game.

[34:09] You cannot let that. And they’re like, no, oh my gosh, right? And so then the boys are fired up. I’m like, all right, let’s win on three. Here we go. One, two, three, win. And so Jeremy’s laughing because he’s like, you’re just lying to everybody, aren’t you? I’m like, I totally am. I totally, in these pregame huddles, I’m totally just like, hey, cannot let your sons, can’t let the sons win. And so it was, it was a lot of fun. So I think, okay, so what happened, ladies, in the next game that you played? Did you get redemption or did you i think you got smoked is that right we got smoked on it was so unfair so obvious it was so obvious because they doubled down on their tactics from phase one yeah yeah they were just like okay that worked well so it was a group of them that did it the first all of them were doing it the second yeah okay that’s what i’m picking up guns turning them in to get us points. They’re hiding out in the bathroom. They’re not happy. So this was the other moms. It came down to the last second. We were tied. Sis. Sis. Oh, it’s so bad. When we almost smacked it out of that woman’s hand. What? Are we back in dodgeball now? No. You mean she was getting ready to turn in a gun and you about tackled her to not turn it in? Yes. Oh, yeah. I was like, no!

[35:28] It was one of those things where a football drill where you just like, just wrap them up wrap them up and throw them down I’m like what would Hartman have done to me if I would have done that to her I almost just jump kicked that thing out of her hand put it on there and I’m like gave them a point and they won done you lost by one point in the second round on that one oh that’s a heartbreaker on that one I couldn’t freaking, believe it she just she just casually turns it in with two seconds left she doesn’t understand what are you doing I’m done What was that? What was that? What? Hey, did you have words with her in the hallway then to have words? No. No, we were disappointed. Because she was playing by the rules. Yeah.

[36:11] Right? Like, you can’t be mad at her. She’s so sweet. Turned in my gun. Look, I did what I was supposed to.

[36:21] Friends, we have been asked to speak at a few events recently in regards to sharing some of our story. And it has been an absolute honor. We have a lot of personal stories to share that will hopefully inspire, encourage, and maybe even make you laugh. So if you’re hosting some type of event or need a guest speaker, we’re here to help. That’s right. Just go to KevinAndSteph.com and click on the contact button. Like Steph said, let us know if we can be of help in any way, whether it’s our personal testimony of healing and hope or me just telling some jokes. Oh, God, please, you guys, please don’t ask him to do that. But seriously, just go to KevinAndSteph.com to contact us. And as always, thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.

[37:01] So can we talk about the elephant in the room? Yes, we need to talk about this. This was a major thing that happened during this event. You want to see salty. It’s about to get real salty. I thought I had. The gym teacher, Mr. Jeremy Hartman, gets everyone the bleachers. And he’s going to explain the dodgeball rules and how we’re going to do the next phase of this event.

[37:23] Then he also wants to reward the people who have dressed up for the event. As you can imagine, his family and these ladies in our family are the most decked out. Yes yep jeremy came to me beforehand said hey listen looking at everybody it’s our two families he’s like i’ve got two gift cards here to hand out and it’s our two families who are the most sporty looking right that’s tough have the entire exactly it is he’s like and if you ask anybody it’s going to be us he’s like but i don’t want to just hand it to us i’m like i totally get that he’s like let me you know let me figure something out so i think he asked his wife hey how should i do this and she said hey just have like a fan reaction applause okay yeah so jeremy got on the mic he’s like before we start dodgeball i’ve got two gift cards to hand out here let’s have everybody who dressed up for the best dressed yes the best dressed come out here on the floor here with me and we’re gonna do by audience applause and hand these out okay so we go through it and there’s one family who it’s an eighth grade boy yeah and his friends are in the crowd and they get a loud reaction, even though they may not be dressed up that much. They’re not dressed up at all. He may just have a GCS t-shirt on or something, right? I don’t know what his mom was, how she was dressed up. She had a yellow sweatshirt on. That’s it. Oh, so you guys remember? This process from beginning to end sounds rife with corruption.

[38:51] Okay, so they get a lot of applause. Mr. Hartman’s family gets a lot of applause. And then these two ladies and our kids get a lot of applause, right? And to the point where it was like, I can’t tell who just won, okay? You know what? In my opinion, you could tell. I couldn’t tell. The very first round, I thought I could tell. First round, you could tell. I thought I could tell.

[39:11] All right, so he asked everyone to go back into the stands except for these three families. Yeah. All right, let’s do this again. And he’s like, and I want to be everyone where you only applaud one time for these people, all right? Yeah. So he starts with the eighth grade family and his little friends in the middle school all middle school boys just go nuts right for him and the family alright that weren’t dressed up then they go to Mr. Hartman’s family and I need to let you guys know the boy that they cheered for might have been the same boy that we were trash talking okay yeah we forgot that detail yeah he was a part of that group he was a part of that group, To be fair, sweetest kid. He was very nice. He was up until that day. Up until what is about to transpire. I thought he was cool. For those 90 minutes, he became the enemy. 100%. I saw him walking around. He’s got a face tattoo now.

[40:05] Teardrop. So they go to the gym teacher, Mr. Hartman’s family. They get applause. Who looked amazing. They so deserved first place. Like Amber and Dane killed it with their outfit. They were so fucked. Like I’m out there waiting for applause. I’m cheering for them. I’m cheering for them. Because they deserve it. Yeah. Okay. So the remaining people who have a vote applaud for them. Yes. All right. Then Ms. Hartman steps behind these ladies, puts his hand. Okay. What about the Mason-Schnetzer family? And we raise our hands like, let’s go. Here’s what you hear. The eighth grade boys, they go, boo. Boo. Hey, that counts. That counts. That’s noise. That’s what Sam said. They should have counted it. I was like, mom, it was noise. Uh-huh. That’s right. Boo. So they get to them and they get booed. Yeah, we did. I, Adam, literally, booed at church. Booed at a church. I’m the only one cheering.

[41:00] It was so bad. Because everyone else, everyone else had lost their vote. Had used their vote. Had used their vote. I’m the only one left, right? So I’m the only one clapping. I’m like, oh my gosh. And they’re getting booed by these eighth grade boys. But like, it was loud. Yeah. So booing was, it took me back to eighth grade when I got hazed and I was just like, oh my gosh. Like, no, I took it in stride. Like, I thought it was funny. I honestly thought it was awesome. I thought it was funny. All right. But here’s what happened. Okay. So I got context later. I asked Mr. Hartman about this. All right. And there may be some things you ladies don’t know. So the first thing that happened was Katie, your son, Alex, who was in second grade, third grade. Thank you. Third grade started crying because he felt… No, no, no, no. He felt like his classmates were booing him. Him.

[41:45] So he was just like, oh my gosh, this is awful. He didn’t realize his mom and aunt had just been talking smack out in the hallway. And then those boys are returning it to them. Okay, so… He just knows he’s standing in front of his classmates and they hate him. And they’re booing him. A lot of trauma to go around at this event. Okay, so he doesn’t realize what goes around comes around. They’ll have on-site counselors next time.

[42:14] They’re giving it back to his mom and aunt. Okay? So the other thing that happened, and again, one, I didn’t know you ladies were trash talking in the hallway. Because we weren’t, Kevin. I mean, we would have assumed it, but we didn’t know. Yes, that’s true. Allegedly. The rules that were in place and let them know jesus was watching i just know that you were salty with me afterwards even though it was nothing to do with the ghost okay okay you had the referee costume on it was your fault my understanding is that that display of booing by the eighth grade boys led to a staff member being very upset yes and going to mr hartman and asking for those boys to be disciplined. Yes. Sure did. All right. The trash talk. She was so upset. She almost came down on the floor and ripped the mic out of his hand and did it right in that moment. There’s your next opportunity. As they’re being escorted out, you go, enjoy school on Saturday, boys. Have a good time. Six-day week. All right.

[43:21] That’s right. So then Mr. Hartman, had to inform her, listen, I don’t know if you know everything kind of behind this. I just witnessed some of the adults talking smack to these kids in the hallway and they’re just giving it back to them. But it was helpful. I understand, but there’s more to it. Like, some of these adults may be guilty of unsportsmanlike conduct as well. Unsportsmanlike? You know. He didn’t say unsportsmanlike. That’s my word. If following the rules is unsportsmanlike conduct, then I guess. Thank you, Adam. Thank you, Adam. Let me be clear. That’s my words, not Mr. Hartman’s, okay? But he wanted her to know there’s a little bit more context here. That happened behind the scenes. But he was very kind during the week.

[44:05] He went and got three gift cards. He did. And pulled your boys out of class and gave them a small gift card to Raising Cane’s. Yeah. Said thank you. There wasn’t anything about you boys. Yeah. Your classmates were not booing you. They were actually, they were booing your mom. This is to make up for you having to live with your mother.

[44:27] We feel bad for you. We do, we do. And we can’t call Children’s Child Protective Services, so we’ll give you a gift card. I mean, in a perfect world, the county would take you away. But here, enjoy a sandwich. Here’s some chicken nuggets. In lieu of a loving and nurturing environment, here’s a milkshake.

[44:52] Now, on the dodgeball side, to me, I reffed one game. I had another dad come over and then I had to keep changing the rules because the, especially with the older kids, they were cheating. Here we go. There are, there’s so many middle schoolers. And so I had to keep changing the rules on my court that did not have Mr. Hartman’s wife, by the way, and did not have you two ladies either. Okay. But I kept changing the rules to try to give the moms any type of advantage possible. So it would be a quick game. And then I would move the cones back, right. To make it a shorter area for the boys. Yeah. I gave the moms two lives instead of one. I even asked the dads, okay, dads who are volunteering, come on out and help. You all get two lives. And still, the middle school boys just blasted the parents. But Kevin, let’s talk about why they won. This is on my court. I don’t know what happened on your court. Lord of the Flies on your court. Yes, in here. We were picking kids off. Picking them off. One by one, baby. How many kids did you ladies hit in the head or the face? None. Exclusively. That’s all they did. Did you? She was Annie Oakley out there. They could handle it. How many, Katie? I can’t remember.

[46:07] Only the ones that gave her dirty looks. You know what? You remember what I said when we were going against the little kids, and I was like, I hit one in the head, but I sat down. Not this time. No, you didn’t. No, because you know what, Kev? Those kids. I don’t think I want to know. No, because every kid we hit didn’t go down. They didn’t. They didn’t sit out. No. They were getting out and they weren’t sitting. The only way to make sure they go down is to give them a concussion. No. So every time I got out, I just went right back in because I was like, hey, they’re not going out. I get an extra life. I’m taking their life. So on my court, I was looking at the boy’s side, and I had another parent looking at the parent’s side. And so, hey, to your point, they would not go off the court themselves. I had to get in the microphone. You’re out. You’re out. Yeah. Sit down. I had to actually enforce it versus they’re not getting out. They’re not walking off by themselves. So the first kid I got out is in Sam’s class. It’s one of his friends. And I just rifled it at him. He looked at me with such shock like did you just do that and i just pointed at myself.

[47:18] Okay yeah i did like throat slit get down so again i’m not on these ladies court and i’m so glad that i’m not right because i did not have to referee them but steph was telling me how you took a mom who was already out and you grabbed her from her shirt and you were a human shield.

[47:44] Just fired away yes i did yes she just getting blasted but she was so sweet she’s like who who’s still in who’s still in i’m like i am she’s like get behind me we’re gonna go human shield i’m like i like you like i was like this is awesome you’re my people so the group that booed us oh my gosh such vindication i literally picked each one of them off in the last round okay i would like hit them and like you point i’m like out of here and then i would hit another one you and i’m like bye bye and they just all look at me i’m like that’s it like i was on fire i had so much fun talk about our sweet, Oh, I’m envisioning Steph pushing this woman’s wheelchair with one hand and then throwing with the other hand. Right. She’s the shield. Oh, my gosh. Adam, during this event, there is a woman playing and she has a baby strapped to her chest. There’s your shield. Like a literal baby. A live baby. Okay. I stopped everything when she joined in. What’s the carrier called? What is that called? Like a baby bear. Baby bear. Baby bear. Yeah. Okay. So during laser tag, I’m like, oh, okay. I guess that’s not a big deal. How much radiation will hurt this baby? Just don’t fall, right? Okay, not a big deal. And I’m like, that’s okay, right? I mean, the lights are turned off with laser tag too, right? Yes, that is true. That is true.

[49:08] Then we go to the dodgeball. Adam, she’s still playing. I couldn’t. And she’s got the baby strapped to her chest. And I’m like, oh my gosh, did we have this woman sign a waiver or something? No, I literally stood in front of her. She stressed me out so bad. I could not believe it. I’ve never seen that. It’s not my job to be like, hey, you might want to sit this one out. Sit this one out. But she was literally playing just like, sweet mama. Sweet mama. With the baby strapped to her. Must be like her fourth or fifth kid. It was. It actually was. It actually was. At that point, you’re just like, they’re fine. They’re fine.

[49:41] First kid is hermetically sealed. Fifth kid is like, I don’t know what they are. Let’s see what happens. Good luck. So we’re playing dodgeball. Tate is on the front line Tate shouldn’t even be in this group Right? He is way too young To be in this group But he’s on the team with the other boys though But he’s going against you mamas And he is in the front line He is, first one out of all of these other boys they’re kind of hanging back and he was in it right so one mama just lets one fly from like five feet away oh and she nailed him right in the face like eyeball right in the face he instantly starts screaming and i was like sis sis it’s tate you stopped immediately i did kevin we learned i stopped immediately and i ran and picked him up i grabbed him took him off the court and all i could think was my husband’s gonna be so proud of me i’m i’m also glad i didn’t see that yeah yeah he got nailed but he fought back he was so cute so he wanted to go back and play so bad he couldn’t open the eye but he was like i’m fine You only need one. Yeah, he was like, I was like, baby, are you sure? And he was like, sis, I’m fine.

[51:09] Bless the bar. Adam, at the end of the night, I was so tired from reffing these games and being focused on the dodgeball and trying to make sure nobody gets hurt and stuff too. At the end of the game, I blow the whistle when we’re done and I’m just like, I do not care who just won right now. Never again. Somebody just, get me a popsicle or something, please. Never again. Never again. Never again. Not with these ladies. Congratulations, everyone. Never again.

[51:39] If you like what you hear, please tell someone about us. As soon as this episode is over, go tell your spouse, your closest friend, a parent, a co-worker, or share one of our posts on social media. However, if you don’t like what you’re hearing, please do not. Don’t tell anyone. Don’t tell anyone. Don’t tell anybody. Just disregard this message. Don’t worry about it. Forget about us. Yep. Go on with your merry day. And to get more information about us or our entire catalog of episodes, be sure to check us out at KevinAndSteph.com. Thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.

[52:09] So i did not know about some of this stuff until i talked to mr hartman the other night at emmy’s match and he talked about him seeing you ladies having a constructive conversation you know in the hallways and stuff and i didn’t know all this so i felt like after hearing this i needed to issue a public statement to apologize for some of our behavior so here’s my draft of a public apology and you know feel free to chime in here but i feel like i don’t like it already I was going to say, why are we even doing this? I think you don’t have to read that. We did nothing wrong. All right. On behalf of Tell Us a Good Story, I want to sincerely apologize for the recent incident at Grace Christian School in Black Lake, Ohio. It has recently come to my attention that the actions of a few individuals in this room could be deemed as unsportsmanlike in unbecoming of a role model for students. Okay, I’m rolling my eyes at you. I’m so annoyed. We are deeply sorry for the distress this may have caused primarily eighth grade boys. We are now implementing background checks on any future co-host and will require sensitivity training for a few women, I mean individuals, to ensure that this never happens again. We’re also working closely with relevant authorities and experts to address the situation and prevent future occurrences. We value the safety of our community and we are committed to earning it back. Oh, pull his mic. Just unplug it. I’m done with him. Throw something in about the on-site counselors next year.

[53:38] See, he thinks he’s funny. You should go to chat GBT and just give it a prompt. What kind of apology should I issue if… That was so gross. That sounded like it was written by a PR agency.

[53:50] You know what was funny? Because Emmy was in charge of taking pictures. So we were going into the room to say goodnight or help Emmy clean up. Clean up, yeah. This boy and his mom that won the gift card. Right. So they’re in there getting pictures. They’re like, whoa, whoa, whoa. What do we have here? What do we have here? The man, the myth. Yes. So we start talking to him and his mom, and then his dad comes in. Totally. So we start like, hey, did you do some cheating there? Did you tell your dad what you did? Yes, we did. And he’s like, what are you talking about? I’m like, ask him where he hung out. And he’s like, you know, I didn’t see you much during laser tag. What? Katie and I are like, that’s right. And the kid starts laughing. He’s like, no, no, no, no. I was in there like, are you going to tell your dad about the double guns? And his mom’s like, double guns, huh? I said, no, no, no. Like he’s, like we’re all laughing. I was like, give me your gift card. Oh, yes. Give it to me. Give it to me right now. Like we, I was laughing so hard. You brought shame to that gift card. Give it to me. Gift cards are earned. Don’t take the gift part literally. They’re earned.

[55:03] Friends, we want to encourage you to please follow us wherever you listen to this, whether it’s on the Apple Podcast app, iHeartRadio, Spotify, or one of the other platforms. You guys, it’s completely free. And while you’re there, feel free to give us a rating or a nice review. Thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.