Tuesday, July 17, 2012

It Was a One, Two Finish

Last Friday night the NCRA Southern Sport Mods raced at Humboldt, Kansas. 


G1 had an okay night.


Then on Saturday night both boys, G1 and G2, took to the track at the Hutchinson, Kansas fairgrounds for their Grand National races.


While G2 raced the NCRA circuit last year, this year he's been focused on racing a Factory Stock at the NASCAR home track in Salina, Oklahoma. Saturday night the Factory Stocks had the night off so he decided he'd like to race at Hutchinson too.


So the boys would race together. 


Note: G2 normally races under the #9 regardless of what class he's racing in but the car he raced Saturday night was the yellow #10. (Video to follow in case you'd like to watch the action.)


It was a SUPER GREAT night for the boys! And I wasn't able to be there. Insert very sad face here.


Daughter kept me informed via text messaging of how many sport mods would race, what heat each of the boys were in, where they would start, where they finished and where they would start in the A Feature.


Just before the A Feature race was about to start she called to let me know. I was on pins and needles. And I was praying. Whenever the boys take to the track I pray. I pray for their safety and the other drivers' safety as well. I pray that the boys do well but above all that they are safe.


Then I got a text. The race was currently under yellow (caution) after about 7 laps. (It was a 15 lap race.) G1 was in the lead and G2 was right behind him in 2nd.


That sure got my heart to pumping!


Finally I got the call. Daughter was crying and yelling, "Mom! Mom! He WON!!!! He WON!!!!"


It was a special time for AD, Daughter, her husband and most of all for G1 and G2.


Daughter always videos the races and so I was anxious to see all the excitement. I could hardly wait. The next day it was celebration all over again.


Then yesterday, Monday, we celebrated again with a special dinner here at the house. G1 said there was a video out on YouTube so we checked that out. It's pretty cool because you can hear the announcer as the race progresses. Best of all, that video captured the celebration just after the one-two finish.


If you'd like to watch all the action, here it is. I must warn you that there are 3 races on this video and it's like 45 minutes long but if you fast forward to 28:40, that's when the sport mod race starts.




Monday, July 9, 2012

Determination and Progress

After my last post I had some requests for "before and after" pictures of Son's weight loss. Since he continues to work on losing more weight these pictures are titled "At the beginning" and "Current."

He is very determined and his progress is amazing!

At the Beginning

This is the best photo I had of Son from December, 2011 when the family got together for Christmas.


Current
 
This photo was taken yesterday at a mall in Oklahoma City when he and his family met up with Eskimo Joe and Buffy.

Amazing, huh?!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Races and Vampires and Fireworks - the List Goes On

It's been well over a month since I've posted anything. I just can't seem to get my act together for some reason and post more often. Or it could be that most of the things I do is the usual everyday mundane stuff which doesn't make for very interesting reading.

We're about mid-way through the racing season. G1 is currently leading the points race for NCRA Sport Mod Rookie of the Year and he is 5th in points overall. G2 is currently the points leader for the Factory Stock class at Salina Highbanks Speedway near Salina, OK. Salina is a NASCAR Home Track and as of July 5, G2 is 9th in the Division IV standings. AD and I are very proud of both the boys and their accomplishments.

My 2012 movies-that-I-want-to-see list has gotten a bit shorter since I last posted. AD and I have now seen Snow White and the Huntsman and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. I don't read reviews regularly but it seems I heard neither of these films got very good ones. It doesn't matter. I enjoyed both of them, but then I'm fairly easy to entertain. AD was pretty surprised I wanted to see Abe Lincoln hunting vampires since I'm not a blood-and-guts-movie kind of girl. I only covered my eyes once. BUT, I don't think I could read the book. Nope. Not me. Books are usually way more detailed than movies and I don't think I could handle any more than what was in the movie.

Last Sunday AD's family, Son's family and Daughter's family joined us for an early Independence Day lunch. I think it turned out pretty well. AD grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. I made these yummy chicken salad and strawberry roll-ups along with potato salad, Eskimo Joe's baked beans and deviled eggs. Brownies and chocolate no-bake cookies were served for dessert. (Click on the links to get the recipes.)

Thankfully I'd done most of the prep work for the lunch on Friday and Saturday morning. We had extended the invitation for our get-together a couple of weeks before we found out that a rained-out/hailed-out race for G1 was rescheduled for Saturday in Wichita, KS. (Third time was charm.) We didn't get home until 2:30am on Sunday. That's ok. 6 hours sleep ought to be enough for a person, right?

G5 turns 5 this coming Wednesday. We won't be able to make it to his party so we gave him his gift a few days early. It was a fold-up wagon and we think he and his family will find it useful when they make their many trips to the zoo, to soccer games and most importantly, on their Disney World trip this coming December. (Note: I have a wagon too. It's used to haul my scrapbooking supplies to crops. It makes it so much easier than making several trips to the car to carry in all the things I just know I'll need.)

The kids had fun riding 4-wheelers, popping a few "fire crackers" (those little things you throw on the ground and they pop) and sliding on the slip-and-slide made slippery-er when this Oklahoma Granny splashed a bit of dish soap down it. Girlie thought that was great. She wasn't as concerned with the fact that it was more slippery. She liked that she had bubbles to slide through and said, "It's just like I'm taking a bath!"

On Wednesday evening, the 4th, G1, his girlie friend and G2 came over with a few fireworks to shoot off. That's one of the perks of living in the country - you can shoot off fireworks. Although you have to be careful, especially when it's as dry as it is here. I even managed to get a few good pictures. It was special that the kids wanted to share their time and fireworks with us.

Now before I close I've got to brag a bit on Son. Since January he's really been watching what he eats and he's been exercising BIG time all in anticipation of their Disney trip. He's lost close to 100 pounds! In 6 months! And yes, his doctor is aware of what he's doing. Both AD and I are very proud of his accomplishment.

Well, that's about it for now. Keep cool, keep hydrated and make sure your pets have plenty of water.