NASCAR BABY!

Well, for the last 13 years, Mark has been dying to take me to a nascar race. We've been a little busy having babies and more babies and more babies, so this was my year! Last weekend we went to Phoenix International Raceway and saw more then I ever could have anticipated (If you've ever been to a race, you know exactly what I'm talking about :))! Honestly, tho...nascar fans are the nicest bunch of people...yes I saw plenty of the stereotypical fans - (I have never seen so many missing teeth and men without their shirts on and sagging grandma's) But honestly, I have never been around to many nice drunk people!!! :) We took Jordan and Nick with us and had the time of our lives! It was SOOO much fun! I'm hooked! It's amazing at the complexity of it all and I loved every minute of it! Here are some pictures of our day...

The view from our seats. We sat right on curve 4.

Jordan and Nick listening to Uncle Jame's headsets. He had it tuned in to Dale Jr's radio so that they could hear him and his pit crew talking!

We got "Pit Passes" so we got to go down into the pit before the race. This is picture of us standing on the race track. Jordan has become very "anti-picture" and Nick decided to put a bracelet in his mouth for the picture...nice :)! Dontchya love how we support our driver with our shirts? :)

This is our friend Doug, Jordan, Mark and Uncle James at Dale Jr's pit.

Jordan and Nick sitting in front of Dale Jr's tires at his pit.

The boys are standing in front of Dale Jr's Semi-trailer.

Nick with the 88 gas can!

Here were are again!

As they were clearing us off of the track before the race began, we were able to see the 88 car being brought out on the track by the pit crew!

The boys with their matching hats...they were so excited!


Nick got a little tired near the end of the race... It had been a long day, but the boys were troopers and had a blast. Can't wait for next year!

Holy Cow....it's been too long since I've visited my blog....but it's only because it's BASEBALL SEASON!!! Mark is on the board this year as well as coaching 2 teams. I help purchase the food for the concession stands - So GT, Em and I are at Costo and Sam's ALOT! Needless to say, we eat at the baseball park, and some nights (when it's 10:00 and we're STILL there) i think I should just pitch a tent and sleep at the park! I'm convinced that Em is going to get some serious cavities at the rate that she is downing those ring pops! As crazy as it is, we are not yet sick of ballpark food, or the games, or the endless amount of time that it is taking up in our lives! Ask me in 6 weeks tho :)! All of the kids except Emily are playing ball...here are some of our pics from the first week: (I'll get some better ones of Nick and Jordan's are still coming...stay tuned)

Speaking of quotes:

The other day, Jordan randomly walked up to me and said:

"Mom, it nice to be wonderful, but it's more wonderful to be nice!"

Alrighty then Jordan...It made me laugh - so true!!!

Then, I was driving in the car with Garrett and Emily when Em asked me to roll the window down so she could throw out a little piece of paper that was in her hand. Before I had a chance to reply, GT piped up his little sing-song voice -

"Emily, you can't glitter - it makes Jesus sad when we're glittering!"

As I was reading last night, I came across this quote. I am inspired by it!

Let nothing perturb you, nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience achieves everything.

~Mother Teresa

5 Things no one ever bothered to tell me....

p.s....there are a lot more than 5 :)

• that going to the gym daily for 8 weeks wouldn't even make a dent on my back fat!


• that little girl's hormone's kick in when they're 6 weeks old!


• that yes...sometimes you will "yell" at your children!


• that racquetball is so much fun!


• that certain sticky snakes have the capability of staying on your ceiling for 2+ years! (I know that someday it WILL fall!)

Best Buds...

Ezra and Mara came over on Friday. The kids have so much fun together. We spent the whole afternoon outside. What fun they had!

I had to put in this last picture of Jordan. His little tongue is sticking out as he is trying to fix his bike. Ever since I can remember, he sticks his tongue out when he is concentrating on something - whether it is baseball, or homework, or fixing his bike :) I also love his knees - all black!

Every few years, it's a good idea to drain to pool and start with fresh clean water! As you can see, we did it! The kids thought it was very cool! Here are some pics:

Dontchya love the white ring on the tile...that will be coming off :)

Yes, I realize that there are electric cords in the water that the kids are playing in...but i promise - it was safe! (really i do :))