Dang it Erin!! You got me again... I LOVE the stuff you find and can't help
myself!!

You guys gotta watch these clips... THEY ARE HILARIOUS!!!

Elf Yourself

and...

Scrooge Yourself

I think that the Scrooge is most fitting...

I'm currently working on a slide show of Primm, Nevada. I didn't take a ton of photos this time but the ones I took are pretty special. Will post VERY soon!

Hang in...

Mike's made it to Primm...

So, the cars are there...now it's up to me to get the drivers to their cars!! I have a few last minute items to pack and then one last set of eight measley hours (while Nick and A.J. are at school tomorrow) of real PEACE and QUIET - time to myself, doing last minute stuff before we get on a plane tomorrow afternoon.
I took a little time today to finish up on a few items that I've started. I received a package of stamps from Stamping Bella and I have to confess that I immediately thought of Terri when I saw the Cosmobella...had to do a little gift set for her. Wanna see?

Then...I needed a little Thank You for our vet for all the things that she does for us... Wanna see?

So...I finished these a little while ago but did I get any of them mailed - NOPE!! But they're DONE for next year!! AH-HA!!

AND lastly...but my least favorite - - not sure why, but the card in my brain didn't translate so well in reality!! Oh dear!!

(I didn't realize how BLURRY that photo was...it looks a little better that way!!)
Well...the two FINAL pairs of dancers are on the Dancing With The Stars. I'm looking forward to the end of this show - I have a "love/hate" relationship with it...I love the last few shows but the getting up to that point seems to take FOREVER and I don't invest that kind of time into a t.v. show - unless it's ER!! Will post from Nevada! Keep those fingers crossed for the boys to have a great weekend!!
~ Susan

I'm finally getting around to sharing on my blog today!!

I've been shampooing carpets and getting back into creating things for friends and family - call it a hiatus, took some time off, just plain busy, busy. Mike's been out of town for over a week now...he's in Arizona working - (or so he wants us to believe!!) He worked for a couple of hours on Saturday before calling it a day and going to a big boat race!! Man, heavy intensive labor!! He's expected home for Thanksgiving and then it's off to Primm, Nevada for the boys' final race of the year. I'm supposed to be getting a bunch of stuff done for that but I uh...just can't find the motivation today!!

We've attended a couple of birthday parties in the past two weekends and I have a few photos to share... November 10th - Justin Francis' birthday party:


Then on the 17th - Keaton Westhoff's birthday party at the Family Fun Plex in Longmont.

Nothing like a day of swimming in the middle of NOVEMBER!!
So on to Thanksgiving!! Mike finally comes home only to share that he has to go back and finish the job! UGH!
We leave for Primm, Nevada in just a few days for the boys final race of the season.
AND - - - we get to hang out with the Stanley's again!! The Stanley's make our boys' race cars. Wish us luck!!

More to come!! We'll keep you posted!!

OOPS...I forgot to post the "INSPIRATION" boots - sorry!!

Pammie - Yes!! We made those boot from Sculpey - but the "base" was a product called Rigid Wrap - way cool stuff. It's basically gauze with dry plaster and you dip pre-cut strips into warm water and layer it - allow to dry and you end up with a cast!! I decided that this is going to be HUGE for me in the future...lots of craft ideas ran through my brain when I was working with it. I need to add, in reading the instructions for the Rigid Wrap I gotta tell you...they've totally covered any possible law suit - their directions for making a mask for someone's face is so HILARIOUS!! SO...here's the "original" boots I replicated for the costume - - >>

LOTS!! To share...

I've got a few requests so let's see if we can cover them ALL!! First, I've had a request to share just how I made the "Dragon" boots for Nick's Gene Simmons' costume - I just gotta add here that I. HAVE. NO. IDEA. HOW. I'LL. TOP. THIS. COSTUME. EVER!! But we have these photos for the memories and well...who knows what "our" imagination will come up with...
Step-by-step boots in the making:


Secondly, my calendar for this year - it's time to get on the next one - - hope this inspires someone!!


...the photos on the December page are totally blowing my mind!! We're going back to that exact same place in just a few weeks for the Primm, Nevada race!! I can hardly believe that since the photos posted in last year's calendar...these two spoiled boys are in not just TWO brand new cars BUT FOUR!! OYE!! I need sleep. I'm overwhelmed from looking at this little blast from our past...we've had one heckuva great year!!

November has arrived!!

I'm soooo happy to have Halloween DONE!! I get all excited but the lack of sleep in working late into the night on two costumes for the boys to wear only a couple of times...it's enough to kill a girl!! I have to start by saying that with the two boys - one is a festive, "really get into it" kinda kid and the other (A.J.) he's just in it for the candy and would probably be happy wearing an orange t-shirt that says "This Is My Costume - Fork Over The Candy" - hmmmmmmm...next year, maybe??

So, I went all out and bought A.J. the works for a Pirate Captain costume. I stayed up late and sewed him a really nice Captain's jacket with trim and pleats in a fancy velveteen fabric and we got the eye patch, beard, mustache, spirit gum to put the facial hair on his face, etc., etc., etc. He refused to have anything on his face including the eye patch and well...I got him to wear the costume. Don't get me wrong - he made a fabulous looking kid in a pirate's costume. Nick, on the other hand, WAS GENE SIMMONS!! He really enjoyed the make-up, black nail polish, fancy boots, leather vest, spiked collar and bracelet, and he really worked the hair! Everywhere we went - school, trick-or-treating in the Antelope Hills subdivision, at the racetrack in Pueblo...Nick gained FANS!! At school, all of the kids flocked him when he walked in and he ate up all the attention. He made the rounds by shouting out his friends' names, the moms and dads, past and present teachers...he wanted for everyone to see!! When we took them out for trick-or-treating...both boys filled their treat bags (Mike and I ride along in the Expedition and let them go from house to house) and Nick came up to the truck and said, "I need to empty out some of this candy...there's a few houses I still need to go." A.J. (to my utter SHOCK) said, "Mom, I have enough candy. Can I wait in the car?" Nick continued on to a few more houses and we had them bathed and in bed by 8:15. Nick had a school assignment where he had to calculate the number of different types of candy he'd collected for a math project. So, you wanna see photos???

Question: "Where've ya' been?" Answer: - - >>

EDITED INFORMATION!!! --->>> This slide show was put together with a SIX Second interval between photos - this will prevent the VERTIGO in watching it... HOWEVER>>> When you first start watching it...that very first page appears FROZEN in time!! UGH!!

Just BE PATIENT...count to six and enjoy the show...

P.S. There's a jukebox further down on the page - start that up!! It'll give you something to do while you wait between photos!!




If anyone's been looking for a "new" post...a return email...a telephone call where we talk about absolutely nothing in particular...

I've been creating a digital "yearbook" for all of the members in my sons' Quarter Midget club...

Why didn't someone tell me that this would be a HUGE project and save me from myself that day when the idea entered into my brain and I was in a fog in believing that I COULD put this together in a few weeks spending a few hours a night on it??? FIRED!! Whomever chose not to warn me... YOU'RE FIRED...


...now that I feel better... I gotta get back to the other stuff I put off to work on that project...

I have movies to edit...

Halloween costumes to create...

Cards to stamp...

Goodie bags to make for two classrooms...THANK GOD FOR THE CRICUT EXPRESSIONS and my BAGS, TAGS, BOXES and MORE cartridge!!...Hey...I just had an idea - - so, what if I pre-random stamped and decorated my paper...then cut my little boxes and put them together - wouldn't that save time???? WOW!! An epiphany!! Feel free to use my most recent "DUH, moment!!"...share what you make!!

Have a great rest of your Friday!!

~ Susan

Whatcha think??

I'm in this swap group, see?? AND, these girls are pros!!! SERIOUSLY!! Our lateset challenge was one of my very favorites!! We were asked to create a set of cards that we created using our own creation of random stamped cardstock...

I chose to go very neutral to hopefully receive an UBER amount of ideas - - I darned near went with a tone on tone choice but opted for a black and white on "kraft" brown (CTMH's Desert Sand) background paper. The second part of the swap is to include a chunk of our random stamped paper to each swapper and see what they come up with...

Well...

Hopefully...

My fellow swappers...

won't mind...

if I share a little bit...

and show a couple of the cards I've done...

so far...

but if you've happened upon the blog here...

and are now worried that you're...

just not quite ready...

to spoil the surprise...

here's your chance to log out...

and close the window...

before your suprise is SPOILED - ready??

On a count of three...

One...

Two...

Three...

Pam Klassen's card and the one I made for her...



Tiffany Cheney's - - >>


and the last one to share for tonight... (cuz I just KNOW that the others would be too much of a temptation for the weak...Hee-Hee!! Sorry, Terri!! I LOVE YOU!!!)
Here's Erin Grotegut's...


In case you need to see the details...please click on the photos and it will increase in size (I HOPE!!)

That's it for tonight...I'm VERY SLEEPY... tomorrow's Friday and we'll go for the rest...

Sweet dreams...

Who knew???

I guess it's been a while since I've posted anything of real content...I've been swamped with great big projects!!

Nick has an assignment on the solar system due Friday and his science grade isn't "the best it can be" - until Ms. Cunningham sees Nick's diorama we created!! We followed the criteria to the T and did a little extra just to be certain - -

This photo shows the box with the sculpey clay planets that Nick and I made...mostly Nick, though...I was teased by Mike that I was the one who did this assignment!! I guess he didn't want to accept the fact that Nick is pretty "crafty"!! I had Nick paint the box black - then we took a stiff bristle brush and spattered stars inside.

We made each planet as true to a photo in our encyclopedia as we could - I added the pigment powder to the sun so that it really glows bright. I showed nick how to make the Earth look realistic with the tiny pieces of green clay on the blue!! We cut a circle out of a piece of stiff clear plastic, cut the Saturn planet in half and then once it was baked we glued each half on the plastic. Nick used a brown Sharpie to draw the rings onto the plastic. He really had fun combining clays to make each one "just right". He wrote out some interesting facts about each planet...ie., diameter, distance from the sun, coldest, hottest, largest, etc.
The last requirement was to show the orbit of each planet around the sun - we added the diagram to the back of the box...Nick used a drafting template to create the planets and I lightly penciled the ovals and then he made them darker and colored in each planet. He used a ruler to draw lines and add the names of each one.

We had a lot of fun together thinking up ideas but A.J. felt a little left out. We ended up playing a MARATHON game of Monopoly after Nick and I finished the project. As usual, A.J. won that game by a long shot!! He's got the best luck!!

I've only got a few more days to complete my other elephant of a project - I've been creating a yearbook for the all of the kids at our racetrack. Here's a little sneak peek of one of the pages - -

These are some of our youngest little drivers...aren't they too cute??
I have to complete this project in just a matter of a few more days so I haven't been doing much else. I did receive my new Cricut Expressions machine and I've had the chance to play with it for a few minutes but not to the extent that I wanted to...I want to make great goodie boxes for both boys' classes for Halloween...

So, on that...I'd better get back to work!! Have a great day!!

WHAT HAPPENED?!?!?

Today I woke up and realized - IT'S OCTOBER!?!?!?

I walked through the kitchen and discovered that our family calendar reads AUGUST!!!
"WHAT??? No one enjoyed my handmade calendar the entire month of September??!!"

Terrific.

This week we had our very last "Club Race" at our home track - RMQMA in Erie, CO

The boys did well - only sustained a few bent axles, rods, feelings...etc. Nick and A.J. both finished very well in their divisions - I was very proud of them!!

On the other hand...two weeks ago a little guy (he's almost as tall as me so - not so little but HEY) named Johnny Boos flipped his quarter midget THREE times in a single weekend!! Let's just say - this is not common!! My boys KNOW that if they flip their car - THEY ARE GROUNDED!! I do not want to see them roll over and it's a very uneasy feeling to watch a boy (or girl for that matter) playing football with my boys one minute (between races) and then the next minute they're on the track - doing what we're all there for - - - watching them competing as friends for the chance to cross the finish line first and in a split second going over and possibly facing severe injury!! I cannot describe the stomach turning!! I felt SO bad for Michelle Boos last weekend - her little boy flipped his car THREE TIMES!! Well...this weekend, I was so happy to see the whole Boos family back at the track to give it go, once again. Johnny was doing GREAT - up front - racing his heart out. He made it to the A Main event and was going for a FABULOUS finish...rounding turn three and then...





Let me just explain here, what it is that this photo captured - - this is Johnny after barrel rolling a couple of times and then his entire gas tank proceeded to empty on the poor kids' helmet - for all I could see - there had to be gas pouring all over him and his little face and into his eyes and - I can't even begin to describe the horror!! It was a serious nightmare happening before our very eyes - - I should add that we were up in the tower looking down onto the track and if we could've jumped out the window to get to him, we would have! You can see the sheer terror on all of the parents faces as they worked to determine first, if Johnny had any injuries that would only worsen if they moved him as well as determine if he was in danger of possibly suffering burns from a sudden explosion from the gas dumping on him...UGH!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! In talking with his mom shortly after, he only had gasoline pouring from the tank, over his helmet and onto the track - it smelled bad but none of it saturated his clothing, went onto his skin or worse, into his eyes and as soon as he was put upright - - - HE - - - WANTED - - - to continue racing!!! WHAT?!?!? O.K. - proof that he was fine but perhaps a little NUTS. Unfortunately, because of the gas spill there are rules that prevented him from continuing...not sure of the details but, hey, maybe the car would have surely, exploded from the spark plugs igniting or whatever...I was sad for him but also relieved to know that such safety measures and such were adhered to. Well, so if anyone potentially interested in signing your child up for quarter midget racing...it's a great sport!! BUT, also note, it's an EXTREME sport and there are possible dangers. I know that there are dangers in crossing the street - but putting your child in a vehicle every weekend and expecting them to manuver a gas powered vehicle around an oval track, weaving in and out of traffic - rooting for them to go faster - "pass that kid" - GO - GO - GO!! Ummmmmmm...yeah...

Well. I need to get back to a very important project. I'm creating an end-of-year keepsake for all of the kids in our club. I've potentially got ten days to complete it and I'm hoping for the best!!

Wish me LUCK!! ~ Susan

Weeeeeee're Baaaaaaack!!

We enjoyed our little mini vacation in Las Vegas - met some great people and were treated to a Nascar Truck race at The Las Vegas Motor Speedway. My dad and his wife flew in to see the boys race and extended their stay for their own vacation. They are staying at the MGM in one of the fabulous towers in a very nice suite and we were invited back to their "place" to swim once the races ended on Sunday afternoon. A little background on the pool we went to...it definitely WAS NOT kid friendly...there were private cabanas all around the perimeter of the pool area...more lounge chairs than people...wait staff...towel/cabana boys that offered you a fresh towel the minute yours got a little damp!!...a full bar that offered drinks with skewers of fresh fruit and umbrellas and such - I could go on and on but let me just get to the good stuff. There were quite a few people bopping around the pool, sipping champagne cocktails, talking about the best place for sushi...blah-blah-blah and then there were my boys - fresh from the race track. Pretty grubby and very wound up!! They were doing cannonballs off of the side of the pool and were the only little humans under 25 years of age. Oh, and did I mention the topless ladies who were sunbathing?? I couldn't help but tell A.J. that if he wanted for them to sit up and flash him, he just had to "accidently" spill ice cubes on her back and I'm pretty sure she'd sit right up - no problem!! My dad laughed, Nick thought about it...and A.J., well, he came really close to doing it!! My dad's wife on the other hand...she couldn't believe that I even suggested such a thing - hee-hee... BUT SHE was the one who invited us to her hotel for swimming...and those ladies could've covered up when they saw the kids...why was it my bad??



***Click on the photo to see it larger...***
So... here's a group photo of the kids at the track - I've labeled my boys and Adam from our track in Colorado... Mindy McCord from Montana was there also, She's standing right next to Adam... I'm glad to be home - but I'm still waiting for one piece of luggage to return from a trip to WASHINGTON?!?!? Oh well... At least we didn't have any trouble... Have a great evening!!

Warning - - we will be in Las Vegas in a matter of days!!

Just thought I'd give that little warning before the Hankins' family decends on Las Vegas on Thursday night!! We are going to participate in a promotional race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. By participating, our whole family receives tickets to the Nascar Truck race at the BIG BOY TRACK on Saturday night!! We're soooooo excited!!

BUT - there's a matter of this past weekend at our "home" track - to see more visit here... So, we were having our last Monza race for the year and it was VERY eventful!! One of our favorite older boys, Johnny Boos, flipped his car - NOT ONCE, NOT TWICE, Buuuuuuuttt... THREE TIMES!! Let me just say...this is not something NATURAL that a mother wants to see her nine year old boy (or girl) do!! To see how traumatized Michelle was...I could seriously just bawl on her behalf!! Johnny's the sweetest kid and just watching him race is a load of fun. This little guy loves what he does. He hangs in there and passes when it's appropriate but truly seems to be enjoying the heck outta what he's doing! I just don't think that flipping over and NOT being in control of your vehicle has got to be unsettling, for anyone! However the story doesn't end here...my boys did a very good job this weekend participating in the events they raced in. A.J. is doing very well and it's just like we saw last year. It takes him a half of a racing season to "come around" and race his best. He's really starting to enjoy himself. FINALLY!! Let's just see what we can make of ourselves in Vegas, baby!!

SO - you have a great day, O.K.?? XOXOXO ~ Susan

...one more thing...

Hee-Hee-Hee...I just had to share!!

I was surfing and noticed that I'd been tagged - this little list was quite fun to do - THANKS, Pam!!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
Anastasia Mustang .... errr…or Anastasia Expedition (I had a cat named Anastasia) and Mike’s working on putting a motor in my mustang – can that count?? It sounds cooler than “Expedition” - - would Anastasia Ford sound better??
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Mint Chocolate Peanut Butter (hmmm, weird!!)
3. YOUR "FLY Guy/Girl" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) S HAN
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Blue Basset
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Renee Denver
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) Han Su – this one kinda works, ey??
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put "The")
The Green Merlot
8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Carl Martin – this one works well, also!!
9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy)
Happy Snickers - ::giggle-giggle::
10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names )
Ann E – (I totally swear, my dad’s middle name is “E” that’s it!!)

So, to tag a few others to keep up with the fun... Kathy Mitts, Alicia Trussell, and Jeanne Tomshack - - let's see who notices...???

Mid-September - ALREADY?!?!?

When you hear, "My, how time flies" - I smirk because there are times that I feel like "sheeeesh, time is crawling!!"


Not this month...it's weird to think that the boys have been back in school for nearly a month and we have got to start thinking about halloween costumes

- - Nick has made his decision - -

he wants to be...

Nick's current favorite tunes: "Crazy, Crazy Nights" and "I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night" - OH DEAR!!

:::Hey, Kathy...remember when we sat in your room singing those tunes??:::

A.J. has decided to be a pirate...YEP - Nick was a pirate last year so that's an easy one!! A.J. wants a Captain's trench coat and a "better hat than Nick wore" - looks like a trip to the fabric store is in order!!

Now, how the heck am I gonna make platform boots for the Gene Simmons costume?? ANYONE??

We are racing this weekend and it's a two-day event - at least it's local. I've got so much to pack and a fruit/veggie tray to cut up plus a cold cuts tray to put together - - - last weekend the boys didn't eat very well. They ate Oreo cookies, fruit snacks, and Gatorade. YUM!! Well-rounded nurishment...no wonder they acted "so well" toward the end of the day!! I find that working up in the tower for the entire day isn't so good when I need to "police" some of the boys' choices.

Have a great weekend!!

...a moment of silence...

WHOA...

I just noticed that I haven't posted a thing since last weekend - - - I meant to... I just didn't get to it... sheeesh. Where did this week go?? Oh yeah, Monday was a holiday and Tuesday I spent catching up on stuff around the house after travelling to Montana. Wednesday...more laundry and catching up on returning phone calls. Thursday, yesterday, I had a hair appointment and so I ran other errands as well. We just had a HUGE grand opening of a really large chain grocery store in our little town of Bennett. I think I've had to find a reason to go there EVERYDAY since it opened...and I HATE shopping - but the fact that we now have a decent place to shop is just beyond AWESOME!! We had a little local place and it was fine but it was sorta grungy and the produce was not the best - it's kinda sad to drive by and see zero patrons. You can just guess that the little old gals inside are just sorta standing around and bitchin' about the new store opening... maybe if they HAD a personality and didn't make it so miserable to go there. In fact, Mike came home on a couple of occasions and had stopped by there for an item or two and he'd say - "geez, are those gals EVER happy at Bennett Supers?? It just sucks to have to go there." So, after a quick haircut and getting caught up on the "salon gossip" I went to the new grocery store and walked the place filling the cart with a few things. It took me over an hour to get through the whole place - AND I forgot to mention that our new store HAS A STARBUCKS!! I took my new Starbucks cup in there - - Terri Howard brought it to me from California - - THANKS!! I had coffee and wandered through the whole place "learning" where to locate stuff. I back-tracked a couple of times but it wasn't bad. Our produce department there is so big that we could hold a scrapbooking function there and not really be in anyone's way.

Enough about my excitement about the new store - - - today I went to my boys' school and helped both of their teachers grade papers and hang out and see what kind of class rooms the boys are in. YIKES!! Nick's class is handful for his teacher and what's worse - it's her first year as a teacher. I REALLY felt sorry for her. She's got a really rowdy bunch. A.J. class is pretty good - you could tell it was Friday!! Then the boys and I went - TO THE NEW STORE!! and bought ice cream!! Well, I got a Starbucks, they got little pints of ice cream. Well, I guess I'd better get back in gear and finish my cards for a swap that I'm in...I can't wait to mail them off. I look forward to seeing the results of this VERY creative swap. We swapped cards in round one and then made enough of our own design so that each participant makes a card with the paper and returns a card to the creator of the paper - I'll post when we get them all swapped out and have received the green light that it's okay to share my fellow swapper's work.

Enjoy the weekend!!

Lime Time (A.J.'s #2 car) Got BLINGED OUT!!

I'm going to try my hand at sounding REALLY COOL... It's the only way I can think of to describe this car!!

This is totally "SICK", man - the photos DO NOT do this justice!!



Soooooooo...what do you think??? Pretty schweeeeet, huh???

A.J. was "out of his mind" excited when he saw it and then I asked Nick what HE thought and he says, "how come A.J.'s car is cooler than mine??"

Hee-hee... we cannot wait to get this on the track this weekend. We're off to Billings, Montana as soon as the boys get off of the bus tomorrow, for a two day event!! Yippeeeee...

I will post more racing photos soon!! Have a great Labor Day weekend!!

Is there a soul on this planet who's truly caught up on laundry??? I feel like the moment I get everything I can find washed...there's a hidden pile SOMEWHERE - lurking and waiting to say, "hi!! You missed looking here!! Ha-Ha-haaaaaaaaaa..."

I stripped beds and pulled towels and then found a new batch of stuff that I needed to wash!! AND it's minutes to noon - what the heck?!?!?

Tonight I get to go meet up with Abby for dinner and then we're going to "Dream Dinners" to make a month's worth of dinners...I love that place - it takes the "what to make for dinner??" so much easier!! And you can't beat a night out with a great friend!!

I've cleaned the fish tanks - not a small task - it only took two hours!! We have a 50 gallon tank with Oscars, Blood Parrots, and Jack Dempsys, oh, and a Plecostemus... I was worried about having my arm nibbled on because these fish are finally at the size that the boys feed them live fish! Turns out they were more afraid of the blue sponge. The other tank is my Beta, Newman. His tank only took a few minutes.

So, what did you do today??

If you're offended by underage, smart-mouthed boys please skip this...

Otherwise...just know that this was brought to my attention by Barb - nuff said...

Thanks for the laugh, Barb - you know how to give my day a lift!!

Shock!! We were racing yesterday!!

I know - I'm starting to take on "broken record" tendencies... SORRY...

If you're not into racing - - I may just be a bore to you. Ahhhh well... They way I look at it, our family has a total kick going to the track and the adrenaline of being really freaked out watching the boys race other little guys for the finish line without injury to themselves or damage to their cars - it's VERY hard to describe. I love it!!!

SO - this particular past day at the track...wellllll...



...had to throw that in - I know I can be random at times...SOOOOOOOOOOO anyway...

Now that I have your attention...

We arrived at the track and I found out that "Amy" (quick point of reference - Amy, hubby Phillip, step-daughter Keishah - 12??, son Tayler - 6??, GREAT family!! Love them!! Amy is the head facet in the tower and I would be her ummm - sidekick?!? I better ask Amy what I'd be considered.) ...wouldn't be there to run things but that I was the chosen one to make it all happen!!!

WHAT!?!?!

I wasn't all alone but I was locked up in the tower for 90% of the day - RAPUNZEL, RAPUNZEL!! I was allowed potty breaks and I watched Nick and A.J. race a few laps but never an entire race!! I don't know how Amy does it!!

Tayler came down with chicken pox on Friday and so she was stuck at home in Wyoming while Keishah, Phillip and Phillip's mom were at the track - Keisha drives two cars in two divisions and she's an absolute HOOT to watch - - -


So, I'm up in the tower and I've got my very specific notes that I've been taking - there's so many aspects of the computer - some kids drive more than one car and in different divisions and you have to enter their "pill draw" to determine where they start and where they finish affects the end of the year points. I was scared - I don't want to screw up because there's a lot to it!! Anyway, we managed with very few incidences... we get through "sign-in", printing the line-ups, getting volunteers for the various duties, etc. I feel that WE ALL did a pretty good job even though we missed Amy and her wit terribly!! Well, down below on the track and in OUR trailer...Mike was the BIG CHIEF!! He had to get four cars ready for racing. He had to keep track of two very energetic boys. AND, his mom and my dad and his wife came out - Mike did a fab job at keeping them in loop with various requests of how they could jump in and be of assistance. We were certainly busy as a family but we mangaged. Now, for the problem...I take my camera to EVERY race and take AT LEAST 20 photos - YESTERDAY?? NONE!! Nick won his first Junior Honda event in a really long time and I don't have a photo of it!! UGH!! A.J. had his very best day this year and again, no photos!! A.J. was in front of Nick in his Jr. Stock, A-Main event for the entire race...believe me - THAT'S HUGE!! It is just something that never happens.

I know that there will be other days and, no, it won't be Nick's last win...or A.J.'s last great day - BUT right now...I'm bummed that I don't have photos to download of the weekend and relive it. I have only memories...

I hope you had a great weekend!!

pssst...one more thing...

I've been stalking Erin's blog - she finds the COOLEST stuff!! I really like her guestbook and I created one, too...

Thing is...either I don't have many guests or the fact that it's on the bottom of the page is somehow not obvious...

At any rate...I'd like to see more of my friends "sign in" - it'll make creating the darn thing more worth the while!! Thanks for playing!!

It's the weekend!!

So...tomorrow's racing and today I get to entertain Nick and A.J. today while Mike gets to lend his help to Scotty at Colorado Nat'l Speedway - Mike sure misses racing himself - - there's always next year...

I feel like scrapbooking today but I have to do some serious cleaning first...vacuuming - the whole house needs it ,the entire kitchen has gone to h*ll, from the floors to the countertops and the refrigerator is a disaster.

Kathy came by with MORE zucchini and I need to whoop up a batch of oatmeal raisin zucchini cookies for the track tomorrow. Here I am dinking around on the computer...

There's some crazy stuff going on with the scrapbook world and I spent too much time "researching" a bunch of hooey about Heidi Swapp moving to China and Stacy Julian not having the customer's best interest at heart in regards to a Big Picture Scrapbooking class. The lynch mob is out in full force - did anyone else notice that a full moon is expected in the next day or two??

I did a lot of BLOG surfing yesterday and came across some really fun things - - mainly on YouTube... I'll share these sparingly - - - it'll give you something to look forward to every few days... Yesterday, I thought this little blog needed some "cowbell" - - I really wanted to "explore the space".

Today, I'm thinking about a REAL GOOD laugh is in order...

Enjoy...

Just keep swimming...just keep swimming...

I haven't posted in a while so I thought I'd get something said before I "hear" about it!! Last weekend we enjoyed a pleasant day fishing - until the torrential downpour!! I get bragging rights - as I caught the first fish...the photo is on our friend's camera but at least there is a picture of my BIG trout in existance!!


I took pictures of the cute fish that the boys caught and they even talked Jeff into taking them out on the boat. Jeff and Shannon rented a really nice cabin and we were lucky to have been invited up to spend the day with them.

A.J. and his catch -



Nick's little fish that we had to give back to the lake...



Mike's helping to cast - he had to keep the line out of the trees!!



Jeff takes the boys out on the boat...



RAIN - and lots of it!! Boy did it get dark, too!



This week has been - well... AWESOME!! The boys started school on Monday and I've got the laundry caught up and even spent some time being creative!! I combined three Idea Books and decorated a cover - I'm very pleased with the result. I'm making lots of cards and getting some other projects wrapped up!! I'm very happy that school's back in session!! I just have LOTS of cleaning to do to get the house back in shape from the whirlwind summer!!


First day back to school!! YIPPPPPEEEEEE!!

So - time to get back to creating as well as a NICE LONG relaxing shower...

Have a great day!!