We had a fantastic time celebrating the boys 6th birthday this year. It was the first year that the boys had a classroom celebration for their special day. I baked some cupcakes and hung out in their class for half of the day. The boys had a special birthday song sung to them by their classmates. It was such a cute song about the angels singing on the day they were born. After school my mom came over to celebrate their birthday with them. Curtis came home early and we opened some presents and had some cake. I had baked them an individual cake for their birthday. Their request was for me to make a race car cake for each of them. Hum...I gave it a shot. Thankfully we had gone to a cake shop to pick up a box for the cupcakes the day before and the owner of the cake shop gave me a picture of a race car cake that would be "easy" to make. Uh huh....I think it took me 7 hours to make those 3 cakes but it was fun. The boys picked out their own color of car and the number that they wanted on it. While we were celebrating with cake, my brother Paul called from Chicago. We used his video conferencing tool from his business to get on the computer so that he could wish the boys a happy birthday. During the video conferencing, the boys got to open the presents that Paul and Andrew had sent to them. So even though Paul wasn't here physically, he still got to see them open their presents. That was pretty cool! Then we headed to dinner at Red Robin which is the boys favorite restaurant to eat at. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the staff know us there since we probably go once a month. They got their favorite mac and cheese and a birthday sundae at the end. At the end of the day when I tucked them in, I still couldn't believe that they are now 6.
Sunday we had a big celebration at the house. Saturday night it felt like Christmas Eve here because the boys were SO excited about their party. We had a slot car race track and a giant slide for the kids to enjoy. Unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating with us and it was very cold and sprinkled at times. The kids didn't care but the adults were frozen. The boys got some great gifts and we had cake and ice cream. Little did I know that the blue frosting on the cake was going to turn everyone into the Blue Man Group. Most people who had cake also had blue teeth and fingers if they touched it. Sorry! We also celebrated their cousin Chloe's birthday and their friend Kasey's birthday which fell on that Sunday. We also had a "surprise" guest show up at the party. The owner of the slot car track and slide also keeps a puppy dog costume in his truck?! He offered to dress up as the puppy to entertain the kids and I thought "okay....". Honestly I was thinking "Is this going to cost me more money?!" He came out in his costume and the room got quiet and the kids kind of sat there speachless. O'well.... Then we headed out to take a swing at the pinata. It was mayhem when the candy poured out of it onto the concrete. Man those kids love their candy! It was getting late and people headed home to defrost.
We were so thankful for everyone coming out and celebrating their special day with them!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Still on a Nitro High
It was the 50th Anniversary of the Winternationals at Pomona for the NHRA. In my lifetime I have probably been to 15-20 of those races with my dad. We would start off the morning by having breakfast at Coco's and heading to the races. We would spend most of the day there and come home with a nitro high. On the eve of my dad's 4 year anniversary of passing, I find myself on that nitro high again. Funny how life comes full circle sometimes.
We started the day off by stopping by Fast Jack Beckman's pit. We got to see the new body that the Valvoline car is running this year. It is awesome! Later we came back to say good luck to him and get a picture with the boys. We headed back to the stands and Curtis told me that I was going to have the chance to ride in the tow vehicle when Jack was going to race. WHAT?! Jack and his wife Jenna invited me to ride in the tow vehicle! Wow....what a dream come true! After a few races I headed back down to their pit and got in the tow vehicle. I was sitting in the tow vehicle in complete awe. To the left of us was Cory Mac getting ready to race, John Force was in the furthest lane and to the right was Jack's competitor Gary Densham. I kept thinking my dad would have loved this. I know he was looking down on me Friday but I sure wish he would have been there to experience it with me. It was a whole different racing experience from down on the track. It was awesome to see the crew get Jack's car ready to race and see Jack pull up to the light tree. The tow vehicle raced down the track to retrieve the car and pick Jack up. On the drive back to the pit, Jack hangs out of the window of the tow vehicle and waves to all his fans. That was pretty cool to watch all the fans cheer Jack on.
After we get back to the pit, I got fired. Yep, I was bad luck apparently. We laughed it off and I watched the crew disassemble the car. It was amazing to see how fast these guys can take apart a car. The clutch pressure plate was still smoking when they took it off! The boys and Curtis came down from the stands to meet me back in the pit. After many autographs by Jack, he gave us a tour of his rig, actually it's 2 rigs connected together. Again, wow. We saw so many cool things in there and 2 of his other cars that are stored up top. One of Jack's crew members gave the boys a clutch wrench (I think that's what it is) and Jack signed it for them. It was the end of the day and Jack was packing his parachutes back onto his car. Curtis got recruited to help Jack pack them back up. I told Jack that Curtis wouldn't be able to sleep until those parachutes were out safely the next day!
The day was turning into night and it was time to go. I left the track on cloud nine smelling like I dipped myself in nitro. Poor Curtis, he couldn't shut me up on the way home. It was such an awesome experience. I'll never be able to convey my appreciation to Jack and Jenna for what they did. Not only was it a cool experience but it was something that was close to my heart that I shared with my dad.
Here are some pictures from the day
We started the day off by stopping by Fast Jack Beckman's pit. We got to see the new body that the Valvoline car is running this year. It is awesome! Later we came back to say good luck to him and get a picture with the boys. We headed back to the stands and Curtis told me that I was going to have the chance to ride in the tow vehicle when Jack was going to race. WHAT?! Jack and his wife Jenna invited me to ride in the tow vehicle! Wow....what a dream come true! After a few races I headed back down to their pit and got in the tow vehicle. I was sitting in the tow vehicle in complete awe. To the left of us was Cory Mac getting ready to race, John Force was in the furthest lane and to the right was Jack's competitor Gary Densham. I kept thinking my dad would have loved this. I know he was looking down on me Friday but I sure wish he would have been there to experience it with me. It was a whole different racing experience from down on the track. It was awesome to see the crew get Jack's car ready to race and see Jack pull up to the light tree. The tow vehicle raced down the track to retrieve the car and pick Jack up. On the drive back to the pit, Jack hangs out of the window of the tow vehicle and waves to all his fans. That was pretty cool to watch all the fans cheer Jack on.
After we get back to the pit, I got fired. Yep, I was bad luck apparently. We laughed it off and I watched the crew disassemble the car. It was amazing to see how fast these guys can take apart a car. The clutch pressure plate was still smoking when they took it off! The boys and Curtis came down from the stands to meet me back in the pit. After many autographs by Jack, he gave us a tour of his rig, actually it's 2 rigs connected together. Again, wow. We saw so many cool things in there and 2 of his other cars that are stored up top. One of Jack's crew members gave the boys a clutch wrench (I think that's what it is) and Jack signed it for them. It was the end of the day and Jack was packing his parachutes back onto his car. Curtis got recruited to help Jack pack them back up. I told Jack that Curtis wouldn't be able to sleep until those parachutes were out safely the next day!
The day was turning into night and it was time to go. I left the track on cloud nine smelling like I dipped myself in nitro. Poor Curtis, he couldn't shut me up on the way home. It was such an awesome experience. I'll never be able to convey my appreciation to Jack and Jenna for what they did. Not only was it a cool experience but it was something that was close to my heart that I shared with my dad.
Here are some pictures from the day
Friday, February 5, 2010
Feeling Nostalgic
February. So many memories are bundled up in this one month. One of the most significant events is the birth of the boys. February 18th, 2004 almost around midnight, our beautiful boys were born. Each moment of that day is etched in my mind forever. I can remember when the nurse came in and said I was having too many contractions. I can remember the panicked phone call to Curtis saying that the doctors wanted to start me on a stronger medicine to help stop the contractions. I remember when the doctors realized that the contractions weren't going to subside and they needed to make a plan to deliver them. My boys weren't going to wait for the next day to be delivered like the doctors planned. I remember my mom, dad, Curtis' parents, his 2 sisters and my nephew coming to the hospital to be there when the boys were born. Oh yeah, and the Discovery Health Channel film crew to catch it all on tape as well! I can remember hearing Grant cry for the first time. What joy to my ears. Next came Jack and then Nolan. I can remember seeing their faces for the first time and thanking God that our boys were healthy.
Now we are getting ready to celebrate their 6th birthday in a couple of weeks. How did my little babies grow up so fast! It seems like yesterday we were celebrating their first birthday. I am so blessed that God gave me these boys and I couldn't be more proud of them. This year they really have grown up a lot. Even though they still don't like to be apart, they are now becoming more independent with their own likes and dislikes. I hope they continue to be best friends and love each other but I am excited to see where life takes them individually. I can see Grant playing every sport out there and wanting to win every game by at least 10 points. I can see Jack playing any musical instrument in the band and in his free time painting an elaborate picture. I can see Nolan sitting in front of a tv playing video games all day. Oh wait, I see that now! That boy loves his Wii race car/monster truck video games! Whoever they decide to be or whatever they decide to like, I know that I will always feel blessed that they call me mom.
Now we are getting ready to celebrate their 6th birthday in a couple of weeks. How did my little babies grow up so fast! It seems like yesterday we were celebrating their first birthday. I am so blessed that God gave me these boys and I couldn't be more proud of them. This year they really have grown up a lot. Even though they still don't like to be apart, they are now becoming more independent with their own likes and dislikes. I hope they continue to be best friends and love each other but I am excited to see where life takes them individually. I can see Grant playing every sport out there and wanting to win every game by at least 10 points. I can see Jack playing any musical instrument in the band and in his free time painting an elaborate picture. I can see Nolan sitting in front of a tv playing video games all day. Oh wait, I see that now! That boy loves his Wii race car/monster truck video games! Whoever they decide to be or whatever they decide to like, I know that I will always feel blessed that they call me mom.
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