Boogity Boogity Boogity

Saturday was a day I will never forget. I had the privledge of watching my boy's face light up with joy at seeing cup cars running live! It was more exciting than my first time! Sam had left with his team on Wednesday. On Saturday morning the kids and I loaded up in the car and headed NE to Virginia. It was not much of a drive (2hrs) and scenic the whole way. About 10 minutes from the track Blake said in a timid voice "Mommy, I have butterflies in my tummy". My heart melted! He was sooooo excited. When we walked in he spotted the SPEED booth so went that direction. One of the SPEED Girls handed us a schedule that said live filming was going to take place in 15 minutes, so we had to stay. We found a front row spot just behind the host and turned into those people I always make fun of; screaming waving and pointing at the camera. After our live television appearance we picked up our tickets, purchased a souvenier program and headed under the bleachers and throught the opening to see Martinsville Speedway. We found a spot right at the start/finish line where we sat to watch the Craftsman Trucks qualify. Before the Cup cars came out we moved to some other seats in turn one. It was pretty amazing to see all the huge transporters lined up inside a 1/2 mile track. One by one the cars began to line up and then enter the track. Reed Sorenson, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jr.... I looked over at Blake and he was wringing hi hands with excitement. Emily was covering her ears saying "make it stop" because the noise was nearly deefening. After practice we decided to see if we could catch a glimpse of a driver or two as they headed back to their motorhomes, which were paked outside the track. Blake reconized every one of them that whizzed by on a golf cart. He even got autographs from some, included Kasey Kahne who wished him luck with quarter midget racing! Blake was on cloud nine. Before we knew it the the trucks were fired up and on the track. We rushed back in to find to once sparsely populatd bleachers to be packed. The only place we could find to sit was tight up front. Blake wasn't very happy that he couldn't see the backstretch, but we were able to see Sam catching left front tires during pit stops. We've seen him working in the pits many times before, but this 'aint just Yakima Speedway. We were proud of him! Near the end of the race two doozies of wrecks happened right in front of us, WOW! Blake watched a replay on tv today and relived every moment. He couldn't get over the fact that we had been there in such awesome seats. Good times, great memories!

Lovin' NC!

I can't believe it's been nearly two months since I last posted. Wow, time flies when you're having fun!

On Aug 30th we moved into a nice apartment complex in Huntersville, NC. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and is just as big as our old house. We have a garage right across the parking lot which is crammed full. Since we only signed a 3 month lease, we only carried in what we had to have. We bought some new living room furniture, a tv, and a dinette set. Add that to our beds, and we're getting by just fine.

The kids started school September 4th and really enjoy it. Unfortunately, they'll have to change schools when we buy a house and move. Luckily, they are easy going and say it will be cool. For now, they catch a bus at the entrance to our complex and ride it home (something they always wished they could do).

Huntersville is a nice area, but very busy. It's also part of Mecklenburg County which has taxes and utilities 4 times as much as outlying counties. We've driven almost 4000 miles since we got here. Through our travels we decided we like the area west of Lake Norman. It's more woodsy and less crowded. A friend of ours is a realtor here and is helping us out. I'm going to look at some more homes with her tomorrow. We found a place that we all like, but it's not perfect, so we'll keep looking for another week or two. It's a buyer's market right now, so homes are sitting awhile. We'll have to make a decision soon though. Our lease here expires 11/30 and it would cost a small fortune to renew it.

Sam has been working a few weeks now for WRE. The drivers (Scott and Nick Lynch) are from Idaho, but the team is based in Mooresville, NC. They have Grand National cars and Craftsman trucks. Sam says he's "just another grunt" right now, but we all know he'll move up quickly. Next month is when the majority of crew changes begin to take place, but Sam thinks he'll stay where he is. He's enjoying meeting people and learning a lot. The kids and I are going to drive to Martinsville, VA to watch his team in the truck race on Sat, so look for the "HELLO WASHINGTON" sign!

We've got to do quite a few fun things since we've been here. I'm overwhelmed with how much is always going on. I don't think there's much you couldn't do. We've gotten to see race shops, ride go-carts, play at the lake (which is incredibly warm), go to a fair.... Good times!

Last week my wonderful mother flew in to stay with the kids and animals while Sam and I went on a cruise. We had booked it in Feb so we could be with some friends as they got married. There were 13 0f us and we all had a fabulous time cruising the Eastern Caribbean! I, of course, was in heaven and wanted for nothing more than to float in the water all day! Sam went snorkeling for the first time and was amazed. He can't wait to do it again.

Well, it's about dinner time here, so I better go get cookin'.

Hope all our friends and family are doing well. We think of you often!