Dissapointed but not Discouraged

What a great time we had in Daytona! We did not qualify as fast as we would have liked, but we had already set the truck up for the race so it was not quite as fast by itself. We ended up qualifying 28th out of 36 trucks. So we were basically starting in the back. But, everyone felt really good about the truck and Justin, our driver, felt confidant that he could hook up with another truck and get to the front. Ken and I arrived late Friday morning, and after lunch headed to the credentials office to get our pit passes. We had a little bit of an issue getting them because of the way they had been requested, but we got it all straightened out – and we saw Todd Bodine (who went on to win the race that night). After that we picked up Ken’s Uncle J.D. and headed to the track. First we went to the truck garage and helped everyone get ready – we had to get the pit cart, 3 cans of fuel, 2 sets of tires, air tanks, everyone’s gear (fire suits, aprons, helmets, radios, knee pads, gloves, jack, air guns, pit sign, pit crew suits, catch can), and the generator to Pit Road. Pit Road was NOT around the corner from the truck garage – it was waaaaaay far away (the Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup cars get the closer (covered) garages. So, pushing/carrying all the gear that far took a while – so you really tried to make sure you didn’t forget anything. On one of our trips back to the garage, we went through the SprintZone in the infield where they had games, food and other booths set up. There was also a stage and Joe Gibbs was up on the stage giving his testimony. Then he gave an invitation and led the crowd in a sinner’s prayer! It was awesome - what a great witness. You often see “celebrities” write books or articles about their “faith” but you rarely see them act on it – so it was so neat to see him in person sharing his faith so openly and to be honest – very bluntly – no sugar coating! (Speaking of celebrities, Evander Holyfield sat about 5 rows in front of us on the plane ride down.)
Anyway, back to the race. It was really neat to see all the pre-race hoopla that they do – after each driver was introduced on the stage, they were picked up by a Corvette and taken to their truck. After the start of the race, we moved up pretty quickly but we ended up about a second or two back from the lead pack, luckily some debris on the rack brought out a caution so we were able to catch back up. We were moving up steadily and at one point we were as high as 7th. The truck was running great!! NASCAR has a new rule this year that you can’t get gas and change tires in the same pit stop, so they have to get gas and then go out and around the track and then come back in to get tires. We had a major problem with the gas and then didn’t have the materials to clean it up quickly AND then had to be ready to change tires very quickly. It dropped us back quite a bit, but again we were steadily moving up. Then there was a crash – but luckily, unluckily, luckily, well, I don’t know which – we blew the engine. We were out of the race. We were so bummed because the truck had been running so good. I think that we were fortunate because if the engine hadn’t blow we probably would have been in the middle of the crash and sustained significant damage to the truck and possibly to Justin. So, maybe it was a blessing in disguise, but it sure felt like the short end of the stick. Everyone worked so hard and to have engine problems when we were running so well was really disappointing. But, after everyone has time to settle down and think, I think they will be pleased with the way they performed in practice and early in the race. But as they say, “That’s racin’”.

Let's Go Racin'

My daddy owns a NASCAR truck (it used to be called the Craftsman Truck Series but now it is called the Camping World Truck Series). He has always wanted to race at Daytona and for the past seven or eight years, he has taken a car or truck there to try to qualify. He has had a few good races but also a lot of disappointing ones as well. But this year, they have a really good truck and a new motor and they expected to go down there and do well.

They had their first practice today and they did GREAT!! Right now they have the THIRD fastest time of the day - 48.329 seconds to go around the 2.5 mile oval track - that is 186.224 mph!!!! You can check out the practice results here. They will practice again today at 11:00 and then qualifying is tonight at 6:00 - our qualifying order is 31st so we will be near the end. You can watch practice and qualifying as well as the race tomorrow night (7:30 start) on the SPEED channel. The car is #53 and our driver is Justin Hobgood. Ken and I will be flying down tomorrow so I will keep you updated through out the day as well as the race.

Go Black Bull Racing & #53!!

Not Me Monday

I know that I should just give in and rename this "Not Me Tuesday" but I have high hopes of returning to my regularly scheduled blogging one day.

I did not almost fall out of the booth laughing so hard at Mary Griner singing about the "square" when we were having dessert tonight. If you know Mary, you have to get her to sing the song. Ken and I were not having dessert with Mary and Chris after our Valentine's couples night for Mothers of Multiples(MOM). We did not have a BLAST on our double date and we did not spend most of the night swapping stories about our kids.

I did not have this conversation with Ken today:
Ken: "Look who just confirmed me as his friend on Facebook."
Me: "Who?" and when I look it says "Mark Richt".
Me: "Whoa!! That's pretty cool." - then after a few minutes "Wait . . . how many friends does he have?"
Ken: "Like 1500"

I know that I did not hear Kendall say "JESUS" when I asked her what her name was!! Not me, Not my kid.

Not so funny and entertaining this week, I know. Either it really was that uneventful of a week or it was so wild and crazy, I have chosen to block it all out in order to preserve my sanity. Maybe next week will be more less exciting???

Not Me Monday

As I was going to bed last night, I remembered that I had not blogged. I struggled to think of any "Not Me!" moments but I couldn't come up with any so I gave up and went to bed. And you should all be very glad because the extra day allowed me to come up with several things that I certainly did not do. So without further ado, here is my better-late-than-never, "Not Me!" Monday. . .

Being the cool, calm and collected mother that I am, I would never set my 3 month old twins in front of the TV with a video in order to get them to A) stop crying, B) go to sleep or C) be occupied so I can get the other two to A) stop crying or B) go to sleep. I would not choose a Baby Einstein video (Baby Noah to be exact) so as to justify said video watching by telling myself they are "learning" about animals in different biomes around the world - which by the way, is something I teach in my 10th grade Biology class - so they are getting a HUGE head start in science. (On a side note: I did not think to myself that maybe I should show this video to my class next time I teach Bio . . .)

I did not have the following conversation with Kendall this afternoon:

Me: "Kendall, did you color on the wall with those markers?"

Kendall: "YES!" (with a big grin)

Me: "Where did you color on the wall? Show Mommy."

Kendall "Here. Here." (with same big grin)

And when I looked "Here" where she was pointing I DID NOT see this:


I did not witness Karlee, my child who whines "BUT, MOMMYYYYYY!" every time I ask her to get her own juice box or go upstairs and change out of her school clothes or pick up the baby's pacifier/burp cloth/bib/toy, make herself a snack this afternoon. I did not see her go into the pantry, get the box of crackers and her stool, put the crackers on the counter, use her stool to climb onto the counter, get the peanut butter, climb down, open the drawer and get a knife, climb back up on the counter and proceed to spread peanut butter on the crackers. When she was finished, I did not see her put the lid on the peanut butter and put it away, climb down, put her knife in the sink, pick up her plate of crackers and head to the living room. The reason I did not see that was NOT because I was talking on the phone and did not make the crackers for her when she asked for the third time.

I would never admit to you that I logged on to Karlee's Webkinz TWICE to play games, under the premise of wanting to win some money for her pig. I did not take five minutes to explain to Ken that if she had money she could shop in the store and buy stuff for her Webkinz pig and that would keep her occupied so I could get some things done. Nope, not me! (and I definitely did not play for over half an hour.)

I did not have to take Kendall to the doctor last week because we were worried about the scratch on her leg. The doctor did not tell us that it was probably a staph infection and could possibly be MRSA. Poor Kendall, she had to have it drained and tested - she was such a good sport. Thankfully, it was just staph and not MRSA.

I did not leave Kamryn lying on her back on the playmat in the the Bonus room and return a few minutes later to find her propped up on her elbows on her tummy. I did not see this, because if I did, it would mean that she is growing up - and that is happening way to fast!!!

And finally, Karlee and I did not undecorate her Christmas tree today and pack it all up. It is February for Pete's sake - who would still have a tree up in February? NOT ME!!!

Hope you enjoyed! I would love to hear some of your "Not Mes". Leave me a comment and I will post the best - anonymously of course.

Twins Pics

Kourtney (note the purple)



Kamryn (note the pink)



They LOVE these Bumbo seats!