Let's Go Racin'

I know it's been forever since I last posted anything, but that's only because we've been sitting at home doing nothing for two months, and who wants to see pictures of us bonding with our couch and DVR? Okay, not really -- at least, not exclusively -- but I'm going to get my lazy self in gear and fill in the blanks.

We'll start with possibly the coolest thing that we've done EVER. See these cars?


The red one was mine.


Okay, yes, I am getting in the passenger side, but still. When was the last time you took a spin around a racetrack at 165 mph?

Casey got the blue one. If you look closely you can see him grinning as they took off.


Why were we riding around in stock cars, you ask? Well, Casey and I got the chance to ditch the kids a couple of weeks ago, so we ran off to Vegas. Actually, Casey was going there for work already and I begged him to take me with him. Thanks Grandma and Brenda for watching the kids for us! It was great to have a few days to relax, sleep in and just not have to DO anything. We visited the Las Vegas Speedway while we were there. Let me tell you, I have a whole new appreciation for what those drivers do. The G forces in the car are incredible. Casey was so amped up he was shaking afterward, but it made me a little sick. It was like riding on a roller coaster, but without the safety rails.

While the time away was great, I learned a couple of things being away from the kids for the first time. One, life is QUIET without my little maniacs, and two, life is not as fun without my little maniacs.

First Game

Andrew loves soccer. Mostly he just loves running around and playing with the other kids.





That's right, Andrew, get your body in front of the other guy.



This boy is Carter, one of Andrew's best friends. They go to preschool together, they're in Sunbeams together, and they're on the same soccer team. And yes, sometimes that much closeness does get out of hand. I think they aren't allowed to sit together or stand in line together at school, something about dinosaurs attacking each other or some such nonsense.



And this is how he usually ends up about halfway through the game. Andrew is very social, very much the extrovert, but he doesn't have a single aggressive bone in his body. He likes to score and win, but the kid just doesn't have that killer instinct. Usually halfway through the game he loses interest in the attack and starts to wander around the field. He's such a sweetheart.

Bye Bye Binky

Where did my baby go? Willa LOVED her binky. Her binky was a permanent feature. She usually held multiple binkies in her hand, and could take a binky out of her mouth, hook it around her thumb, drink from her sippy, and replace the binky, all in one fluid move. It was hilarious.

Of course she slept with her binky (the trick was to keep about 4 of them in the bed, so she could always easily find them in the night).



And at baseball games.



While collecting Easter eggs.



You get the idea. But now she is binky-free. One night I took the binkies out of her bed and pretended like they didn't exist. Shockingly, she didn't ask for them. And that's how the binkies went bye bye. Because she was so hooked, I had probably dozens of binkies stashed around the house, in diaper bags, purses, church bags, everywhere. I'm still discovering hidden binkies and getting rid of them. Every time I find one I get a little twinge. When did she get so big? All her little baby-isms are disappearing. Now she's so smart, and independent (which is code for "she says NO all the time"), and it makes me miss my little chubby baby.



See the binky?



Now she's a big girl. And watch out, she's armed. But it's only in self-defense. Andrew tends to attack with little warning.

Fireman Andrew

Our local fire station has an open house every year, and Andrew has come to look forward to it. Just look at his face.


He's riding in the truck.



And working the line.



And they set up a zip line chair which is all kinds of fun.



And apparently here he's plotting to take off with the fire truck.