Monday, May 25, 2009

Indy 500 Race Weekend



Memorial weekend is always a big weekend in our family because it means that it's RACE weekend! When I say my family, I mean my dad and I. :) And by race, I mean the Indianapolis 500. My mom is not a fan of the race by any means, but I have become a fan because of my dad. I actually got my dad tickets about 6 or 7 years ago to his first race, when we lived in Illinois. He was always a fan, but had never been. The frenzy started then...my dad and I took a trip to Indy race weekend and had the best time! I fell in love and I have loved going ever since, and it's funny that we now live here in Indy and to see how the race craziness actually starts on May 1st!

My husband was never a race fan, but my dad is still working on him. He went to his first race two years ago, but he got lucky b/c we had suite tickets and we got a police escort into the race. We sat in a AC filled suite, with all the food and drinks one could want. It was AWESOME! Of course Jake enjoyed that! Ha! This year, Jake really experienced the race...the hot sun, the loooooooooong walks, the crowds, the crazines....just how it should be. My dad doesn't look forward to much, he doesn't ask for much, but this weekend means the world to him. He truly, truly enjoys it. I am soooo happy that Jake and I were able to go with him. We had a great time and I am even saying that as I sit here wincing in pain from my sunburn. It was well worth it! ;) There's nothing like hearing those cars start up and get up to 220mph as they fly by...it's pretty awesome.

We started off on Saturday by going downtown to the race parade, which I look forward to every year as well. I'm a kid at heart, I love parades! Connor was too little last year to really enjoy it, but he really enjoyed it this year! He was such a trooper! We saw a lot of celebrities and just had a great time. We relaxed the rest of the day knowing we had a big day ahead of us and got up bright and early on Sunday ready for the race. We got to the track by 9 am and found a really good parking spot....we then walked around for a bit and the highlight of my day was running into all the celebrities. I talked with Jan and Meredith from The Office, Mark, Giles, and Derek from DWTS, and saw a few other people. When I said talked to, I mean I said hello and they smiled and said hello back...so you know, we had a nice long conversation. Ha! OH and Mario Lopez...oh wow...can I just say...SO good looking!!! Yikes! Jake and my dad were laughing at me because I was going picture crazy, but can you blame me? I was inches away from Slater himself!!!! Not to mention, hottie McHottie from DWTS and Sex and The City movie! I mean, really...who wouldn't have??

I will just let the pictures speak for themselves...and trust me there are a lot of them...so hang in there, but I just gotta share! Hope everyone has enjoyed their long Memorial Day weekend. God bless all the men and women who have given their lives and are currently serving this country so that myself and my family can be free!!! You are the real celebrities and the reason we celebrate today!


Parade Pics



Ready for the parade!


Mario Lopez...so cute!


WAGS!!!


Melora Hardin, Jan from "The Office"


Kate Flannery, Meredith from "The Office"


Josh Duhamel, the pace car driver


Dick Vitale


Danica Patrick. I, myself, am not a fan, but she DID run a great race coming in 3rd and it is a good picture.


The OH SO gorgeous Giles Marini!! I had to hold back from posting all the awesome pictures I took of him! ha!


The one who took it home for the third time, Helio Castroneves!

Jake, Connor, and I after the parade



Race Pics



My dad's shirt, "Old Guys Rule...A Checkered Past." Ha!


Derek Hough from DWTS

Giles and Mario at the race

I know, I know...but those dimples...I just had to put it up!

Meredith at the race. Seriously, don't celebrities sweat? I was like sweating buckets at this point. It was SO hot! They all looked flawless!

"Jan" again...she is sooo pretty!


The pagoda...Celebrating 100 years


Not too easy to take pictures of cars going 220mph, but I did get some good ones!


The pit crew working on a car


Helio's winning lap!!

Jake and I in the stands


Congrats Helio!


Dad and Jake at the race, dad is going to make a fan out of him yet!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Wordless Wednesday


"Let there be more joy and laughter in your living"
~Eileen Caddy

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day

I am getting around to my Mother's Day post a little late, seeing as there is only 40 min left to the day. I had a fantastic Mother's day...it started with breakfast in bed by my wonderful husband, followed by a wonderful church service, a loooooooooong nap, and then over to my parent's house. I went and got groceries for my mom for her Mother's day gift (because she hates to do it) and then we all had a nice, relaxing dinner together. It really was a very nice day.
I love every minute of being a mommy (o.k. maybe not every minute, ha!) but I do feel incredibly blessed that God trusted me with my little baby boy whom I wouldn't trade for the world. Connor lights up my days in ways I never could have imagined. Seeing things through his eyes has been the most amazing experience thus far. I hope and pray every day that I can be the best mommy ever to him, that I can instill a love of the Lord in him, that he always trusts me, and that he is faithful, happy, strong, caring, and healthy. Being a parent is most definitely NOT easy, I would be lying if I said I wasn't prepared for half of the feelings I would feel, all of the guilt and the worry...but the bottom line is, it is minuscule compared to the immense love I feel for him. Every night when I go to bed, I look in on my little man and I thank God for giving me the biggest blessing imaginable, and I will continue to do so because I never want to take one minute for granted with him.

Thank you Connor, for making me the mommy that I am today. I hope to always make you proud and be the best I can be for you...I will always try my best, I promise. You are and always will be "mommy's little man". I love you to the moon and back! XOXO, Mommy


To my mom,
Thank you for....
~ being there for me in situations that were beyond difficult to comprehend at times
~ never giving up on me (in situations such as above)
~ listening to me when all I need to do is vent
~ never judging me
~ taking me in after being out of the house for so long
~ helping me get back on my feet
~ believing in Jake when not a lot of people did
~ loving my husband like your own
~ the fun shopping trips, the laughs, the times we do nothing but still have a good time...I miss them and wish they happened more, I treasure our time together
~ seeming to always know just what I need before I need it
~ being my best friend
~ setting an awesome example for me to follow as a mother
~ being the best grandma a little boy could ask for
~ setting such a Godly example and never giving up on me when God was the LAST thing I wanted to hear about
~ I could go on and on, but thank you for being you, for loving me, for understanding me, for being the best mom anyone could ever ask for. I am blessed beyond belief to have you as a mom and a best friend!

I love Taylor Swift and I absolutely LOVE this song and video so I thought it would be perfect to dedicate to my own mom this Mother's Day. The lyrics are so sweet and true and I can say that I feel exactly what she is saying in this song about my mom. Happy Mother's Day!!!

(video deleted) but the song is called "The Best Day"...it is awesome and so is the video!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

BRITNEY!!! (Spears, that is)

So, yeah, I like Britney Spears...she is and always has been a guilty pleasure of mine.(I get a LOT of flack for this) I have loved her since "Hit Me Baby One More Time". Now, I know that she doesn't have the best voice, or even remotely close to it, but the girl can bust a move and I love that. Well, she used to be a much better dancer than lately, but she's on her way baaaaaack!!! Like I said, guilty pleasure...but I'm not hiding it!!! My good friend Erica happens to love her as much as I do and she got two tickets for her birthday and asked me to go! Of course I said yes without hesitation...and then I hung up and screamed with excitement! The concert was in Columbus, Ohio which was about a 2 1/2 hr drive for us and we had so much fun! There was one small snafu and of course it had to do with me injuring myself. Right when we got to the motel, I fell on the concrete and fell straight on my bad knee ( I shattered this leg two years prior)....Erica was terrified and ended up getting up and felt o.k. besides some scrapes. Well, as time went on, it swelled to about the size of a baseball so we went to first aid at the concert...they gave me ice and told me to elevate it...um, yeah, I really can't elevate it at a concert that is packed full of tweens dancing....sooooo I pushed through and boy did it hurt, but I was determined not to let it ruin the concert. She didn't sing one note...which I knew she wouldn't, but I loved it nonetheless. Some of it was a bit much, but I really did love it. After the concert we ate at a place across the street from our motel called "Raising Cane"...it was chicken and they had the BEST sauce ever for their chicken fingers! While we were eating I decided to check out my knee and was shocked! It was the worst bruise I had ever seen! It is a week later and the bruise runs all the way down to my ankle and all across my knee and on the sides. It was a pretty bad fall I guess....Poor Erica, she can't take me anywhere! We went back to the hotel and stayed up till about 2 am just visiting, it was so nice. The next day we went to lunch at a great little place downtown Columbus, it was so eclectic and had GREAT food! We then had ice cream at a place called....wait for it.....JENI'S!!!!! No one EVER spells their name like me, I was pretty excited. The place was adorable and the ice cream was to die for. I had lemon/blueberry that was out of this world, the blueberries had just been brought it fresh that morning. Erica had the salted caramel and it was just as delish!!! It was a great 24hrs away and seeing Britney was so awesome...despite ending up in first-aid! :)

Erica and I at the motel right before leaving for the concert...we were just a little bit excited! :)


At the concert


Yes, I was taking a picture of myself in the bathroom...it was the coolest bathroom at one of the neatest restaurants downtown Columbus,OH

Notice the spelling??? That's my name, and that is how I spell it!! I was beyond thrilled to find this little gem of a place, it had the BEST ice cream!







This was a cool mural on a side of a building downtown Columbus

Monday, May 4, 2009

The LOVES of my life!!!!!

Jake was giving Connor a bath the other day and Connor had gotten Jake soaked with all of his splashing. Jake came out of the bathroom and took off his wet shirt and threw it in the laundry and was holding Connor and all of a sudden I just thought they looked so cute that I made them stop for an impromptu mini photo shoot with mommy. I was glad that i did...I am in love with these photos. Jake is such a tremendous father to Connor and Connor adores him to no end. I am so blessed to have them. I may do a little more editing to them, I'm still learning how to make my black and white photos look really good, but that's alright, I'm in love with them so far.







Jake's birthday weekend...the BIG 30!!!

I mentioned earlier that for Jake's b-day weekend we went to a minor league game in Indy on Saturday night, while my parents watched Connor. The night could not have been more perfect...it was supposed to rain, but luckily it held off. Jake was thrilled to see his name on the big scoreboard, he really got a kick out of it, so that made me happy! on Sunday, we took a drive to a state park in Spencer, Indiana that Jake has always wanted to go to. It was a fun day, very laid back, and just a nice family day. I was still hobbling along a bit due to my injury at the Britney concert...I will share more about that incident on a later post when I get my Britney pictures from Erica....good times!!! :)