Nascar Race

Mark got free tickets to the Nascar race today so off we went! We've always wanted to go but never have.
We had so much fun! It was so cool to see it in real time. You know the cars go really fast but it's pretty amazing to actually see it!
Here are some pictures from our day.

Here is the entrance to the grandstands:



During the pre-show they did a parachute exhibit. I loved this one because he came down with the American flag:


Jeff Gordon:


Dale Jr:


Ryan Newman:


Matt Kenseth:


Jimmie Johnson's car:


Right before we go green:


Kasey Kahne- pit stop



Matt Kenseth:


The one crash- a single car accident:


Matt Kenseth flying by:


The winner- Mark Martin. Greg Biffle and Jimmie Johnson both ran out of gas so Mark was able to win. He's Mark's favorite driver so that was pretty cool!


We had so much fun and weather wise it was great. The sun only shone 1/3 of the time. The other 2/3rds it was cloudy which was wonderful. What a fun unexpected day this was.

Taking a moment to brag on my guy

Today was a big day for Mark. He completed his first Triathlon! This is something he has always wanted to do but after he got meningitis in Russia he never had the stamina.
Well at the beginning of this year he really dedicated himself to get fit and conquer this goal and today he did!
His goal was to do it in 2 1/2 hrs and he completed it in 2 hrs and 25 minutes so he made it!
I am so proud of him- this is quite a race- a 1/2 mile swim then a 22.8 mile bike ride and then a 5 mile run.
What a great accomplishment!

His bike all ready to race:


Minutes before the race starts:


Starting the swim- 64 degrees- brrrr and no wet suit!


Finishing the swim- he was glad to have that part done- that was the hardest for him:


Starting off on the bike:


Finishing the bike ride:


Starting the run:


The finish line! He was pooped!


Mark center and Pete ( a guy he works with) on the right


He's already wanting to do another one in July!

It's enough to make this mama turn into a puddle

This note came sliding out from under Halle's door last night after she went to bed:



It says:
I love my mom. She is the best mom. She is the bestest mom in the world. She is my mom. I dedicate this note to my mom. Love Halle


Right before bed she had asked to look at her baby pictures. She wanted to see the pictures of when we got her and saw her for the first time. So we had fun looking at all those special memories! So when she wrote in the note the line- "she is my mom" It brought me to tears.

That is a treasured keepsake for sure!!! Love that precious peanut!

Great Craft Idea for Kids

I saw a link for this craft idea on Sandra's blog a long time ago. I tried it today with the girls and it was a huge hit!
Puffy Paint

Mix 2 T. flour
2 T. salt
food coloring
enough water to make a think paste.

The kids can use the paste to paint pictures on thick pieces of cardboard. Then you microwave it for 20 seconds or until dry.

The girls absolutely loved it and had a great time with it!







Here they are all painting:



Here is what it looks like before microwaving:



This is after- all puffed up:


Here are the girls with their favorite designs:



Arianna did a picture for Uncle Duane. He takes her fishing so she did a fish picture:



Marissa did this one:


Halle did a fireball:

French Lasagna

Joanne requested this recipe so I'm just posting it here:

1 pd ground beef
1/2 pd sausage
1 small tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce (small size)
1 T. parsley
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 c. onion- diced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp worcestershire sauce
3 crescent rolls
1 c. cottage cheese
1/4 c. paremsan cheese
6 slices mozzeralla cheese

Brown ground beef and drain fat off. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, parsley, oregano, onion, salt and pepper, worcestershire and simmer 10 minutes.
Place 2 crescent packages on large cookie sheet. Pinch edges together. Spread 1/2 the meat mixtures over rolls lengthwise. Mix cottage cheese and parmesan cheese together. Spoon over meat. Add remaining meat over the top. Place mozzerella cheese slices over top. Bring rolls up and over. Lay the last crescent roll package over the top and crimp all the edges together to seal well.
Bake at 325 for 25 minutes. Brush with melted butter.
Enjoy! It's so delicious. It's a favorite here and I bet it will be at your house too!

Changing back!

Well remember awhile back when I told you change had come and I was starting work at Arby's? Well change has come again and I'm back home- (where I belong!)

As badly as I thought I wanted to get outside of the house and work I soon discovered that it was not where my heart was. There were several things that brought about my change of heart. First- Arianna is dealing with some issues and God confirmed my decision to quit and stay home by some of the writings she came home from school with last week.

Second- I was only working for 2 hrs a day- from 11:30-1:30. Right smack in the middle of my day so my whole week was shot. Frankly- the 8-10 hrs of work at minimum wage was NOT worth it!

Third- the manager at Arby's- I'm not a huge fan. The days he was there the whole environment changed and not for the better I might add!

This was a real learning experience for me. I thought I was so ready to get out of the house. This just proved to me that my heart is right here with my family and the real desire of my heart is to be a stay at home mom!

I'm praying Mark's job continues to be ok- they did just get 6 machine orders so that's a huge blessing. I am keeping my ears open for possible daycare opportunities but I'm leaving it in God's hands. For right now- I'm right where I belong and my heart is happy and content!

Help!!!

Anybody out there have any cures for ants? I've occasionally had ants before but I could always put the ant traps out and it would take care of it. With Oscar in the house I can't do that. However, I've never had ants like this before- it's driving me nuts. They are coming in my french doors in the kitchen. I've cleaned and cleaned- you could eat off my floor! Mark has sprayed over and over the outside around the house and the doors and I've tried vinegar and cayenne pepper inside but they are still loving my house!
I want them gone- they're driving me nuts. Anybody have any cures that have worked?

A great Sunday afternoon

Today we went to Hemlock Crossings Park. What a wonderful place. It's a park with beautiful trails! The girls loved it and so did Oscar.

Such beautiful scenery:


Oscar just loved being able to full out run!






After that we went to the Park where Mark is doing his Triathlon in a few weeks so I would know where to go. I've never been there before, but it's a beautiful park too. They had brand new playground equipment and the girls loved it. We finished the afternoon with some ice cream!

Update

I just wanted to quick let everyone know that I'm not sure how much I'm going to be blogging for awhile. I'm just not feeling any inspiration to blog lately. Not sure why....
I'll update as things come up but it probably won't be much.
I do update on facebook daily so if you want you can catch me there. I will still be coming around to check out your blogs and comment so you'll know I'm still alive :)

Take me out to the ballgame

Arianna's class got to sing the National Anthem for the White Caps this Saturday so we went for a fun night at the ball park.
I love going- it's a fun night and it was special because we only took Arianna since the whole family is going again in 2 weeks and it gets pricey going there.

I was so proud of the kids that sang- they sounded so so good! She's the third one in the front row. Don't look too closely at her outfit. She had the cutest red shirt on underneath but it was so chilly she had a sweatshirt on and forgot to take it off when she went to sing :(



Here is one of Arianna's favorites things about the night!






We had 2 interesting things happen that night. The first one I still just shake my head at.
There was a family sitting behind us. Apparently they saw some people that they knew and then they sat in the row with them. The only problem was that these are reserved seats. The people came back (they were getting food) whose seats the other people were sitting in and their seats were gone. Now mind you the seat stealers knew this and I heard them saying they would just squish together and it would be fine!
The other people didn't cause a fuss they just sat at the end. They had 5 people and were now sitting in 3 seats! The father ended up moving to a few rows back where there was more room. The other people saw that now there was a bit of extra room at the end of the row and I heard one of them say- can you ask them if they'll move down now to give us some more room??????
UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It didn't even involve me and it took everything in me not to turn around and give them a piece of my mind. I can't believe how incredibly rude they were and they just acted like it was fine!

The other thing that happened was actually very scary. One of our White Caps was running from 1st to 2nd base. The ball got hit to the 2nd baseman and he was going for a double play. He stepped on 2nd base and went to throw it to 1st and threw the ball but it hit the runner directly in the face. He was only about 3 feet from the guy so it hit with full force. It literally sounded like a bat breaking- you could hear it so clearly up in the stands. He went down instantly. The ambulance came and they had to put him on a back board because there could have been neck injuries because his head snapped back when he got hit. He got taken to the hospital and

I just found this update of his injuries in the press online:

UPDATE: West Michigan manager Joe DePastino said West Michigan Whitecaps outfielder Chao-Ting Tang likely "will be out for a while" after being hit by a ball Saturday.

"(The doctors) think he fractured a bone in his face at least in one place and suffered a concussion."




We ended up leaving after that because it was 9:30. When we watched the news at home they didn't have any updates on his injuries. The game was still going at 11:30 though. It finally ended after 15 innings with the White Caps finally losing in over time. What a game. I hope the next one is a little less exciting!

Halle's Room Makeover

You heard about the wonderful deal I got on carpet and I promised you pictures of the new paint when I got it done.
Here you go:





Mark just has to put up the trim and register covers yet.
She loves it so it's a success!