Nascar Week

Another big Nascar race at the speedway this coming weekend. This time around I have learned a lot more about the racers and cars. I may be a Nascar fan yet! We went to a free event last night to watch the haulers parade down the drag strip and then we saw some cool drag races. A nitro motorcycle hit 156 mph in just under 8 seconds! A go-kart ran the drag at 98 mph and the fastest car was around 140? It was pretty cool! Levi liked it for a while, then the noise got to him. Isaiah was pressed against the rail in awe of the hot rods. During the hauler parade Isaiah was also tickled to hear that some of the trucks horns sounds like diesel and steam engine train horns.

 Bowing his head while they prayed to open the night!

 Joey Lagano....Uncle David's favorite driver.

 Jeff Gordon....this one's for Uncle Jeffrey

 Becca claims her favorite is the one from 'daddy's work'. Aaron has met Ryan Newman, when he was out at Ryan's house working on his generator.

 Zay was loving the sounds of the horns!

 This truck could really get up and go!

 Not as fast as I hoped.

 Dragsters are cool!

Nitro bikes.

Rainy Weekend

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit during our 13 day rainy stretch brought in by a tropical storm. We didn't get to take them to our favorite parks, but we still had a great time, of course! Here are some shots of the kids out and about this weekend.

 Waiting for the Lynx in Uptown.

 Getting so big!

 Wells Fargo museum, small, but really nicely done!

 Operator, operator?

 No visit with the uncles would be complete without stopping at Bass Pro.

 Had to take the Uncles to Hendrick Motorsports too. Now we know which guys on the team to cheer!

 A model of a racecar seat....when Papa tried it he was TOO TALL to even fit!

Jeff Gordon's iconic rainbow car. This will be his last ride in Charlotte!

Rags to Riches

After several weeks of a nasty stomach bug we finally got out of the house for a field trip! I was looking forward to visiting Latta Plantation again. They do some great programs for kids! Today's theme was rags to riches. The children started at a small farmer's cabin where they learned about the crops raised that would be worth trading. They picked a handful of wool, corn, or sorghum to take to the next stop, a traveling merchant's wagon. They traded their crops at the wagon for fabric or candle wick, which was traded up at the blacksmith for nails or horseshoes, and last at the mercantile they traded for cash. It was really fun and informative. We also stopped at the garden, barn and outdoor kitchen for more demonstrations of life from the 1790s. We were all shocked to find that a trip from the plantation to the nearest town was three days ride, making a trip to town a week long ordeal! Thank goodness for my Wal-mart neighborhood market around the corner!

 Liked the stinky piggies!

 Enthralled by the chickens.

 The turkey's were making quite a racket!

 Trading with the traveling merchant.

 The lunch cooked on an open hearth smelt divine!

 Some brotherly love....

 Our 'babies' helping each other out....LOL

 Friends

 My friend Julie and I have a great crew of kiddos!

Proud of his money with the train.