More Racing...

We got out to the track again today. Luck was with us. The kids that have been faster Isaac were not there. And he was on fire..! The track was in great shape, not too wet and not to dry. He brought his own fans this time, Henrick and Helanea from church (they were with us all day cause their parents were out of town). Isaac was the fastest 50cc on the track tonight. He got 3 out of 4 holes shots and won all 4 50cc motos he was in. He's confidence grew and grew all night. He did well on the 65cc as well. I talked to him about following people that he is faster than. In his second 65cc moto he just ran past the kid he had followed before the turn and never looked back. It was great.

Well, here's some pics from today. I'm too tired to do much more today. Enjoy.

Hey That Rock Just Moved...?

After it rains here a bit things move around. We have seen some rocks in the middle of the road or flat rocks in the lanes. Ha. Not rocks. Those are turtles. If your driving on a road near a stream or river just as the rain is drying out, you can see the turtles moving around. We noticed them a few weeks ago, but we've always been moving too fast to get a good look. Until today. We were headed for a little drive after dinner and had just crossed the bridge over the creek near the gate to our subdivision when I saw one of those rocks... I mean turtles at the side of the road. A whipped around and parked by him. Isaac and I jumped out to take a look. The little guy was out and about trying to cross our road. It did take much of Isaac poking him to get him to suck up into his shell. Of course Isaac wanted to keep him as a pet. Like we need another one. I told him the turtle could go with us for our ride, which worked out because Lexy wanted to look at him and I was not about to let her out on that road.He rode along with us tucked tightly up in his shell. The kids passed him back a forth peeking in the little crack where his head used to be. Isaac even took him in a store with us. All the carrying him around got the turtle comfortable with Isaac and he started poking his head out. Isaac kept trying to get him to bite his finger. Then he set the little guy down and the turtle was quite a bit faster than we all thought he would be, trying to run away. Once the head, legs and tail were out Lexy didn't want anything to do with him. She didn't want to get scratched. So, that gave Isaac a reason to torment her, just a little.

The deal was we can't keep the turtle, after much begging... the big mean Daddy kept his word, "We Can't Keep the Turtle." Boooooo. So, we had to put him back.

We stopped close to where we found him. grabbed a few more pics and let the little guy go. Again, he was much quicker than we all expected. He directly headed for the wet, tall grass and on to the creek.

So, it was nice to have ourselves a pet turtle for an hour. And now he is back with his turtle friends.

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(No, turtles, grass, rocks or children were harmed in the making of this blog)

Flowers..?

Grandma Gloria... Look at the market we found....

I love you, Lexy

Pack Meeting

We went to Pack Meeting tonight for Isaac. They are always interesting. Some good stuff and some stuff that will make you want to pull your hair out. Anyway, Isaac got two awards.He got the Pledge of Allegiance patch and the Ice Skating belt loop. The belt loop was pretty much all done in the Hockey lessons, so Isaac is a little concerned that the skates in the picture are figure skates.

This is a pseudo-crafty bunch. They are trying to have the boys do crafty things. If you read between the lines, they are trying to make girls out of them. That is what ladies do with Cub Scouts. I hope we make it. Here are some of the things that Isaac made at Scouts.
Yeah, the dinosaur is pretty cool, Isaac picked great colors when he painted it.

The Pool is Open

THE POOL IS OPEN..!! The Pool is Open..!! the pool is open....!!!

Yeah, the pool has been open for about 3 weeks, but here are our first pictures from the pool. Amy and the kids have been going nearly everyday after school... If I hurry home I can catch them still at the pool but they try to time it right and be home... Like I can't smell the chlorine on them. Ha.

We are sooo lucky to have found a nice place to live, and it has this nice pool.

These pictures were from Monday the 25th, Memorial Day. We had cleaned dirt bikes all morning and ran down to the pool to cool down. Well, Mother Nature had the same idea, cool down. Dark, low, looming clouds set in as we drove to the pool (the kids rode bikes, we were trying to catch up). No sooner did we hit the water, when the clouds started flashing... Stink. It took some time to get the kids to understand that they can't swim in a lightning storm. This was one of those time when teasing them didn't pay off. I tell them all the time, "Sure you can go swimming, just don't get wet." or "It was raining at the pool, Oh no, you don't want to get wet while you're swimming." They thought I was teasing again.

Load your swimming suit and come on over to visit.

Come on in the water is fine.

HoleShot and More...

Well, racing goes on. After 3 weeks of Tyler Mountain Raceway being rained out, Isaac got to race on Saturday. It was warm. Warm enough that we waited until the last minute to get him geared up and had him undress back to short and a tank top between motos.

The track was slimy in practice. That's what wet clay is, slimy. Isaac spun out in one turn and went down on his 50. I was right there, jumped and then thought, "He's OK, let him be a man." And he did, jumped right back up, turned the bike, restarted it and was gone. He was much for cautious the next few times around. I looked up at one point to see him whip sideways slide up the hill and then stop. Again he turned the bike and drove on. That is way we go, that is what we like to see. Drive on when it isn't easy.

He ran in three classes. 50cc 7-8 year olds, 50cc Open, and 65cc 7-9 year olds. The two 50cc classes were race order 3 and 5. Only one group in between. He had to pull off the track and go straight back to the starting line. He got and 3rd and a 2nd in the first motos on his 50cc. He drove hard, gained confidence and kept a couple rides off in the first 65cc moto, they scored him 5th.

Amy hooked us up in between by bringing our tailgate grill and cooking us all a burger. Isaac changed to keep cool and we all had a good rest.

The second round came and Isaac headed down for the first class (race order 3), I strolled on down to the start line... Isaac was in the gate... What the heck... Well, race 2 had been canceled and they had race 3 lined up waiting for race 1 to end. I got there in time, we were fine. I got his goggles on, the bike warmed up and had time to spare. He did well, his lap times were faster, he had gain confidence from his wreck a few weeks ago and the slimy practice track. He got a 3rd place with a much smaller gap between him and the 2nd place rider. He was happy when he came off the track.

He quickly got back in line for race 5, the 50cc Open, if you remember he got 2nd in the first moto. Riding high on the solid 3rd place finish, he rocketed out of the gate and beat all the other rides to the first turn, HE GOT THE HOLESHOT...! (Holeshot = the first motocross rider to navigate the first turn of the track after the start.) He said the first thing he thought was, "Dad owes me 10 bucks." He and I have a standing deal, $10 for each holeshot. Well he held on to the lead from most of the first lap. Then kept all the other riders behind him for a solid 2nd place in the 50cc Open class.

Isaac was itching to go see if he got a trophy. But there was another race to ride and it take some time to tally the results. He rode well in the 65cc class, giving it one last push at the finish line to overtake a rider at the finish. On a sad note, one of our racing friends crash badly during this moto. Casey Wood (#311) from Beckley, WV crashed on the first lap on the upper end of the track and broke his hand. He had a bad night, he also got disqualified from the 85cc Beginner class for being too fast, jumping the doubles. I got an email confirmation from his parents that his hand was broken. Heal quickly Casey... We're thinking about you.

Lexy helped a ton in cleaning up the bike to be put away for the week. She had a lot of fun spraying the bikes, scrubbing them and drying them off. She was much more help than Isaac. But he got all this other gear cleaned and packed in his Ogio.

We'll keep you posted on the results from the next race.

Isaac and His Money...

Isaac is always on the hunt for money. He started a job chart when we still lived in Washington. It was jobs on top of his normal chores, like, vacuum, wash the dog, wash the car, etc. The prize... our quart change jar. He got through it on Monday and his mother took him to cash in the change... $70...!! That's a ton of money for an 8 year old kid. And I tell you what it was burning a hole. He wanted to spend it before he got home. Amy made him wait until after dinner. After much begging and "Mom promised you would take me", I took him to the Game Stop. He paced and fretted, picked games then put them back. A half hour later I was done, and I was mean because I wouldn't let him buy a used GameBoy (he already has one). The poor (Ha) kid had to go to bed with $70 in his possession.


Tuesday when I got home from work, Isaac was mad. He bought a 'slip and bleed'. Pretty much the same one he had before designed to skim board in your back yard. The trouble is, our yard isn't flat enough. He was soooo upset. I thought it was good. He has spent all of his money in a hurry and was feeling the pain. "Dad, $70 isn't a lot of money to you, but it's like a Million Dollars to me!" I was glad he got the chance to feel what it's like to waste a lot of money, and regret it. It's a little rich for my blood to waste $70 on the lesson.

Anyway, on Wednesday Amy loaded Isaac up with the 'slip and bleed', its package and the receipt and off they when to WallyWorld to take it back. He came home with a bike. (I know Jon, WalMart and bikes, crappy Chinese built bikes... Sorry). Anyway, he is happy. This is his 'freestyle' bike. Pegs both front and back, free spinning rear hub, and a bar spin hand brake set up on the head tube.

It's actually a cool set up.

So, that is the latest story of Isaac and his money.

Lexy's New Skates

Isaac gets everything... True he does... We have be making a conscious effort to get some balance to our buying the kids stuff.



Both kids have enjoyed ice skating lessons. In fact Tuesday night was the last of the 6 lesson series. We bought Lexy some figure skates. We had been looking and talking to folks about what to get. Shopped eBay, the bulletin board, and called people that know (Thanks Jean and Josh for the advice and help). Amy found a restocked pair of unsharpened, white skates that fit Lexy just right. I don't know if it is psychological for her or me, but I think she skates better with these. She LOVES them. I hope we can keep the drive alive. Ice skating is a great hobby.

Got the Cubbies Done

After like a month of dinking around with it we finally got them done and in place. Amy picked a bright orange paint for them. It's got a nice spot for the rain boots and what ever other shoes need to go out in the garage. You can't tell but the motorcycle boots have a soccer ball and like 20 coaching cones behind them. Those bottom compartments are 2 feet deep.

Amy painted the kids names and theme for each of them.

I hope these cubbies will help us keep track of some of the kids things.

Racing... Wait, No Raining...

We went to the track today for Isaac to race. He has been itching to go, like crazy. He got some practice doing wheelies on his pedel bike while Amy and I got the bikes ready. I remember when I was 8ish, it was a big deal to me too. How far can you wheelie? How many pedels can you go on a wheelie?



So, we got him geared up and set him on the 65cc to get some quick practice with the clutch. The pour little stinker, I haven't got him enough practice with it. He keeps trying to dump the clutch, he lets it out real slow until it starts to grab then dumps it and if he lunged forward enough he gives it a little gas. Most of the time it doesn't make in and he stalls out. We just gotta get him some more seat time.

It was threating to rain, a few drops here and there and EVERYONE was talking about it. Practice time hit and the first group headed out. Then here came the rain. We headed down to track entry point. Heres a picture of us walking down the road. If you look close, you cand see that Isaac is carring an umbrela. He usualy rides his bike to the track entry, but I was a little nervious of the new gear and the wet road.

Well, that walk to track was not smart. The rain just got harder and harder, turning the track (and the road) to soup. I didn't think it looked good. When I told Isaac that I didn't wasn him to got out on the track because it wasn't safe, he said, "I don't even want to go out there."

This clay sticks like any other. Pushing Isacc's 50cc back to the truck sucked. The mud got caked so deep on he rear wheel that if cover the chain completely and stopped it from turning. So, I was pushing a dead wheel. I had to stopp 3 times a scrape the mud off the chain so I would be eiser to push the bike. I was soo muddy that Isaac's mean dad wouldn't put it in the trailer. Instead we loaded in the back of the truck so we can wash it first.

The track, road and we were all a mess. They call the race. I'm not sure that many parents would have sent there kids out there.

There were several people that asked us how Isaac was doing. It sure is nice to be around people that care to ask. Not that we have been place that people don't, but it's still nice.

Well we'll give racing a try agian next week.

I Only Needed a Large One...

Any one need a fan...?This was in Lexington. I HAD to turn back around and get this picture.

Bonus...

On Saturday after the Shaker Village we headed into Lexington to find dinner. We when downtown because Isaac likes the tall buildings in cities. Amy and I spent a few days in Lexingtion in February so we knew our way around.

Well, it was busy, busy. It was University of Kentucky graduation. There were people everywhere taking pictures of there kids in the black cap and gown. We drove around a bit, then parked a block away from the Rupp Center. Parking was a bit of a rip off, $10. We had seen the Chick-fil-a cows down the road so we walked that way. They were in front of the Lexingtion Children's Theater. We slipped in and I noticed a sign on the door that said the show was sold out. Amy asked if there was restaurant in the building and the lady told here there was FREE Chick-fil-a in the next room. Turns out they were sponsoring the show. We ate our dinner and planned to slip out, 'cause the show was sold out. I figured I would ask for fun. Turns out there has just been 4 tickets that someone turned back. "We'll take them." The girl then tells me that because Chick-fil-a was sponsoring the show it was "pay what you can night"... Hmmmm...?? How about $5 a person, she took it and swiped my card. As I walked away I asked what the regular price was. It was $13 for kids and $16 for adults.

The show was "How I Became a Pirate" it was fun. Six person cast, did all their own prop movement and scene changes. It was great. I personally like the song about talking like a pirate, "Ahoy means hello, Harken means beware, Me Maties are my friends and Drop Anchor means we're there." The kids loved the show, especially because our seats were 2nd row.

So, if your quick with the math, that is $30 bucks for parking, dinner and a show for the 4 of us. Great Deal...


Enjoy the pics.

Shaker Village

We loaded up and drove over to Lexington, Kentucky on Saturday to go to the Shaker Village at Plesent Hill. It was pretty cool, I visited the village when I was 15 on a 4-H trip. So, we headed out and drove the 3 hours.

The kids were pumped up for the chance to ride the river boat. But, too bad for us, the river was too high and the boat was not running. Isaac was certian the this place would suck cause we couldn't ride the boat. Four and a half hours latter neither one of the kids wanted to leave. Amy was exausted and need to sit down, but the kids wanted to stay.

We started out at the main gift shop where you buy the tickets. We moved out to the road the runs down the center of the buildings and into the main meeting house where we read the quick history of the Shakers so we knew the story. We then visited one of the big housing buildings, the white block building. For those of you who don't know, there are two doors to all buildings that both men and women used. The Shakers beleived in celabeicy, to the extream, different doors even different stair cases. The white building housed 80 to 100 people at a time. The kitchen in the basement was cool. All the rooms in all the buildings were lined with pegs, Shaker pegs, to hang what ever needs to be hung up. There were some neat adjustable shelves.

We cut he tour of the white building short so we could make it to the sheep shearing demonstration. There were plenty of SHEEP and even a 7 day old lamb. The old boy who was there to demonstrate the shearing of a sheep was cool. He is in his mid-seventys and has sheared all over the US. He and I talked for a bit afterwards and he told me that a few years back he spent a summer in Utah shearing. He remebmered spenging a bunch of time in Spanish Fork and driving south on I-15. I told him I was from a town where a couple of guys had 1000+ head, he was trying to think of name of guys he knew, I ask him if he knew Tim Anderson. He said he didn't know Tim but he know the name, he said the Tim has sent a lot of good hearty black face sheep out here. That was cool to hear. (If you don't know, Tim Anderson runs his operation out of Sigurd.)

After the sheep shearing we headed over to the next building. They were spinning the wool into yarn and then weaving it into blankets. The nice lady spinning the wool let the kids comb some of the wool out.

We visited the wood working buildings were they were building bowls, butter churns, and oval boxes. Isaac kept going back to the one where the guy had been shaving some cedar with a drawknife. It smelt great, but he said that he liked it because it reminded him of our garage in Washington where we had the shop set up. Amy and Lexy had a lot of fun watching the broom maker and Lexy even got a broom at the gift shop.

It was a great time. We have a ton of pictures but can only post a few. I'll have to make a video out of them.

The Water is up...

Boy it can rain here... I guess that is why the plants are so dense and green and lush. I was chatting with Rickey the other day and he asked to see some shots of the rivers up... I didn't get any I really liked but here are some.

These are of the Little Coal River. Muddy and nasty. Rickey, this is along the road that is the back way to my office... Where we drove with kids and saw the deer when you were out here. This is a good 12 to 18 hours since it had rained last. This pics are Amy's first trip along this road. She fell in love with the area.

I have a ton to write (blog) about... We had a big weekend, but it's Mother's Day and Momma needs some attention.

Happy Mother's Day to all...