Our July 4th Weekend

We spent the weekend at the racetrack this year. There was a points race for the Tyler Mountain Series, so we were there. They had a two day event. On Friday there was practice, a holeshot contest, a jump contest, a freestyle display, and back to practice. Then on Saturday it was racing as usual.

Isaac had talked me into riding this weekend. Which adds a level of busy-ness to the whole thing. We can't seem to be early to the track for some reason. On Friday I was trying to get my bike going, get dressed, etc. when Isaac when down to the track for the 50cc practice. I was sitting I my bike, warming it up and looking toward the track, when I saw a commotion and then Amy running across the track. "Lexy, stay in the trailer. DO NOT get out!" and off I when to the track. Sure enough Isaac had gone down hard again. He knocked the wind out of himself and was pretty scared. He rode his bike back to the trailer himself and rested for a while. He says that he is done double jumping, but he jumped it again later that night.

Isaac was sooo excited about the contests. He did well getting a 2nd in the jump contest and a 3rd in the holeshot contest. There were some guys that wanted to do some freestyle. They were doing some heal clickers, knack-knacks, whips, etc. Isaac begged and begged to do the freestyle. He asked the tracks permission and we ended up letting him. The show was two guys in their early 20's on 250cc bikes and Isacc on his 50cc. It was pretty fun. He did a couple of no footers and a back pop-o-wheelie. He crashed up on this third jump. We rushed up to him, but he was OK. As we were picking up his bike I said, "Put your arms in the air." He faced the crowd and through his hands up... The crowd when wild. He loved it. And we send him to the trailer, Amy and I couldn't take any more anxiety.

On Saturday the clouds were looming... But, we both signed up to race. We were late enough getting to the track that I didn't get my bike out for practice. I wanted to make sure I was at the track for Isaac's practices. About the time the practice order ended, it started to rain. I got changed and Isaac's races were early in the race order. Race 3, 6 and 9. Mine was 21 out of 24. By the time race 6 came around Amy didn't want Isaac out on the track, too, way too muddy. Kids were slipping and sliding all over the place. Isaac and I talk about riding smart and not taking chances in the mud. He did great, most of the other kids had a spill or two but Isaac kept it on two wheels. He got two 2nds and a 3rd. I didn't even get the bike out.

Lexy have a lot of fun with the four wheeler and hammock.

Once the races got through the first round the owner of the track called it and canceled the rest of the racing for the night. So, we loaded up the bikes that Amy had washed and went to Pizza Hut.

We got home in plenty of time to light our own massive pile of fireworks. It took nearly 15 minutes of 2 to 3 at a time to burn them all up. Isaac had a lot of fun being in charge of the the layout. Amy and Lexy loved the show from a blanket on the front lawn.


Here is a quick video of our 2 day 4th of July...

How young were we...?

So, today I needed a program that I knew I had on an old disk from a few years back. As I browsed the disk, I found a bunch of old pictures from my USU webpage. WOW..!! How young we look. The kids had fun looking at pictures of Mom and Dad from before they were born. Lexy had stars in here eyes as she looked and pictures of Amy in the woods. Isaac was excited to see the pictures of us riding and with motocross stars. I hope you get as big of a kick out of these as we did.

Trying out the chair I made for my Dad.

Amy on her '99 Warrior at Sand Mountain.

Travis at Cainville.

*** Lexy loved these ***
Hot Amy in the woods.

Another hot Amy in the woods.

Lexy Jo is the latest moviestar to hit the world wide interweb...

Here is a quick video of the things that Lexy has been doing since we moved to West Virginia. There are some very cute photos in here. Enjoy...

Grandpa Blake and Grandma Penny in WV

It was sure nice to have my Dad and Penny come visit for nearly a week. They had a rough time getting hear, TSA doing their job... Agghhh... It was pretty late, but their hotel was in a good location and it all worked out well. Here are some pictures of different things we did.

Isaac showing Grandpa and Grandma the stringless harp at the Clay Center.
Grandpa, Isaac and Lexy Jo at the Clay Center.

Half of Danica, Penny and Dad at the beginning of the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine tour. This is a sweet tour on a train in the mine with a bunch of displays set up of different equipment, etc.

Grandpa and Grandma Penny at the Old School House at the Beckley Mine.

Here we are having lunch at the Omelet Shoppe. Amy loves to eat here when she is in Beckley.

Check back to this post later... I will add more pictures.

Danica in WV

Danica came to visit and help us out while Amy was in class. She came in Saturday night, stayed a week and left the next Saturday morning. She was a great help and the kids had fun. Naturally Lexy had more fun with her that Isaac, but that is how it goes with the girls. Lexy would let Danica sit anywhere the she couldn't sit next to her. She chased her around and looked up to her in a BIG way. Here are some pics of the week.

Amy, Lexy and Danica at the airport.

Grandma Penny, Lexy and Danica at the Clay Center.

Danica and Lexy making a stop motion movie at the Clay Center.

Danica and Lexy ice skating.
Danica headed out, at the airport. Thanks for ALL your help Danica...!

Lexy Jo's New Chair

Lexy got a new chair. She like to sit by Amy during the day when Amy is studying at her desk. Lexy writes letters, colors, and does learning pages. She has been dragging a stool in from the kitchen, but this works better. Sweet pink chair Lexy Jo.

Freshly assembled.Here is an action shot.

Racetime... Again...

Sorry for the gap in posting. With Danica, my Dad and Penny in town, Amy gone to school, and me not going to work, I just haven't taken the time. Boy, taking time off of work is exhausting.

Anyway, to the racing news. Sometimes I feel like this has become the Isaac (#75) Walbeck Blog. I hope I can keep some balance. We took Grandpa and Grandma to the track on Saturday night. Isaac did great... again. He won the 50cc 7-8 year old class, took 2nd in the 50cc Open class (what a show) and got 6th in the 65cc 7-9 year old class. He kept nailing the double he started jumping last week, he is getting smooth on it. And on his last lap of the night he nailed another double to a table top. We were all cheering. This picture is after we washed the bikes and got most everything pack into the trailer. He is packing his hardware. The smaller one in his left hand is a 'Holeshot Award' for taking the holeshot in the first moto. He got the plaque, a new set of Scott grips and a key chain. Pretty cool bonus.

I have a ton to post, I just gotta take the time. Stay tuned.

Visitors, Visitors

We have lots of visitors in town.

Danica (Amy's cousin) is in town to help us with the kids and have a vacation of her own. She is loving sleeping in, afternoons by the pool and not having to worry about when to goto work next. One of our neighbors told her, "Enjoy your time here, it's like living at a resort." He's right.

My Dad and Penny got here yesterday to get away themselves. We picked them up at the airport last night about 10pm. It will be nice to show them the area and see them for a few days. We are going to drag the whole crew down the Beckley tomorrow the pick up Amy from class and take everybody through the Exhibition Mine.

After we dropped off Dad and Penny at their hotel we saw fireworks being launched from the Appalachian Power Park. We rushed over the to catch them before they were over. What a nice display. It when on for a good 15 min. I snapped some poor pics of the kids with the fireworks behind them. It was a good time.

Later.

More Racing...

Saturday was the first points race at the Tyler Mountain track. They are doing a four race series. Isaac did pretty good. He got a second and a third in the 50cc classes and a 5th in the 65 class. The big news of the night is after some talking, I told him he could try a double jump. (OK for the non-motocross lingo people, that is jumping off of one jump and landing on the next jump.) We talked through which one would be best to try and that he had to commit all the way. He did great. He came up a bit short a few times but by the end of the night he was clearing it. Good Job Isaac...!

Here are some pics from the night and a little video at the end.

Play Ball... or Dance...

We have been trying to stay out of the house in the evenings so Momma can study. Having the kids home in the day has cut into her study time. So, we when to the baseball game. Charleston has a pro team, the Appalachian Power. They are a minor league team for the Pittsburgh Pirates. It's always fun to go to the game and "Kids Eat Free Night" made it even better. We had a blast. Burgers, cotton candy, peanuts in the shell, etc. Lexy and I sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch. We had killer seat, front row against the backstop looking down the first base line. There was a freestyle dance group there performing, so they had a kids dance off during the 4th inning. Isaac and Lexy signed up and kicked butt. Isaac even had the instructor from the dance group invite him to come join their crew. He wants to, we'll see about adding dance lessons to the mix. (shrug) It already seems like we do it all.

Anyway, here is the video from the dancing on the dugout.