Christmas

Today is the end of my extended weekend...4 days just isn't enough!  But it was a pretty relaxing break, we didn't do much of anything.  Christmas Eve was spent with Shane's family, Christmas morning was spent opening presents from Santa, and playing outside.  Saturday we ran to town to get a few things, then watched tv and sat in the hot tub. Sunday we went on a snowmobile ride (just Shane and I, so we actually went over 9mph).  My family's Christmas will be tomorrow evening (Monday) after I get done with work. Another short week this week....Yay for holidays!

The snow was perfect for snowmen, but it fell over that night!

It probably didn't help that Toga kept jumping up on it, trying to

eat the mouth made out of fruit roll-up!

Mason's new 4-wheeler from Papa Tom & Gramma Lindy

\

The boxing gloves were a hit (literally)!

Presents from Santa

Yes, he even got a baby!  He always steals dolls from the girls in daycare,

so now he has his own!

What has Mason been up to?

So, Shane's been working on his racecars and plowing snow.  I've been busy shopping for and wrapping gifts.  And what has Mason been doing, you ask?  Maybe you didn't ask, but I'm going to tell you anyway!  So if you don't want to know, now's the time to X out of here!  Of course, I'm still his favorite parent, but he  sure has taken a liking to hanging out with Shane while he's laid off.  They've been plowing snow, snowmobiling, sleeping in, and relaxing in the hot tub.  I'll try to bribe him to stay with me, but he says "Mom, don't be sad, I'll be right back!"  I actually prefer that he get out of my hair for a bit anyway....It's so much more peaceful!

He came out of the bathroom looking this way.....

At least he knows where it goes (even though he's like 15 years away from shaving).

It was 9:30am, and I figured I should go wake him up, and this was how he was sleeping!

Santa made a visit to daycare!

It's not so much fun getting there, but once you're in, it's nice and warm!

Watching Monster trucks on TV

Yesterday we all got on our snowmobiles, and rode for about 3 hours.  And do you believe we put on a whopping 10 miles (Yep, you heard right 10 MILES in 3 hours).  We rode to Papa Tom's and got Skyeler (Mason's cousin) to take his out with us on the lake.  Mason Arctic Cat 120 was max'd out at 7 mph, then Shane did some rigging with a zip-tie, and then that baby flew (a whole 9 mph).  It was still one of the funnest rides I've been on.  Watching him trying to copy Shane and Neil was hilarious.... Shane would ride standing, Mason would stand up.  Neil would put one knee up on the seat, Mason would put his knee on his seat. Then they were goofing off doing heel-clicks and supermans, so there's Mason jumping up, and kicking his feet out!  I wish I would've had my camera....But there's always next time!

More pics

So it's a work in progress, but the engine, tranny, and whatever else makes the car run are in and assembled.  Oh, and we got the wheel covers on (and everyone knows that adds like 5hp, right)!  Now to decide on colors for the A-mod (I say blue, Shane says orange....Ah-hem, didn't I just say in the previous post that we were sick of orange?).  Oh, and maybe a can of black spray paint would do wonders on that drabby window net! :)

The New Look

Well, here it is..........The debut of the 2010 graphics on the B-mod!  Thanks to Greg George Grafix for designing and applying the new wrap!  We were getting sick of orange, so thought we'd try black :)

Sad, But Humorous

So I had to run to the bank yesterday afternoon, and on my way home, I see 2 large signs at the end of this driveway.  I hate to leave Shane with all the rugrats (aka...daycare kids) longer than I have to, so I didn't turn around to read it.  But later that evening I drove down the road to check it out....And this is what it read :

Take it for what it's worth, I just found it to be an interesting conversation piece!!

Track Banquets

I just wanted to recap a few highlights of the racing banquets that we've attended.  The most recent was KRA (Willmar's banquet) at the Spicer Legion.  Sorry to all the other tracks, but this was my personal favorite for the food....dang, was it good!  Willmar tied North Central (Brainerd) in thoughtfulness of giving the drivers something above and beyond what was expected.  Brainerd gave a check to the drivers (aside from the Wissota point-fund check), which no other track did, so that was very nice of them!  And Willmar gave away rings (titanium, I think) to the champions.  They were brushed to look checkered...Pic below, and whoever picked them out...props to you!  Shane received two (one for each class), so we put one away and will give it to Mason when he grows up!  The I-94 banquet was scheduled the same night as Brainerd's, so we were not able to attend that one.  And no one really knows when/if the Golden Spike will even have a banquet...so we shall see. 

Well, that's all for now! Happy Monday!

Dan Ebert, Dan Gullikson, Shane and Tim Johnson (NCS Champs)

Ring from KRA (Willmar)

Christmas Spirit

Mason's Tree

Mommy's Tree

Nothing really new here, just decorating for Christmas, and being home-bodies! Shane has been doing some muzzle loader hunter, and me and Mason have been putting up the tree, and hanging lights outside. I put lights on the house while he was napping one day, and another day we were both outside, and I was on the roof of the garage, so I told Mason that if I fall off, he needs to go knock on Russ's door (the neighbor) and tell him to come help me. Well, Mason kept a good eye on me, and I happened to cut my finger on a shingle, and told him I was bleeding. He immediately started running to the neighbor's house, yelling "I'll go get Russ"... So I'm helpless as he's running off, so I'm shouting "Get back here, I didn't fall off the roof yet!" Thankfully he actually listened for once! It was pretty funny, but maybe you had to be there!

I have most of my Christmas shopping done, although I'm not buying much this year, and cards have been addressed, now I'm just waiting for a huge blizzard to hit! Can't wait to get out snowmobiling, and making snowmen! :)

2009 National Banquet

Wissota A-mod (2nd through 10th place)

Wissota Midwest Mods (2nd through 10th place)

Shane's family (minus the most important one...Mason)!

The 2009 Wissota National banquet wrapped up the season crowning all the national champions. And I'm not attempting to list them all (without researching), cause I know I'll mess one up. I do keep tabs on the mods and midwest mod (for obvious reasons), and Blake Jegtvig won the points in the A-mod division, and Dustin Strand was crowned champ in the midwest mods! Congrats to all the national champs this 2009 season!!!

Shane finished 4th in the A-mod, and 2nd in the mwm, and came home with some cash and prizes. The night was entertaining to say the least, and from what I remember, everyone (except those who ended up in jail) had a ton of fun! I'm sure the Kelly Inn staff is thankful that they only see the racing group once a year, as some tend to get a little rowdy (in a fun way)!!

Well, progress is being made on the mwm, as it is being completely put back together from one of the last races' crash. The A-mod is in storage (temporarily), because our garage is too small for both cars. Slowly but surely, they will both be gone through and looked over, but the plan is to keep the same cars for next year.

Wishing everyone reading this a blessed Thanksgiving! Get out your Christmas decor, it's right around the corner!

~Trick or Treat~

Sorry it's been so long since i've updated! But so far, I've been enjoying the slow pace of life at the moment!! November is already here, and is filled with racing banquets, birthday parties, and weddings. I won't be updating very often in the winter, but check in whenever you get time, to see what our family has been up to! Thank you to everyone for all your support this past race season, and enjoy your winter!!!!

The Beginning of The End

I apologize for no pictures! It was far too cold to take any pics.

Well, what was suppose to be the last weekend of racing, is now dragging on!! The Fall Classic was post-poned, so that made our decision to make the haul to Fountain City, WI for their fall festival. I have never been so cold at the races in my entire life...BRRR!! Shane finished 3rd on Friday with the borrowed yellow mwm. Dustin Strand made the haul south as well, and picked up the win, clinching his 2009 National Championship!! Shane finished 2nd in national points with the mwm, and 4th in the A-mod, with Blake Jegtvig being crowned the champ! Saturday night Shane ended up 2nd in the mwm, behind Tyler (Tyrone) Limoges who won. He also raced the A-mod on Friday, finishing 12th, and realized Saturday that the rear end was bent, so it stayed parked for Saturday nights race.

The Viking Fall Classic is scheduled to be held this coming weekend, and Ogilvie Raceway is also holding a fall event the weekend after. We shall see what the weather brings. I am not quite ready for a long boring winter, and hope it warms up for a good few weeks yet!

*FOR SALE*

Warming his hands on the exhaust....It was COLD!

Getting the car ready to ship to Fargo (J-car)

And the 'borrowed' car (this is the one for sale)!

There was one heat race to talk about this week, and that is all the racing we did! Friday was rained out. Saturday we went to Bemidji where it rained most of the night, but they still managed to get the heat races in (which Shane won), and then cancelled. The plan was to run double features on Sunday afternoon, so we shacked up at the Cass Lake Casino (hotel). Which mind you, NEVER has a useable hot tub when we go there. And just like ALL casino's, we lost our $40 in 10 minutes, and got the hell out of there. I don't know how anyone can feel good after going to casinos, it is the biggest waste of money, and very rarely will you come out ahead. So, Sunday was suppose to double features, but they had so much rain, they cancelled that morning.

Being that Shane wrecked his B-mod at Willmar, John Sharpnack, who we raced with at Brainerd, offered his car for Shane to race for the rest of the year. He was excited to race something different, but hasn't had a real good chance to try it out, being that the track was slime. So hopefully all goes well at the Fall Classic in Alexandria, if that's where we decide to go. There's a race in Wisconsin with 2 full shows, and if Shane would clean sweep both nights, he could possibly win the mwm national championship, but the odds of winning both nights, are like the odds of winning big at the casino, so I think we'll play the safe card, and head to where I know we'll have a good time!!!

But thanks again, John, for being so kind to borrow your car out, it is greatly appreciated.... And for all who have ever thought about getting into a car, this one is FOR SALE!!!! (Neil Maidl, Kyle Strand, Adam Steffes....come on, I know you want one!!)

Real boys ride pink bikes!!

Don't touch the 'do!

Well, what was suppose to be the winding down of the race season, has turned into quite a dilemma! Racing is down to 2 nights a week now, and Friday we traveled to Deer Creek Speedway. Just Shane, Mason, and I went, with directions from the GPS. We've been there enough times to know better, but I apparently had pushed the button "shortest route", instead of "fastest route", so we were driving though housing develoments, and small towns, and ended up getting there 15 minutes after the races were suppose to start. They had had a ton of rain, so thankfully were running late trying to pack the track in. We pulled into the pit, unloaded the car, and they were announcing for the 1st heat of mwm to line up. He rushed to get to staging, and ended up winning the heat, and finished 4th in the feature!

Saturday was KRA's (Willmar) Fall Festival, and we would have been much better off staying home, But one never knows the outcome until it's too late. Shane was running 2nd in the mwm, when he got spun out, and unfortunately drivers had no where to go, so Shane's car was wrecked! Thankfully racing has pretty much come to an end, so we're not forced with a hurried decision to fix it, but we will see what the week brings. Hopefully the boys at J-car are slow this week!! It's always fun at the Fall Classic, and it would be nice to have both cars there!

The A-mod got into a wreck as well, but is fixable! Grandpa will bring it tomorrow morning to the frame rack, after an incident (also at Willmar's fall festival) involving a couple cars and the infield tire. Needless to say, it was not a good night, but better to happen at the end of the race season than the middle of the grind!

Well, who knows where we will venture to this weekend (Bemidji, Lansing, Ashland, or Cedar Lake are the options). In 2 weeks is Viking's Fall Classic, and that is the final weekend of racing. Oh, what to do all winter?!? As much of a chore that racing can sometimes be, I still dread the boring winters!! Good Monday to All, and Welcome Fall!!

Wissota 100

180 cars on the track at one time...Pretty cool to see!

Sorry I forgot to post last week...It was hectic trying to pack and prepare for the 100, but we raced at Ogilvie Friday and Saturday (Sept. 11 & 12)and faired pretty well there. Friday he won both features, and Saturday took home the harvest cup trophy in the midwest mod, and was runner up in the A-mod to Danny Bayer! These results are from 2 weekends ago, but this past week at the Wissota 100, Danny took a nasty roll into the front stretch wall, and we are thankful that he turned out unharmed. I left with an uneasy feeling that night, as the announcer did a poor job of dealing with the situation. The things that were said and done, made me think that what I had just witnessed was the passing of a fellow racer. Thankfully we ran into a racer that was involved in the wreck, who saw Danny moving and talking! And Danny was even in attendance the rest of the weekend (watching, of course) :) Sunday, Sept. 13 Shane raced at Buffalo River in Glyndon and ended up 3rd in the mwm feature, and broke the A-mod in the heat.

Now, onto this past week's race event! The Annual Wissota 100 was held in Huron, SD this year, and gosh, 5 hours is just too far!! I guess I can't complain, cause I did get a 5 day vacation out of the deal!! It was a ton of fun, with the exception of the incident with the cops! No one went to jail, and I'd have to say, Huron has the nicest police department I've ever met! The weather was gorgeous every day, although a few days the sun came up a little early! All in all, it was a good week with great food, great drinks, and great friends!

It's kind of complicated to explain the format of racing, but I'll try my best. Wednesday was heat races, where Shane got 1st with the mwm, and 2nd with the A-mod. Then, was a qualifying feature where you needed to finish 12th or better to make the show. He finished 4th with the mwm, so was locked in, and finished 13th with the A-mod, so missed it by 1 position. The next day, Thursday was a heat race for the A-mod which he broke, so didn't make it in. Next up was a last chance for him to try and make it in with the A-mod. They took the top 2 competors, and Shane finished 3rd, so his week with the A-mod was over! Saturday was the main event for the Midwest Mod, and Shane ended up 8th.

Big Winners for the Wissota 100 were: Timmy Johnson in the Street Stocks, Travis Saurer in the Midwest Mods, Buzzy Adams in the Mods, Don Shaw in the Supers, AJ Diemel in the Late Models, and Justin Bjorklund in the Mod-4's!!! Congrats to All! I only watched a few classes in the Race of Champions, and the big winners were Timmy Johnson in the streets, Dan Ebert in the Midwest Mods, and Craig Thatcher in the Mods!!