Checkers or Wreckers

It must mean I need to update this more if I forgot my username and password when signing in today! ;)

Racing is officially underway. The first race of the year was 2 weekends ago down in Lansing and Spring Valley, Minnesota. On the way to the races, Friday (the very first race of the season), I was driving Grandma Julie's new impala and rearended some teenagers right in a traffic jam in the cities. The dents are minimal, but costly, nonetheless! Shane was giving me a hard time (like I'm a bad driver or something), and he accidentally rearended a friend while they were riding 4-wheeler in the pits. The front bumper fell off of Mason's 4-wheeler. So I felt the need to rub it in that he wasn't watching where he was going. Shane said "the way this day is going, I better load my car back up".......Well, the picture above was the outcome of that night - pulled off the track with the tow truck....Had a minor mishap with the wall! Saturday was racing at Deer Creek Speedway with a 5th place finish. Both tracks only have Wissota midwest modifieds, and not the "big" Wissota Mods.

This past weekend we traveled to the same tracks, and Shane picked up the win on Friday at Chateau (Lansing). Saturday was Deer Creek again, and Shane raced Christina Wollak's street stock and finished 3rd in the feature. He won his heat with B-mod and the features were post-poned due to rain. So, as of now, the plan is to attend Princeton's season opener this Friday, Saturday back to Deer Creek for double features, and Sunday Golden Spike Opener! I'm hoping it warms up soon.... these chilly nights are annoying!

2009 Rides

Shane's cars are pretty much ready to go racing.....Apparently mother nature is not! Racing was suppose to start this weekend (tonight actually), but obviously can't with snow on the ground. We will see what next week brings!!!!

~Aloha~

Humpback Whales migrate to Hawaii every winter

Shane's favorite part of vacation....Scuba diving

Going out to Dinner

Mason loved swimming (and the airport)

Enjoying the Beach

There is way too much to say about our fabulous trip to Hawaii, but for the most part, it was awesome. We stayed on Oahu for 2 days and did Waikiki Beach, Pearl Harbor, and a drive to the North Shore (not to scenic in the dark)! Then we flew to Maui for 5 days and went on a train ride, whale watch cruise and submarine ride. We also went to a luau, took a road to Hana (lots of waterfalls and scenery), and did some scuba diving and snorkeling (I panicked, so did not get to go). The weather was gorgeous, with the exception of rain one day. And the wind was wild the last 2 days of vacation. I will not go into detail about the flight nightmare, but we all did make it home safely. Hopefully we will go back again!! But for now, back to reality and the stack of bills on the counter!

Florida Racing

The guy that won about every race...Jared Landers

The ARCA race prior to the Bud Shootout

Kenny Schrader & Kenny Wallace at the Dirt Track

The Whole Gang with Schraeder in his hauler

Sorry I haven't updated this in quite some time. I guess nothing was exciting enough to mention. However, a week ago, we had the opportunity to head south to warmer weather, and watch some racing. We watched dirt racing at Volusia, and spent the whole day Saturday at Daytona Speedway cheering on Steve Arpin in the ARCA race, and watched the Bud Shootout. I was rootin' for Jamie McMurray, and thought he had it won, but Harvick came outta nowhere. Kenny Wallace & Schraeder were racing modifieds at Volusia, and invited us into their trailer to have a few beers. They were very funny and down to earth. Now, everytime we see Kenny Wallace on the Speed Channel.... We say, "hey, we know him"!

Well, that's all for now............Probably gonna be a while again before anything else exciting happens!

Tom's New Ride

THE BEFORE

THE AFTER

Shane & DJ have spent the last few days building a body for his dad's new mod-4. He was in the short tracker division at Golden Spike and Willmar, and now moved up to the mini mod class. They will be racing this class at Willmar and also the Spike this year. Tom doesn't want to run for any track points, but just go out there and have a good time. I'm sure this will be quite the learning experience for him this year. The car looked pretty worn out....But when they were finally finished, they made it look really cool. They ended up custom making every piece, and redesigning all of it (that is why it took days to finish)!

A Little Bit of Everything!

Mason's Birthday Cake

Even the dog joined the festivities!

He insisted he carry it by himself to the table

Loves Coyote hunting, but was a little scared of the coyote!

The A-mod's new tin!

I'm a little behind, but last Sunday (Jan. 11) was Mason's 2nd birthday! He had a cold, so was a bit whiney, but had fun blowing out the candles, hitting the pinata (pinyata?), and opening all his presents! I am not looking forward to the terrible 2's, but I doubt it can get any worse~he was born part devil!

On Saturday, we had the Princeton Speedway banquet, and went out afterward with some friends~ I will leave it at that - we had a good time! Sunday we went coyote hunting with my Dad (it was me & Mason's first time). The coyote took a liking to Jenny's house, but not a pet I would want wandering around~he looked mean!

Shane has been busy making a body for his dad's mod-4 racecar. And has finished his A-mod body~ I really like the blue and black. I was beginning to get a little bored with orange! I have been busy planning our Hawaiian vacation, that we will be taking in March! I did some clearance shopping yesterday for shorts and tanks, and will probably pack my suitcase tomorrow (jk)! Not that anyone cares, but the plans to race in Florida have been cancelled! Only 3 more months til racing, and chaos begin!

Our Weekend Idols

Dan Ebert giving a shout-out to his "stock car buddies"

Dan won the Semi-Pro Open class & took 2nd in the Stock Class

Tucker Hibbert won both Pro Classes (stock & open)

The Clan trying to stay warm!


Our SnoCross Hero ~ Dan Ebert.....



And Our Football Hero ~ Jared Allen (from the Vikes)

This weekend was the most fun I've had in a while! It was a wonderful change of pace, yet still on the lines of racing....so everyone was happy! Denis, Shane and I headed down to Canterbury Park in Shakopee, MN for the ISOC Nationals. Friday was practice and the Sledneck Invasion Tour. We got a hotel room, and attended Saturdays races as well! Russ & Joni Ebert invited us to pits, and wow are those rigs amazing! There is so much behind the scenes that race teams do, that you wouldn't even imagine. Dan won both his qualifying heats, and took 2nd in the Semi-Pro Stock main event, and won the Semi-Pro Open main event! Tucker Hibbert won both his qualifying heats in the Pro Classes and won both Pro Main Events ~ GO CATS!

We were having a ton of fun....reminiscing about when Shane used to race sleds, meeting new and old drivers, and watching the tricksters flip their snowmobile! Then, to top it off....we meet Jared Allen, a defensive end from the Minnesota Vikings!!! We're going down the escalator, and he is going up. Shane is staring, and Denis is kicking Shane in the leg..."that's Jared Allen"! So what do we do? We take the escalator back up and follow him! With our hearts pounding, we ask him if he would mind taking a picture with us, and he gladly said Yes! He was very friendly, and also, very tall! When we were bragging about getting our picture with him, not many people really thought of him as a celebrity, but he is one of Shane and Denis's favorite player, and I love his mullet!