Lovin' me some NASCAR!!!

Elliott Sadler's car. This is Buddy's favorite driver

Jamie McMurray's car. He is my favorite driver

Buddy and I Saturday night after the race.

The kids and I at the Friday night race

Our family Friday night after the race

One of the good things about living in New Mexico, is that we are only about 6 hours away from Phoenix International Raceway where every April and November, they have a NASCAR race. We like to go in April because the race is on a Saturday night rather than a Sunday. So this past weekend, we went!! We had a blast.

We arrived in Phoenix late Thursday night and spent that night at my good friend Kim's house. Friday afternoon, we met up with some of my most dearest friends Vickie, Suzie, Missy, Trisha, and of course Kim. It was so much fun to see everyone. We ate at In-N-Out which is my most favorite food on this planet.

We actually took the 3 older kids to the race on Friday night. That race is the Nationwide series which is kind of like the minor leagues. Tickets are significantly cheaper. We had so much fun. The kids were blown away by how much louder and faster the cars were in real life. After about 30 laps, they were done. We were joined by our brother in law Mike and 3 of his boys and Buddy's sister Melissa and her husband Chris and 3 of their kids. It was so nice for all of the cousins to be together for this.

Saturday Morning, we met up with Buddy's friends Branden and his wife Ashely and their two very sweet twin boys, and his friend Greg and his wife Amy and their two sweet kids. It was so fun to get to see them.

Then on Saturday night Buddy and I and Melissa and Chris went to the Sprint Cup race. This is where the big dogs race. It was amazing. We have gone one time before but I cannot tell you how much I just love the whole atmosphere of being there live. It is unbelievable. I know what most are thinking about your average NASCAR fan but let me just say, yes many of them may be rednecks but...I have grown up in a family that was full of die hard sports fans and I have been to many professional sporting events and NEVER have I been to an event where everyone is so accepting and kind to each other. It is like a family of about 30,000 people. Yes there is your "typical" fan who looks like everything you may have ever heard. And yes, there is quite a lot of alcohol (what sporting event to you go to where alcohol is not running rampid through most spectators bodies) but I love being there and enjoying the sport with all of those people who love it just as much, if not more than I do.

The noise is indescribable. the speed of the cars cannot be comprehended. And for all of you non fans out there, there is a whole heck of a lot more involved then these men going round and round a track in circles. It was awesome!!! My driver came in 11th so that was pretty darn cool as well.

Mission Update

Okay!!!!! He is going to Sierra Leone (the country) Freetown (the capital city) West Africa (the continent) English speaking mission. He will report to the Ghana MTC on July 31st. He will only wear a suit to arrive to the MTC and then from the time he gets there, he will wear a white shirt and tie and slacks with sandals!!! He is so excited!!! Of course...so are we!!!! I love you Ryan!!!!

I Hope They Call Me On A Mission

So tomorrow around 8:00 p.m., my phone should be busy so do not call. My nephew Ryan will be telling me where he will be serving his mission!!! I am beside myself with excitement!!! Those who know me well, know that I am very, very close with my nieces and nephews. Probably because I have been an aunt since I was 10. Being the youngest of 6, I have so many nieces and nephews. I love them all so very much!! This will be the first grandchild to serve a mission. He is the oldest boy. I am so proud of him for making the decision to go. He is going to be an amazing missionary!! He has such in incredibly strong testimony of the church. I am so excited for him but jealous of those he will be serving as they will get to be with him for 2 years, and I wont!!

I love you Ry-Ry!!! I CANNOT WAIT FOR "THE CALL"!!!!!!!

My Husband Should Have Been an Orthodontist!!!

This morning Rachel had her first of what turns out to be many, visits with the orthodontist. Let me start with I LOVE this office. The people are amazing. Everyone from the receptionist to the orthodontist himself. They have like 4 video arcade games for siblings to play if they so choose. They have a huge fish tank which I cannot wait for Garrison to see. They gave not only Rachel a capri sun but Natalie too. After Rachel was done she got like 4 full size candy bars. Probably not the best thing for a girl who just had 2 cavities filled but after all she went through today, she probably deserves them. They were just so family friendly. It was wonderful...until I got "the news." Poor Rachel has her fathers teeth only worse. She has a very significant over-bite. Her mouth is way too small to fit all of her teeth in so the crowding is out of control.

We will go in on April 2nd and get a "guard" which will fit in the top of her mouth. We will crank it every day to slowly expand her upper teeth to allow more room for her future permanent teeth. That will stay on for 3-4 months after which she will get braces on her top and bottom teeth. Those will stay on for a year. After those come off, we will wait until she is 12 or 13 at which time she will get another full set. Hearing this I became incredibly dizzy with dollar signs floating around my head instead of birds.

The funny (okay not so funny) part of it all is the secretary told me that we have incredible dental insurance. So $2300 is a good price for all of this??? Wow!!! I know it will all be worth it for her to have a beautiful smile but my wallet will be MUCH lighter for the next year as I pay this off.

In short...my husband definately picked the wrong profession.

Ahhhh the 80's

Last night I saw a picture of a girl friend and she was wearing one of these charm necklaces. The memories came flooding back!!! When I was in elementary school I LOVED these necklaces. I had a million of these charms. Some of them even worked like the toilet one where the lid came up and down!!! I got on eBay to see if I could still get one and holy moly..they are going for like $40!!!!!! So I guess I will just have to relive the memories by looking at pictures on the internet!!!

You Should See The Other Guy!!!

So I wake up around 9:00 on Saturday morning. I lay there for a second allowing myself to fully wake up. I reach over to grab my cell phone to see what time it is and holy moly, I have a text from Buddy. It came it at about 7:30. I knew he was gone because he goes early every Saturday morning to play basketball at the Stake Center. The text read.."I am going to get stitches at the hospital you went to for your burn. I am ok." Are you kidding me???? I jumped out of bed and tried to call him. No answer. Of course. I take a minute to figure out what the heck I was supposed to do. I thought of calling my neighbor to come and sit with the kids so I could rush down there but I thought he will probably be finished by the time I got there. A few minutes later, Buddy calls me.

He was playing basketball ( I knew that already) and some guy was on his way down to the court to make a basket and Buddy tried to steal the ball and the guy accidentally elbowed him right between the eyes. Turns out he had to get 5 stitches. Of course the other guy is fine. He felt awful for hurting Buddy. My poor hubby. I think he learned that next time he needs to call me and not text. At least I hope he did!!!!

The In-Laws

(My Mother and Father in law. Rosemary and Gary)

(Rachel with Alyssa and her boyfriend Andy)

(Kimbo with Buddy's Aunt Kathy)

(Garrison saying goodbye to Mitzi)

(Rachel with Bob and Lucy)

I feel the need to get sentimental and mushy. I have many friends who I often hear complain like crazy about their spouses family. Either it is their mother in law is too over-bearing or their sister in law is too judgmental or their spouses aunt and/or uncle are just nuts. Well I have to say that I have been extremely blessed with AMAZING in laws. My mother and father in law are just fantastic. They know when to step in and offer guidance and advice and yet they know when we have things under control and don't butt in. They respect our decisions as parents and support us 100%. They have made me feel loved and as much of a daughter as their own daughters. I love them unconditionally and will be eternally grateful for their love and guidance.

I cannot say enough about Buddy's two sisters. I ADORE them. I am as close to them as I am my own sisters. They are two of my dearest friends.

Buddy's dad is the oldest of 7 kids. One, sadly past away as an infant so it was just Buddy's dad and his 5 sisters. Now let me tell you..when you get these 5 sisters together...LET THE FUN BEGIN. There is nothing these ladies will not do. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest to see them bungee jumping off some bridge. When you are around them, hold on to your pants. They are a blast. Often times, all 6 of them (including Buddy's dad) will burst out into song. If you say anything that resembles a song, they start singing. The cool thing is they sing very well together. I love to hear them sing.

While living in Omaha, I got the awesome opportunity to get to know one of Buddy's aunts (Lucy) and one of Buddy's cousins (Mitzi) so much better. Mitzi lived in a suburb of Omaha and Lucy lived a few hours away in a small town in Iowa. I loved this opportunity. I grew to love and cherish these two amazing women. They got to know our children and my children grew to love an absolutely adore them. Garrison grew very close to Mitzi, Kimbo grew very close to Mitzi's husband Al, and Rachel grew very close to Mitzi's daughter Alyssa. It was so fun to see the love that each of my kids developed for them. Thank you Mitzi and Lucy (and of course Al, Bob, Nicolas, Christian, and Alyssa) for all you did for us while we were there). We miss you more than words can say.

In short, I feel incredibly blessed to have such amazing in laws. Yes they are a tad bit crazy at times, a tad bit loud sometimes, and a bit passionate about their college football but you know what??? I wouldn't trade any of them for anything. (Not to mention that they have done a darn good job at sucking me into their Alabama football obsession.) I will forever love them all. Thank you to all of the Hopkins clan for loving me.