Adelanto Gran Prix-An Annual Tradition

Every year come February we go to the Adelanto Gran Prix. It's a desert motorcycle race with around 2,000 racers that runs on Saturday and Sunday. The first time I went I was 6 years old and my dad was racing. It was the 2nd year of the race. There was snow coming down and it was freezing. But we watched my father race and a yearly tradition was born. I've only missed 2 years of the race out of the last 28 years, one when I was away at college and one when I was a bratty teenager. As a child we could stand on the side of the famous mud hole jump, which is a jump on one side and a mud pit on the other. My brother and I would go home from the races covered in mud. We loved every minute of it. Throughout the years we had friends who would race. My father has raced a number of years as well as my brother when he was younger. Josh and I had just started dating the first year he went and my dad raced that year and came in 2nd if my memory serves me correctly. This year my cousin Joelle came down to enjoy the races with us and brought her fiance Dave along for us to meet. Here's the whole crew (minus me taking the picture) Grandpa and Grandma in the front finishing lunch, Josh up on top doing bunny ears on Dave, Paul to the left of Josh, David sitting on the bleachers between Grandpa and Grandma, Joelle at the top holding Lauren and Seth is next to here hiding in this pic.

We had great seats right in front of the mud hole jump this year. Much better than last year. This is Destry Abbott the winner of the Pro Race clearing the mud hole jump effortlessly.

This is another shot at the jump.

This is Lauren looking adorable in her motorcycle jersey sitting with Joelle and Seth giving a great profile for the picture.

This is Dave and Joelle together holding a sleeping Lauren. We all got a little dusty, dirty and sunburned but had a blast together as a family at the Adelanto Gran Prix.

Birthday Boy!

I cannot believe Paul is already 5 years old. Where does the time go? I can still remember going to my OB appointment and the nurse asking me if I realized that they didn't deliver babies at the Dr.'s office. They sent me right over to the hospital and a couple hours later Paul was born. He was my largest baby, 9lbs. 1 oz. , and is now my smallest child. But that certainly doesn't mean he doesn't pack a punch. He is also my most entertaining child. On his actual birthday I would ask him how old he was and he would reply that he was still four. When I asked him why he said he wouldn't turn 5 until he blew his candles out. And he couldn't do that until that night when we got home and had his birthday cake. So he did blow out the candles and is now officially 5 years old.

This is a small birthday party we had for him.

Paul with his presents and current favorite pose. :)

Here he is blowing his candles out. Happy Birthday baby!

Snow fun

Okay so this is going to be totally out of order and I'm behind but what else is new. So this picture is not us visiting Utah, it's our house. Not only did it snow all day long, we got almost 2 feet of snow, and it was cold enough that we had tons of snow for 3 days and it didn't all melt for like a week. I can't even remember the last time we had snow like that. It was perfect timing too because it happened the 2 days before we got out for Christmas break. And we just stayed home which is unheard of for us but was wonderful, an early Christmas present.
This is the boys and their snowman. Don't laugh at his arms! Some snowmen have arms like that, okay?!

Here's our winter wonderland. We actually made a track right in our front yard and pulled the boys around it on a sled. Stupid, yes but a good workout and the boys loved it.

David doing a snow angel. I was surprised at the boys, they played outside in the snow for hours each day for 3 days.

Paul loved digging in the snow and had to keep digging himself out as his legs kept disappearing.

Good bye snow. We had fun. Come again next year!