A Day At The Races

My seat at turn one by the pit row exit

Every night I'm doing something at the house or at church and it gets to be too much some times, really. I know the end is near but sometimes I'm not sure if that end is going to be the end of this house or the end of me. I'm not really sure why but it seems like I can't sustain my drive for this work as long as I used to, I get tired quickly in comparison to last year. I think there are probably a number of reasons for that, but I get tired just thinking of all of the reasons. So instead of doing either activity that gets me tired, I took off the weekend of the 28th and did something I've never done, I went to a NASCAR race in Kansas.

Many people, millions even, attend these races all across America and have every bit of a 'cult' following as any NFL, NBS, MLB or MLS weekend may have. (Sorry for you non-sports junkies, those abbreviations were for the major sports in America.) I don't know a lot about NASCAR and it's never really captured my attention, but I'm open to learning any sport - especially if the tickets are free - which they were. There are other sports that interest me like rugby or polo or even horse racing - the betting is the difficult part, but NASCAR has always been on the outside fringe of that. Anyway, it was a great way to get out of the usual scenery, take in the beautiful fall/summer afternoon and hang with a few guys.
The flyover of helicopters/Across from the pit exit
Last lap before start/AND THEY'RE OFF!!

The last few cars on the start


It was a fantastic time. The two things that 'they' tell you that no other sports that NASCAR has, the cars go by SO freaking fast and it is SO LOUD I can't tell you. As the cars pass by you can actually feel it in your chest (we were 12 rows off the track so I'm sure that helped) and you can feel the heat of the cars and track as the race wears on. Amazingly the 160+ laps went by surprisingly quickly, much faster than any race I had channel surfed on TV. Another thing the TV doesn't catch are the workings of the racetrack, like the trucks that have jet engines - literally jet engines! - attached to their rear ends to help clear the track. Man you talk abou losing your hearing - that'll do it. Another TV miss is the array of people at the races. Talk about the 'everyman's' sport, if you include all the tailgaters that don't even come in to see the race - I think just about every demographic is represented. As the guy I was sitting in the stands with, the greatest thing is that every week, EVERY team is at the race. Whereas in the NFL or MLB it's this team vs that team - only. It took a second to sink in, but that's kind of neat. Could you imagine seeing all the NHL teams playing in one location EVERY week?

My only real hang up was the one thing TV does well was help the uneducated fan know what the heck is going on and what car is where in the lineup. As I said, these cars are going 180 mph and you only see the numbers on the doors as they pass by - did I mention at 180 MPH? They also all have color schemes that to the knowledgeable fan are identifiable (somewhat like when I walk into a bar and glance at the TV, I know it's the Bears vs the Bucs in 2 seconds b/c I know the helmets, colors, etc.). Again, seeing these cars at wierd angles and having them move so fast, it's hard to stay on top of things. Thankfully there are restarts due to crashes, equipment failures and such so the pack gets straightened out.

Back to the good things, we had earphones that allowed us to hear what the racing teams are saying in the cock pits. Interesting concept I think. Could you imagine what would happen if all fans could hear in the headsets at an NFL game? Each team knows what the other is doing and it all comes down to one executing better than the other. Finally, I got to sit next to a guy that knew what was going on and just a great guy to talk to. I don't get to talk with him often, say once every 3-4 months b/c he's from Pella and a friend-of-a-friend kind of thing, but a great person to know and have contact with. God does amazing things in our lives and he puts people in our lives for a reason. I had no idea who I was really going to hang with going into this NASCAR experience, but it was a great experience that I'm glad I took the time to be a part of. Thank you to Russ and Keith for the ticket, thank you Daryl for the knowledgeable track side banter, it was a great escape for a few hours.

Crazy Bath Day

The weekend of Set 20th was a day of beautiful weather AND progress. Good friend Steve N. stopped in again to help, little did he know we had a messy todo list in store!

Our main task for the day was to prep the master bath shower walls for tile as much as possible. We hung the blue board like pros and finished in no time (3 hours). Although I'm a big fan of the rotozip tool - I'm not a big fan of how much of a mess it makes! Function over form I always say (something that Leslie many times would frown upon) as it gets me to my end goal much faster.
Steve posing for the pic/WHILE I actually work

Hanging this new Durock is SO much easier


We also got the opportunity to finally put Ellie back into her room after the floors finally dried after being re-surfaced. The walls still need touching up and base boards installed - but she was excited to have her own 'brand new, just for Ellie' bed. This new arrangement really opens up the room and makes it feel once again big, especially for a house of this age. It allows her to really make a mess - and she's happy to oblige;-)
Temporary layout of bed/Until the wall is fixed and painted


The other bathroom has seen some progress as well. Although it seems the guys are having to hop scotch their way around the room due to availability of materials, they make a little progress each week and i think you can kind of get a sense of where the room is headed. It'll be a beautiful space when completed and Ellie will have many years of 'beautiful' moments in there I'm sure!
The tile floor/Tub surround

Overall room without glass door/The shower floor


This week just a little progress without much 'lifestyle' notes as I'll add more to come. We also got the glass block in for the master bedroom window so the brick layer can start on that ASAP and then the tile guy is at full go.. oh that reminds me, I should confirm that he actually has me on his schedule...crap.. gotta run.

Ellie Update 9-08

What a Great Summer!

Hello all,
In previous entries I have talked about being inspired and doing things a bit differently, both in life and on this blog. One of those minor changes that I'm hoping to make is a new 'section' of the blog called 'Ellie Update'. What seems to be a straightforward name and hopefully meaningful addition, I hope to do a couple of things. First, folks have mentioned in the past, but I think I was reminded again recently by a good friend that the house is great to hear about but don't forget about me and Ellie, that those images are what 'bring it home' as it were. So I'm happy to oblige, and I'll be doing just that. Secondly, I hope to write stories about our everyday life, not that many will be life-altering, rather just everyday moments that stick out from week to week for whatever reason. I think as life continues on retaining the connection to Ellie and me is harder as everyone continues in their own direction. Finally, I see a lot of other people in Ellie and through Ellie and it always strikes me when it happens.

Beginning then the inaugurel edition of this section, I'll grab the low hanging fruit by showing a few images of our summer. Some were taken by me, some not. I'll try to keep it brief so you can just enjoy this little girl as she grows up right before our eyes.
Cooling off at the fountain/And very wet but happy

BIG slide ride!/In the main concourse

Finished - a bit uneasy/NOT happy this ride is over


A bit earlier in the summer we went to Adventureland Park - a local amusement park that was a work-sponsored day. We had a fantastic time and it really felt great to create awesome memories.
Started out rough/Soon the Tea Cups made it all better

Great fun spinning/the more spinning in the air

and waiting in line/to spin more in the air...

and then on ground - more spinning/then some water to cool down

LOVED the spinning/The water though...

Lots of fun since Sam took the worst/group shot

Then we drove the boats

Then headed for more water AND spinning/Everyone has fun

UNTIL SHE gets wet/So we got slushies

And fed the fish

THEN to the bumper cars!/Boys vs Girls

Finish up on the train ride/and a little smooch

It was a long day/ EVERYONE was t-i-r-e-d ;-)


Like I said in the beginning, what a great summer we've had. Although the progress on the house may have suffered a tad, the memories that were created are more important hands down.