Why?

Didn't I wear these in junior high?  I know fashion trends cycle, but this is one that should have stayed in the '80s.

The rules of the Y (according to Flynn)

1. No wearing jammies at the Y.
2. No coats or shoes at open family gym.
3. No going naked to the Y.

Dealing with today

Today would have been Grandma Maria's 85th birthday.  I miss her ever so much.  The grief continues to sneak up on me.  I spent quite a bit of time in the morning in tears, either fully flowing or stifled.  I managed to compose myself by the time I took the boys to church.

During the Peace portion of the mass, the woman sitting next to me went over to members of the choir.  Lots of hugging and sad faces.  When she returned to the pew, I noticed she was crying.  I put my arm around her and asked if she was OK.  Her response: no.  A friend of hers, a long-standing member of the choir, woke up Friday morning with a headache, had brain surgery by 3 pm that day, and passed away this very morning.  She also told me that her own mother has passed away recently.  There's not much to say, so I just rubbed her back.  After mass, she thanked me for being so kind and hoped she didn't scare Drake.  "Sometimes, kids are scared when they see adults crying."  I wanted to tell her that Drake had been watching me cry all morning, but it seemed wrong to make it about me.

Both boys accompanied me to the cemetery with flowers in hand.  Flynn was more interested in climbing rocks, but Drake was curious about the whole situation.  He remembers Maria, and wanted to visit where she was "in the ground."  I have spent much of the day answering Drake's questions about life, death, God and heaven.  I hope I explained things in a satisfactory manner.  It was almost easier when he didn't fully understand and didn't ask so many complex questions.  "If heaven's higher than the clouds, then wouldn't it be in outer space?"  Um... good point.

We all are dealing with some sort of loss.  Some losses are long in the past.  Some are fresh.  But, we are all dealing with one.  Maybe we should all be a little nicer to each other, knowing that everyone carries some sort of pain.

Robots (as interpreted by Drake)

The FIRST Robotics Seattle Regional was held this past weekend.  I took the boys up there, partially to see the cool robots and to see Tim.  He works as a scorekeeper at the event every year.  Apparently, the event caught Drake's interest, because for the next few days, he only wanted to draw robots.

The caption at the top didn't scan properly.
"Robots are fun"

The first two robots shoots basketballs (just like the robots at FIRST).

I have no idea where the basketballs are.

Not sure what this one does, but it has 10 wheels.

And then, there's this one...

He told me this one cuts the hands off bad guys.

O...K...

Viva!

I am starting this blog entry from 35,000 feet, on a WiFi enabled flight.  So far, this is both cool and incredibly frustrating.  Yippee- I get to log in.  Boo- Dial-up is faster.  I'm sure I'll get over it.  The banner at the top of the web page let's me know that we will be arriving in one hour and 15 minutes and that there is light snow in Seattle. 

This marks the end of a fabulous extended weekend in Las Vegas.  I am bleary-eyed and exhausted, as is Tim.  (And, as it should be leaving that city.  If you aren't, as Tim says, you aren't doing Vegas right.)  We were finally able to uphold our promise to ourselves that we made five years ago when we surrendered our season tickets at Phoenix International Raceway.  This was easy to do since we had already moved to Tacoma.  We released the tickets so we could take that money and go see other tracks. 

**Ack-- turbulence!**

What was I writing?  Oh, yeah, new tracks.  We picked Vegas for the spring race, knowing the weather should be really nice.  It did not disappoint. 

The sign in the background
"Welcome Race Fans"

We landed on Friday night around 6.  The line for the taxi stand was akin to Disneyland rides in summertime: really freaking long and winding. The taxi driver took us through the tunnel to get to the Luxor.  I had never been that way.  For the record, it cost twice as much as the taxi ride to the airport.  It really is the long way around.  After checking in and freshening up, we had dinner at the Tender Steakhouse in the hotel.  The only requirement I had for the trip (besides the race) was a juicy steak.  It was wonderful.  I haven't spent that much on a steak dinner since Prom, I think.  Totally worth it.  Sure, I could have found a steak for $14.99 somewhere off the strip, but I'm pretty sure that it wouldn't have tasted as good.  Plus, with the cab fare to get there, it would be a wash financially.  After dinner we hit the craps table.  I had the best run of the dice that I have had in years.  I had another player tipping me because he was winning so much money off of my throws.  I nearly doubled my money, which meant I paid for our yummy steak dinner.

The happy couple- knowing a steak is on the way.

Saturday morning was an early one.  Vegas that early in the day is a little strange.  There are a few people still at the tables, and I feel sorry for the dealer who are stuck working that shift.  Not a lot of high rollers at that time of the day.  We went through a tour group for the trip.  The company took care of the tickets, hotel reservations, and transportation.  This was definitely the way to go.  No hassle on our part.  Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a fantastic facility.  Everything is laid out well without too much extra walking to find amenities.  I've seen alcohol at the races before (mostly beer and the occasional bloody mary cart), but nothing like this.  You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a beverage that was spiked: lemonade, coffee, mojitios, bloody marys, bourbon, Jack, margaritas, the works!  I also don't recall seeing that many toddlers at the races.  Sure, I've seen younger kids, but not babies.  I don't think they were getting as much out of the experience as their parents.

[Writing from the ground now... the next day... after some much needed rest... It has taken me almost a week to recover, and this was the most sober trip to Vegas I have ever taken.]

[OK, it's been a few weeks now.  If I don't write immediately, life gets in the way.  How about I just post some lovely pictures now...]

Outside the race track

I took this one for the sole reason of annoying Mike.  :)

Those are our seats.  Way, way up there.
As seen from the neon garage.

Here's what is super cool about Vegas: the Neon Garage.
We are looking down on Jeff Gordon's pit while they are working.

Such a beautiful day!

Saturday night.  Trying to get some sleep.  And then this happened...

And it wouldn't stop.  One hour later...  bloody hell!

Sunday morning.  Even earlier than Saturday (and we lost an hour due to frickin' Daylight Savings Time).  Can you say, "Zombie?"  Also super cool about the Neon Garage: we were able to attend the drivers' meeting.

This is the closest Tim has ever been to Jeff Gordon.

Kasey Kahne (in the ball cap); Jamie McMurray (in red)

I'm very Pavlovian; I must have peanuts at a sporting event.
It took me a day and a half to find these.

Even with all those people, it still wasn't sold out.
I've never had so much room to sit at a track.

The race was awesome!  The Thunderbirds did the fly over.  The wind kept us cool and we stayed bundled in our hoodies (which kept us from getting sunburned). Tony Stewart won the race.  

That night, we went to see the Blue Man Group, and scored seats in the "Splash Zone".

The trip was fantastic; I would definitely do it again.  We may try another track next time.  Who knows?  I'm thinking Sonoma.

Torture devices

Tim and I were in Vegas last week.  I bought a new pair of heels to wear during the evening casino outings.  They were four inches high, and the tallest heels I have worn to date.  My shoes were short compared to the majority of the other women's.  I stepped out of my shoes more times than I'd like to admit (and damn nearly broke my neck).  How and why do women wear these torture devices?  The balls of my feet still hurt five days later.  Maybe it's my ungraceful manner that turns me away from stilettos, but those things are getting ridiculous.  Four hundred plus dollars to be uncomfortable?  I don't care how good they make my calves and ass look.  Is beauty (vanity) worth the pain?

I saw these beauties in Kenneth Cole.
Thankfully, no sales people were around to hear me laughing and to see me taking the picture.

Comparisons

I know we parents aren't supposed to compare our children to others, but that is part of human nature. I am constantly fascinated at how different Drake is compared to his peers.  He wanted the big birthday party, not for present grubbing, but to have fun with his friends.  He likes what he likes, and no one is going to convince him otherwise.

I volunteered in his classroom last week.  The walls were decorated with crosses for Lent, and each student wrote on the cross what was given up for the season.  The top two items were "candy" and "playing the DS".  And then, there was Drake's cross.  What did he give up? Being so loud.  Okey dokey.

The "save" portion of Drake's piggy bank is getting rather full.   We deposited the "invest" portion to his bank account at the beginning of the year, and the "donate" portion is low because he gave most of it to the new children's museum.  I asked him what he was planning to do with his Save money.  I assumed a new Lego set or a new game for the Wii.  His response: Popsicles for summertime (because we didn't have any).   I hope he can maintain his non-materialistic ways beyond the age of 5.  How refreshing would that be?