Vacation Time!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I guess that about does it before we leave for vacation. I sat down and tried to think of something to write about tonight, but came up short. Was I sappy enough for you last post? Hell yeah I'm a nice guy, didn't you know. But truthfully, what's not to love about my wife?

There may be something really cool about our cement porch and sidewalk leading to the pool. The kids walked on it before it was totally dry, so there are something like shadows of their footprints in the sidewalk. They didn't indent it any, but they are there, just a discoloration. I don't know if they will remain there, and if they do, for how long. But, it is really neat! Very easy to see, and unique, I love it. It's their pool anyway. We wanted handprints, but footprints are awesome, I hope they stay.

We are out of here tommorrow as soon as I can wrap up work. So probably about 3 or so. We are headed to Port Aransas for the 12th year in a row. I believe I missed one year because of work, but Angie has not. Maybe this is the year that I catch an abundance of fish. I will have my cell if anyone needs me for anything. I will not carry it at all times, but I will check my messages often.

So, take care, and have a good week. I'm sure that I will be able to post some cool pictures when we get home.

See ya then,

Jim

Over / Under

OK guys, Sunday after next is our 12th anniversary. Yep, July 10th will be 12 years of wedded bliss. We have come a long way. I can't imagine what life would be like now without all the struggles and hardships. More so, I can't imagine me without Angie, Natalie, Matthew, and Brayden. I don't know how it could get much better than what I wake up to, then leave, then come home to again, everyday. I absolutely hate the days, even though few, that I don't get to come home at all, because of work. I know that most of you thought that this would never last a year, but I am here to tell you that we will be together forever. I'm sure that there were a few bets at the reception that we would not even make it past our short trip to San Antonio for our honeymoon. WRONG!!! We do argue, tell me that you don't. We do disagree about money issues, again, tell me that you don't. We both have strong feelings about how our kids should be raised, and, surprise, they are the same. We love each other unconditionally. We both disagree with some of the things that the other does, but who doesn't. It's what makes us who we are, very different people, who love each other inspite of, and sometimes because of, our faults.

I absolutely love the way that Angie sometimes says a word three times. Like, Matthew was runnin, runnin, runnin. She calls my underwear panties, what the F is up with that? She still has an accent, even though she doesn't believe it. I like how she calls an armpit an underpit, and a washrag a facecloth. She wears herself out to stay in shape, with going to the gym, or tae-kwon-do, or whatever, even though she never sees the improvement that she makes to herself. There is absolutely no "quit" in her, anywhere. She bitches about her car being dirty, even thought we live 6 miles down a caliche road. She is completely devoted to her family, whether it is us 5 or her family or my family. You don't know how many times she has bought gifts, cards, and other things for everyone in my family that I completely forgot about. You probably would not like me very much if it was left up to me. She reminds me to make calls on birthdays and anniversaries. Not ours though, even though I could use the help sometimes. She buys me Survivor on DVD, god I love that. Our house is never dirty, but you can't convince her of that. She likes to mow with a push mower even though we have a riding lawnmower. She is in bed every night at 10 to watch Friends, even though she can recite any of the episodes from memory. I accidentally bought her a Friends trivia game for some reason, please don't play with her, it is no fun AT ALL. She will dominate you!! Not only will she answer her questions, she will answer yours before you have a chance, or just start laughing at you. Right Billy and Tina? She actually "works" from home. Who else does this? She acts like she is actually in the office and her boss is watching, unreal. She drives toooooooooooooo slow down our road, and gripes at me when I don't. She can't spell worth a damn, but doesn't know it. These are just a few of the reasons that every year she is my anniversary gift to me. What more could I ask for? Someone to love, someone to fight with, someone to talk to, someone to support or be supported by, someone to truly live my life with. That is all anyone needs to be happy, and I have it. Lucky me.

See ya then,

Jim

P.S. no I am not in trouble, just my true feelings.

It wasn't really a dream!

Here is the link to the results page for Texoma Motor Speedway. http://www.speednetdirect.com/syndicate/synd_resultselect.php?uid=texoma&sel_track=6087&nav_step=results
You have to look down the right hand column, to Amateur Quad - Open A, for my results, and to Peewee Quad for Matthews results. Pretty cool huh?

Nothing much happened today. Just work. I am a little sore though, but that is to be expected.

Tommorrow, I am taking Natalie to the Psychotherapist in Fort Worth. We are very happy with the results that this has brought us. This will be the last visit for a while, because she is doing so well. Of course, she is relaxed because there is no school right now, but this helped before school was out. So, we will continue this course of treatment as long as it works. Hopefully this is all we will ever need. She deserves for this to work. No one should have to endure the crap she has been through with this disorder, but I know people do endure this in much greater amounts, every day, than Natalie does. I wish it never happened to her, but if she has to go through this, I am thankful that it is on such a small scale compared to others. It does seem that the really bad things always happen to those who are least deserving. I know Natalie has done nothing to deserve it, and that sucks. But, we have it under controll for now, and that is what's important.

Matthew can't get enuogh of the pool, even though it is not finished. Natalie likes it, but I don't think she likes her brother being in there at the same time. Go figure! Funny that they will finish it in time for us to go on vacation. It will probably be full of green slime when we get home. Oh well, if it is, then we will drain it and start over, water is free here, just costs electricity. No biggie.

Hope everyone is doing well. See ya next time.

Jim

Ok what's up?

I have thought about my race this weekend nonstop. I can't remember much of the actual races though. I just wanted a drink of water. I hope that some amateurs show up next time. I am no longer scared to go out and compete. The track is closed the next two weekends, and that is good, because we are on vacation from July 1st till July 10th. Here is the conflict. Abilene only races quads once a month, but it is on July 16th, and Wichita has double points that night. If I win in the amateur race, or no one else shows up, it would put me in 6th in the points. If I show up regularly, I could finish 3rd for the year. No chance of catching first or second in my opinion, but third is possible. In Abilene, Matthew doesn't get to race, but I will get paid if I finish 6th or higher. And, after watching last time I was in Abilene, I would have finished third. Of course, that is just me thinking. There were a lot of wrecks in Abilene, there may not be next time. Also, in Abilene, I get to watch my father in law race, something that I enjoy, and Angie likes to visit with her folks too. Matthew has never watched his grandpa race either. I think he would enjoy it. But, the feature in Abilene is 10 laps compared to Wichita's 5 lap feature. I don't know what to do. There are only 2 races left for me in Abilene, unfortunately the next on is on Double Points Night. The track in Abilene is easier also, the jumps are not as big, and there is only one right hand turn. In Wichita the turns are all to the right except one. This is a big thing on a quad, because your thumb throttle is on the right, and it pins it to you. This makes it much harder to negotiate the turns. You are not able to controll the throttle nearly as well as in a left hand turn. Big to me, but you guys probably don't understand it. It just makes it a lot harder, and the corners were where I was truely horrible in the race Saturday. It will get better with practice.

Also, the other riders said that they usually lap the amateurs when they get lumped in with them. They Did Not lap me, so I should fare well with the Amateurs. It would also be fun to have someone to race beside or in front of, instead of being behind all the time. I feel like I could have done better, but once you are out of the race, you , at least I, don't try as hard. Who knows, Angie probably won't let me go back and race every Saturday until October, and who could blame her.

Oh, the one thing that I do remember is that I carried a wheelie almost the whole front straight away once. I came out of the last corner, and bam, my bike just hooked up, and off I went. No steering, just holding the gas all the way down. It was the last lap of the first heat race. It felt awesome. I got too close to the outside wall most of the other times, because I couldn't turn. Remember I sucked in the corners, but once I did fine, and I won't forget that feeling. Most people probably didn't notice, but it was there, not a big wheelie, but a speed wheelie. One where you do it on pure power, not for show, just because the bike is hooked up, and you are fast for once. Only problem is that you can't steer, and if you are pointed in the wrong direction, you have to let off, correct and go again.

One other thing, at the start of the feature, I was as fast as anyone, but I kinda forgot about the turn at the end of the straight. I had to brake hard to get under controll before I made the turn, and it was a speed turn, so I lost some time there. I was frustrated at the time, but on the ride home, it was funny. I laughed about it with Angie, because she said she noticed it too. Oh well, I was only a couple of bike lengths behind going into the first hard turn. It did feel good.

Sorry this post was so selfish, but I have never done anything like this before, and last night I was tired, so I didn't go too much in to the details. Next time I race it will probably be the same thing. Like I said, Matthew did great, but is on the wrong bike. Thanks again to everyone for coming out to see us. It was truely a blast. Conquering your fears really does feel awesome!!

See ya then,

Jim

Wow!

Ok, Saturday night was fun. Matthew won both of his races going away. He only had one other kid to race against, and it was no contest, he was on a 40. He got a 1st place trophy and a feature winner sticker for his efforts. Matthew is on the wrong 4 wheeler, he has a 50 and he needs a 90 very badly. Maybe if there was another 50 there it would have helped, but we couldn't be prouder of him. He gave it his all, and if the competition sucked, it is no fault of his. The race with the 90's was awesome, they were completely clearing a 20ft long tabletop jump that Matthew never left the ground on. Those little bikes were awesome.

I raced also, but no other amateurs showed up, so the put me in the open pro division. This was fun and sucked at the same time. I raced hard, but didn't fare well against these guys, but I didn't get lapped. The first race was kind of up and down, I didn't know the track very well and I only had one lap of practice. In the second race, I did much better, until I locked my brakes on the second lap and killed my 4-wheeler. I did get much more used to the track, it will just take a while to get it down. Maybe next time there will be some amateurs there to test my skills against. I will not quit, nor will Matthew.

I would like to thank Billy, Carolyn, Granny and Dad for coming to watch. It was hot and dusty, but I never heard a complaint. It was great to have all of you there for us. Hope everyone had fun. Angie said she yelled for Matthew, but not for me because she didn't want to embarrass me. I was a little behind. She was very supportive, all that matters to her is that I tried. I didn't tell her, but I almost didn't go out for the feature. I don't like not being 20 anymore, and I hate to get my butt kicked. It was a good thing that I did though, they still ranked and scored me in the amateur division, so I won my feature just by finishing the race. So I got a trophy and a sticker too. COOL!!

In other news, Bill and I did bet the Gatti vs. Mayweather fight. He took Mayweather away from me, so I had Gatti. Don't know who won yet, but I am on the computer and I will check. Hold on. Ok, I'm, back, did you miss me? Looks like Gatti quit after 6 rounds, so I lost again. Remember I wanted Mayweather, but I took Gatti so we would have a bet. Oh well, its all even now 2-2. I believe the next good one is in the middle of July.

Well, it's noon, and it's 96 degrees, so I think I will go get in the pool. Have a great day.

Jim