The NEED for SPEED!

The Troublesome Trio

Ty-Ty and Sonic are ready for action

Sonic passes Jammer (left) The race is over! (right)

This weekend our beloved Daddy and Husband came home. He had been in Atlanta for the past two weeks. We missed his fun, spirited self around here. So when my energetic husband suggested we go Go-Kart racing in St. Pete on Saturday, I should not have been surprised. He was ready to play...hard!

We piled in the van and made a few pit stops along the way before reaching our destination. We turned in the parking lot with hearts pounding. It was closed. The lot was empty. No go-karts were in sight. "We've moved to another location." We piled in the van again and drove another 5 miles. Soon we were greeted by black and white checkered flags.

As we entered I couldn't help but feel some of the excitement wear off on me too. The boys bounced up and down, gazing at the speed wagons just outside the back door. Jeremy tried to underplay his enthusiasm but failed. As he handed over his bank card, his joker smile appeared. Who says you can't buy a little piece of Heaven?

I was nervous at first. I prefer safe driving. Yet once I hit the track I too turned into a crazy, aggressive speed demon. My husband (a.k.a. Jammer) was proud. Travis (nicknamed Sonic) kept up with his daddy the best he could, passing him once with the inherited joker smile. It seems Tyler (or Ty-Ty) takes after his mother...a cautious driver. The majority of his first race, he hugged and kissed the barriers (a few times because of mom...ops!). I felt so terrible he was having such a hard time. After the race he took his helmet off, smiled, and said, "Let's go again!" By the end of the day, he joined the rest of the "road raged" gang.

It's not always easy being the only girl in a household full of boys, but on days like these it's definitely worth it!

Friends

I've always been blessed with wonderful friends in my life who cheer for me, cry with me, listen to me, offer advice, teach me, make me laugh, and show me great generosity. This past week I was fortunate to spend time with some of these friends.

We love having friends over. A few weekends ago we invited some friends and their kids over to swim, play ping pong, and play games. The highlight of the evening was a game called MOOSE MOOSE (a Pope favorite). If you haven't ever heard of it, it is exactly what it looks like...a bunch of people gathered around making fools of themselves.
Here's Michael trying to remember what he is supposed to do next while the rest of us look just as confused.

I worked with Lynn at my previous school. Describing her as an animal lover would be an understatement. Every time I see her she tells me about another animal she's rescued. This day, it was a kitten. I found a sand dollar in the water while we were there. It was a great find! But to appease Lynn I returned the sea creature to its natural habitat. She said something like, "You can't keep that! It's alive. If you take it out of the water, it will die."

So it lives until a tourist keeps it as a souvenir.

The boys had a fun time at the beach with their new friends Mya and Kelly (Lynn's nieces).

Here's Travis ice skating with Heather (my neighbor from several years ago). When Travis was a baby, he loved to be held. PROBLEM...Mommy did not want to hold him ALL day. So sometimes I would call Heather and say, "Would you like to hold a baby?" She would respond, "Are you kidding?! I would love to hold that precious baby." HURRAY! Tired Mommy was rescued again. She can't hold our baby any more but she sure does spoil him with big hugs.

Tyler and Mommy gave ice skating a try too. Heather is very athletic...Mommy is not. Tyler picked up speed with Heather's guidance after a short time though.

I look forward to creating many more memories with you friends.