Racing Experience

Talk about an experience in the making!!!  In December of 2011, a Groupon came out that had the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience as a deal.  Amber, Monica and I then promptly snagged up some race time for the guys.  We had all gotten our Christmas shopping done, so we decided to save it for Father's Day (remember this post?!) in June.  And finally, the day was here to actually cash in on the gift and go racing!

 

We left the Eddins household a little after 9:00.  Our first stop was Riley's Cafe for a little breakfast!  After breakfast we were on the road to Newton, where the Iowa Speedway is located.  It was fun to see the guys get anxious as we approached the check-in and tunnel that lead us right down to the infield.



Smiling with anticipation!



Our first stop was check-in and then it was time to pick a driving suit and a helmet.  The group was split up between drivers and riders.  Mike was a driver today, so he had to stay back and do a 'driver's meeting' so he could learn all there is to know about driving a race car.  

 



The racers!

 

While Mike went to his driver meeting the rest of us found our way to the track to watch Brandon and Brad do their ride-a-long.  First of all, it was cold, much colder than I think any of us even realized, and secondly, this was a tad bit unorganized.  The guys had specific instructions on when they should report to the speedway to keep things moving along on time, it didn't seem to matter!  Brandon and Brad were slated to drive around 1:00 - 1:30, they went down to the designated area only to find out they were about 15 people behind and only had one or two cars doing a ride-a-long.  

 

Welcome to the Iowa Speedway!

Brandon and Brad waited so patiently, in the freezing cold, and by the time they finally got to do their rides, Mike was out of class and was ready for his ride-a-long that he was taking before he actually drove the race car. 

Waiting for his ride-a-long

Mike and Brandon ended up going on their ride-a-longs at the same time.  Mike is getting into the National Guard/Mt. Dew car, while Brandon was in the M&M car right ahead of him!

Hopping in!

Brandon is ready to race!

Replacing the tire on Mike's car - you can see him in the window!

Off they go for the ride of a lifetime!



Hitting top speeds!

After the ride-a-long it was time for Mike to get assigned to his own race car.  He walked over to the race coordinators and they assigned him to the 51 car.  For those of you that have seen Days of Thunder...Mike's car had Rowdy Burns painted above the driver side door!



Looking like an official driver!

While Mike was getting ready to drive, it was finally Brad's turn for his ride!  It was truly amazing how fast these professional drivers go on the track!  They weren't really showing any mercy for the riders, which is obviously what these people wanted...I think they were all surprised at how fast it really is when you are hitting the straight aways and heading into the turns!

Brad zooming towards the finish line!

They spent some time getting Mike and the other drivers all ready to go!  I was particularly interested in them making sure that his seat belt was on properly!

A big thumbs up!  Ready to go!



Waiting to get the signal..."gentlemen, start your engines!"

 

And he is off!

A big thanks to Amber for recording Mike taking off in his car!  I didn't even think to get video!  You can watch it below...

 

 

They all got out on the track and did two slower laps with the pace car and a red flag was out.  So, the drivers had to stop the car and kill the engines and sit patiently on the track.  It was kind of a bummer for some of the drivers as it seemed that some of the cars weren't quite up for racing.  After what seemed like forever...they were finally taking their 12 laps!

 

Doing laps with the pace car - getting comfortable

Red flag - stopped on the track



Finally getting to experience the real drive!

Picking up speed!

Bringing it in!

 

After so much planning it was so much fun to finally see the gift put to use!  When we went back to the registration area for the guys to change their clothes, us girls could hear them talking from the bathroom in the hallway!  They were all sharing their experiences and talking about how much fun they had!  It made us all smile to think we were able to give them such a fun experience!

 

We loaded up the car and headed to a local restaurant in Newton to warm up with a few drinks and some appetizers!  Then it was off to Kalona to have dinner at Tuscan Moon.  Several of us had heard that the restaurant was delicious, so we were anxious to give it a try! 

 



We weren't disappointed!  The atmosphere was nice and cozy, the food was delicious, and the live music made for a really nice touch!  We would recommend it, if you are up for a bit of a drive!

 

I know I have said it before, but we have a great group of friends!  It is always fun to make new memories together!  It was even better that for this particular event we were celebrating three awesome Dad's!  We are lucky girls!

 

 

BUT...I would say the guys are pretty darn lucky to have wives that love them so much, too!!!

 

We {heart} Fall!



Nothing says fall quite like a trip to the Pumpkin Patch!!!  It seems as if each year I am able to get this tradition in earlier and earlier!  We generally visit Bart's Farm the first weekend in October, but this year the weather permitted and our scheduled allowed us to get there just a smidge early!  

 

I have to admit, I am not sure who is more excited about this tradition at this point, me or Lila?!  She is completely aware that this is something we do every year and has not stopped talking about Princess the pony she road last year, so no doubt, she was excited to visit again this year!  But, there truly aren't many things that top this experience for me.  I love driving down Alburnett Road and seeing the field full of bright orange pumpkins, I love the smell of fall as you drive with your windows down, the gravel driveway as you pull in looking for a spot to park, knowing that when you venture back you will have a wagon full of goodies!!!!  And knowing that each pumpkin, gourd, cornstalk, and bail of straw we pick will be on display ever so perfectly on our front porch through Thanksgiving!!!  I love it!

 

We met Jason, Jen, Celia & Ruby at Bart's and we weren't going to get far without getting those girls on the horses!  So, the first stop was to get a ride! 

 

Lila was thrilled to be at the farm!

The first up on the horses was Celia.  She opted to get on one of the big horses this year vs. riding one of the ponies!  She is such a big girl, yet when she climbed up onto the big horse, it seemed like she was so small!!!  She did such a great job riding!

Next up was Lila!  She was almost floating over to Princess due to her sheer excitement!  Too cute!  She walked right up to her, put out her hand to give her a pat, and up in the saddle she went!

 

"Hi, Princess!  Do you remember me?  I remember you!!!"

This year she didn't need Daddy to walk her around, she took off with the girls working the rides and rode Princess so confidently.  It was so cute!  Mike and I have actually looked around at riding lessons and hope to get her some for her birthday in April!!!

 

Miss Ruby was up next!  Just like her big sister, she wasn't up for riding a pony this year...she wanted a big horse!  Talk about a confident little girl, hopping right up there and off she went!  It was actually kind of fun, we saw a friend of ours Justin helping out at the farm, so he guided Ruby as she took her spin!

 

Lila & Ruby on their rides!

Our little cowgirl!

What a difference from last year to this year!!!



After the rides were over it was time to check out all the pumpkins!  Bart's has so many pumpkins to choose from, even really big ones!   Lila wasted no time going over to the huge ones to pose!!





This one makes a very nice stool!

 

It didn't take long and we had a wagon full!  We walked up and down the rows of pumpkins trying to decide which ones would go home with us?!  Lila picked a very special pumpkin to call her own!  A little white pumpkin that she named Mooma and she carries her around with her like she is a living, breathing thing!  

 

We've got quite the collection!

It is a tradition to get your picture taken on the straw bails that Bart's has all put together for the perfect photo opportunity!

The girls!

The Smith Family

The Eddins Family

We loaded up the truck and headed home!  Lila was anxious to help us get the porch started!  After her nap we all headed back outside to decorate the porch!

Lila was sure to make sure that Mooma, the white pumpkin, was right by her side until the very end when we finally picked the perfect spot for her to live on the porch!

Lila and Mooma!

Where will we put all these pumpkins?!

It doesn't take long and voila! we have a beautifully decorated porch and fall has officially arrived at the Eddins house!  As I said above, the house stays deocrated this way until Thanksgiving and then we tear it down for the year and say goodbye to fall as we start to welcome in the winter months and string the lights for Christmas!    But not too fast...we have a lot of fall fun ahead of us in the next couple of months!!!

Our cute little pumpkin(s)!

Game Day Tradition!

 

This Saturday marked the Annual Eddins family tailgate!  Lila loves the Hawkeyes and was so excited that she got to go along to the game with Mom and Dad (not to mention Grandpa, Laura, her cousins and all the rest of the family)!

 

Black & Gold Attire...check!

We got to Iowa City around 10:30 and got settled in to our parking spot.  Lila hung out in the back of the truck while we got unloaded.  It was a lot warmer than we were expecting, so the back end of my car got a lot of use allowing a place for shade!

 

 

We had lots of family in attendance for this game as a lot of my family on my Dad's side actually went to UNI to school.  It seemed to be a Black & Gold & Purple tailgate!  

 

 

Eddins Family @ Kinnick!

 

Enjoying a Black & Gold cupcake!

A highlight of the tailgating was meeting the Hawkeye cheerleaders!  Lila held one of the girls poms and seemed to be a little in awe of these pretty girls in all their Hawkeye gear! 

Future cheerleaders!

Enjoying the afternoon together!

 

Game time was 2:30, so we eventually made our way into the stadium to see the Hawks take the field!  Lila loved listening to the band and dancing and cheering along with the fight song!  The game got underway and UNI scored on the first possession.  Uh-oh!  Were we in trouble?! 







All set to cheer! 

The Hawkeyes soon repsonded with a score of their own and the game was on it's way!  In true tradition, Lila was asleep before halftime!  I am continuously impressed that she can sleep through that many fans screaming, the band playing and the small space, but she does!  This year it was a bit more of a struggle to get her to close her eyes as she didn't want to miss out on all the fun, but ultimately she gave in!  She woke up sometime during the 3rd quarter to the Hawks leading the game!



 

Tired out from all the fun!

The Hawks had a victory winning 27-16!  We love this tradition and look forward to many more games together as a family!  It is amazing to think how this collage has changed over the years!  Her first game at 5 months old seems like it was just yesterday!  This little girl has been a Hawkeye fan from the start!



Our little Hawkeye is growing up!



Stuff.

I have started to slack on the blogging!  Not on purpose, I really enjoy doing it, the days just seem to get away from me and the next thing I know a few weeks have gone by and I realize I haven't made time to document what's been going on in our lives! 

A few weeks ago we had Mike's family over to the house to celebrate his Grandpa Wayne's birthday!  We all gathered, grilled and caught up!  Lila enjoys having people over to "her" house!  It allows her to show whomever is visiting all of her fun toys and she does a good job of bribing people to play with her!  Thankfully Aunt Maria and Dan were here to keep her entertained!

 

 

 

It is hard to believe that Labor Day weekend came and went!  We had a few things going on, but we were also able to find some time for a little relaxation!  The Hawkeyes kicked off their season on Saturday in Chicago, so it was time to break out the black and gold in the Eddins house!  Saturday was also Carson's confirmation, so I went to the service while Lila napped and then we headed up to my Dad's for a tailgate style reception to watch the Hawkeyes squeak out a win against Northern Illinois.

 

 



I asked Lila to show me her game face!

Sunday we went to Osaka to celebrate another special birthday!  My cousin Jorden turned 22!  Jorden is one of Lila's most favorite people in the world!  There were several of us who were able to make the dinner, so it was nice to all be together!  It was back to the house after dinner to eat some of Grandma Harvey's most delicious homemade cake!

JoJo & Lila

The weekend went as fast as it came.  As much as I love a long weekend, a short week at work can almost seem longer than a normal week considering you try to cram in 5 days worth of stuff into 4 days!  We did have a nice surprise this week...the girls came and hung out with us on Wednesday night for awhile.  Jen had a meeting and Jason was out of town so we were able to enjoy their company.  Lila was thrilled to have the girls come and play and stay for dinner!  They brought her the cutest monkey that we named Dottie!  Lila has slept with her every night since!

Cute Cousins!

This Saturday found Mike & I in Iowa City to watch the Hawkeyes play against the Iowa State Cyclones.  We had friends and family in tow, delicious tailgate food and the weather couldn't have been more beautiful...the perfect combination for a great day!  Even if the Hawkeyes did lose! 

Ready for the season!

Go Hawks!

I referenced how fast time goes above, but I truly cannot believe it is football season already!  Even though I struggled a little this year thinking that football season was upon us already, there truly is no way to describe the energy in the football stadium.  On a sunny, fall day...there isn't much better!