Remember in my last blog that I talked about all of the "extra" things that we always wished for while racing Pro Stock? Well, I didn't realize how true those words would come to be. If you followed our progress while in Indy last week you would know that if we had just had an extra thousandth of a second Ryan would have advanced to his first semifinal round! Don't get me wrong, we were very excited to have qualified in the top half of the field and then to make it even better, Ryan scored his first round win - it was an awesome weekend. 

I have always compared Indy to a marathon. By the time we have gotten to the track early for setup, completed five qualifying runs and then added an extra day for racing most of us have been at the track for a week or more. Throw in some rain and delayed qualifying sessions and that makes the week seem even longer. But even with long days, we still found time to have some fun and fellowship with our good friend Cliff Moberg from Moldstar. 

After Sunday's qualifying sessions we serviced our Sunglass Machine and got it race ready for Monday. We then headed over to the Raceview campground where Cliff and his son Scott had grilled steak and Australian lobster tails waiting for us.  All I can say is Wow! Dinner was absolutely amazing!

While we were relaxing and enjoying each other's company, someone in the campground started playing live music so we all walked over to check out the entertainment. As it ended up we had a great time mingling with the fans while we stood and listened to some great music. What a fun evening it was for all!

We left Indy on Monday evening very happy with our weekend. Ryan did another great job driving the Sunglass Machine, the guys from Dart had picked up the performance in the engines, and Jon made some awesome calls with the gear ratios and clutch. Me, I just stood around and relaxed! Right! Believe that one and I'll tell you some more!  LOL

Though racing is my main focus during the racing season, I've really learned to appreciate my weekends at home. Of course the first thing on my list of things to do is visit little Ryan. He is growing up so fast and is almost ready to walk. Don't get me wrong, he can crawl faster than most of us can walk so he doesn’t have any trouble racing around the house with me. He is such a little blessing and I love every minute that I get to spend with him.

We did spend some time working on the boat this weekend but didn't really have the opportunity to take it anywhere. With the boat docked behind the house, we have to be more mindful of high and low tides. I don't want to take a chance of "dinging" the props so I usually like to go in and out on high tide. Sometimes the time of high tide just doesn’t fit into my schedule; like 5:00 a.m, so we elected to keep it tied at the dock and work around the house instead.

I did finally get a chance to hang up my new bird feeder that my father-in-law, Don gave me for my birthday. This is something new for us, we have never been home long enough to see the birds let alone feed them! Anyway, Toni went out and bought a big bag of sunflower seeds (as recommended by Don); I hung the feeder and waited to see the birds flock to it. Well, I am still waiting; so far, there have been no birds visiting our feeder. I told Toni that I was going to put it in the middle of the yard and each day move it closer to the deck. By the time we leave for Charlotte, I will have the birds right where I want them. She only looked at me and rolled her eyes. Hey, I thought it sounded like a great idea!

Anyway, Don assures me that if I am patient enough, the birds will soon find their new food source and be visiting it regularly. Unfortunately, as many of you know, patience isn't really one of my biggest attributes! I will admit that I have scattered seeds all over the deck in an attempt to lead them to the new feeder. I'll let you know if it worked!

We are leaving early tomorrow for Charlotte and right now Jamie and Jon are busy getting everything loaded up. Jamie came down to the shop today in between his morning and afternoon classes at Maryland and it is such a big help to all of us when Jamie is around. Well, it sounds like they are getting close to loading our Sunglass Machine so I will wrap up this blog and head back downstairs. I'll keep you posted on my bird sightings as it happens! If you have any suggestions, just let me know!