Monday, August 31, 2015
Speedway Buddy
I don't know who this little guy is but he is at the speedway every week. I often give him on of my flags to wave and someone took our picture this week.... cute! (Sorry for all the speedway stuff on here lately. It is done now. Stay tuned for "30 blogs in 30 days" coming soon) :)
Friday, August 28, 2015
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Black Hills
We weren't going to go anywhere this summer. We were just gonna stay home. Then we decided on the spur of the moment to head down to the Black Hills. Here is some of what we saw.
A couple of pictures from Spearfish Canyon....
There was a car show going on in Deadwood.....
Sara would drive this right now..... she really liked it.....
We ate outside lots.....
As part of the car show, Deadwood hosted a street concert featuring "The Rip Chords" (think "Beach Boys" 60s car music). I grew up listening to them, so we had to go.
Of course, you have to go see these guys.....
Speaks for itself.....
We spent an afternoon at Pactola Lake. The girls swam.... too cold for me so I sat and read motorcycle magazines.
We had supper at a 50s diner.....
Played the mini-golf course that was across from our hotel.....
Sari liked this Bison. They have ones on every corner in Custer... each painted in a different theme.... this one seems to be "Cowboy Hippy"
And after 2 previous trips to Custer, I finally got to go to the "Purple Pie Place".....
We also went to Jewel Cave... Hill City.... Keystone... we shopped some... we saw Crazy Horse.... and much more. Tons of fun!
A couple of pictures from Spearfish Canyon....
There was a car show going on in Deadwood.....
Sara would drive this right now..... she really liked it.....
We ate outside lots.....
As part of the car show, Deadwood hosted a street concert featuring "The Rip Chords" (think "Beach Boys" 60s car music). I grew up listening to them, so we had to go.
Of course, you have to go see these guys.....
Speaks for itself.....
We spent an afternoon at Pactola Lake. The girls swam.... too cold for me so I sat and read motorcycle magazines.
We had supper at a 50s diner.....
And after 2 previous trips to Custer, I finally got to go to the "Purple Pie Place".....
Monday, August 17, 2015
It is ON!!!!!
Seven times!!!
That is how many times I got stung by wasps yesterday (give or take a few.... after the first 5 or so it is hard to keep track).
It isn't that I had anything against them. In fact, I did not even know that they were there, but after moving a few things in the back corner of our yard they decided to introduce themselves to me.
Before yesterday, I have lived a relatively sting-free existence and most of the ones that I have had were from bees. Wasps are a whole different ballgame though. Those things are ANGRY!!!
After the first two got me, I thought to myself "I think I have just been stung!" Those few seconds of recognition was all it took for every wasp in the world to rally and attack me. When I finally ran to Sara (after about 5 stings) I still had several wasps clinging to my shirt trying to kill me! She smacked a few more off of me, but not before they landed a few more direct hits (did you know that wasps - unlike bees - can sting you several times as their stingers are not supposed to come off??? I say "not supposed to" because, somehow, several did come off and remained lodged in my arm and my fingers). My left hand, left arm and right side were very swollen (I could not bend my fingers at one point), red and itchy!
So now I am plotting my revenge!
I have a can of Raid in my truck and I think that if I dress up in full biker gear (leather jacket, riding pants, boots, gloves, etc) then I will be fine. I will attack their ground-based nest at eleven hundred hours... a fully armed fight to the death!!
Now, some may think that I is a little pathetic that I am plotting revenge against creatures whose brains are theoretically much smaller than mine.... but (in the words of every 4 year old that has ever fought with his or her siblings".... "They started it!"
Let's just call it a "Unplanned relocation project".
One of us has to go!
That is how many times I got stung by wasps yesterday (give or take a few.... after the first 5 or so it is hard to keep track).
It isn't that I had anything against them. In fact, I did not even know that they were there, but after moving a few things in the back corner of our yard they decided to introduce themselves to me.Before yesterday, I have lived a relatively sting-free existence and most of the ones that I have had were from bees. Wasps are a whole different ballgame though. Those things are ANGRY!!!
After the first two got me, I thought to myself "I think I have just been stung!" Those few seconds of recognition was all it took for every wasp in the world to rally and attack me. When I finally ran to Sara (after about 5 stings) I still had several wasps clinging to my shirt trying to kill me! She smacked a few more off of me, but not before they landed a few more direct hits (did you know that wasps - unlike bees - can sting you several times as their stingers are not supposed to come off??? I say "not supposed to" because, somehow, several did come off and remained lodged in my arm and my fingers). My left hand, left arm and right side were very swollen (I could not bend my fingers at one point), red and itchy!
So now I am plotting my revenge!
I have a can of Raid in my truck and I think that if I dress up in full biker gear (leather jacket, riding pants, boots, gloves, etc) then I will be fine. I will attack their ground-based nest at eleven hundred hours... a fully armed fight to the death!!
Now, some may think that I is a little pathetic that I am plotting revenge against creatures whose brains are theoretically much smaller than mine.... but (in the words of every 4 year old that has ever fought with his or her siblings".... "They started it!"
Let's just call it a "Unplanned relocation project".
One of us has to go!
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Racing
That is me behind Ashlyn George (the Saskatchewanderer) on track at the Estevan Motor Speedway
A sneak peak (part 2)
Here is quick peak at what I got to do recently.... it involved almost wrecking a race car and killing the CAA "Saskatchewanderer".
I will tell you more about it tomorrow.... stay tuned!
I will tell you more about it tomorrow.... stay tuned!
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Keith Urban and a few other things
Several years ago, Sari and I (along with our friends Jen and Justin) saw Keith Urban at Dauphin's Countryfest. It remains one of the most fun concerts that we have been been to.
Since then, for a bunch of years now, our kids have been saying that they would like to see him in concert sometime too, so when we heard he was playing the State Fair in Minot we decided that the time had come.
We had a great night!!! I will tell some stories but first some pictures......
Waiting for the concert to start....
The view from our seats (it looked closer in real life).....
After all these years, he still seems to still really enjoy being on stage. He pulled several people up to wish them "Happy Birthday" (He even had the crowd sing to one girl. She was just standing there and so he said..... "Maybe you will want to pull out your phone and video this.... it might be a big deal). :)
He stole several people's phones and took selfies on them with the crowd in the background.
Someone tossed their sunglasses on the stage so he put them on and played a few songs with them on.
It started raining and instead of hiding under the roof he went out and played in the rain with the crowd.
At one point he asked if any of the guys in the front row could sing - one guy said he could do he invited the guy up to do a song with him. Dude was just supposed to sing part of the first verse but then he would not leave... put his arm around Keith and kept singing.... even took the mike off the stand to do his own solo... Keith just laughed and kept playing.
At one point, he went out and played in the crowd. When he was done, he took someone's tour shirt that they had bought, wiped off the guitar (b/c it was wet from the rain), puled out a sharpie and signed the guitar and gave it away to some girl in the crowd.
For one duet song they had local people submit tapes of themselves singing the other part and then he picked one and had her come and sing it with him.... that was cool.
I knew the concert would be fun, but I was worried that being at the State Fair would mean that it would be a short performance..... but he played for over 2 hours straight. And he played every song we wanted to hear except one - so that was good too.
I could tell you more, but it was just a lot of fun. If you ever get the chance to see him you should go. You will not be disappointed.
Afterwards we headed out to the midway. The Carnies kept yelling at these three..... "Pretty girls can play the games too".... you can see why.....
And then somewhere along the line we found some hats..... I was forced to have pictures taken and I am now being forced to post them.
This is approximately what I looked like in the 80s.....
And, lastly, no one would dispute that Megan is a much prettier Southern Belle than I am....
We followed all of this up by staying over and then shopping in Minot on Saturday.
It was a great mini-vacation and a nice memory to share with our girls.
Since then, for a bunch of years now, our kids have been saying that they would like to see him in concert sometime too, so when we heard he was playing the State Fair in Minot we decided that the time had come.
We had a great night!!! I will tell some stories but first some pictures......
Waiting for the concert to start....
He stole several people's phones and took selfies on them with the crowd in the background.
Someone tossed their sunglasses on the stage so he put them on and played a few songs with them on.
It started raining and instead of hiding under the roof he went out and played in the rain with the crowd.
At one point he asked if any of the guys in the front row could sing - one guy said he could do he invited the guy up to do a song with him. Dude was just supposed to sing part of the first verse but then he would not leave... put his arm around Keith and kept singing.... even took the mike off the stand to do his own solo... Keith just laughed and kept playing.
For one duet song they had local people submit tapes of themselves singing the other part and then he picked one and had her come and sing it with him.... that was cool.
I knew the concert would be fun, but I was worried that being at the State Fair would mean that it would be a short performance..... but he played for over 2 hours straight. And he played every song we wanted to hear except one - so that was good too.
I could tell you more, but it was just a lot of fun. If you ever get the chance to see him you should go. You will not be disappointed.
Afterwards we headed out to the midway. The Carnies kept yelling at these three..... "Pretty girls can play the games too".... you can see why.....
This is approximately what I looked like in the 80s.....
And, lastly, no one would dispute that Megan is a much prettier Southern Belle than I am....
It was a great mini-vacation and a nice memory to share with our girls.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Road trip, house painting (part 2) and an honourable mention
This week of holidays consisted of two main ideas......
1. Go do some fun stuff near home
2. Paint the house (not necessarily included in the "fun stuff" pile)
The fun stuff started with a Rider game, a trip to see old cars and tractors and a night at the races (see post below for more info).
The fun stuff continued (for me) last night with a road trip with my buddy Shady Shane. He and I went down to Minot to watch stock car races at the state fair. Here are some pics of what you missed (Editor's note: There are no pictures of Shady Shane..... sorry! He has a strict policy against it.... something about a court order maybe??? I don't know). :)
Late models on the front stretch......
It was a fun night. Good to hang out with Shady.... wandering the midway was interesting.... races were ok - maybe a little short (only ran two classes so it was done in under 2 hours). Worth the drive, though.
Then painting continued today..... the back has two coats on it..... the sides and front have one each.
It is coming along. One more day and will will have the big stuff done then all that will be left is window trim, putting up a new front light, etc.
Honourable mention in our painting project goes to our friend Melanie who has been supplying us with treats such as pies and ice cream. I mention this because (a) it was really nice of her and (b) I am hoping it continues! :)
Ok - one more day of painting and then we are back to "fun stuff". Stay tuned for more stories/pictures etc.
1. Go do some fun stuff near home
2. Paint the house (not necessarily included in the "fun stuff" pile)
The fun stuff started with a Rider game, a trip to see old cars and tractors and a night at the races (see post below for more info).
The fun stuff continued (for me) last night with a road trip with my buddy Shady Shane. He and I went down to Minot to watch stock car races at the state fair. Here are some pics of what you missed (Editor's note: There are no pictures of Shady Shane..... sorry! He has a strict policy against it.... something about a court order maybe??? I don't know). :)
Late models on the front stretch......
They also had what is referred to as a "Soccer Mom's" race (basically women driving mini-vans.... very politically incorrect I know but I did not name the race .... and it was sort of fun so.......).
It was a fun night. Good to hang out with Shady.... wandering the midway was interesting.... races were ok - maybe a little short (only ran two classes so it was done in under 2 hours). Worth the drive, though.
Then painting continued today..... the back has two coats on it..... the sides and front have one each.
It is coming along. One more day and will will have the big stuff done then all that will be left is window trim, putting up a new front light, etc.
Honourable mention in our painting project goes to our friend Melanie who has been supplying us with treats such as pies and ice cream. I mention this because (a) it was really nice of her and (b) I am hoping it continues! :)
Ok - one more day of painting and then we are back to "fun stuff". Stay tuned for more stories/pictures etc.
Monday, July 20, 2015
Sunday, July 19, 2015
24 Hours
Most of the time, my family's life is not that interesting (That is not to say it isn't good - just that there is nothing going on that others may be interested in reading about or seeing), however, this weekend we had an interesting 24 hours.
It started on Friday at noon as we headed up to Regina to take in Saskatchewan Roughrider football game. I usually get to about one of these per year, but the girls had not gone in several years, so it was sort of a new experience for them. Our seats were really high up, but that turned out to be a blessing as it rained all night and we were high and dry under the roof.
Outside the stadium....
We went to the practice field for the pre-game stuff... not many there as (1) we were there really early and (2) it was pouring most of the time.
Game ready!
View from our seats.... warmups in the rain
Later in the night....
After the game we piled in the SUV and headed out.... We arrived at 2:30 am.
Five hours later, the alarm was going off so that Sari and I could attend event #2.... the "Crosby Threshing Show" in Crosby, North Dakota.
Now before you say.... "Bor-ing!".... let me explain. They have an old town down there. They have hundreds of old tractors. They do a parade that lasts like 2 hours. They have a working saw mill, blacksmith shop and a threshing machine. They have a car show and they also have a flea market (which Sara seemed to like a great deal if you can go by how many "treasures" she bought). Oh - and lemonade! Can't forget that (thanks Nathan and Melanie!).
They had rows and rows of old tractors - like hundreds - interesting to see the different ideas that they tried over the years.
People lining the main street waiting for parade
This is a "Stanley Steamer". If you do not know anything about them, look it up. Very interesting and rare
They also had classic cars in the parade (older ones, muscle cars, etc) but I did not take many pictures here. Too busy just watching whatever was going by next. If you like old-time stuff, you need to put this event on your calendar.
Left Crosby at 4 pm so that we could be through the border and home at 5, so that I could attend the next event (and one of my favorite events around here), races at the "Estevan Motor Speedway". We had a great night!
Not a bad way to spend a little over 24 hours if you ask me. Gotta love summer! :)
It started on Friday at noon as we headed up to Regina to take in Saskatchewan Roughrider football game. I usually get to about one of these per year, but the girls had not gone in several years, so it was sort of a new experience for them. Our seats were really high up, but that turned out to be a blessing as it rained all night and we were high and dry under the roof.
Outside the stadium....
We went to the practice field for the pre-game stuff... not many there as (1) we were there really early and (2) it was pouring most of the time.
After the game we piled in the SUV and headed out.... We arrived at 2:30 am.
Five hours later, the alarm was going off so that Sari and I could attend event #2.... the "Crosby Threshing Show" in Crosby, North Dakota.
Now before you say.... "Bor-ing!".... let me explain. They have an old town down there. They have hundreds of old tractors. They do a parade that lasts like 2 hours. They have a working saw mill, blacksmith shop and a threshing machine. They have a car show and they also have a flea market (which Sara seemed to like a great deal if you can go by how many "treasures" she bought). Oh - and lemonade! Can't forget that (thanks Nathan and Melanie!).
They had rows and rows of old tractors - like hundreds - interesting to see the different ideas that they tried over the years.
People lining the main street waiting for parade
This is a "Stanley Steamer". If you do not know anything about them, look it up. Very interesting and rare
They also had classic cars in the parade (older ones, muscle cars, etc) but I did not take many pictures here. Too busy just watching whatever was going by next. If you like old-time stuff, you need to put this event on your calendar.
Left Crosby at 4 pm so that we could be through the border and home at 5, so that I could attend the next event (and one of my favorite events around here), races at the "Estevan Motor Speedway". We had a great night!
Not a bad way to spend a little over 24 hours if you ask me. Gotta love summer! :)
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