Boogity, Boogity....let's go racin'!!!!!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!  How can we speed up time so that April gets here quickly?!!!!  Why?  My parents are coming to town!  Yep.  There seems to be a back and forth thing going on here.  They came in July, we went out there in September.  They (mom) came in November, we went out there in December.  They're coming in April...we might be meeting them in Colorado come July.  I could REALLY get used to this!!!  :)

Of course...they're coming primarily to see their beloved grandson as they can't hug him through the computer when we skype every week.  (Thank GOD for skype!!!)  But....the other reason is NASCAR.  That's right....I typed that correctly.  NASCAR.  My dad...and Dave for that matter...have always wanted to go to the Richmond race and April's race falls on a weekend where my dad doesn't have any church responsibilities.  So....we're going racin'!!!!!  :)  Well....my dad, Dave, and myself are going racin'.  My mom has politely declined to join us :), preferring to stay at home and act as babysitter.  

People are always amazed when they learn that Dave loves NASCAR.  It just doesn't seem to "fit".  He's a classical musician, loves orchids and birds, ...... and then there's NASCAR.  He didn't use to always like NASCAR.  When we were first dating, he thought it was ridiculous...cars just going around and around in a circle.  And then we became engaged and my dad took him to his first race at Phoenix International Raceway and he was immediately hooked.  Hooked!  He went to the Saturday race (minor league stuff) with my dad with the intent of going back up to Flagstaff after the race so he could play music for church the next morning.  Well....he came home from the race with a glow in his eyes, called the head music director and promptly excused himself from church the next day and headed back out to the track with my dad and uncles the next morning.  :)

Go Dale!

PIR

National Anthem

A family affair

Racin' with my dad is a weekend event!  There's the qualifying sessions, the practice sessions, the truck races, the pit passes, the Saturday race....and then....the big Sunday race.  After Dave and I married, I caved in and joined the boys at the track and I do have to say that it is an experience!  While it is still dark, a group of friends meet at a Mesa park and then caravan to the racetrack.  We then set up the tables, the stoves, the chairs, the shelters, etc and the bloody mary's and tequila sunrises start being made and the biscuits and gravy and eggs and sausages start being cooked.  It is a veritable feast!  And then there's lunch with its usual assortment of hamburgers and brats and hotdogs and beer.  

Getting ready for the lunch rush!

The Pedersens on the track

First night race at PIR

We haven't been racin' with my dad since we lived in Idaho.  And boy have we missed it!!!  

Can't hide that kind of happiness!

When we lived in Idaho....we even got stuck in Arizona for 5 whole extra days.  Oh darn!  :)  No...at the time, it was extremely stressful and NOT a good situation but now we laugh about it!  We left the race on Sunday and raced back home so we could catch our flight.  On the descent into Boise, we got turned around all the way back to Phoenix because the Boise airport was completely fogged in.  This happened again 2 days later.  By the time we caught our 3rd and final flight attempting to go home 4 days after our initial attempt, had washed our clothes twice at mom and dad's, visited the Phoenix Zoo, etc....dad was ready to ship us home via Greyhound Bus if we got turned around again!  :)  

So we're looking forward to my parents' visit and to going to a new track and a new race! It has been a LONG time and we are beyond excited!  Boogity, boogity....let's go racin'!!!!!!

Scanner? Check. Headset? Check. Pit passes? Check. NASCAR garb? Check. Cigar? Check!!  :)