A day at the races

Saturday we went up to Road America in Elkhart Lake to watch the AMA Pro Racing Superbike races, and it was a great day. It started off a little breezy and chilly when the sun went behind clouds and then some rain passed through late in the day actually delaying the final race of the afternoon, but as a whole we had some really nice weather.

R made a batch of his famous jambalaya and we caught up with some friends we hadn’t seen in years, so fun was had by all. I will admit, this is the first time I’ve been to these races and stayed sober the entire day, but it was still a wonderful time. I’m not big into motorcycle racing by any means, but seeing those bikes in action is always pretty amazing.

Plus D had a blast running around all the open grassy areas near where we were sitting and even found some puppies to pet. Her day was complete.

It was a typical tailgate set up, except instead of watching a ball game, we were watching motorcycles zoom by on the track. D actually didn’t mind the noise at all, which was a nice surprise.

The way these guys take corners is insane and always blows my mind no matter how many times I see it.

Like I said, our littlest racer had a great day too.

Running up and down the hill with Daddy helped tucker her out for a nap in the stroller as we walked around the pits, checking out all the bikes up close and in person.

We got to see a racer from one of the TV shows R watches, so that was pretty cool too (#23 in the picture above with the 2 bikes). Once again, the knee-draggin’ was in full effect and Road America did not disappoint.

One of the highlights though, for me anyway, came right at the end of the day as we were leaving. Our good friend Craig, who hadn’t met D before that morning, commented on how well-behaved she was all day, just having her own little fun being around everyone. He said we must be so proud. Yes, yes we are.

 

St. Thomas!

I promised you pictures (and a good tan, which i got) from our Caribbean vacation last month, so here they come!

Fish eye view off our balcony at the Ritz. I sure do miss waking up to this each day…

A back side view of the residence area of the Ritz in which we stayed, from a beach you could take to walk into town.

The always plentiful booze stock, of which I was unable to partake this year. That makes 2 trips in a row to St. Thomas that I’ve been pregnant and not able to drink. Ah well, there are much worse things in life.

Family pic our first night in town, out for some extremely delicious Island Time pizza.

The whole gang at Havana Blue, an awesome open-air restaurant right on the shoreline.

Cruz Bay on St. John, where the ferry comes in from St. Thomas.

Sandy Cay, BVI, one of the little islands we visited on our day of boating. We tied up offshore and had to swim in. Surprisingly, D loved that.

The beach on Jost Van Dyke, BVI, just waiting for our swim-in arrival.

The water bug herself, goofing around with someone’s sunglasses. Or as she calls them, “eyes”.

Mommy and D at One Love on Jost. I seriously love that island. It’s more fun with a few painkillers in you, but sober is good too.

Me, my sister M, and my mom on the boat back to St. Thomas.

Me and R. I love this pic of us. Once the Dramamine kicked in and the urge to barf every 5 seconds passed, I actually had a great time on the boat. Lucky for me, nausea is worse in those pregnant women who also get seasick, of which I am one.

D running around at dinner one night. Fortunately we had our own (soundproof) room. If you ever go to Sunset Grill and have a decent-sized party, see if you can sit in the wine room. It was wonderful.

The last weekend we were down there we moved over to my sister M and her husband’s boss’s house on a different part of the island. He’s currently living in the UK and let us have free reign of the joint. That view wasn’t so bad either.

I knew D would make a bee-line for the pool as soon as she saw it after how much she loved swimming in the ocean, and I was right.

We went to an absolutely gorgeous beach on one of our last days – Magens Bay. It’s completely smooth, not a shell or rock in sight, and you can wade out really far. It was super calm, and since there weren’t any cruise ships in port that day we lucked out and it was empty. It started raining while we were there, but even that couldn’t damper the beauty of the place.

Our last picture before heading to the airport to come home. We were definitely sad to leave!

 

 

 

Ok, here I am

We arrived home from St. Thomas late Monday night, got about 4 minutes of sleep since D was all messed up and ended up in our bed again, and then I went to bed at 8:30 last night. Suitcases and carry-ons remain unpacked, and the clothes I wore on the flights home are even still strewn on our bedroom floor.

Yes, I’m tired.

So I apologize for the severe lack of posting lately. Granted I was on vacation for about 9 days, but I know I’ve missed a monthly D update post and I owe you pictures. Don’t worry, there are LOTS of pictures coming. I just have to wade through them all to pick the best gems for you.

But in the meantime, here’s a teaser. This is my youngest sister on the boat we took to the British Virgin Islands one day during our trip. Look at the color of that water!! This photo is not edited or retouched in any way. That place is just that naturally and stunningly beautiful.

 

How I long to be back on those beaches with that water tickling my toes…

 

 

Picture me rollin’

Right onto one of those beach chairs and not moving for about the next week and a half.

That’s right – we’re going on vacation!! To St. Thomas this time, with the same group of family with whom we went to Hawaii, plus my sister who couldn’t make that trip. So it’ll be fun.

And I hope more than anything that some good warm sun will burn these haunting germs right out of us once and for all.

So I’ll be gone for awhile, but I promise to bring back loads of pictures and a nice tan for you. See you later, mon!

 

 

 

Hippity-hoppity

Easter’s on its way! And I’m so excited to fill an Easter basket and help the Easter Bunny set up an egg hunt for D this year, since she’ll be able to do it on her own this time. Last year she was too little and had to help Daddy hunt for his eggs. But this year it’ll be all her.

My mom got her a ridiculously cute bunny coat last Easter, and it still just fits for this one. The sleeves are getting a little too short, but we had to wear it this week to celebrate. It’s luxuriously soft and furry, with a pink satin lining, bunny ears, and a little cotton ball-esque bunny tail on the back hem. Get out of here!

Here she is modeling and showing yet again what a difference a year makes… (please pardon the crappy phone picture from this year, but she now insists on being able to see herself when you take her picture)