TALLADEGA 2010

So, this past weekend was a huge event, not only at the Hyland house, but for NASCAR as well.  It was Talladega time!  For those of you not in the "know" the race held at the Talladega SuperSpeedway in Alabama is the equilvalent of a Redneck pilgrimage to Mecca (see Islam for reference).  It is the longest, biggest, and fastest NASCAR track and is the home of the "The Big One," usually the largest and craziest crash of the season.  Can you imagine a more wonderful place for a race car crazy 6 year old boy?

So, Justin and Josh flew out Friday morning to Atlanta.  This despite Josh waking up that morning with croup.  Right, I know.  They stayed in Atlanta and bussed to Talladega, AL the next morning for the race.  Unfortunately, with all the bad weather in the state, the race was called off for Saturday so the bus turned around and headed back to Atlanta.  [On a side note, a tornado hit the town where we spent Thanksgiving (see Nov 09 post) and wrecked the park where we played.  Thankfully, my family (and their homes) was unhurt.]  So, they ended up spending the day at a super cool aquarium in the ATL.

Finally, the weather cleared and they ran both races on Sunday.  So, Justin and Josh boarded the bus at 6 am central time and headed back to the track.  They spent the first part of the day down on pit road, since Justin got pit passes for the two of them.  That was cool to see the cars and crews up close.  Then they hit the hospitality tent and ate hot dogs and Golden Flake potato chips (don't ask, Justin just wanted to give them a shout out).  Finally the race started and a good time was had by all.  According to the TV announcers it was one of the most exciting races ever at Talladega and set a record for lead changes.

After the Sprint Cup race, the had the Nationwide Race that had been cancelled from Saturday.  After another exciting round of racing it was time to head back to the hotel.  After the bus ride, the boys got back to the hotel at 10 pm central time.  A VERY long day for a 6 year old boy.  But a wonderful one.  He is already asking when they can go back!

Arriving at the track.

Arriving at the track. The stands.

Josh got to go down on the track!

Next to Denny Hamlin's car.

At Kyle Busch's pit.  He is Josh's favorite driver.

Cool tires waiting for Kyle Busch's car.

Getting up close with the pit crew.

Kyle Busch's car.  Ready to race.

Josh signs his name on Pit Road.

Justin and Josh's names.  I guess Josh didn't like his first attempt.

Justin and Josh on the track.

Josh plays Pop-A-Shot with a new friend while waiting for the race to start.

Jeff Burton's Caterpillar car.

Kyle Busch comes out to the track.

And they are racing.  Nice view.

Coming into the front stretch tri-oval.

Josh shows off his binocs.

Kyle Busch's pit stop in the 2nd race, the Nationwide Race.

Justin didn't take this picture (we grabbed it off ESPN) but this was the highlight of the 2nd race (and the whole day for Josh for crashes).  This happened on the last lap at the final turn of the race! 

Josh on his way out of Talladega.  He asked his dad if they could come again next year.  We'll see....

Jake's Tae Kwon Do Belt Test

So, Jake just had his test to get his green belt this past week.  As usual, he was outstanding.  Master Kim even told him good kick a few times.  To get your green belt, you have to break a board, too.  That was the fun part.  Here are some pics from the event. 

Jake waiting for his turn in Self Defense.

Board Breaking.

Josh Tball

So, Josh started tball and as yet I have been unable to be at the game and/or without Jill long enough to actually take some pictures.  Finally!  Some of Justin's family was visiting from CT and came along to see the game.  Between us all we watched Jill and took pics.  I will post more pics from their trip when I get them!

Josh lines up for the swing.  We are trying to get him to go back to his more, say kamikaze, style and crush it.

Josh gets some info from the 3rd base coach.

Josh almost makes the catch as first baseman.  He did well by at least stopping all the balls that were thrown to him.

I love this pic.  Josh hops into third while running the bases.

Josh on the bench waiting his turn.  Cutie pie.

Justin with his nephew Michael, niece Nikki and sister Joan watch the game from the shade!

Roseola!

So, Jill was ridiculously sick all weekend long and we couldn't figure out what was going on.  She woke up Saturday morning with a 102 fever and it stayed high all weekend, peaking at 104.5 in the middle of the night Sunday night.  No sniffles, sneezing, coughing, stuffy head.  Nothing.  We were puzzled, but suspicious because we had seen this twice before, once with Jake, once with Josh.

Today, we finally had confirmation in the form of a red rash all over Jill's (adorable!) tummy and back.  She has Roseola!  I don't know what it is about my family, but it must be a Hyland rite of passage.  So here are pics of Jill's Roseola that I took while she was taking a bath.  The last 2 are just because she is so stinkin' cute in the bath.  And her scar from stitches looks pretty good, too.

Easter!

Oh, Easter, how I have waited for your arrival.  I have waited to dress up my little baby girl in the most adorable clothes and send her running into the yard after her brothers to hunt eggs like a crazy person.  Well, Easter came and went and it was every bit as fun as we had hoped.

The boys and Jill waited until we got home from church to hunt their eggs.  Grandeb and PawPaw were there to witness and help document the fun.  It was a little wet (again this year) but that did not deter anyone from climbing, running, jumping or squeezing to get their eggs.  After it was all over we went inside and shared (yes, I said SHARED) our candy and everyone got what they wanted and were HAPPY.  It was great.  Here are some pics of the fun.

And special thanks to the Brasher Family (our awesome next door neighbors) for helping make Easter even more fun!

My little Easter Baby!  It was perfect except for the stitches under he nose!  Thanks Mr. Coffee Table.

 

Fam Pictures.

 

Mom and Jill.

 

Dad holds the boys back from the back yard so Jill can catch up.

 

Here she comes at full speed.

 

Here is where she gets it good.   She finds her own eggs, puts them in the basket, and then realizes Jake has tons of eggs that are easy pickins!

 

Josh goes up the ladder for some eggs.

Jill is wiped out.  She had a fun day of hunting eggs and needs a break.  Really, she just LOVES her chair.