Saturday, April 17, 2010

AWANA Grand Prix

The city of Collinsville was overcome by a terrible storm as Orange Lightning lit up the night! Ok... the weather was clear, but Orange Lightning was still out in force tonight!

I'm talking, of course, about Wesley's pine car :) Brad spent countless hours getting the
Block of Wood into a perfectly aerodynamic shape. Then, Wesley worked to get the color scheme just right. In the end, the car looked fast even when sitting still.








We headed to the church where the car was weighed and checked in. The weight limit is 5 oz. - Orange Lightning weighed in at 4.93 oz. :) Before the races, I was asked to man the AWANA camera and act as paparazzi for each racer - Meanwhile, Brad was a design judge. Needless to say, we were busy well before the races began.... And once the races were underway, the pace only picked up!



The younger children got to race first. By the time the older kids got their turns, the crowd was on the edge of their seats!



Finally, it was Wes's turn. He was placed with 2 other cars and they all 3 whooshed down to the finish line - Wesley's car WON! And in the following rounds as Wesley's car was sent down the ramp with the remaining T&T kids, he knocked them all out of the running... Here's one example of the anhiliation:







And here is Wes, playing it cool after his first victory:







Throughout the rounds in Wes's division, only one car racked up as many victories as his. In the end, it came down to Wesley versus Lauren (from down the street)


Boy vs Girl


Orange vs Pink


First Place was on the line....


It was a photo finish....




Sadly, Lauren beat Wesley in the final round! It was ok though because it was a close race and ...

There's Always Next Year!!






In the weeks leading up to the big race, our chairman of the deacons was often seen bragging about his car. He would be racing anyone willing to go up against his maroon race car - He claimed it had never been beaten in 42 years. Needless to say, we all eagerly awaited the unveiling of The Legend!!


True to his word, Mr. Billy beat out the competition left and right!


After the races were over, a few kids wanted to pit their cars against his - even though they weren't in the same division as The Legend!


In the last race of the evening - Orange Lightning went up against The Legend....


It wasn't even a photo finish, but I had my camera ready just in case...


See for yourself:




It was Wesley by a MILE!!! The crowd went wild! Mr. Billy stared in disbelief!


Naturally, a proud mom was waiting to grab Wes in the Winner's Circle!! You can tell that he's proud of his trophy - I am, too!


Second place for a first timer isn't too shabby ;)




Wesley already has plans to bring Orange Lightning back next year for a grudge match.

Watch out Lauren!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Workin on the Garden

I don't know if you've noticed, but the weather has been GORGEOUS this weekend :) And we decided to capitalize on that yesterday. We started by doing a little shopping - Particularly, we went plant shopping!

Brad and I have had our eye on this large, bushy tree at the end of our porch lately. Neither of us like it and it scratches our column and gutters. PLUS, it obscures the view of the daylillies that are planted behind it. So we decided to replace it with a few azaleas.

Here is the BEFORE picture:


It took all three of us to get the job done. I sheared off several branches - Brad sawed the tree down - and Wes hauled all the branches to the backyard. Afterwards, I dug holes and placed the new azalea bushes. We were all three absolutely worn out, but the results are well worth the effort.

See for yourself:




In the process, I was able to relocate some daylillies to the front part of the garden so I am really happy to have recycled them :)




Oh - and Wes was super proud of himself when he was done hauling branches. I have to say, he did an impressive job. Take a look:






The azaleas are going to be a great addition to the front yard. One is absolutely covered in Blaauws Pink Azaleas and the other, slightly smaller one is an Encore Azalea named Autumn Amethyst. The cool thing is not only will it have the beautiful purple blooms from Spring through Fall, but when the blooms fade in winter, they leave behind Purple-ish Foilage How cool is that?


If you can't see them well enough in the photo, click the links in the previous paragraph :)
While I was at it yesterday, I planted my Red Hydrangea in front of the blue one from Mom Smith. I centered the red on in front of the kitchen window because word on the street tells me that another Mom Smith Hydrangea *might* be headed my way... But shh - you didn't hear that from me! :)
Besides, the red on still has a while before it catches up with the first one :) I just am hoping for some blooms this year :)


That's about all we worked on yesterday -But there will be more daylilly relocations scheduled for next weekend. Oh and there are now 4 small rose buds and a handful of green blueberries sprouting up in the back yard. Needless to day, I'm about to have lots of updating to do :)
Stay tuned for fun updates from the AWANA Grand Prix next Saturday :)

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Success!!

Ok there are three success stories in my flower bed this afternoon :)


First - I think this tulip is possibly the most beautiful flower I've ever grown :) You'll be hard-pressed to disagree -





Second - Kim has successfully infiltrated my petunias!! When we bought this bunch, the blooms were all purple...





Third - StephAnie, the Ranunculus slayer has THIS blooming right now!







Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Jerry Nelson

This morning at work was going along just like any other day - Then, a man poked his head through the door to ask where the nearest library might be. Since I'm so *great* with directions I called one our ministers up to my office for his assistance. Through the course of the conversatiuon we are introduced to Jerry Nelson:



He is riding his bike across the country to raise money and awareness for homeless veterans. He began this ride in North Carolina and is on his way to California. He even mentioned a need for some bike parts. Since we don't have a bike shop in Collinsville, I called my dear sweet husband for his input. Turns out, he had some extra bike tubes that he let Jerry have. He also needed some new tires so Bro. Wade drove him to the Meridian bike shop. They returned just in time for lunch so several of us ate lunch with Jerry and heard some more of his testimony. I won't steal his thunder because you can read more about him and his trip at www.journeyamerica.org

It was really neat to meet him because he's not like the people we are around all day every day. I am glad I got to help his journey in a small way and am glad my sweet husband was so generous, too.

I have to say that after the few hours he was at our office, it was a little sad to see him go.




Free Posters©Jerry Nelson - Jerry Nelson Photography -- Somewhere in the Smoky Mountains

Free Posters©Jerry Nelson - Jerry Nelson Photography -- Somewhere in the Smoky Mountains

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Raising a Boy

Well, something has happened to my sweet, neat and tidy little man - He's been replaced by a rough and tumble, messy boy!! You've probably already heard me complain about how many pairs of pants and shoes have been destroyed this school year. I've been surprised to discover, though, that Wes can do more than put holes in the knees of his khakis... Lately, his pants have come home looking like this:





I'm considering buying stock in Spray n Wash!


In other news - I have a challenge for my fellow gardeners :) We spotted these super fun Dr. Suess looking purple leaf plants at several businesses here in Meridian - I can't seem to find a name for them online though... Does anyone know what these are:



Aren't they fun? I would love to plant some in my garden :)