Nascar 2010

Jayson's squadron had the opportunity to do the flyby for the Nascar race today and Jayson was chosen to be one of the four. I wasn't sure if Gwen and I were going to make it because of the weather. I figured there would have to be some place dry if it was really coming down, so we went with a couple of the other wives to watch at least the flyby. We are all not Nascar fans, so doing the minimum was fine with us. The minimum lasted 5 hours. To our surprise it was actually a lot of fun!

To start the day off we all climbed into my car and headed for the race track. We had been given a special parking pass that was to park us pretty close to the track, which we thought was pretty cool. Well, we really didn't know how cool it was until we got there! We first ended up in the wrong parking lot (not surprising for me) the next one we entered the man said make your first right and go through the tunnel. What... the tunnel??? Okay! So off we went and yes... we parked in the middle of the race track. It was amazing!!

Once we got the kids loaded in their strollers we were off... yea... like we really knew what we were doing!! Ha! We met up with two other pilots who were there to help with the flyby from the ground. We walked around and then ended up on the roof of one of the main buildings. Yes, the building that ESPN was in and Nationwide (who was sponsoring the race for today.) Not realizing we were in a private party we were asked to leave, so we went outside and hung out in the rain for a bit. When the big wigs from Nationwide found out who we were, we were asked to come back in and enjoy ourselves. We were just thankful we were out of the cold and rain, but we were offered food, drinks, and so much more. They were just too excited that we were the families of the pilots who were doing the flyby.

We really had the best seats in the house. It had floor to ceiling windows that were right above the pits. I could really careless about the race... I could have sat there the entire time watching the pit crews do their thing. It was really the best thing to watch in my opinion. I would have to say Gwen would agree as she sat and watched them for quite a while.

Once the guys finished the flyby they met up with us at this private event we intruded on. They were introduced to the whole crowd and of course their heads were getting larger and larger by the minute. You'd think they were celebrities from Hollywood or something. It was neat to see our husbands get treated with so much respect and appreciation for what they do, but really I was shocked at the amount of appreciation they had for us as their wives. It was neat to be recognized as well.
Enjoy the pictures!

The first gate we had to cross.... notice we had to wait for some of the race cars to go by...Umm we were really close! It was so COOL!

Abigail and Gwen ready for the loud noises.
Cortney, Teresa, and I before the race
Gwen and Abigail with the feather ladies
Cool car!
Busy working on a car
Same car, but bad reflection
Someone taller than me??? NO!
Gwen and I with the feather ladies. I'm not sure what they were really there for, but hey it's Vegas and why not!
The view from the building we were in. Notice the crowd coming in to watch the race.. yes, they were wearing ponchos.
Looking down in the main work area from the roof we were hanging out on.
Picture of the cars lined up getting ready to be introduced to the crowd.
Just another random picture I took.
Getting ready to video the flyby. Watch the clip below.

Gwen and Abigail enjoying a PB&J.
Waiting for Daddy to fly by.
Enjoying running in rain.
Getting ready to start the race
Picture of the pits. We were right above them. I loved it!
The four pilots who did the flyby... Jayson (Vato), Ben (Rex), Dave (Ajax), and Jason (Cas) and the big wigs of Nationwide.
Jayson is the one on the far right. (#4)

Nascar Flyby 2010 #4 from Kristina Rickard on Vimeo.

The 4 ship flyby

Jayson, Dave, and Larry with the winner of the race #33
The pilots and their families.

There are more pictures to come... I am just waiting on them from the other cameras. We'll see if I get them...hmmmm

How many ponytails????

We can do 3!! Just having a little fun with Gwen's hair the other night. Jayson wasn't too thrilled, but Gwen and I thought it was fun.

Family Day at the Childrens Museum

So, we caved and bought a year pass to the children's museum. It's not as great as the one in Ohio, but it will do for our little one.
Being a teacher I just sat back and observed her playing and really focusing at what she was doing and wanted to play with. The first exhibit was 'Bob the Builder's'. Um... if that was the only thing there she would have been content. She loved putting the balls in the tubes and seeing where they would go. They had a cart that she would put all the balls in and tote them around.
The second exhibit we took her too was the grocery store. I assumed she would have loved it, putting what she wanted to buy in the basket and what not. ummm... that lasted all but a few minutes. Not intested one bit!!
She didn't seem to care one bit that she is still a bit little for some of the exhibits. She got right up there with the big kids and enjoyed what she found was interesting. It may have been pressing a button because it lit up, to jumping on a square because the other kids were doing it.
It is truly amazing to see how much she has grown in the past year. My baby is no longer a baby anymore.
Oh and that wonderful husband of mine... he was having just as much fun as Gwen. It was tiring just trying to keep up and find the two of them in all the mayhem.

Our little builder ready to work!
Seeing how the ball goes from tube to tube
Really wanted the ball that was floating above the cone
Toting her 'balls' around
It mega lego time!
Picking things to buy at the grocery store.
Playing a little ball
Not sure exactly how this could relate to an owl, but Gwen seemed to have liked it.
Getting in there with the big kids
Mommy and Gwen at the top of the stairs

Taking over the plane for daddy. She's a natural!
Experiencing the wind of a hurricane. Not a big fan!
Shooting hoops with a little help.
Playing some music for all to hear.
Hitting buttons because daddy was doing it and because it lit up as well.

we are getting smarter everyday.

Gwen loves books. okay she loves to pull all of them off the shelf, sit on them, bring them all to you, flip through the pages, take all of the covers off, and lastly try to read them.

Daddys return

Jayson just got back on Saturday. He was away for a couple of weeks and those couple of weeks seemed like they would never end. Here is a video of Gwen seeing Jayson for the first time. Notice at the end of the video... Gwen gave Jayson quite the homecoming present. HA HA

Daddy home from Kristina Rickard on Vimeo.

Gwen's first 5K Run

Today was Gwen's first 5k Run. It was called Run for a Wish. All the proceeds went to the Make A Wish Foundation for Southern Nevada. I was actually really excited about this run. I really wanted to see what time I could get since I've been running a mile and half 5 days a week. Well.. I don't think I did too bad. I ran it in 32 minutes, pushing a stroller, in the pouring rain. Yes, I did say POURING RAIN. It wasn't raining while we were waiting for the race to begin, but as we walked across the start line that's when God said we needed to make the race a bit more interesting for us. Gwen was great! She slept the entire time I ran. Luckily, I was a smart mommy and brought her an extra pair of clothes once we were done. She was dry, I was soaking wet, but enjoyed every minute of it. I am actually looking forward to my next one. Maybe even do a 1/2 marathon sometime this year. We'll see!!

Tracey (my neighbor)Gwen and I before the race

Tracet sporting her fannypack (is that how you spell it anyways??)

Gwen and Mommy (oh my!! Look at the bags under my eyes! Can you tell I've been a bit sleep deprived) Horrible picture!

Gwen all dry and ready to go home

and then me... soaking wet!

run away baby!

The past few nights after we get ready for the tub Gwen has decided to do the naked run. Yes, she runs around upstairs as fast as her little legs can go. She laughs and laughs while doing it too. I'm just waiting for an accident to happen.
Oh how we love this little girl and her new found enjoyment!