Triple point day

Here are the great pictures that Sam and Guy took of us today at the track.  Thanks guys and as always great pictures.

Today was the triple point race at the barn and Nate and I loaded the little bikes and headed to Elkhorn for some racing.  Nate took a 2 in cruiser and then took a 4th in class.  He is leaving for Tucson On Wednesday for some more road training in the sun.  So with that happening he decided that rubbing elbows for a spot or 2 was not going to happen .  I don't blame him as he did not want to have scabs and sore to take care of while out there training.  I took a 2nd in cruiser and then a 1st in class.  As always it was a blast hanging out with everyone this weekend.  Later..

Nate's ride till his gets fixed

Thanks Mike and ISCorp for the use of a team car till Nate's Volvo gets fixed.  


Well after the drive to Indy and the incident of running over the object in the road we are now dealing with the insurance company as the service transmission light came on and the steering is giving us some issues.  They had me take it to a Chevy dealer at first and I asked why and they said that they were a preferred auto repair shop and that it would be a 1,2,3 and it would be done.  I said do you realize that they will not be able to analyze the cars computer system as they may not have the proper computer to hook up to the Volvo, but I took it there as instructed.  As I talked to the nice lady there about the issues that the car was giving us and  she said that they could not hook it up to their computer as theirs would not get the computer codes to properly read out.  So I told them I wanted it taken to Oscar's Motorsport Volvo repair shop.  So today they towed it there and now it is where I asked them to take it yesterday or Monday as I wanted.  But the good thing is that it is in good hands and we will hopefully hear what the issues are with the steering and transmission soon.  But again thanks to Mike for letting Nate use a ISCorp team car until this one is fixed.  Later..

Racing at the barn 1/22/12

Great pictures by Sam

Here are some great pictures that Sam got us racing today at the barn.  Nate had a good day in the gates as he took a 1st in cruiser and then a 2nd in class.  I took a 2nd in cruiser and class today which was a great day for me.  I have to give a shout out to Cece as she let Nate and I race today on our 18th wedding anniversary.  How cool is that?  Then on top of that Mike Weber was real generous as is letting Nate borrow a team car as we have to take the Volvo in for service as the transmission service light came on and we have a appointment to have it looked at Tuesday.  Thanks again Mike.  Now I need to play with Fixxie as she is going a little crazy at my feet.  Later..

Worth the trip

 We were on the rode and something fell off a truck and I could not move to get out of the path of it and hit it.  It cracked 2 rims and blow out 2 tires on the Volvo.  We got a tow that took 2 frick'n hours in Illinois, man does this state suck big.  Once we got the tow the guy dropped us at a tire dealer and that is were the fun started.  They did not have the tires we had on the car as they stopped making that model and I bought 4 new tires as the other ones were going to need replacing and hell I got 3 for the cost of 2 of the ones I had on the car.  But once they got the wheels off the 2 rims on the drivers side were cracked and they had to call around till they found some matches.  They did and the nice guy made our shop the first on the list instead of the last as planned.  We got it all taken care of and tossed a alignment in as that was needed too.  Then we hit the road for the rest of the trip to Marian University even though the snow had started to fall.

 The trip down was starting to get interesting as the snow was falling and blowing for a while till we hit Lafayette.  It stopped around there and the roads dried up and it was smooth sailing till we pulled into the Marian University parking lot. Nothing like the staff staying as I kept in touch to let them know we were dealing with the car and snow.  How cool they were when we got there to make us feel so good when we got there.  Thanks Josh, Ashley and most of all coach Dean.

Rock Star parking once we got there, right in the front row.

The campus was real nice and comfortable and I think a great fit for Nate.  Ashley was real helpful and informative as we did keep her there extra on a Friday because of the tire and wheel issue.  But she informed us of all the info about the school and then gave us a tour of the campus before meeting with coach Dean.  I have to say that Dean runs a top notch program and I love the fact that they are students before cyclist.  But after talking to Dean I think Nate would be a good fit for the program there.  Now it is time for Nate to pull the pull and sign as he is accepted and all.  We just have to get the $ in line and see where we stand, but the drive through all the snow and tire issue getting to talk to Ashley and coach Dean made the stressful trip worth it.

After the visit it was get some gas and some food and hit the road for the ride home.  That now was a real bad deal all the way home.  Well not all the way but from about 10 minutes from Marian till we hit the Wisconsin line as Indiana was just open blowing snow and at times when you couldn't see but 10 feet in front of the car.  But we made through Indiana and then it was even crappier as Illinois was worse as they do not know what a plow or salt are used for as the roads were so bad it was unbelievable.  To top it off they for sure do not only know how to drive like crap on dry roads they drive worse in the snow.  There was drivers into the walls, turned in the wrong direction, and stuck everywhere.  Just a joke in Chicago as it was worse there as there was not a plow anywhere to be seen.  But I got to the left and drove my speed in the snow and just cruised by everyone and once we got to the Wisconsin line it was all good and we pulled in the garage at 11:30.  What a long and stressful day to say the least.  Now Nate is taking the Police Aid exam just to keep all his options open and then working at Rays later.  What a busy kid to say the least.  Later.

Running around like a crazyman

Just been busy as heck here as with Fixxie in the house we are always taking care of here needs and today I just took her to the vet for her last shots and a puppy check up.  All was good and she is a healthy puppy and a keeper.  All I have to say is all the people that see her just fall in love with her and say that she is the cutest puppy that they have ever seen. The good thing is that fixxie is just a ham with all the people that wanted to pet her today and last weekend at the pet store. Well there is more then just a new dog here as Nate and Maddie have had the finals this week and that really helped as they spent the afternoons home with with her and let her out so the potty training is going good.  Then I ran to bmx gate practice yesterday as Nate stayed home as he has a bit of a chest cold going on so he has just been hanging low.  But tomorrow the kids are all off so Nate and I are heading to Marian University in Indiana for a campus visit and possibly sign up to go to school there if it all adds up to be a good fit.  Just have to see how the visit goes and the sit down with the cycling coach goes.  Then get home and get some rest as Nate has the exam for the Milwaukee Police aid on Saturday.  That is just a fall back as he could start with the MPD and become a policeman and then have a career right out of high school.  Just a opportunity that he does not want to pass on.  Time to get a few things ready and get ready for the 5 hour drive in the morning.  Later..   

Fixxie relaxing

Here is Fixxie relaxing over the last few days and Nate taking a nap with her on his chest.  I think that she is growing a few inches a day as she seems so much bigger then last week.  Today we took her to Ben's cycle for some play time with Emma and Hanna.  It was so nice that Drew and Steve have such great dogs and that they played so well with Fixxie as she is about 1/10 the size of them.  Now she has been sleeping a lot as they tuckered her out.  Time to go make sure that the kids are studying for their final exams tomorrow.  Later..

Shots fired

Well the dust has settled and I am glad to have been spared from any of the collateral damage.  So here is how it went down on Wednesday at work.  Teresa and I had just got done testing some scales at the scarp yard on 30th and Concordia ave and pulled out and parked the van to do some daily paperwork.  As we were parked entering some data on our computers a car pulled around the van and into the alley just ahead of us,  The car then stopped and 2 men got out of the back seats and walked down the alley behind the car.  I thought oh just going to buy some drugs or something.  Well I finished my work on the computer and pulled forward to just see what the guys were up to, you know see if they were buying drugs or something.  So in the process the guys split up and one went on the south side of the garage and the other on the side I can see.  I proceed slowly and the guys looks at me and raises his arm and then looks forward between the houses and starts shooting as does the other guy on the south side of the garage.  It all happened about 25 feet away from us and the sounds of the gun firing is nothing like you hear on the television.  I pulled forward to get a house between the shooters and us so he would not fire at us as he knew we seen him prior to his shooting.  When I pulled forward I could see a house with a group of young men on it ducking to not get shot from these 2 idiots.  In all they fired 13 shots and missing everyone thank God but I have to say I just about crapped myself when all the dust settled.  I did not get a plate # or the state the car was from but I did get the make and model and stayed till the police came and gave them the details of what I seen happen.  I am glad that no one got hit and the little kids that were out where all safe.  I just have to say seeing the flash and smoke coming from the gun as the guy fired the first 3 shots before getting out of the way was so unreal I can not describe it.  Also watching all the people running and yelling as they were getting out of the way was as crazy as hell to. But I have to say that I am looking twice each time I see a car similar to the one that the guys were in that day.  But now it is just back to normal and just go do my work each day since and not worry about things that you can not control.  Just glad that the guys didn't fire at us first.  Later..

Fixxie fix

Well it has been 2 days with Fixxie and she has fit in real well.  The sad thing is when we put Fixxie in the little carrier at night and in the morning before we all leave for work and school she cries.  I hope that it is not long in the morning but at night it has been from 10 to 20 minutes before she stops and goes to sleep for a few hours. Then in the middle of the night so far Maddie and Nate have had her in their rooms and then taken Fixxie out to take care of her business.  Then when we get home it is game on full play time till bed time for fixxie.  Although she did nap on my lap before dinner for a few minutes tonight.  The fun was her first time in the snow tonight too as she was a little freaked out and wanted to run right back in the door.  The good thing is she goes out and takes care of business and runs right back in so that is nice instead of waiting 10 minutes while she chases and eats leaves before hand.  It has been nice as Fixxie has adjusted real good to the separation from her siblings and mother real well and enjoying all the attention she is getting.   Later..

More pictures of Fixxie

Some pictures of Fixxie chill'n while we all got ready for work this morning.  She is fitting in real good and the kids are ready having a ball with her around.  Fixxie is a trip as she loves to follow Cece around in the morning and then Nate when ever he gets up and moves.  Maddie and Jess have been real good and watching and doing a lot of pottie duty with her.  I think Fixxie will fit in just fine.  Later...