Robo-Pong 200!

I don't really know what to say about this race other than Ron looks forward to it every year. I guess it is like my Chili Bowl, for you that don't know it is my favorite race of the year in Tulsa in January :) It is like the Indy 500 of karting so it is a pretty big event!

Ron and Colton teamed up again this year, last year they finished 7th and started 48th. If you read my post from last year Ron wished for a Top 5. This year things were a little different. Colton qualified the kart 6th on Saturday and was fast all day. When Ron got home that night was was very excited, he knew they had a chance to win. There are many top notch drivers that run this race every year. Dan Wheldon, Ed Carpetner, Jay Howard, and many racers from all over the world.

Colton started the race and had a tough battle 2nd and 3rd for the first 54 for laps. He came in to pit and they switched drivers and Ron went out in the kart. After the pit stop things got spread out a bit and Ron was in 4th. He came in at lap 101 and pitted again and Colton took over and stayed in 2nd place for a long time. They needed to come in one more time and at lap 150 and Ron was planning on finishing up the race. After just a few laps of Ron taking over something happened to the kart, he dropped a good 4 seconds off the pace. By this point in time I am sure we were all pacing wondering what in the heck was wrong with the kart. Ron had to come in to pit at lap 171 because the front tires were worn out. Colton took over but they had dropped back to 5th. The new tires fixed the issues for a bit and Colton was able to get back up to 3rd. But with 7 lap to go he couldn't hold off 4th place position because the kart was handling so bad. So, Ron got his wish of a top 5 finish and I have to say we were all very proud of all of them! Ed Carpenter and his teammate ended up winning by 2 laps. After the race they noticed the chassis of the kart broke and that what had caused the kart to slow down and handle so bad. It was a great weekend and for Ron the race season is over. Tony has one more race next weekend and then we are done for the year. I can't believe this season has gone by so fast, it seems like just yesterday that I was a nervous wreak because Tony was racing in first "big" kart race. Where does the time go??

Check out Ron and Colton:
http://www.ekartingnews.com/news_info.php?n=13504&sid=4d25c56978dc3d082ec64575319b07b1

Watch out Tut here we come!

Saturday after the Heart Walk Ron and Tony went to his parents house to work on some go-karts and then picked up Ian, Tony's BFF. They had a sleep over and had a blast. They have a tradition of building a fort in the toy room and sleeping in there. Ron and I helped this time and I have to say it turned out pretty good :) We got up Sunday and headed to the Children's Museum to see the King Tut exhibit. Besides Riley having a meltdown in the middle of it because she thought we were going to put her to bed, it was really cool. Ron and I enjoyed it a lot. Tony liked it but I don't know that Ian had too much fun. Not for the younger kids but I was glad the boys got to see it because who knows when it will be back, if ever. Sometimes I ask myself why I pack so much stuff into the weekends but we had a fun!

2009 Start! Heart Walk!

I think the walk wore Tony out! 3 miles will do that to a boy.
Tons of people on the walk, it was a beautiful walk along the white river. What a great place to hold this event!

Tony and his girlfriends

Tony and Riley dancing, we were trying to get him to loosen up.

"Dogie" Ooohhh look!

Grandma's helper

Tony's new BFF!

"Mascots"

The finish line about to take Tony's head off at the mascot race

Start of the mascot race!

Saturday we had a blast at the Heart Walk in Downtown Indianapolis. Tony had to be there early because he got to participate in the "mascot" race! He won the race, let me just say he SMOKED the competition :) Tony hung out with all the mascots after the race and let's just say the boy needs to learn to dance. He just stood there like a log, I don't think he liked all the attention just he was getting. I would of never of thought I would write a sentence like that about Tony because we all know he loves attention but he was just a bit uncomfortable out there. He did get warmed up to Rowdy, the Indians mascot. They played with each other, at one point Rowdy had him upside down. After it was over though, it was another one of those really cool moments that he knows it was special to be apart of it. As Steve said he has gotten more exposure with that suit this year than ever, definitely worth the money! Riley helped hand out J.D. Byrider water bottles, well actually she threw them at people! She has no issue with the attention she was getting :)

It was neat to be apart of something that was bigger than us. With so many people in this country affected by heart disease it was nice to know we had a small part in hopefully one day finding better medicines and treatment for our future.

Opps I forgot last week's race update

Yes I am aware I have no pictures of Ron, Riley was not cooperating during his races :)

Last Sunday Ron and Tony raced, not that I forgot they raced I forgot to blog about it. Ron won the shifter race and wrapped up the points! He finished 5th in the TAG race and is 7th in the points but it is a close battle and with one race left he could move up to 4th if things go his way. Tony finished 3rd and 11th. Ron races the last weekend in September in the Endurance Race at New Castle. If you don't have any plans you should come out and watch! It is a pretty fun even, a rare time Ron gets to race against IRL and some top notch drivers from around the world!

Last Chance for the Heart Walk!

This Saturday is the American Heart Association Heart Walk downtown. It is your last chance to donate for our walk! Please follow the link below, if you have issues just do a search under top fundraisers. All four of us have a website you can donate under! Thanks for helping us help a great cause!

http://heartwalk.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=297521&lis=1&kntae297521=0541CEDE4E5B4A8DAF41FED9ABFEA1AB&supId=267928113

Check back next week, Anthony has a special roll in the opening ceremonies we are all very excited about!

Are you ready for some football!?!

Tony started flag football on Saturday. We went straight from our picture sessions to football practice, it was a crazy Saturday! Tony has been wanting to play football for what seems like forever. Instead of starting him right on in tackle football we thought we would start out with flag football to see if he really likes it. Well, no doubt he loves it, who knew we have a little football player on our hands! He plays football everyday at recess and all the other kids have taught him all sorts of things. Me who would like to think she is knowledgeable on football had to ask about some of the things he was talking about. Saturday they learned the basics of football and Tony had a blast, he talked about it all the way home. He can't wait for the next practice! So I guess if he he doesn't make it in NASCAR, he has football as a backup. We all know he is going to be supporting Ron and I when we get older and if he is going to have his house in the hill with all 50 cars he might need both sports to support us! :)

Best Anniversary Gift Ever!

For our Anniversary I really wanted to get pictures taken of the 4 of us someplace other than J.C Penny's. By chance we came across Mike and Bethany Derringer with Expressions by Beth. Oh my goodness it was the fastest 2 hours ever and we had a blast! Tony asked me once it was over if they were our friends (before the shoot). I told him no this was the first time we had meet them. He then said "well, you should be friends with them they were really nice and I had a lot of fun". :) I can not wait to get the rest of our pictures, they were both so creative and came up with some really cute ideas! If you are in the market for a great photographer I can not express how happy we were with Mike and Bethany. Check out her blog at, http://expressionsbybeth.blogspot.com/

Riley's 1st birthday party!

Riley eating her huge cupcake!
Grandma Terri and Grandpa Steve got her the cat and every time she sees it now she says "hi:... It is so funny she loves that thing and I think she thinks it is real.

Look at this monkey!

Riley's own cupcake!

Waiting for more presents, the chair is a present too! She learned if she sat in the chair she would get more so once she was ready for another toy she would go back to the chair. How funny is that! I hope she doesn't think that will happen all the time.

Some decorations, silly me forgot to take a picture of everything. I was a little scattered brained that day, just couldn't get everything done.

Everyone else's cupcakes, how is it the one year old get the huge one?

We had Riley's first birthday party on Monday, Labor Day. Since her birthday fell in the middle of an event for me at work, we had to put if off for a week. We worked our butts off to get the house clean and all decorated. It turned out great! We had a house full! We went with the basic cupcake theme and it turned out great. Ron and I made the cupcakes and her "smash" cake while Tony added the sprinkles and helped lick the bowls out :) We had a great time with all of our friends and family! We fell so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives that love us.

On another note, Riley had her one year check up last week. Let's just say she lost weight. She now weighs 16.3 pounds. The doctor took her off formula and put her on whole milk! But, since she isn't gaining weight we have her on pedisure for the next three months. Bad part is I think pedisure is more expensive than formula, figures right!?! We will continue to do monthly weight checks and if she isn't where the doctor wants her at her 15 month appointment we get to go see the "smart" doctors and Riley's children hospital. We have strict diet orders and she can pretty much eat all the stuff I can't. If the child would slow down for just 5 minutes maybe she can gain some weight.

30 years ago....

My Mom brought me into this world! I am so tired from some little girl keeping Ron and I up most of the night I feel like I am 80 today. I know some people have issues with birthdays, I am not one of them. I LOVE birthdays, I always go overboard (as you will see in my next post about Riley's birthday party) and they always such a big deal. It is the day your life began and it is a fun day to looks back on all the things I have accomplished, whether it be big or small things. Lots have happened in the past 30 years and I can only imagine what the next 30 years has to bring, wait isn't that a country song?

Some major things will hopefully happen in my 30's:

31: Be in the best shape of my life (on my way there now)

32: Debt free but the house

34: Riley will start school

36: Tony will get his driver's license

38: Tony will graduate high school

40: Hoping to be debt free including the house

I know there will be so much more and I am looking forward to it. I have gotten so many great birthday wishes and some great presents too! When I got home yesterday I had a brand new dishwasher already installed! As everyone tells me, you know you are getting old when you ask for a dishwasher for your birthday. Thank to Ron, my parents, and Ron's parents for the new dishwasher :) As for plans for tonight, I am hoping that someone has a much better night and to be in bed by 8:00, now that is getting old!! Thanks again to everyone for all the great birthday wishes, it is so nice to know how many great friends I have!

3 years ago today.....

Ron and I said "I do". It was been a AWESOME three years and I can't wait to see what else life has to come!

Double Header in one day!

U.S. Nationals Pictures came from the Indy Star, I wish we that good of seats :)

Saturday Ron and Tony raced and right after the races we headed to ORP for the U.S. National NHRA drag races. Ron won the ICC race and finished 3rd in even after getting punted in the corner. Good thing the kid the hit him went off the track the next lap, Ron might of tried to kill him, ok maybe not.... (I think). Tony finished 5th and 13th. Only two more points races left for the year.

For those that don't know Ron and I first date was the U.S. Nationals 5 years ago. We have made it back every year but last year, hey I had a 2 day old baby. This year was not a disappointment. We like to go Saturday night because it is WAY better at night and the fireworks afterwards are better than the racing. Steve got us 4 tickets and with Tony being free my parents came along too. Steve and Terri kept Riley and she spent the night, I think it was harder on Mom than Riley! But, we both seemed to live through it, if you asked the boys they didn't even know she was gone. Ok maybe not...(I think)

I was a long but fun day and it as nice to be able to give Tony some undivided love and attention.

Tony for President!

Tony came home tonight and said, "I want to run for student council." My first reaction was no way. Of course he had to have his posters done by TOMORROW, and he had known about it all week. After thinking about how this could be a good thing and how much he could learn from it, I headed to CVS at 8:00 pm at night for some poster board. Needless to say $18.00 and 30 minutes later we were on our way to creating some awesome student council posters! Yes I said we, it was a family effort to get them both done in one night and we had to put our heads together to get creative. He was 30 minutes late for bed and Ron and I have spent all of our creative juices for the week. I just know he had a blast making the posters and I know it is one of "those" moments he will remember for awhile. :) Watch for future Petersen for President signs, maybe in 2042? Oh, and don't ask how I spent so much money, all he had to say was Mom can you look for stuff to make it stand out.... I am a sucker for that kind of stuff.