8th Grade Graduation!

Not the best photos I've ever taken...but I just need to say...I am EXTREMELY proud of my wonderful, caring, handsome, smart son! I wish my mom and dad were here to see him...they would be so damn proud! An Outstanding Achievement Award...and straight A's!

Life is Good!!! It is what it is!

I am anxiously awaiting the final report card my son will receive in grade school. He is more than likely getting straight A's! A feat which neither his father nor I ever was able to achieve. I am EXTREMELY proud of the young man he is becoming. He had his 8th grade semi-formal dance last night...I dropped him off in the parking lot at his school...and was encouraged strongly to stay in the truck and move along...not to get out and take pictures. I am glad that I took pictures at home.

In September Nick will enter LENAPE HIGH SCHOOL! That I cannot believe! I seems like yesterday that he was getting on the bus for the first time with a back pack that was almost as big as he was. I complained of the list of supplies I had to purchase for him for Kindergarden. The tissues and hand sanitizer and baby wipes...not to mention the pencils and paper and folders, the crayons and markers. I don't remember everything...but I do know it was a lot! Now he prepares to enter highschool...his voice hasn't changed yet...but I am expecting that to happen anyday. He is already taller than me, and wears a sneaker 3 sizes bigger than his fathers. Nick is growing up...it is inevitable...something that I am not prepared for at all. He is my only child...my heart and soul...he is my world! What will I do in 4 years when he is packing up and moving off to college?! What will I do when he marries and leaves me for good? Iknow that I am not the only person to feel this way...I am sure that every parent experiences feeling and anxiety like I am having. I too am changing...I am getting older...my hormones are changing as well. The wrinkles around my eyes and on my forehead are getting more prominent. My knees hurt when I go up the stairs sometimes...I enjoy staying home and watching a movie instead of going out on a Saturday night. These are all things I can't change...but LIFE IS GOOD! A friend and fellow Corvette enthusiast has adopted that as his mantra. I too have a mantra that I have adopted lately..."It is what it is!" I have learned as I have aged that it is very true...it IS what it IS! Most things in life can't be changed and you have to make the most out of it and enjoy life...because LIFE IS GOOD! I am proud of the son that I have...that I was blessed with an amazing son that has been a good boy. That is loving and caring and smart. I am blessed with a husband that takes good care of his family...that works VERY hard and comes home exhausted to listen to me bitch and moan....most of the time he just soaks it in and doesn't say a word. I am blessed with a job that challenges me everyday. I have a home over my head. I have a best friend that loves me NO MATTER what I say or do...Staci listens without judging even though I know she could judge...easily. LOL

So...no matter what...Life IS Good...and It IS what it IS!!! There will be days that torture my entire being...but I know that I have 4 more years of watching my son grow into a man...I am looking forward to those days as much as I am fearing them.

You asked for more...so here they are!

Lee...you asked for some more pics...so just for you....here are some more!

#3 Cunningham Corvette

Two really awesome Corvettes and a great story!!!!

The following was copied from Carlisleevents.com

For Immediate Release

Corvettes at Carlisle Announces 50th Anniversary Tribute to Le Mans

View the 2011 50th Anniversary Tribute Corvette and the 1960 Briggs Cunningham #3 Corvette Together for the First Time in History

Monday, August 02, 2010

Carlisle Events is proud to announce that the 2011 50th Anniversary Corvette VIN #00001 and the 1960 Briggs Cunningham #3 Corvette will be on display together for the first time in history at the Carlisle PA Fairgrounds during Corvette at Carlisle, August 27-29, 2010.
For fans of Corvette Racing, 2010 marks a special occasion - the 50th anniversary of a Corvette’s first class win during the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. That year three 1960 Corvettes were prepared and entered by privateer and racer Briggs Cunningham and a fourth was entered by Lloyd “Lucky” Casner’s Camoradi USA team. One of Cunningham’s Corvettes was involved in a dramatic finish that still stirs the souls of Corvette lovers over fifty years later.

The first Team Corvette at Le Mans faced some formidable competition from the factory-backed efforts of Ferrari, Aston Martin, Jaguar and Porsche. In complete contrast to the 2010 Corvette C6.R’s that were driven at Le Mans the weekend of June 12, 2010, the 1960 cars were pulled off of the production assembly line, drum brakes, solid axles and all. The three Cunningham cars had 2 drivers each to assist each other in the grueling 24-hour race. The #1 car was piloted by Cunningham and William Kimberley. #2 was driven by Fred Windridge and Dr. Dick Thompson (aka the Flying Dentist) and the #3 was driven by John Fitch and Bob Grossman.

The cars all ultimately experienced different outcomes from the race, but the # 3 car achieved a once-in- a-lifetime accomplishment with a class win for the Chevrolet Corvette in the first year any Corvette competed at Le Mans. The car, with its production origins, overheated in the 23rd hour of the race, and race rules prohibited cars from receiving any fluids other than fuel. The #3 crew acted quickly and packed ice from drink coolers into the engine bay, enabling the Corvette to continue on to victory.

In commemorating the 50th anniversary of Corvette’s first class win at Le Mans, GM built a very special one-of-one tribute to the 1960 Briggs Cunningham Corvette #3. The 2011 tribute Corvette shares the same exterior cues including the twin stripes over the hood, roof and trunk and the #3. A special graphic on the B-pillar features a 50th Anniversary logo that dates 1960 and 2010.

The 1960 Cunningham Corvette #3 will soon return home after an 8,000-mile journey to France for the 2010 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Lance Miller recently celebrated the legendary 1960 win with the Chip Miller Charitable Foundation to raise awareness for Amyloidosis and fulfill his father’s, Chip Miller, dream to reunite the #3 Cunningham Corvette and John Fitch in Le Mans 50 years later. The 1960 Cunningham Corvette #3 celebrated in style as John Fitch piloted the historic race car around the world-famous Le Mans circuit on a parade lap with 50 Corvettes following them and Lance Miller in the passenger seat.

"This once-in-a- lifetime effort will never be forgotten!" Lance Miller comments, "The first time I saw the 50th Anniversary tribute Corvette at the National Corvette Museum I was stunned. I honestly couldn’t believe that the Corvette team went through the effort of producing a one-of-one tribute Corvette to help celebrate the 50 years of Corvette racing at Le Mans. We are honored to have the two cars (1960 Le Mans winning Corvette #3 and the 2011 tribute Corvette) displayed together for the first time during Corvettes at Carlisle. This display will go down in the history books!"

Doug Fehan, Program Manager Corvette Racing adds: "For many years we have talked about the legacy of Corvette Racing and the role that the team plays in Corvette’s history. The reason this is important today is because of the strong foundation that people like Dick Thompson, Dick Guldstrand, Zora Arkus-Duntov, and many others built for Corvette. They set the bar high, and they accomplished so much with so little. Today we have the full resources of Chevrolet and GM behind Corvette Racing, but these pioneers are the ones who truly began Corvette’s performance heritage. Corvette Racing is continuing to build on that foundation for those who will come after us."

For more information please visit www.carlisleevents.com or call (717) 243-7855.


# # #

Journalist note: Information about Carlisle Events, its event listings, auction offerings and the Carlisle Expo Center is available to journalists by phone:


Chris Hann
Director of Creative Services & Technology
717-243-7855 ext. 123
chrish@carlisleevents.com


Here is a video explaining more about the original car!

Here are some pictures I took of both cars during Corvettes at Carlisle the last weekend in August!
I hope you enjoy!

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It's what the sunflowers do."

~Helen Keller~

This is the ONLY sunflower out of about 30...that I planted from seedlings...that survived and bloomed! It seems that the area I planted them has cutworm infested dirt :(

I certainly enjoyed watching it grow from the 4 inch plant into the stunning flower that looked over my backyard for a few days. Squirrels enjoyed all of its seeds....so it is now just a memory!

Next year I will try again...but will fight the cutworms!!!

I really hope you enjoy this picture, it is my favorite of all that I took over the few days it was in bloom.

Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps Practicing at WDHS

I was browsing through my highschool marching band website on August 6th...when I stumbled upon the fact that the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps was practicing on the football field. The last time I was lucky enough to watch Drum and Bugle corps was back when I was in high school and went to a DCI championship. I remember it like yesterday and it was soooo exciting to watch. If you have never experienced a drum and bugle corp...then you really don't know what I mean.
I took my son Nick with me...he didn't understand the excitement I was exuding as we entered the field. He questioned my enthusiasm and was laughing at me. Once we were seated and he HEARD the thunder that the band creates that radiates through your body and rattles your chest, he finally understood what I was talking about. The smile on his face was worth the ribbing I had received...and he sat in awe while I took these pictures and the video at the bottom! I hope you enjoy!

Saturday, July 3, 2010, we went to the Cape May Zoo http://www.capemaycountygov.net/Cit-e-Access/webpage.cfm?TID=5&TPID=2729
It is a free zoo located in Cape May County, NJ. It is more than 85 acres, holds more than 550 animals and is open 364 days a year. Such an awesome place to visit if you are ever in the South Jersey area!



Nick posing with the Park Sheriff.

Nick feeding one of the stunning and VERY greedy white goats!

One of the stunning birds in the aviary. this is also my FAVORITE PIC OF THE DAY!

A peacock on the run!

An eagle statue dedicated to all veterans.

The Flamin' Flamingos!

The Bison!

The Gracious "bowing" Giraffe appears to be bowing to the Ostrich!