Last Free Weekend

Since this is our last weekend before racing starts, Josh took Paige and I out for "date night" on Saturday. We went out for supper and then to the movie Monster vs. Aliens.

It was a really cute movie and Paige loved it. She's already looking forward to the movies she saw in the previews. Up! and also, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. They both look pretty funny, but sometimes the only good parts are the ones they show in the previews.

We also got some odd jobs done around the house. (Like taking down the Christmas lights) Josh said he'd have it done before April 1st and since he did, I guess I can't complain too much.

Paige practiced batting and throwing the baseball. Getting ready for t-ball!! She doesn't play soccer, so t-ball is the summer activity she really looks forward to.

Paige and I also helped Josh take the racecar out and get some new photos for all the sponsors. The picture are on the "other"blog: http://www.joshhohenseeracing.blogspot.com

She learned how to run the winch and help load the car.

Battle Wounds from the Bike

Even though Paige did a great job without the training wheels, it wasn't without injury. This is what I found when she took a bath last night.

These bruises on her back are from the bike seat.


And the fronts and backs of her legs are covered. Poor baby!

I debated even posting these pictures for fear of DHS coming to my house! How crazy is today's world that we need to worry like that?

No Training Wheels

Josh took Paige's training wheels off yesterday and she's a pro already. Ok, maybe not a pro, but she's doing really well. We are so proud of her!

Spring Fever?

I think even Paige is getting a little "Spring Fever". This is a picture she created this morning.

Dancing Queen

Paige loves the movie "Mamma Mia". She got it for Valentine's day (because I was tired of renting it every other weekend) and has watched it about 100 times since then. She loves to sing and dance along...as caught by video.

Schwan's sure is nice to us.....

Josh won a new tv from Schwan's that didn't fit in our entertainment center, so we went to Mason City yesterday to get a new one. It took a lot longer to get everything hooked up then we thought it was going to. Josh also won a surround system a few years ago, so he broke that out, too.

Thanks to dad for helping carry the old entertainment center out and the new one in.


Trying to figure out what all the wires are for...


and finally calling Uncle Charlie for help hooking everything up. Thanks, Charlie!

The finished product

Diabetic Coma (on a plate)

Since we went to Des Moines last weekend Paige and I never got a chance to make Valentine cookies. So we made them today instead.

She's got her apron on, she's ready to decorate

She loves to decorate the cookies

Having fun

The finished product. There's enough sugar on that plate to send anyone into a sugar shock!

What goes better with cookies than milk?

Sometimes I get really bored....

Just a series of random pictures that I messed with on the computer


Because you can't take life too seriously

And this one, since some people may not share our sense of humor :)

Just because he's a dork


Daddy's girl

And sometimes Mommy's girl, too

Family collage
Racing picture


My cousin, Barbara and I

Josh and his cousins, Abby and Sarah

6 is the new 16

Every morning Josh walks Paige to the bus (at the end of our driveway) and gives her a hug and kiss good-bye.

Yesterday, Paige and I had a late start so dad was long gone by the time the bus showed up. The bus has to drive by our house to pick up a kid on the next block and then comes back for Paige. When dad's not home we have a little different routine, when we see the bus go by, she puts on her coat and backpack to head out the door. I am usually running behind so I don't walk her to the bus (at the end of our driveway).

When she came home from school she asked me if I would tell her dad that he didn't need to walk her to the bus (at the end of our driveway) and if he would just let her go out by herself. I told her she had to tell him that herself.

So, this morning she told her dad that she could go out to the bus ALONE. He told her it was OK that he liked walking her out and giving her a hug and kiss. I was in the bathroom getting ready and Paige came in and whispered "I tried to tell him but he still thinks he needs to go out with me". Dad just didn't get the hint that she didn't want him to go out with her....so she and I went back out to the kitchen to break her dad's heart.

She explained the other kids were making fun of her because her dad walked her out and kissed her in front of them. Apparently, even six is too old to still be getting kisses from your dad in front of your friends. She told him he could still kiss her in the house, but not outside.

They definitely grow up way too fast!!

Paige's First Hockey Game

Josh, Paige and I went to Des Moines to watch the Iowa Chops hockey game on Valentine's day. We had a lot of fun! We had really good seats, so were able to see everything.

First fight-29 seconds into the game. Paige didn't want to see them punching each other, but kept asking if anyone had their teeth knocked out yet. Maybe she wanted them all to look like her.


Hockey fans are even crazier than dirt-track fans. These 2 guys were especially crazy. They were leading the crowd in cheers, jeering the refs and telling the other players how much they "suck".

During the game

They also had "Numerous Nuptials" between the first and second periods where people could either get married for the first time or renew their vows.

There were 70 couples total. I was really surprised there were that many!

Some even wore wedding dresses....
And some wore their pajamas.

During the breaks the Zooperstars put on some dance routines. They were on America's Got Talent. It was really cute.

Toothless

Paige lost her 4th tooth today.

She lost the bottom two in about October or so and has lost the top two in the last couple days.

Each time she has lost a tooth, the new permanent tooth is already most of the way grown in. On the bottom she had 2 teeth growing behind the other set (it was kinda gross).

Vegas, Baby

Josh and I left for our weekend trip on Thursday afternoon. We stayed overnight with Alyse, Charles and Ella in Des Moines. Thanks, Anliker family!

We got up at 4 am to head for the airport since our flight left at 6:20 am. We got through security without too many problems. Our flight from Des Moines to Minneapolis encountered quite a bit of turbulence. Not a good thing! But I'm glad we were only on that plane for about an hour. It was so tiny.

We got to Minneapolis and switched planes to head for Vegas. The flight had a lot of Minnesota and Wisconsin Schwan's people on it so we got to meet a few people before we even got to the event. We got to Las Vegas and Schwan's had a shuttle waiting to take everyone to the hotel.

We stayed at the Wynn. Our room was really nice. We're just glad Schwan's picked up the tab for that! We knew it was fancy when we saw the signs on the mini-bar.



We didn't have any free time before the meeting on Friday afternoon. It was the "business" part of the weekend. They had some corporates speakers: blah, blah, blah. We had a couple hours before the Friday night banquet so we just looked around the hotel a bit.

Friday night was an awards banquet broken down into each region. Each driver was introduced and given a plaque. Not much different than the banquets we have been to in the past. They broke it down into regions because there was a 567 drivers nationwide that were in the top sales level and went on this trip. Plus their guests and the people from corporate. They estimated about 1,300 Schwan's people at this event.


Josh is in the top 567 drivers in the nation!!! I am so proud of him.


The event Friday night was over about 10 pm so we went out to see the sights a little. It was raining Friday night so I didn't take my camera out.


These pictures are of the view from our room:

We got up about 8:30 Saturday morning and headed out to sight-see. We ate breakfast at Treasure Island since our hotel only offered Champagne Breakfast and it was $40 per person.

These are pictures of the pirate ships at Treasure Island...the only things Paige wanted to see pictures of.

We just walked up and down the strip...the outsides of the buildings were far more interesting than the insides.

Caesar's Palace

The Mirage

Margaritaville

You have to have a margarita at Margaritaville

Paris Las Vegas: The Eiffel Tower and views from the top of it.

We're definitely not in Iowa anymore....outside escalators, palm trees, orange trees and people swimming outside in January. It was 68 degrees on Saturday afternoon. My spring fever is gonna come early this year!

We had to be back to the hotel by 3 to get ready for the evening celebration. We had a "Celebration Dinner"scheduled but had no idea what that would consist of. We had supper and then a little presentation including a speech by Alfred Schwan.

The fog "door" leading into the banquet hall.

Where's the cheeseburgers?


Doug Schiltz, Josh and Jeff Loken. The only 3 drivers from Humboldt Depot that made Chairman's Club. Doesn't Josh look handsome in his suit?

Josh and Alfred Schwan

See what happens when I try to take a nice picture? Goofball!!
After the dinner they had a huge party with a band that included some celebrities: We saw Donna Summer, Tom Jones, Elvis and Tina Turner but I missed getting pictures of them. I did get....

The Blues Brothers

Michael Jackson

Cher

Madonna

Ok, so they were celebrity impersonators...but it was still fun!

It's time to go home when the feather boas and glow sticks come out!

We ended up getting to bed about 2 am on Sunday morning and had to get up at 4 am to catch our flight home. You know you've been to Vegas when you got 7 hours of sleep in 3 days!

Views from the flight home:

We're so tired we can hardly open our eyes!

You know you're back in the midwest when you can see nothing but patches of farmland!

We are really glad we got to go...but are not in a big hurry to do it again anytime soon.