Steel City

The next to last race on the circuit is in Pittsburgh so of course we had to go. It was a completely different story from last year. We were wearing jackets and praying for it not to rain at Steel City last year. This time around...it was hotter than a biscuit! All of my energy was spent by the end of the first moto. I have to admit that it was the most exciting race of the day with Dungey and Villopoto battling for first the ENTIRE time. I haven't screamed and jumped up and down like that in a long time. Unfortunately, Dungey made a little mistake at the very end there and Villopoto was able to win the moto. I was soooo bummed!

As of last Saturday the season ended and Villopoto took the championship. He deserved it fair and square, but Dungey had awful luck with bike mechanics this year. It would have been fun to see the points race a little closer, too, with Chad Reed.

Here are some pics that Derek took from Steel City and High Point.

The starts are always exciting

This is a French rider doing a good "scrub" over this jump

We were cheering for Ryan Dungey but unfortunately, he didn't pull out a win that day

Chad Reed seems like his recent crash has affected his riding (see video at the bottom)

Chad Reed and Ryan Dungey battled it out for a while in the 2nd Moto

Ryan Villopoto and Ryan Dungey were this close throughout the 1st moto but RV pulled a big lead in the 2nd moto

This was a neat jump and the pictures here turned out good!

Ryan Villopoto waved right at us!

And you can't talk about the 2011 AMA season without mentioning Chad Reed's ridiculous crash. What's even more incredible is that he gets up and finishes the race!

My Little Buddy

Over the Labor Day weekend we got to spend some time with our AWESOME cousins in Pittsburgh.

Here's their precious little guy, Caleb.


Only a dentist's son would be brushing his teeth at the sink when he's not even 2.



We got these sunglasses at the race and Caleb thought he was the coolest thing ever wearing them! And he was!

10K...check!

Derek and I ran our first 10K and it was so much fun. It was sponsored by Turkey Hill (a local dairy company that makes ice cream and other goodies) and was set out in the country. The run was beautiful and the weather was perfect. After the race we got to eat all the ice cream we wanted!

I was impressed with our times that we both finished under an hour 15. That's how long the practice run took me.


I'm so proud of Derek because he really didn't have a lot of time to train and running isn't his favorite thing, but he did awesome!


There were only 155 people who did the 10K and we almost came in dead last. But...we finished and had a good time!

Roots Market

Every Tuesday there's a huge farmer's market and flea market in a nearby town. It's AWESOME, to say the least. Today I went with my friend, Carrie, and she helped me pick out these treasures.

I've been searching for a cute candy dish or small serving bowl for olives, nuts, anything that doesn't require a huge dish. This was only $1! It's perfect and even came with a lid.

I'm not sure what to do with this bottle yet, but I thought it was neat and it only cost me 50 cents. And it's actually a lot taller than it looks in the picture.





You've inspired me, Laura Montgomery!

Atlanta Supercross (Best Race EVA)

We got to go to the Atlanta Supercross last weekend and it kicked butt! So I flew to Chattanooga where Derek is working each week and Lori, my dear friend and college roommate, drove over and met us from Nashville. Then we all drove down to Atlanta together.

Blake Wharton is my favorite rider so I had some artsy people help me make a poster for him. When we got to the pits, which were insane, we went right to his trailer and waited for him to show up. When he saw my sign he got a big grin on his face and gave me the head nod, acknowledging that he'd seen me. Then he came over and signed my poster and we all chatted for a bit and got pictures. He was so nice to talk to us. Derek said Blake was probably super pumped to have big fans there because he's on the same team with more popular riders and not many of the fans come to see him.



When we went back after practice Blake gave me some autographed race goggles that still had the tear offs on them. It was awesome! And Derek totally predicted that he would give me something because of my sign.



Blake did really well during his main. He got the holeshot, led the first 10 laps, and then crashed. He got right back up and took 4th. Not bad, I was proud of him. This is him leading with his teammate, Justin Barcia, right behind him.



The 450 main was incredible. Reed and Stewart were battling for first through the whole race and then they crashed into each other during the last lap. Villopoto got by so then they went at it for 2nd. In the very last turn before the finish jump reed cuts to the inside and blocks Stewart all the while dungey comes out of nowhere and passes them both for second and Stewart doesn't even podium. The whole crowd was on their feet. It was incredible. Stewart was so ticked that he went right to his trailer and wouldn't come out for his hole-shot check.


Me and Lori at the track.




Our other favorite rider, Kevin Windham.



Enjoying our free Monster drinks at the Monster Energy tent.



Great race! Great night!

Mars Factory Tour

Derek has been working each week in Cleveland, TN and it's been kinda rough on us. We don't like being apart so last week I flew down to spend a long weekend with Derek. It was so nice to be together and it was fun to see where he lives and works all the time. Yesterday, Derek took me on a tour of the factory and it was awesome.



We started out at the Twix line. It was just so neat to see it go from cookie dough all the way to wrapped and boxed. My favorite thing to see was how they put the caramel on the cookie. There was a huge cooled rotating drum with caramel on it. Then the caramel was scraped off with a blade and went in to a funnel looking thing that heated the caramel to just the right amount and then that split into little teat looking things that laid the caramel perfectly on the passing cookies. Derek took one of the Twix bars off the line for me to try without the chocolate coating put on yet and it was delicious. Then we tried a Twix with the chocolate on it. Soooo good.

The most fascinating thing to see was the M&Ms. We tasted M&Ms from each stage of the process from the roasted peanut all the way to the finished product. We loved the freshly roasted peanuts. The huge tumblers that coat and polish the peanuts were mesmerizing to watch; tens of thousands of M&Ms just rolling around in a slow washing machine type barrel.



The packaging is also incredible to watch. Conveyor belts running all over the factory and sorting bins and huge rolls of wrappers that package faster than I can watch. Pure Awesomeness!

And then Derek showed me the project he's working on and that was really neat to see. After seeing all the wires and the huge, complex control panels I completely understand why he feels overwhelmed. Derek's background in in mechanical and manufacturing engineering and he was just thrown into this electrical position. I'm so proud of the work he's doing and how perserverant he is. Derek never gives up and always gives 110%. I couldn't be a prouder wife!

H-Burg

Derek took the day off on Friday and I only had a half day so we spontaneously decided to go and check out Harrisburg. We took a tour of the capital building and I thought it was fascinating. Being from Texas and California, Derek and I know nothing about the history of Pennsylvania. The building itself is gorgeous and the paintings, statues, and symbolism in the architecture are all incredible.





This is a view of the inside of the beautiful rotunda.


After leaving the capitol we headed toward the Susquehanna River and walked by it for a while. It was fun to see it all frozen over. I haven't seen anything like that since my mission when we walked across the frozen river in one of my areas to a little island out in the middle of it.



On our way home we stopped by the HUMONGOUS Bass Pro Shops at the mall and spent quite a while there just walking around admiring all of their neat stuff. Then we found the coolest part of the store (at least for 9-year olds...and us!) You put 50 cents in this machine and you get 25 shots at plenty of various targets. We both had a good time! It was a fun way to end our great afternoon in Harrisburg.