Dover Nascar Race & Birthday

Since I have been slack about blogging, I thought I better blog about our trip to Dover, DE in mid-May.....especially since it was almost a month ago! It just sometimes feels redundant, since I usually put most of the same pictures on Facebook, but it is fun to look back and see more of an explanation of them on the blog.

Brandon and I drove up to Dover on Friday evening, May 14th. We stayed with our friends from Elon, Pat & Jennifer. We had a great weekend! On Saturday we just hung around their house in the morning. Jennifer made us an awesome breakfast of blueberry pancakes, and then we all slowly got ready. That afternoon we headed to St. Michael's, Maryland. A small town with really cute shops and a restaurant on the water. We walked up and down the street checking out some of the cute shops, and then finished off the evening by enjoying some crab by the water :)



Of course couldn't resist the fun sign.....I was excited to be able to "pinch" BI's head off ;)


Dinner by the water.....so nice!




Sunday was the race! This was only my 2nd Nascar Race. The first was Martinsville, VA several years ago. So, of the two races I have been to, neither are in my home state and home of Nascar, NC! Crazy, huh!? Guess that means I need to go to Charlotte soon :)

Nicole and Alison joined us for the race. They drove down from CT late Sat night. Nicole is our friend, Brian's sister. Brian and Melissa were going to come to the race with us, and after he passed, we still had 2 tickets. We had a great time with them! We headed over to tailgate early. It was cold!



And even though Brian couldn't be with us physically, we knew he was with us in spirit. Nicole brought some of his ashes to the race, and he tailgated with us :) I know everyone around us thought we were weird, but we didn't care. It was funny, emotional and cool all at the same time.

Brian enjoying a cold one...


Brian and Nicole's cousin/uncle (can't remember which) was at the race as well, and so he walked over to join us for a little tailgating before heading inside.




Before we went to our seat, of course Brandon and Pat had to say hello to Danika Patrick!


The Monster of Dover Monster Mile!






And they're off!


Even though I was wearing my red for #9 Kasey Kahne, I am also a fan of #18 Kyle Busch, who just happened to win the race! Just for my birthday :) LOL


It was a lot of fun. A part of me still likes watching the races on TV, because you see more of what is going on, but it is still a fun experience to go to every once and a while. And it makes my hubby so happy! Plus, it was fun to go with friends and see a different track.

On Sunday night we just had a quiet dinner at Pat & Jennifer's. We were all pooped! And then Monday morning, Brandon and I headed back home. Since it was my actual birthday and we were driving through DC, my brother wanted us to stop and see him real quick so that he could give me a birthday hug :)



A good birthday and a good weekend!!

Telling our parents the news....

JUNE 8TH:
We are still so early on, but so very excited, that we can't help but share our news with our immediate family. Figure if something goes wrong, we are going to need their support.

On Friday, June 4th, we have Ginny's parents over for dinner. We are standing in the kitchen talking and finishing up fixing dinner. I say, "Before we sit down, we need you two to put your thinking caps on. We need you to tell us what you want to be called......because you are going to be GRANDPARENTS!" I knew they would be excited, but never imagined how much. This will be their first grandchild. Well, I look at my dad and he is already bright red and eyes filled with tears. My mom looks at me and says "Are you serious?!" as she goes to hug me, and then starts jumping, or running in place, or something - she just can't stand still. It was awesome!! And if you know my family, we are big on signs. Mom brought me some of her hydrangea blooms to decorate the table. And she chose to bring the blue blooms from their front yard, as opposed to the pink ones from the backyard :) Only time will tell, but this was my first sign that we just might have a boy.



We told Brandon's parents the following weekend. We had planned to wait and tell them our first night at the beach, but due to a little scare we had early on this pregnancy, we had a last minute doctor's appt Thursday morning (the day we were supposed to be leaving for the family beach trip). So, Brandon called his parents to say, Ginny is pregnant, but there is a problem, and we need to go to the doctor. It wasn't the ideal way to tell them, but of course wanted them to know. They were of course concerned. The beach, although a little stressful, since the doctor visit still left us wondering if this pregnancy was going to survive, was relaxing. And Brandon's parents and he were so supportive and encouraging to me. So, I am glad I had the support of such wonderful family!!