I've got a horse right here...

Last weekend we went to Monmouth Park to enjoy a beautiful Sunday afternoon (after a wet Saturday afternoon, thanks to Tropical Storm Hanna). And yeah, we bet on some horses too.

Tommy thinks that wearing two pairs of glasses will help him pick the right horse.

I'm not so sure.

Here we are waiting for our horses to come in...

And they're neck and neck...

Matt and I having our picture taken (outside) the winner's circle with the winning horse.

For more pictures, check out http://picasaweb.google.com/parrothdnj/MonmouthParkSeptember72008

Rolex at New Jersey Motorsports Park

This weekend we went to the inaugural Rolex Series race at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville. The cool thing about watching the racing is that we both drove on this track about two weeks ago (more on that to follow -- I promise), so we knew what the track was like and we saw how the "real" drivers drove the same track.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that I got to meet Patrick Dempsey (a.k.a. Dr. McDreamy)?

That would be Patrick Dempsey's car spinning during qualifying, but we're not too sure who was driving. Could have been one of his co-drivers.

Bryce Miller leading the pack.

Some action from the Koni Challenge race.

The eventual winner of the Rolex Series race.

One of the drivers working his way throught the dust. Speaking of dust.....

The only bad part about the track is the dust. It is everywhere! I would love to say that that's a tan line on our ankles, but that's actually from the dust. Believe it or not, we were wearing socks and shoes all day. The dust actually found its way inside our shoes!

If you want to see more photos of the weekend, check out this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/PACanonRep/2008RolexNJMP

Samapalooza!

Matt and I took on the task of babysitting Sam for the weekend so that Drew and Heidi could enjoy a weekend alone in New York City. Here's Sam checking himself out in the mirror.

Oh so close to walking on his own. Sam cruised around the house with his walker all weekend. Just a couple more weeks and I think he's going to be on his own.

We took Sam to the park on Saturday. But apparently Sam was too cool for the park!

To see more photos, check out our album -- http://picasaweb.google.com/parrothdnj/SamapaloozaAugust2008?authkey=2BcdXX99nv0

And it's just the beginning

Matt was able to capture some of the "fireworks" from our first big thunderstorm of the season tonight. It took a steady hand because he used a 25-second exposure. Nice job, hon!

Hopefully, this storm will bring an end to the 100-degree days.

Saturday at Dover

We had an awesome Saturday planned for Dover. The Busch (er, I mean, Nationwide) race was at 3. Then we'd hit the Monster Mile for a track walk with a few of NASCAR's stars. The day started off well. We were greeted by the new Monster monument...

... we got to see Bobbly Allison honored by the folks at Dover Speedway...

... and we got autographs and photos with the man himself. But...

... Mother Nature had other ideas.

At first, we found a nice place to hide from the rain under the stairs. But that didn't last very long. It rained so hard that the water was coming in between the stairs and the bleachers. It was time to relocate.

We found a new place to stay dry. And the ponchos from Niagara Falls helped out quite a bit!

The rain stopped after about two hours. And somehow they managed to get the Nationwide race in before sunset (especially since there are NO lights at Dover). And for those who care, Denny Hamlin won the race!

Despite the late hour, they still managed to have the track walk -- anything for charity, right? We got to walk with Juan Pablo Montoya -- that's him signing the autographs. Also walking with us was his wife and children. We also met up with Michael Waltrip, Martin Truex, Jr., Ryan Newman, and Aric Almirola.

A stop on the back strech for a photo op.

And our obligatory photo of us on the start-finish line. It was a long day, but a good one!

NASCAR -- it's a family affair

Here's a taste of our recent trip to Dover. Much more to follow....

Leavin' on a jet plane

After a visit to the President's Club at Newark Airport (free drinks and snacks!), we're on our way to Florida to visit Matt's parents. Just a little bit of traffic on the runway...

As we took off we said, "Hey, let's see if we fly over our house." Well, we actually did. Somewhere down there is our house. Great. We just added to the airplane noise.

Beautiful sky on our approach into Sarasota.

Seems there is art everywhere in Sarasota. Andy Warhols in the airport...

... a tooth along the side of the road ...

... cars stacked on each other.

To top off the night -- all-you-can-eat ribs for dinner!

Stay tuned. More to follow.

Here's some help with the 2008 election

I know that South Carolina heads to the polls this Saturday and next Saturday for its primaries, Florida not too soon after that, and then Super Tuesday. If you haven't made up your mind on who you're going to vote for, check this site out. (http://www.wqad.com/Global/link.asp?L=259460) Maybe it will help.