Day 240~

Superman took the joys on a short road trip to meet Sgt. Slaughter, WWE Hall of Fame wrestler.

The littlest joy collects wrestling autographs, so it was right up his alley!

Flashback: Did you watch the 80's cartoon "Rock 'n Wrestling" on Saturday mornings as a child?


That's all I could think about after downloading the pictures they took!

:)

Happenings

Here's what we've been up to while I've been gone...
Another trip to meet Ric Flair:Superman turned 40:Wyatt turned 9 (and requested a cake just like his daddy's- yellow cake with chocolate icing):He also had a birthday lunch at Red Robin with Cameron and me. He picked Red Robin for the endless french fries:And last but not least, this cute little cousin came to visit. He donned an apron and helped me bake birthday cupcakes for his mama! It made me realize how much I miss having little hands helping in the kitchen!

Drag Racing

A couple of weeks ago The Godfather came into town. He and Superman took the boys to N.C. for a day of testosterone-filled NHRA Qualifying. Superman asked me just tonight if I'd posted the pictures on the blog yet. Oops! I've been a little busy, and just hadn't gotten to it yet. Well, with Superman (and all of his hotness) sitting right beside me to educate me on just what he used my camera to take photos of... here goes!

Here are the joys with Dave Grubnic. He's from Australia. I love to hear him talk when he's interviewed. He drives a Top Fuel Dragster. They run about 315 mph down a 1000 foot track.

The oldest joys said that when the Top Fuel Dragsters took off, it made his ears tickle!

This is a Funny Car body. Look how tiny that car is compared to my 8-year-old and 10-year-old.
I like Cory Mac. I don't really know why, but I like him. I love to hear the announcers call out his name. Isn't that a wonderful reason to love a driver? (Considering I love Tony Stewart because he's the Home Depot driver, I guess I should own up to having strange reasons for liking people/teams!) By the way, Cory Mac's real name is Cory McClanathan. Superman, the King of Autograph Collecting, just informed me that when Cory Mac signs for you, he only writes: "Cory Mc".
My most favorite driver is below. The joys didn't get to meet her or get her autograph. She's the spawn of Drag Racing's Most Winningest Driver, John Force. That makes her a little difficult to have the opportunity to meet. She's in high demand.

She's also really FAST! She's a Funny Car driver. She typically runs around 300 mph down a 1000 foot track. It takes about 4 seconds for her to get from one end of the track to the other. In other words, blink twice and she's finished!

One of her sponsors is Castrol.

She's terribly cute! She's always smiling! Watching her family's reality show, "Driving Force" made us all fans! I like her a lot! Although I try not to encourage it, my boys like her a lot, too! They think she's "a hottie". (Here is a photo of her from her website.)

So, Ashley Force, if you're reading this, my boys will be back in Charlotte next year! It would really make their day to get to meet you and take a picture with you!

Here is a photo of the boys with Angelle Sampey. She rides Pro-Stock motorcycles. I really, really don't like her! When I was first forced to watch drag racing, I thought she was adorable! That was about three last names ago. Superman keeps getting her updated autograph, because she tends to go through a lot of last names!

And I know that most of you reading our little family blog don't know or care about drag racing, so please forgive me for this little rant (after all, I am the sole writer on this blog, so it's my privilege)--- but when you have to use the quote, "I'm just too fast for the light" in every interview in which you've red-lighted and lost the race, then it might be your starts that need fixing- not the light!

This little cutie is Karen Stoffer. She rides Pro-Stock motorcycles, too. They go almost 200 mph down a 1/4 mile track-- in like 7 seconds!

She does NOT whine about being too fast for the light! She's my new favorite motorcycle driver!

The joys came home with dozens of autographs! They were so proud! They've started autograph notebooks that I'll feature later! Lord help me, our house is overflowing with Superman's collection. I can't imagine another decade worth of autographs when ALL THREE of them have collections!

WHOOOOOOOOO!!!

Do you recognize this man? One of his most famous catch phrases is, "To be the man, you've got to beat the man!" Oh yeah, and he's also known for saying, "Whoooooooooooo!"
We had a chance to meet Ric Flair, 16 time Champion of the WWE, today! Whooooooo! And it was so much fun! He's such a sweet man. He and Superman chatted as my star-struck little joys stood back and watched. Did I mention that it was a lot of fun?Superman has been an autograph and sports memorabilia collector for as long as I have known him. He was thrilled to get some things autographed. My joys were thrilled to just be in the presence of another wrestler.This is the line we stood in for two hours...It was at a Hummer dealership, so my oldest joy made himself at home in the back of one to play his PSP. He also let us know that we needed to buy a Hummer, but I don't think so!The joys also practiced head locks while we waited...And finally consented to one fairly serious photo. (Thank you boys!)Ric Flair is also a Gamecock fan, so it was appropriate that he rode to the event in a Gamecock colored Hummer.

Remember the Golden Rule

I've always been told that you should be careful how you treat people, because you never really know who a stranger may turn out to be. Even the Bible talks about angels being among us, although we may not be aware that is who/what they are. Well, I recently had an experience that drove that point home to me!

Superman is in construction, and I answer the phones for him in the mornings. I don't mind helping out. I'm a natural-born talker! One day, just moments from me finishing with the phones, I received a call from a woman needing our help. Although we could technically do the job for her, it was under some unusual circumstances. We normally prefer to supply our own materials, due to the warranty we issue on our work. The caller had her materials already, but needed to hire someone to finish the job on her house. The forecast was for rain in the next couple of days, so it was important that she find someone to get the job done asap! Normally I would have referred her to someone else, but I felt inclined to get her in touch with Superman.

It just so happened that Superman had to pass right by her house on his way home from work that day, so he stopped by to check out the job and the materials, to make sure he could take the job.

The woman's husband was home when Superman arrived. And you'll never guess who her husband just happened to be...

Hacksaw Jim Duggan.

As in Hacksaw Jim Duggan, the WWE Wrestler.

As in Hacksaw Jim Duggan,the WWE Wrester,"HOOO! U-S-A-!-U-S-A-!"

And as it turns out, he's one of the kindest human beings I've ever met!

Superman has gone back and taken care of several other jobs for him over the last couple of months. Jobs that have been blessings to us! Our area is in the middle of a severe drought right now. And when the rainfall is less than normal, so is our workload! Did I mention how thankful I am that we helped out that fateful day?!?!

I've already mentioned what a kind man Hacksaw is, but let me elaborate.

This is C and W with their cousin A on our way to see WWE Raw in October of 2006...

And here are the three of them with a WWE Raw wrestling legend, IN PERSON today...

Until tonight, the closest they had been to a real, live wrestler was this...

And the closest they had been to Hacksaw Jim Duggan was this...

So you can imagine that they never expected to find themselves in this position...

Neither did I! He was so kind, so down-to-earth, so normal! He offered us the opportunity to bring the kids, the cousin, and the camera so they could meet him! I couldn't have asked for more! It was a perfect evening, complete with him signing autographs and giving the boys copies of his headshot! See what I mean when I say that he is one of the kindest human being I've ever met?

It just goes to show, you should always remember the golden rule! You never know who a stranger may turn out to be!

P.S. For those of you that are interested, here's a juicy bit of Top Secret WWE information I learned from Hacksaw this evening. Usually, the wrestlers that come across as the meanest characters, are actually the nicest people in real life! (OK, so maybe that's not truly Top Secret information, but it was something I learned today!)