live . craft . learn

312.06 mph

we spent yesterday out at infineon watching the nhra drag racing nationals and so much of what i saw yesterday brought back amazing memories of my childhood.

mom ... it was hard being there without you yesterday but i think mike is in love so we're planning on lots and lots of drag events to see. next time you'll be next to me and we'll be oooh-ing and ah-ing and feeling our hearts racing togther, ok? xo

you see, when i was little my mom was a drag racer. she had a tricked out mini toyota truck called lil buddy {named after my step-father}. it was small and fast and in the height of her racing she had a nitrous injector, which is now apparently banned.

as soon as i felt the shaking & pounding of my heart and body when the top fuel cars went speeding past us {the top car went 312 mph in under 4 seconds!!} i was in heaven. i remembered things i hadn't thought about since i was a child. walking through the pits and seeing engines ripped apart. watching everyone write their times on the windshields with white shoe polish markers as we waited in line for mom's turn to race. sitting in the passenger seat of our blue pickup on the side track and racing after my mom to the end of that 1/4 track so we could tow her back to the pit before her next round if and when she qualified, and she qualified alot!

and i especially remember being there when she won. female racers were few and far between back then and i have always loved telling friends about her racing. it's always been one of those things i will be happy to brag about... "oh, my mom was a drag racer ... she was really good!" :)

it makes me so proud to know that she was part of a sport that was and is SO intense and fast.

 

i remember traveling to all of the tracks we'd go to {baylands, bakersfield, and so many more i can't remember} i saw so many amazing cars and some amazing drivers, like shirley muldowney and some amazing jet cars that would light up the sky after dark. oh... such good memories.

we would travel to baylands in fremont the most and i have searched and searched online for some good track pics and i managed to find a few like this and this. i love the shot of the old cars smoking their tires.

mom... does this bring back good memories??

this is ben of course, right after he saw his first top fuel dragster rocket down the track. this boy ate yesterday up which we knew he would. he was sad we couldn't go back today. me too bud. me too!

we walked through the pits and got to see some of the teams rebuilding the engines between runs. it was hot and crazy and i kept hearing the kids ooh and ahh when they'd take a funny car body off or the mechanics would throw down a broken part.

 

seriously good times people. good. times.

happy sunday!
xo

the ...

... girl.

she has another 6 months clear. we were at stanford last wednesday and her amazing craniofacial team told us that she has been making such wonderful progress with speech since her surgery over a year & a half ago that she has another 6 months until we see them again. go maddie go!!

... boy.

my boy. two weeks ago we were at micheals {of course!} and he found the model car aisle. oh my heck. it was all he could do to contain himself. LOOOK at THIIIIIIISSSS one mama. OHHH! this one is lightening {mcqueen}. ooohhhhhhhhh!!! MAMA A JET ENGINE!!!

so a week later we were at the thrift store and he finds a model car. new. in the box. of course i bought it for him and he waited patiently for an entire week until mike could work on it with him on saturday. i don't think this boy has sat still for an entire 3 hours in his life before they started working on this. look at that concentration.

... man.

he's feeling a little better. thank you for all of your emails and comments!

... me.

i got a sunday to crop at pmp during the anniversary crop. it was a bit quiet since suzy is in brazil drooling over all the hot men... *snort*, but i got to sit with my girls erin and laurie and michelle and see pattie and wei and rocio and everyone else and it felt good to sit and play and chill and just create with good friends. i had my kenner road kit and got three more layouts created out of it. and two more in the works.

also, every last kit went postal this morning. which makes me happy. happy that everyone should have it within the week, and excited because then i get to see what everyone creates. i started a kenner road flickr group, so if you have a kit or will get one in the future i hope to see your brilliant creations there.

hodge podge of memories & a RAK

*sigh*

this is the add-on "hodge podge" that will be available in limited quantities on the 15th. some of my most favorite items are in here. perfect to use as an add-on for the main kit or as a simple project kit. i think most of us made minis except jayne, who made something i adore. cannot wait to share that!

in addition to all of our sneak peeks we {me & the creative team} are all offering some fun raks and giveaways on each of our blogs, all you have to do is tell us a story. i want to know about a street you grew up on. if you leave your comment here i'll enter your name 1 time. leave a comment here with a link to a blog post you've written that includes a link to kenner road and i'll enter your name for my rak 5 times.

yup. FIVE TIMES!

now i'm sure you want to know what i'm giving away, right? sure you do. but first i want to tell YOU a little story.... about kenner road.

when i started thinking about starting a kit club {after getting numerous requests from friends} i kept thinking of what i would call it. and the only name that kept creeping into my mind over & over was the little street in the middle of the central valley, out in the middle of nowhere and 30 minutes from the nearest town, where i grew up. kenner road. the place where i spent so much time outdoors. running through the nearby orchards, picking apricots and almonds and eating them fresh from the branches. skipping over to the neighbors to see how the baby bunnies were growing. riding my sweet horse missy up and down our walnut orchard and sometimes places i shouldn't tell my mother i went... riding through the irrigation probably wasn't the safest thing to do. sorry mom!

living on kenner road was at times s struggle for our family and for most of my life i have looked back on that time as one of hurt and pain, only concentrating on the hurt. but as i've gotten older and started raising my children i have realized that there were many magical moments, moments i only wished i could grant for them. about 6 months ago i really started searching and thinking about those moments, the ones that were good.  the sense of freedom that no matter how hard you try you just can't experience in a town, in a city, in a suburban neighborhood. the way i would wake in the morning, eat breakfast and bolt out the door... and not set foot back inside until dusk.

i've been missing it lately, the country life of my childhood and reminiscing alot about that time. i feel very grateful that i can take that part of my life, such a privileged childhood experience and share it with you through kenner road. it's where i started and it molded a large part of me into who i am today.

so i'm starting down a new road now. one filled with memories past, the blessed life i am living now and a future that excites and inspires me. i am surrounded by a supportive and encouraging family, amazing friends who i treasure and a craft that i adore.

and to get that path started i am thrilled to give away a SIX MONTH subscription to kenner road to one of you. whether you are an old friend or new, just hearing about the site and our kits or someone who has already subscribed i hope that we will be somewhere that you enjoy visiting. i hope that we will be a place where you feel comfortable, like we're sitting on the back porch sipping some iced tea and chatting while the kids run free in the garden.

extra rak info : you have until monday 09.15 at 12 noon to enter and i'll announce the lucky person on tuesday. if you've already subscribed or are planning to do so on monday please feel free to do so & still enter the contest, i will happily refund your subscription if you're the lucky recipient.

contest is now closed... check back tomorrow for the winner!!

also, i've been getting alot of emails today asking for faq about subscriptions, ordering, shipping & more. our site will be launching by sunday morning and i highly suggest that you make sure to go read the "about" section on sunday so you understand how it all will work. but if you still need more info please feel free to email me {{ info [at!] kenner road [dot!] com }} and i'll be happy to answer anything that i can.

happy friday my sweet friends.
xoxo

such sweetness

oh such sweetness and beautiful conversations. i have loved hearing from all of you and quietly being in the moment with your words. some great questions and some beautiful insights. my heart feels a bit fuller knowing you are all still there, with me and we are searching for a new way to be inspired, together.

i have ever intention of replying to each and everyone of you. to your questions and words, to your thoughts and open hearts, and also to those of you who sent me sweet blog awards, you are such good friends. but this week didn't go as i had planned and i got caught up in work and family life... as we usually do.

eta 09.02.08 : some of you saw this post and what was written here before i decided to edit it yesterday. thank you for all of the sweet well wishes and thoughts, but my hubby isn't as comfortable as i am sharing our lives and asked me to edit. so of course i did. he's felling better and hopefully on the mend.

so this is where i am. being reflective and paying attention to my family. to my man. realizing that these are the things that make us stronger. being grateful and being hopeful that this will not be something larger. that it will be manageable and that right now, at this moment he is still here, with us. knowing that i am blessed to have him, to call him mine.

xoxo

today i loved ....

... meeting julie {shabbyjuls} in real life {she lives here too!} after planning a coffee talk for two weeks and realizing how much we really have in common. thrifting. all things chippy and old. summer cottage. digital. alameda & vintage chic. our love for jayney. mellowness & truth.

... sharing good laughs & getting to know one another better over a soy flat latte {me, of course} and a venti iced tea {her}. it was mid-morning perfection.

... finding proof that the pony carnival that maddie & her papa created while i was in chicago was documented on the camera {yay papa!!} when i was downloading pictures from meeting julie.

... seeing this pic of dina & celeste and stealing it from dina's flickr pool and hearing the words "dinah wackley" and remembering all the crazy laughs and good pizza we had at cha. i miss you girls something fierce!!

... seeing this on holly's blog and going and instantly needing to do it myself. those are some good words i've been using!

... that i have been spending every evening since getting home from chicago, oh... and nap time!, sitting in my favorite chair reading the host and loving it more than i thought i would. i read all the reviews and i still bought it in sfo on my way to chicago last week and now i am happy i did {but i'm only about 1/3 of the way through, no spoilers, k?}. and can i ask... how many of you will be buying breaking dawn on august 2nd? i can't wait!

... seeing that this friend and this amazing friend gave me the sweetest honors with a blog award. thank you sweeties!

... being there for a friend and knowing that she truly knows i have her back 1000%. regardless of what happens, regardless of the hard decisions she has to make and regardless what comes her way. i will always be there.

happy thursday!
xo