Cincinnati and Squash

TJ's grandmother, MeMaw, passed away last week. She had asked to be buried in Ohio near her mother, so we made the journey on Friday, sans Avery. Mom kept her so that she wouldn't have to fly since she wasn't feeling very good. We arrived late afternoon, and TJ was determined to make the best of the weekend, so we ended up at the Cincinnati Reds baseball game with 8 of his relatives. Their stadium is right on the river, so it was really cool to watch the boats and the fly balls go by while you are eating a delectable hot dog.
The funeral was Saturday morning in Mason, Ohio, one of the suburbs of Cincinnati. Afterwards we ate lunch at Beverly's brother house, and then we made our way to the IKEA store before heading to the airport. I heart IKEA. That store is like a McDonald's playplace for adults. When we checked in at the airport, we were told that our flight was delayed. After an hour they said we would not make our connecting flight in Charlotte that would take us our car in Birmingham. So we decided we would rather be stuck in Cincinnati than Charlotte, and we made arrangements to get on the early flight the next morning. Then we called TJ's dad to come back and get us, and we headed to Kentucky Motor Speedway. Grant just happened to be racing the number 83 BeasleyAllen.com car (remember that name) 30 minutes from the airport in Kentucky. Well, when TJ's family heard we were going to the race, they wanted to come too, so Hope, Aunt Tinsey, MiMi, PawPaw, Rick and Sherry all came too! See photo of Aunt Tinsey holding onto Linda less than 30 seconds after meeting her. Honestly, I don't think she has ever met a stranger.
So obviously, we were going to make the best of our situation! Not only did we have a blast, but Grant led 25 laps and almost won the dang thing! See this photo of Floyd as Grant is leading! Not even a smile. (Also notice the flames on his hat. I just want to point out that it is sinful in NASCAR world to not have flames on every article of clothing you own at all times.)
He came in 2nd, so we went down this creepy escalator tunnel and walked over to the infield to congratulate him! It was a great evening. This is where it takes a turn for the worse. We realize after watching the car go through inspection and "tech" (to make sure he wasn't cheating somehow) that it is well after midnight, and we have a very early flight to catch...so we load up and head back to our comped room courtesy of US Airlines. Now, I am sort of a hotel snob, seeing as I work for one. And the Days Inn, just doesn't cut it. I was so creeped out by the 1984 decor and the huge window that and number of strange people could have broken right through and murdered us, I could hardly sleep. Not that it mattered, since we checked in at 1:15 am and checked out at 4:45 am, I didn't really have a opportunity. So we slept on the plane, and arrived home safely to find Avery feeling much better than when we left her, and a only slightly irritated but tired Ama (who really helped us out knowing full well that Avery wasn't sleeping because of her stuffy nose!).

Here is Aves riding Heidi...sorry its random...just had this one saved on my computer. I don't know if Avery or Heidi enjoyed it more! They love each other!

Finally, here is Avery eating squash for the first time. Not sure if she isn't hungry or just doesn't like squash. Did I mention she has a tooth? I think the second one is on its way, so I have been letting her try hard things to knaw on like uncooked carrots, melba toast, and organic pizza crust. Seriously, I don't think she wants to eat regular baby food anymore.