April Update...

Well... It has been a long time since I have posted but I guess that is a sure sign that we have been extremely busy. Mike has been busy remodeling our bathroom, thank goodness that project is almost finished. The guy is coming to lay the tile flooring tomorrow and then the new toilet and sink get installed and then I think we're done!!!! YEAH!!!! I know Mike will be glad because then he can get back to working on RACE CARS! Zach has been helping a friend of his on the Pro Challenge and he is considering getting a part time job, plus finals are right around the corner. Nick finished playing soccer at soccer at Strikers, his team finished 1st in the league. He really enjoyed playing and hopefully he is better prepared for the school team. He has been working hard on a science project and tonight we went to the Science Fair and he and Chase recieved 3rd place for their project which was AWESOME considering the number of entries! Way to go guys! I have been very busy at Curves and also doing some other work. (you know me... I have to be doing 3-4 jobs at the same time). Even though we have been extremely busy... we still made time to go to the Jimmy Buffett concert with out "bestest friends" Jeremy & Jennell and Mike & Debbie, we had a BLAST! Until next time.... :)

"HAPPY and SAD day for the STROUPE's"...

Today was a HAPPY and SAD day around the Stroupe household. I guess I will start off with the "GOOD NEWS" FIRST... Zach FINALLY got to bring home his "new ride". He has been patiently waiting for SEVERAL MONTHS while his Dirt Modified was being built. After they got it home today and "oohed and ahhed"... I think they agree that it was worth the wait. Mike seems to be very impressed with the way the car turned out. Here's the first picture of the car. As you can see, it definitely needs some decals. We can't wait to see what Dale (Averill) with 2Dudes Designs has up his sleeve. He always does a GREAT job on all the cars he designs. We will keep you updated with pictures as we get closer to RACE DAY! and now for the BAD NEWS... We heard last night that Steve Carter had a heart attack last night and unfortunately passed away. Our hearts are saddened for his family and friends. Fortunately we had the opportunity to "hang out" with him and get to know him a little better when Zach and Nick had the opportunity to race with Kyle Beattie Racing. Kyle has set-up and maintained Steve's race cars for years. He will truly be missed both on and off the track.

Mike and Camie go to Key West...

Mike and I went to Key West with Mike and Debbie Rogers, our long time, REALLY GOOD FRIENDS. We had a GREAT TIME! Thanks to them for an AWESOME WEEK!!!! We left here on Monday, March 9th and returned on Tuesday, March 17th. We did so much that it is very difficult to put it all in words. We had the opportunity to meet an awesome couple from Ontario, Canada. We immediately "bonded" and became GREAT FRIENDS with Brad and Laura. We hope that our paths will cross again in the near future, they were so much FUN to be around!
A special Thanks to my sister Pat for allowing Zach and Nick to stay in her apartment during the week while we were gone, and also to Davina for being on "standby" in case anything happened to Nick on his field trip. I think they had a good time feeling "independent". Thanks to Mike's mom, "Grammy", for coming on Friday and staying with the boys until Mike and I got home on Tuesday. I am going to show you a couple of pictures but you need to view my latest "smilebox" to see more photos. Hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think...

What a Beautiful Day...

The first LONG day--- We moved our clocks forward an hour last night so today we will have more daylight hours. What a Beautiful Day! Mike and I are leaving tomorrow to go to Key West for a week and it was a BEAUTIFUL and WARM day to prepare us for what to expect in Florida. Nick wanted to go riding with the top down on Mike's newest ride... His little red convertible "MG". Mike and Nick really love that "little car". They decided to take it out for a ride... Well here are some pictures... ENJOY!!!

Our First Big Snow...

Well.. We finally got to see some snow in Lincolnton. The past two "dustings" did not make it to the Lincolnton area. It snowed all around us and we never got anything until last night. The boys kept saying..."we are not going to get any snow... it is going to snow all around us and AGAIN... we will probably get NOTHING!". Well they were surprised on Sunday when the snow began to fall and stick. We woke Monday morning to about 5-6 inches of snow. Naturally, the kids were out of school so we had a day of FUN in the snow!!!! The boys played in the snow, we made a snowman, and we ate some snow cream. Unfortunately Mike had to work but we had fun at home without him! (except for the few hours when we lost power). Its about 8:00 pm and alot of the snow melted today but I have a feeling that the boys will either be out of school tomorrow or at least be on a 2 hour delay due to the roads refreezing tonight. Hope you enjoy our pictures...

Our Mountain Trip...

Wow!!! What an awesome trip to the mountains. Our trip started when the kids got out of school on Friday afternoon. We met Jeremy, Jennell, Scottie, and Todd and headed to the mountains for an eventful weekend. We decided to stay at the lovely house and have an evening playing the wii and Texas Hold "Them". Jeremy and Scottie taught Camie, Zach and Nick how to play and then Nick turned into a "pro". We had a good time just "hanging out" and spending time together. We "played" until about 2:00 am then we decided it was time for bed so that we could hit the slopes in the morning. We got up and ate pancakes for breakfast and then after we all had showers, we headed to Beech Mountain for a day of fun!!! We skiied during the day and then went back to the house and had Jeremy's famous spaghetti. Then we headed to the slopes again to ski the night session, unfortunately Jennell and Zach didn't go back with us because Zach had been sick with a bad cold earlier in the week and he wasn't feeling well and Jennell's legs were hurting from her "custom fit" boots. Mike, Camie, Jeremy, Todd, Scottie and Nick went back to the slopes but after a couple of runs the "older guys" gave it up for the day and Nick and Scottie skiied until the slopes closed. We headed back to the house and played more wii and Texas Hold "Them". We got up on Sunday morning we woke to several inches of fresh snow.. it was very pretty but slick... We had french toast for breakfast and then packed up and headed home, we made it down a few streets and then The Stroupe family van was STUCK!!! The police told us that there was no way we would make it up the hill and we needed to pull over and wait on the slag truck that was on the way. After about 45 minutes, the slag truck came and we followed him back up the hill. Then we were off to our "2nd destination".... Tubing at Hawksnest. It was VERY BREEZY... the windchill was below zero!!! Camie was the only smart one that decided to stay warm in the lodge while all the others battled with the cold and tubed for about 1 1/2 hours. It was a weekend that we will never forget!!! A weekend spent with our "bestest friends". We are already planning to return. For a more updated blog you can go to www.jeremyandjennell.blogspot.com.