Jake Turned 12!

This month is moving too fast, time to give you all an update.



Jake had a very unusual birthday. Two days before the date we all went out for a family dinner to celebrate, the next night he had his yummy birthday cake and presents, finally his actual birthday arrived and off he went to camp at 7.00am! I managed to smuggle some treats onto the bus with his teacher so he didn't miss out totally! He got all the goodies he wished for, top of the list was an MP3 player.

Kit is Zesty by Lasa Whitney at ScrapArtist

The week that Jake went to camp (he had a fantastic time) Scott and I both got sick, just the usual cold thing but it sure didn't help having a birthday plus all the organisation for camp at the same time. We got through it OK but last week I was just really tired. I feel so much more on top of things this week thankfully.

We had cat troubles last week, Daisy disappeared for 24hrs, I was expecting the worst but she finally came home very much the worse for wear. She was exhausted, covered in dirt and oil, had some minor injuries and was terrified. She wouldn't eat or drink for another day and Grant ended up taking her to the vet. After some painkillers and a big bill she finally decided to drink and is now slowly coming right, almost back to her usual cat aloofness.


I have been constantly busy with my course, I got the first unit sent in last week and now I'm into the second one which is even more work. I had a good day at school today and managed to squeeze in some study (a happy combination of students on trips and Christmas carol practice). So I'm devoting this evening to this update. I was late home because I went to the hairdresser straight after work (Jake sat in the cafe next door, ginger beer and pizza did the trick!). I aim to get the next unit done before we head to NZ for Christmas but its a real struggle.



We went to the motor racing last weekend, they had a big meeting at the Autodrome. It was fun, plenty of noise and action! There was a new class called 'Speed Cars' kinda like Nascars and of course Scott was keen on the single seaters! Grant and Scott managed to snag some media passes and could roam all over but Jake and I got stuck in the stands. Still, the weather was nice and it was something different to do. Unfortunately half way through the day my camera died, I've tried all the easy fixes to no avail so I'm thinking its the shutter. It has had a hard life and done a huge number of shots so I can't complain too much (they don't make 'em like they used to, that's for sure!). Anyhow, with the Rotax Grand Finals coming up this weekend Grant took pity on my and said OK to a new camera! It would have been too painful to just have the little point & shoot. Ended up paying more by getting it in Dubai but no time to wait for someone to be going to the States. I got a Canon 40D, been too busy to even play with it yet, sooo not fair! But at least I will be in business for the weekend.

And speaking of the Karting - WOW it's all happening! Scott and Grant have been away in Al Ain for 3 days now, Scott is all registered and ready to go. Jake and I will go over on Thursday after work and then stay for all the racing over the weekend. At the moment its all the official stuff and they should finally get onto the track tomorrow for practicing. The qualifying heats are on Thursday. I will try to add a link to the official web site, hope it works. I noticed there are a lot of 'coming soon' pages but hopefully they will keep it updated when everything gets going. Scott is very excited, he will do his best but knows that it's going to be super tough. We will all be back on Sunday and I will have some photos for you all then.

http://www.maxchallenge-rotax.com/events/2007_united-arab-emirates/united-arab-emirates.html

OK time to get to bed, I'm trying hard not to get too tired, it makes life miserable!

Hi Everyone!

Jake relaxing at Al Ain on Friday

Scott in action!

R&R Dubai style at the 24hr race

24hr race, driver change

It's about time I know! My life has been so busy over the last two weeks, I've had every kind of meeting and after school activity you can imagine. It's been a totally exhausting whirlwind.

Anyhow, this week kinda looks better (fingers crossed).

Work has been interesting for me, we are in the process of going through some changes. The result will make me very busy, not sure how the timetable will work out but it will definitely be a challenge!

I have begun my course, wow it's a lotta work! I have been plodding through it whenever I get the chance, hoping not to fall behind. I like the learning side of things but finding the time is very difficult. All my books have arrived from England and the course seems well set up. Unfortunately we have yet to have a tutor assigned so I'm not sure if my work so far is up to standard.

Jake is still liking college. He has had a couple of games of rugby, no photo's yet (left camera behind once and Grant took Jake the other time) Hopefully I will get some this weekend when he has another match. Jake is away on camp in two weeks, he actually leaves on his birthday - very worried about when he will get his pressies. He is going back to Oman, same trip a last year.

Scott has done really well karting. Last weekend was the final of the Rotax Max series and he came 2nd. This has given him 1st place overall so now he can go to the Rotax Worlds as part of the UAE team!!!!! He is very very happy about that! I will get some links up when I get a chance and you will be able to follow the action. The weekend before last saw Scott get a spot in the Nivea for Men 24hr Endurance Race. He was a very last minute call-up, got a place with the Emirates Today newspaper team and really shone through for them. He was exhausted at the end of it all but had a great experience. It seemed strange to leave him at the track all night but the team made him welcome and he did a great job for them. They came 12th out of 28 so it was a very respectable effort for a last minute thing against many professional teams.

Seems not a lot of news really but between sports, meetings, work and my course there is not time left for a life!

Time to get on and do the dinner dishes, I'm trying to get an early night, if I don't then the rest of the week will be miserable!

PS - Thanks for stopping by :)