NASCAR Fan Appreciation Day

It was a day we have all been looking forward to for a few weeks and it was finally here. The day we get to meet Chase Elliot at the NASCAR Hall of Fame for the NASCAR fan appreciation day. 

The NASCAR Hall of Fame was opening their doors for a free day of NASCAR fun, so we got there early to look around and collect some souvenirs before it was time to get in line for our time slot to meet Chase. 

It was a very busy place, unlike the last time we went and no one was there, but it was fun seeing all the NASCAR fans and all the stuff they brought for different drivers to sign. You could see people carrying sheet metal, helmets, toy cars and other NASCAR related things. Made me wish we had some cool stuff like that for drivers to sign, but oh well, one day. 

I can see him being a part of the pit crew

McKenna and McKaila creating their own car

Future NASCAR driver?

Waiting around to see Chase

When we told McKaila that she was going to be meeting Chase, she said, well, I am going to draw him a picture to give to him. She drew the track with him driving with an audience cheering him on. She was so excited to give it to him, but told me she was to shy to talk to him. 

Caught a quick glimpse of Martin Truex, Jr.

When we told McKaila that she was going to be meeting Chase, she said, well, I am going to draw him a picture to give to him. She drew the track with him driving with an audience cheering him on. She was so excited to give it to him, but told me she was to shy to talk to him, but was going to try and be brave. 

Once we got in front of Chase, she froze, so I did the talking. He asked what race track and told her she really liked her drawing. Chase then asked if she would like it if he signed it for her. So, he signed it and gave it back to her, which in turn made her really sad. She really wanted him to have it, but I had to tell her that she has to remember how Chase told her that he loved her drawing and now she can hang it in her bedroom and always see her picture she drew that Chase signed. After that, we still had a few tears, but after awhile, she was like, Chase signed my drawing. So, in the end, we had a happy girl.

It was a very long day, but lots of fun! Hoping they have another fan day where we can meet some other drivers!

Weekend Exploring

I am so happy that we are raising our kids to love NASCAR as much as Courtney and I do. They have really enjoyed exploring North Carolina and all the different NASCAR garages they have here. We have been to Hendrick and Joe Gibbs tons of different times, but this weekend, we wanted to try and get to the other garages that we hadn't gone too yet. 

Our first stop was Dale Earnhardt Inc. What an awesome place and the girls knew right away that this was Dale's daddy's place. It was amazing seeing all his trophy's, some of his fire suits, and along with all the different things he accomplished when he was still alive. 

We spent a while at Dale Earnhardt Inc, so the next day it was another NASCAR exploring day. 

This time we hit up Chip Ganassi Racing. (Kyle Larson #42 and Jamie McMurray #1) 

The kids really liked it here because from the store area you could go up to a viewing area, which was inside the garage and watch them work on the cars.

Next stop, Roush Fenway. (Ricky Stenhouse Jr. # 17 and Trevor Bayne #6)

Roush Fenway was very cool because it was a museum. It was interesting to see the team and how much it was grown from the very beginning. 

Next and last stop, Hendrick. (Kasey Kane #5, Chase Elliot #24, Jimmie Johnson #48 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88)

It's not a day of exploring without a stop at Hendrick. It's always a favorite spot of ours to stop when we are out and about. We also had to stop at Hendrick because we are going for an autograph signing with Chase Elliot at the NASCAR Hall of Fame next weekend, so we wanted to get some of his cards for him to sign. 

At every garage we go to they are always busy working on the cars, but this time at Hendrick everyone was there, maybe even the drivers were there, but we didn't see them. They had actually just got done filming something in the garage, so they were clearing all that up when we arrived. But, it was really cool to see all the pit boxes out and they were getting them ready for the race at Daytona! 

There are still a couple of NASCAR garages that we would like to see, but we marked some off the list this weekend. It was a lot of fun and really enjoy doing stuff like this with the whole family. And knowing they are enjoying it too, makes our hearts so happy. 

Sickness Fun

For close to 3 weeks, we have been dealing with sickness in our house. Finally, we are sickness free! But, wow it wasn't fun. Especially since I wasn't feeling good. 

It wasn't too much fun having the sickness circulate our household during the holiday, but in a good way it worked out for us. McKaila wasn't too bad, but she did have a pretty bad cold for a while, so we didn't have to worry about her missing any school. And thankfully, Courtney wasn't working a lot during break, so he was able to help out with the kids because I just couldn't do it on my own. 

I don't know what I would have done if I would have had to taken care of the kids on my own through out my sickensss. I was helpless most days. I am so thankful for Courtney because he would just force me to go lay down or even one morning he just let me sleep and I ended up sleeping 15 hours. 

But even through the running noses of all 3 kids and a double ear infection (first one ever for the Polnicky family) for McKenna, it couldn't stop them from having fun. Sickness can't hold down our kids, even when we have told them over and over to chill out and lay down so they can start feeling better. They just go and start playing. 

The kids being super heroes and Logan being a pooper and not wanting to do a super hero pose with his sisters.

Wanted to take a picture of McKenna in her glasses and this is the pose she gave me. She's too funny

Snotty nose, but still looking handsome

Snow in NC

McKaila's been asking ever since it got cold out, why do you never live somewhere where it snows? Well, she got her wish and we got snow. 

The kids were so excited when they woke up on Saturday morning and saw snow on the ground. And from that moment on, they were constantly asking when we could go outside to play in the snow. 

Then, when we finally told them we could go outside, they thought that they could just put their jackets on and run outside. Nope, time to get layers on. They weren't too fond of all the layers, but since we were still fighting colds, layers were mandatory. 

McKenna loved catching snow flakes with her tongue

Struggling to push Mater in the snow

Happy girl

It's been so long since we've seen snow, as you can tell... we use a leaf blower to get snow off the car

We didn't stay out too long, but in the time we did, the kids had so much fun. The kids even went a couple houses down and played with a girl from school and built a snowman. It's something that they have been talking about every day since. 

And due to the snow, ice and very cold temperatures, McKaila has had school cancelled the last 2 days. Thankfully, it's suppose to warm up tomorrow and it will be back to school for a couple days before a half day on Friday.