Bye Bye Nainnie

Today is the day that Nainnie flew back to Pennsylvania. I enjoyed her visiting and wondered when she'd be back. I hope it is soon. During this past weekend, we went to Napa where, happily, the fake apples and pears were back at Trefethen winery. Daddy, Nainnie, and I played all sorts of games with these. I also went "fishing" in the fountain located out on the side of the property. In my version of fishing, I get a stick and use it to fish out colorful leaves located in the fountain. I got an especially nice one that I took back home with me. Next, it was off to Domaine Chandon for a ramble. They have a pretty stream there, and I spent some time going back and forth on the "rock bridge". It's not really a bridge, just a set of rocks crossing the stream that, if you're careful, you can use to get across without getting your feet wet. I also discovered that Domaine Chandon has really tasty bread. Daddy and Nainnie got an artisan cheese plate while they were there, and it featured a really nice stick of bread. I like the middle part of the bread (not a big fan of the crust) while Daddy thought the crusts were just fine, so everyone was happy.

On Sunday, we had more gravity races. Daddy lent Nainnie his team of gravity race cars while he fielded a new team, and we had a three way duel. While I didn't win all of the contests, I am proud to report that a car called the "Little Red Roadster" did manage to claim the Gravity Cup in one of the tournaments.

Cars, cars, cars

It was a great weekend for cars. On Saturday morning, Daddy and I washed both of the cars and Windexed all the windows of the cars as well. We hadn't washed cars in a long time, so this was really fun. Later that day, we had a bunch of toy car races around the house including through the office, which has treacherous bumps that trip up many of the cars.

On Sunday, it was more cars stuff. I was looking forward to seeing the Nascar race (which was held in Sonoma). While we didn't go in person, we did watch on TV. It was a very exciting race at the end. I was rooting for the Shell car (driven by Kevin Harvick). He got passed by the Texaco car with about 11 laps to go. The announcers indicated that the Texaco car would have to stop for gas sometime in the last lap. Both cars drove and drove and, even in the end, the Texaco car had just enough gas to finish the race. The Shell car finished second, which was still very good.

Following this, Daddy and I had "gravity races" using the Hot Wheels orange track. Daddy organized a kind of tournament with cars competing in single elimination rounds. We each used our "announcer voices" to describe the action---this drove Mommy nuts. In the end, the Little Red Roadster managed to win the championship.

I love cars.

Gear Dragon

This afternoon, Mommy and I made a very col creature--a dragon made completely of gears. First we built the body of the dragon with various supports and gears. Then, I came up with the idea that the dragon should have fire breath. We built a whole long section with red gears and put a crank on the end to make the fire breath. What a cool dragon.

Playing the Ponies

As you know, I really like My Little Pony stuff. One of my favorite things to do is to make up stories about the My Little Ponies. Often in these stories, the ponies go to parties or have concerts with lots of fireworks. I like to jump around and pretend to be one of the ponies. Usually, Daddy is not too interested in doing My Little Pony stories, but today he made one up. Here it is:

It was an exciting day in Ponyland for today was the day of the great pony race. All the ponies gathered at Pony Downs and the betting was early and furious. The three challengers were Dipsy Do, Twinkle Twirl, and a Pegasus Pony. The steward had to remind the Pegasus Pony that no flying was allowed. "How about just a little flying?" the Pegasus asked. No flying or you'll be DQ'd said the steward.

The three ponies began trash talking. "You're going to spend the whole race looking at the little heart thing on the back of my hoof" Twinkle Twirl said to Dipsy Do. "Well, you're going to be looking at my pony behind with all the little sparkly stars on it" replied Dipsy Do. The Pegasus kept away from the others and plotted how to sneak in a couple of brief wingflaps during the race.

Finally, it was time for the race to being. The ponies were loaded into the gates, trumpets blared, and they were off.

Daddy then called the race in the style of what he told me was legendary race announcer Dave Johnson. It was an exciting race with many lead changes and lots of jostling on the rail.

"And down the stretch they come!" Daddy cried. Dipsy Do managed to just sneak past Twinkle Twirl while the Pegasus finished a close third. All the ponies with the winning betting tickets crowded to the window.

Pinkie Pie was especially delighted for hitting the Exacta. A $2 ticket paid $30.58. Sweet Sparkle, who dropped a c-note betting on Pegasus to win, tore up her ticket in disgust and uttered an epithet about sending the Pegasus to the dog food factory. Still, the ponies agreed that it was a wonderful day at the track.

The End