Wednesday Reminisce

A reminisce--Kami style. But first, bad news. I dropped my camera today and it is broken. Oh the weeping and gnashing of teeth. But we'll see if my fix-anything husband can work some magic. Oh I hope.

And another quick side-note about my handsome husband--he makes me happy. A little bit earlier I was chatting with him online and I told him that I had bad news (camera) and he said "what's wrong?" and I said, "First you have to tell me how much you love me." And he said, "Well that would take all day." Then I asked him if he wanted to have a lunch/icecream date with me tomorrow sans-children and he said, "Wow!!! wouldn't I ever." It made me smile.

Okay, on to the reminisce. About 6 years ago Brett participated in the SAE Mini Baja Competition. It was his senior project, but he had also worked on the Baja team his junior year at USU. He put a lot of time and effort into it, and the race that year--his junior year--was a total flop for their team. Their car wouldn't run. They really didn't even get to race. I've never seen such a sad group of guys in my life. It was heartbreaking to see them. It was so sad for Brett that I couldn't stand it, and I made him go and buy himself a bike. I would have let him buy a truck. Anything.

So the next year, there were fewer guys on the team--just four. Brett, Drew (Brett's best friend), Travis and Rex. They worked SOOOOOO hard on their car. I kid you not it was unceasingly in their thoughts for the entire year. They had to do a lot of the work to raise the money themselves, dreamed it, designed it, built it, loved it, hated it, re-built it, tested it, worried about it, etc. etc. etc.

We wives were known as the "Baja Widows" because that is what we were. Seriously, in the last few weeks before the competition, the guys left the windows cracked in the building they worked on it in, so they could climb in after hours when they weren't officially allowed to be in there, and worked on it through the night.

There was a very sad setback in that the transmission that Brett designed and built broke a few days before the competition, so they had to use a poorer version (which didn't have reverse) but they made do.

BUT...the day of the races dawned cold and muddy--just the way we LOVE it for baja competitions!--and the car ran!!! It ran the whole thing! I cannot begin to express how MUCH fun we had that day. The WHOLE day we just felt exultant, giddy, excited, thrilled, elated. Whenever Brett and I think back on that day it just gleams as one of the most fun days of our lives.

We did not take first place, but we competed. I can't remember what place we took--38th maybe? Out of a little over a hundred. Which wasn't that great, but it's not shabby either. My mom and dad and little brothers and sister came, so my mom and dad graciously took Jethro for me most of the time, so I was free to run through the mud, help pull mud off of whichever of our boys was driving when he pulled in for a pit stop, climb up the hills for a better look, and generally enjoy the atmosphere. Anyhoo, here are some pictures (although they're pretty much in backwards order).

Our car was number 9. This is the team at the end of the day.

This is a spot where cars often flipped over. But not ours, thanks to our super-awesome suspension design. ;)I think this may be Brett driving the Maneuverability race. There was also a Rock Crawl, Hill Climb, and of course, the Endurance Race.This is the same spot that I mentioned above, where people flipped, earlier on in the Endurance race.
This is everybody lined up at the end.

Brett waving hello.

Drew. I love this picture. :)

Pit stop.

The Baja Widows, and Jethro (held by Jessica).

The team.

This is when we drove the car some other day. I even drove it, though I much preferred riding in it with someone else driving.

Jethro. :)

Sigh. The end.