Riding in Cars with Boys

I know.  I KNOW!  It's been forever since I wrote a post that wasn't a product review.  But I'm gonna make it up to y'all and get back on the family life blogging horse.  I'll explain later why I haven't been big on writing about everyday stuff.  It's a lnog story and maybe not as fun as the one I'm gonna tell you about now.  So we'll save that one for another day.  In the meantime, just know I am recommitting myself to making I Am Boymom a more upbeat place to hang out.  So on that note...

I did something this summer that taught me a lot about teenage boys.  I took a road trip with my two sons and my nephew.  It was...interesting.  And stinky.  And LOOOOOOONG.

We traveled over 2500 miles in 10 days in a rented Chevy Impala. Which by the way, was an amazing car! Like I would totally take one and drive it everywhere while loudly and proudly singing its praises if Chevy were to see this post and ask me to be their brand ambassador.  Yeah...it's that awesome.  We were 350 miles into the trip before one of the boys pointed out that we had a sun roof (how did we not see that earlier!?).  Then he asked if he could stand up with his head sticking out of it while we were going 85 mph through Nevada.  If I am honest, I actually had to think about it a minute before I said no.  The possibility of having a giant bug splat across my kid's forehead and seeing his subsequent reaction was really, really hard to pass up, but in the end, my mommy sense took over and my child remained belted into his seat.  I have to admit though, we were all momentarily disappointed.

Chevy Stock Photo - forgot to take pics of my rented Impala!

So here's the trip in a nutshell: 

We bought fireworks.  The boys farted.  We got pulled over for speeding.  The boys farted.  We sang Thrift Shop, Can't Hold Us, Radioactive, Cruise, Brave, Locked Out of Heaven, We Own the Night. Love Somebody and lots of other current hits.  And the boys farted.  I went old school and sang ABBA, B52's, Aretha Franklin and ZZ Top.  The boys freaked out and begged me to switch back to their new music.  Then they farted.  We drove, we stopped for gas and food, we took road trip pictures, we hunted for garnets and we talked more than any of us have talked since they were all born.  We talked about Idaho, we talked about Arizona.  The boys talked about all the things they wanted to say, but didn't, to the cop when he gave me the speeding ticket.  We talked about school, we talked about politics, we talked about the civil war and we talked about...farts.  We laughed at a thousand different comedians (praise be to Sirius XM Radio for providing me with some fantastic entertainment options!  Best car radio experience EVER!) while the boys memorized every single G-rated stand-up routine I let them listen to, then repeated them over and over and over again.  We visited friends and went swimming, we visited grandparents and did some target practice and celebrated birthdays and lost new shoes.  And then?  They farted.  OH. MY. HECK. How they farted!  And just when I thought their tanks were on empty and I might have a reprieve from the poot wars?  The shoes started to come off.  FREAK how do feet get that stinky!?  Had we not had the sun roof to keep the air circulation at maximum capacity?  I might have died, people.  Okay.  Maybe not died, but I could have passed out.  Okay, fine.  Maybe not passed out, but I might have gagged once or twice.  And who wants to gag while they are driving?  I mean seriously, how is that even fun?

Looking for Garnets in Ely, Nevada

Stretching the legs in AZ 

Hangin' out with Grandpa John

So am I exaggerating about the smell and the volume of odor that was emitted from three teenage boys?  Maybe just a tiny bit about the volume.  But the smell?  Nope.  No way.  Nuh-uh.  Not even.  It was foul, my friends.  I'm sorry, Budget car guy, if the cloth seats absorbed that stench.  I hope you weren't hit in the face by a wall of stink when you opened the door to start cleaning after the Impala sat in the sun for a few hours.  

Despite all the miles, the flatulence and the toe cheese, we had a great trip.  I got to know my boys and my nephew on a whole different level.  I got to hear them sing at the top of their lungs and laugh hysterically at ridiculous things. I watched them bond over shared interests and ideas.  I listened to their plans for the future as they talked to each other about school and sports and Scout Camp.  And I finally started to see them, all of them, as capable people who have aspirations and hopes and dreams of their own instead of little boys who need to be watched over and cared for every single minute of the day.  It was a pretty revealing look at who my sons and my nephew have become over the last 11-14 years.  And can I just say how happy I am with what I saw? I have been blessed with such good boys.  And it only took me 2500 miles and some singed nose hairs to remember that.

Firebird Raceway FINAL EVENT SPECTACULAR Giveaway!!

WINNER UPDATE

Here is the random winner of the giveaway for a family 4 pack, as chosen by random.org:

Congrats Sports Mama!!  Check your email for details on your tickets!  

I have some good news and bad news to share today.  Don't worry, it's not tragic, crying kind of news.  But let's do the bad news first so we can get to the good stuff (trust me, it's really good stuff!). 

I am sad to report that after 30 years of hosting all kinds of car racing events and monster truck shows, Firebird Raceway is going out of business! Raceway officials have chosen not to renew their lease.  There was no word on whether it's an issue with the economy or whether the parties involved could not agree during negotiations. Either way, another source of entertainment in the Valley of the Sun is disappearing.  

So what's the good news?  Firebird Raceway wants to go out with a bang, so they are focusing on making their last events really amazing and affordable!  They have generously offered a $10 discount per ticket to the FINAL (Final, final, final) EVENT (Event, event, event) SPECTACULAR (Spectacular, spectacular, spectacular)!  Did you get that awesome, booming announcer voice echo thing I just did right there?  I know...I'm pretty creative. 

The Final Event Spectacular is an auto enthusiast extravaganza filled with legendary monster trucks like Bigfoot and a 30-ton fire-breathing, transforming T-Rex that eats cars and airplanes - ROBOSAURUS!  The event will also showcase Funny Cars and Jet Dragsters speeding down the raceway at 300 miles per hour.  Kids will love the Kids Zone, which will be full of interactive games and inflatables to keep them busy. This event has something for the entire family!  My husband took the boys a few years ago to one of these show and they had the BEST.TIME. EVER!  Robosaurus was a huge hit, the funny cars and dragsters made a big impression as well.  They talked about the show for days!  

Just follow these instructions to get the discount: 

• Step 1: Select your tickets through this link, you may choose either pit side or spectator side, general admission or reserved. 
•  Step 2: Click "Apply Discount" to your tickets in your shopping cart and enter "MOMMYSAURUS" in the discount box Step 3: Select "$10 off Ticket" from the drop down menu and click "change discount". 

Remember to apply the discount for EACH of your Adult tickets!

Want more good news? Win a Family 4 Pack to the Final Event Spectacular at Firebird Raceway!!  Since the show is just a few weeks away, this will be a fast contest, so I have time to get the winner's info to the event coordinator so you can get your tickets!

Here are the contest details:

Leave a comment below telling me what you think your favorite part of the show will be: Monster Trucks, Robosaurus or Race Cars.  Winner will be chosen at random.  Contest is open to Phoenix Metro Valley residents only (and surrounding cities) and will end on Saturday March 23rd at 12 midnight MST. 

For extra entries you can:

• Follow I Am Boymom on this Blog, Twitter and Facebook
• Tweet about the giveaway
• Share this post on Facebook

Be sure to leave a separate comment for each item you do so I can give you an entry credit for each effort you make!  Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

  

Feelin' HOT HOT HOT!

I took a picture of my car radio console which shows the temperature outside for those of you who find it unbelievable that we are already in triple digits here. The fact that I am adding yet another post about the high temperatures should clue you all in to my wretched state of mind when it comes to the summer heat. How did people live here 100 years ago with NO AIR CONDITIONING!!! Some of my ancestors helped establish and build towns here in Arizona. First question - WHY? Second question - How did they live through it? Oh my heck!!! I know one thing: I would have been a rotten pioneer/settler. I would have been the one they kicked out of the wagon train, because I would have complained the whole way. And I can guarantee I would not have made camp long once we got to "our home" in the middle of the desert. One or two days of this heat and the throbbing migraines that follow and I woulda hit the dusty trail and headed for cooler climates. I'm sure I would have had a great sending off from all of my traveling companions who were tired of listening to me yammer! And I'm even more sure that 2 miles into my grandiose escape I would be gripin' about something else, like how hard it was to get through the mountains and how cold it was now. You know...glass half-empty girl.

As I write this, I remember that I am trying to have a more positive outlook on life. So I guess as I ponder the hardships of those who came before me, I will also ponder the miracle of air conditioning, automobiles, cotton clothing and swimming pools and thank the Lord that I was born in this era of technology. Cause I would have gone through lots of pencils and paper (and friends) trying to complain everyday by hand. Now I get to do it quickly and comfortably in just a few minutes time - I guess life ain't as bad as it could be. It's just dang hot.