The good old times.....

(My Dad talking to my Uncle Jim about our great parking advantage and how early we got in our seats! Haha!!)

This race year was a special one for our family. It was the first time in a long time that it was just us four again. Over the years, my sister has gone with various friends. A few times my mom has had to miss because of the heat and I have been pregnant during the month of May which has caused me to miss too.

So all in all, it was such a special treat to have it just be us!! There was just so much special anticipation for all of us this year and we knew it would be a great!!

We got to seats early and just enjoyed watching all the pre-race festivities. It's also fun to watch the stands fill up and feel the excitement build.

It was the 100th anniversary so we got to experience lots of cool things, like watching the actual Marmom Wasp circle the track. It was the very first car to ever win the 500, back in 1911.

My sister and I took a little trip to Gasoline Alley to watch the drivers walk past to their race cars. I can't imagine what kind of butterflies are flying around in their stomachs so close to race time!!

I've been to Gasoline Alley before on race day but we got there at just the right time to see many familiar drivers!! It might become a new race day tradition!!

One of my favorite drivers is Ed Carpenter in the yellow!

Dario and his wife Ashley Judd, and Scott Dixon and his wife.

Dan Wheldon and his wife Suzy.

(He went on to win the Indy 500)

Another one of my favorites is Tony Kanan!!

One of our favorite things is watching the flyover during the Star Spangled Banner!!

All I can say is that it is awesome!!

The start of the race!!!

We got a special treat this year and got two flyovers!! Very cool!!

All in all, it was everything we hoped it to be and was one of my favorite years ever!! It was such an awesome race and it had a very exciting finish with Dan Wheldon winning!! We really like him and he deserved it!! Even more then all the spectacle and traditions it was so magical to be there with my Dad, mom and sister one more time.

(March 2012: I've had such a hard time coming back to this post and finishing it. I knew I wanted to do it but I just needed time. It brought back so many wonderful memories but also so much sadness because my Dad is not with us now. I've felt for the past month that it is time to start writing and blogging again. I've missed it and I think it is even more important now because I don't want to forget anything!!)

 I knew it was special race and it became even more special as we realized it was our last. I miss my Dad so much!! Thank you Dad for being the best Dad in the entire world and giving us so many great memories!! I love you!!