Matthew's Race Car Birthday

Every family has the wild child. I know some of you are thinking right now that none of the Reeders fall into the "wild" category.

Okay, so, every family has that child that is just wilder than all the rest. Joey and I are safe and predictable and logical . . . and then there's Matthew.

Alright, so it doesn't take much to claim the "Wildest Reeder" title, but I give it to Matthew.

And, since he doesn't have a blog, I'm going to out him right here.

When he was little, Mom once told him to drink his milk. He looked her straight in the face and poured it out all over the table. I wasn't the wisest six-year old ever, but I was glued to my seat at the table in our yellow, green and orange kitchen. I just had to see how this was going to play out. I was simultaneously thinking, "He is SO dead . . . and . . . this is awesome for me, because while he's getting spanked to high heaven, I'm going to be a extra good to earn a few pins in my 'perfect' daughter vest!"

Oldest children aren't dumb . . . or perfect, we just know how to play our cards off our younger siblings' mistakes to make us look good.

The wild child . . . I'm telling you. This is the face of a defiant milk-spiller.

And so, Matthew's birthday presents usually involve adventure: things with guns, things involving the outdoors, and things involving speed. This year we all went out to the Texas Motor Speedway to watch Matthew fly around the track for 10 laps at 150 mph.

When we arrived cars were already flying by. Terrified that we Matthew was already driving, Mandy and Danny took off running.

Turns out we hadn't missed him.

For the less daring, they offered a lap in the "limo!"

Matthew, getting ready to fly.

He drove Goodwrench #29.

We watched.

Mom waved (we tried to tell her he couldn't see her when we was going by at 150 mph, but she was too excited!).

We all spinned in circles as he went around and around.

The sun was bright.

Here Matthew, who had been passing other cars right and left, was about to get passed by another driver and everyone tried yell for him to go faster.

But he couldn't hear us and got passed anyways.

Mom brought her flags and proclaimed that she was going to hold/wave the "slow down" flag.

The racer had a great time.