The Give Away Car- Give Away Day!

Finally, Saturday rolled around and it was time for the car to meet its new owner. This was the day we had all been waiting on. It was the day that the crew had worked for a solid year for. Dad had to move the car from one location to Freedom Hall. As he was moving the car there were people taking pictures, recording videos, etc. He looked so fancy driving that car through the crowds.

Of course, Suzy had a uniform for the special day!! 

Suzy and PawPaw!! 

 The car would be given away at Freedom Hall. Freedom Hall is a coliseum type building where everyone gathered for the announcement of the winner. In order to win the car the person must have a car entered in the show, the car must be titled in their name, and they have to be in the building. If you are not in the building and your number is called you cannot win the car! Because of this rule there are tons of people crammed in the building to see if they will be the lucky winner. While they are waiting on everyone to enter and be seated they have a band play.

Some of the crowd! 

I was fine and not emotional until we got together for this picture..... Then I started crying. I was just so proud of him. I knew that he was right where he had always dreamed of being. It was just such an overwhelming experience for me. 

The family, again. 

The band playing. 

Photo shoot while we waited.

"That's my PawPaw!"

After the band finished their set, they asked Dad and his crew to come on stage. Dad introduced his crew and told his story about the car. He also listed the sponsors that helped him, and how much he enjoyed being a part of the experience. When he was finished they announced that it was time for the car to be given away.

Dad giving his speech! 

The first time they drew a number no one shouted out for the car. They quickly moved along to pull another number. I think the first number called belonged to someone who was not in the building! 

The winning number!! 

The winner was in the top right hand corner of the audience! 

Some of the crew waiting for the winner to show up! 

There he is!! 

He had to be escorted to his car. The officials have to make sure that he had all the above mentioned items before they would do the paperwork to give him Ronnie's Hot Rods' Giveawy Car

They made it back, and he had all the necessary things!! 

AND THERE SHE GOES...... 

Out of 10,036 people, Victor Torasso was the lucky winner of the 32 Ford. He was so in shock that he didn't have much to say initially. The guys from NSRA told dad not to be disappointed when the winner didn't seem to be very excited or not talkative the day of the event. They warned him that he/she would be in shock and not know what to say or do. They were right. Victor was out of sorts and his wife was tickled pink. She was thrilled they had won the jewel! One of Dad's wishes was that the car would be given to someone that lived close by. His wish was luckily granted. Victor and his wife life in LaVergne, TN. Dad and Casey agreed that it was a bittersweet day. They were excited to see the car go and sad to see it go in the same breath. They will miss the car, but will not miss the endless hours of overtime spent on it :) They hope that after a year or two of a break that they will be able to do another giveaway car for NSRA.

Suzy patiently waiting as her PawPaw was getting interviewed. 

Getting videoed! 

Well, all drug tail back to the trailer feeling like we had just given away our favorite family pet to a very grateful owner. We were excited for the winner, but sad to see the car go. It had become such a huge part of our everyday lives that it tugged at my heartstrings to see the guys walk away from her.

We headed back to the hotel for dinner and to decompress shortly after the car was given away. The restaurant that we ate at was next to this Firestone building. I had to take a picture for Pops!

The following day was our very last day to be at the show. The traffic had slowed down around the arena and people were anxious to head back home. Before we packed everything up and headed south I had to get Suzy a prize for being so good. She did amazing on our trip. I am so thankful that I decided to take her along with us. She did great!! The only appropriate gift would be a car, right?

The Giveaway Car- Days 2-4

Day 2 was the first actual day of the event. The first day we were there was exclusively vendors and participants that had to showcase their cars inside the buildings. Since Shirley and Jesse brought their own vehicle it gave the girls the opportunity to sleep late every morning. The men would get up and go to the show, and we would show up later everyday. We got to the Expo Center (where the show was located) before lunch on Day 2. We sat around the truck and trailer with dad and the other men for a little while before deciding to head to Women's World. Women's World is where all the women that are forced to participate in these events go shop. Dad's truck was in the same building as Women's World, so we didn't have far to walk. They have different vendors in that area that sell clothes, jewelry, homeade candies, arts and crafts, etc. I thought that Suzy would be fine if we put her in the stroller for the journey. I was wrong. She did NOT want to be in her stroller and she did NOT want to be in her wagon either. She threw fit after fit after fit. My nerves started to frazzle at the ends by the time I made it back to the truck and trailer with her. When she starts throwing her little tantrums I just start losing my mind. I feel like everyone is staring at me, thinking I'm an awful Mama, and that I need to get control of my kid. I have been told a thousand times that no one even notices her fits as much as I do. It just makes me a nervous wreck. Needless to say, I was ready to go back to the hotel as soon as possible on Day 2.

She was a spry little chicken.....



I honestly cannot even remember what we did on Day 3.

Day 4 was definitely more my speed. Shirley, Mimi, Suzy, and I went shopping at an outlet mall that was about an hour from where we were staying. We knew that we better get out and about to do something that was not car related while we could. Shopping was just the answer we were looking for. While we were shopping we found a little pit stop for Suzy to take Snoopy for a spin. She loved it!

These pictures were taken 1 day shy of exactly 8 months apart.

It is amazing how much she has grown.

We headed back to our hotel to take naps and get changed for our dinner plans that night. We made reservations at a place called Tumbleweeds in Louisville, KY. When they are at the show every year they always eat there, so Dad requested we take the whole group for a night of celebration. We had a party of about 30 people, so we had to wait quite a while before we were seated. We were totally fine with that, though. They had an awesome park connected to the restaurant's grounds as well as row of docks for boats to pull up to. Suzy played at the park and fed the ducks while we waited. It was such an awesome area! Highly recommend the little play area to anyone that's visiting and needs to let their kiddo run off some energy.

Casey and Melissa. Suzy became best buddies with Melissa while we were gone!

I have a feeling she may be my future sister in law.

So much for a decent picture.....

Dad said, "let's take one like Amy takes pictures with our heads all leaned in!" Love my boys.

We were finally all seated at our massive table that stretched all the way across the restaurant. We were there for like three hours. I am still shocked that Suzy didn't cut flips across that restaurant or throw a royal fit. It was around 11 o'clock before we got back to the hotel and I put her to bed. She did amazing!!

One section of the table.....

Another section of the table....

Dad couldn't keep his eyes open, and Ken looked like he was in shock!!

Dad holding his eyes open and Ken with his eyes closed.

Suzy looking over the balcony at the ducks before we left.

We all headed back to the room for the night. Saturday was going to be a big day for the Ronnie's Hot Rods crew.