Fastest Car Ever

Last week was the Pinewood Derby in Cub Scouts. This is where each boy is given a block of wood, four wheels, and a month to work with an adult to turn it into a car. AJ's car was the fastest car we have ever built. Now, doesn't he look happy to have his picture taken? Just look at that smile! Well, his car was definitely not the fastest car on the track. It was the fastest car we have ever built because we started at 8:00 in the morning and had to have it finished by 6:30 that night. He was happy with the design that he came up with. It probably needed a little more sanding but, to say the least, we were kind of pressed for time. He chose to paint it burnt orange, of course, and put Longhorn logos on it, of course. He received the Best Use of a Sports Mascot Award.
By the end of the night, after his car came in last place in every race I decided we probably need to put forth a little more effort next year and give ourselves at least two days.

Pinewood Derby

We had the Pinewood Derby last month in Cub Scouts. Ethan & AJ were given a block of wood with four wheels, and instructed to make it in to a car.

Ethan took the block of wood and painted it. He won the Brickyard 400 Award (his car looked like a brick). He told me the nice thing was that it did't matter if he raced it backwards because it was the same either way.

AJ made a Semi for his car. He won the I Did it Myself Award. He asked me how the judges knew he did it himself. Well..........

The best part of the night was watching the boys. They all seemed to have a great time. Everybody walked away with an award and a smile on their face.

Cub Scout Field Trip

I went with the Cub Scouts on a field trip to the new grocery store in town. Since I spend so much time there anyway, it was fun to go see "behind the scenes". The highlights of the trip for the boys were the freezer room,looking at dead fish, and, of course, ice cream cones at the end.
Boys at this age are a strange breed. They have tons of energy and laugh at the weirdest things, but they are genuine and lots of fun. I'm glad I was able to spend the afternoon with them in one of the places (as a mother of four-n-more) I frequent the most, the grocery store.

The Pinewood Derby

Sometimes, it seems strange to me that I have boys old enough to be Cub Scouts. Alas, it is reality. I grew up with two older brothers and a mom that served as Cub Master for years. Even though I am a girl, the scout office was just part of my childhood.

I was recently asked to serve in the Primary Presidency as the 2nd Counselor (meaning I'm over Cub Scouts). I have visited the Scout Office several times the past few weeks. I guess it will be part of my girl's childhood as well.

It is the Pinewood Derby time of year. This is the first time we have participated. The den leaders handed out a block of wood, four wheels, and the idea is to turn it into a car. My parents and brothers spent weeks on their pinewood derby cars, but not us, being the procrastinators we are, we were relieved when somebody told us that Michael's sells pre-formed cars. Ethan sanded and painted it. We used a trick I learned from my brothers, to make racing stripes out of electrical tape. Aaron nailed the wheels on as we walked out the door.

His poor car came in last place almost every time. I moved the weights to the very front of the car (another trick I learned as a kid from my brothers). That helped him come in second place on the next race. At the end of the evening, he received the award for the best paint job. (The tape trick came in handy after all.) Ethan said next year he's just going to paint the block of wood and put the wheels on. I think that is a great idea.

At one point I referred to Ethan's "derby car" when Savanah promptly informed me that it wasn't a dirty car it was a clean car. I wonder what she will remember from her childhood.