Thursday, January 31, 2008

off to the races

we have officially experienced our first pinewood derby. and it was good.

first, may i say that there is just *something* about a man in uniform, even if it is a cub scout uniform...


there were a lot of boys at the derby, and therefore lots of cars.


matty and jack had a lot of fun designing his car. isn't she pretty? (the decal says "indy speedster" which accidentally got written down as "lady speedster." glad we caught that before they started calling the races.


his car was underweight, and being the novices that we are, we declined to add any more. shortly after making that decision, i looked around the room and noticed all of the *work* that was going on. (i learned what graphite is, and that $1.50 in quarters glued to your son's car is money well spent.)

i would also like to take a moment to clarify that matty was NOT the father who had to miss the derby because he was having nerve reconstruction in his hand following an incident with a pinewoood derby kit and an electric drill. nope. matty was NOT that guy. unfortunately, we know that guy. the pinewood derby can be a blood sport. who knew??

no trophies here, although jack was pretty pleased to get to the 4th heat of the tiger races. he seemed content to watch the races without taking much stock in who won and who... didn't win. i think it will be a totally new ballgame next year. i was watching those wolves, and they brought game!

gratuitous blue-eyes shot.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Kelly said...

What an awesome recap! A whole new world, isn't it?

Very impressive that Matty came out of his first Pinewood with all fingers and toes.

Now when you say that about the man in uniform, for it stops short at the old men with the Boys Scout knee socks. But what do I know about fashion?

carlo said...

oh my goodness! he is such a doll.

love the blue eyes and the smile!

proud as can be.

congrats on your pinewood derby.

you have the blood sport of car racing and we (girl scouts) have the blood sport of cookies sales.

hmmmm, isn't that interesting.

michelle said...

So funny. Our first pinewood derby was an eye-opener, too. I looked around, wondering what everyone was doing to their cars. Then another dad offered me some graphite. Uh, okay, thanks. I like it when the kids don't care so much about who's winning -- it's the anti-competitive streak in me!

patsy said...

We are a scouting family too. I used to hate scouting, still hate pack meeting, but LOVE scouting. It's a great thing for boys!!

Pinewood derby... oh my. Nothing turns grown men into complete jackasses faster.

My own in-laws put my husband's pinewood derby cars in shadow boxes.?? They are hanging in the office except for every year at pinewood derby time when my husband talks the poor kid who won into racing his fastest car. His car always wins, and he is alway proud-- the whole thing is crazy if you ask me.
Last year a group of men at my brother's church had a pinewood derby race for grown ups. They had a blast.

Trent hasn't had his derby yet. It will be interesting for sure. He is getting his BOBCAT tonight! He loves to play with his older brother's cars- that is until he gets caught. Call me crazy but I haven't put them in a shrine.
Jack's car looks AWESOME!!
Way to go Matty & Jack- Lelly you better go out right away & buy a shadow box! (It really is a cute idea)

Mandy said...

Jack looks so cute in his uniform!

I remember going to pinewood derbys when my brother was in boy scouts. He and my dad would work on his car FOREVER! It was always a lot of fun!

Elizabeth said...

We had a no rules pine wood derby for a church activity last year. One Dad shot his car down the track with a spear gun.

Katie A. said...

Sounds fun! Wow, nerve damage? I guess it is a far more serious sport than I would have thought! The car looks great.

Amy said...

I am DYING over Elizabeth's comment...so funny!

As a newlywed with no kids I was a Bear leader, and I'm grateful for the initiation because I now have two boys who will be in scouting for many, many years.

Lucy said...

I love the pinewood derby. We'll be doing our first one next year and I can't wait. I'm so glad Jack had a good time.

Denise said...

a) He's adorable!

b) Pinewood derbies give me ulcers. Let's just say, we are not gifted woodworkers in this house. Couldn't they ask us to program a cool pinewood computer game, or write a nice little scouting ditty? But no, it's all about the skillz...

c) Yay for men (and boys) in uniform!

Holly said...

Oh the suspense! The cars! The uniforms! Love the money shot (blue eyes). I think a derby sounds way cooler than selling cookies.

Emmanuelle said...

Sound fun and the car looks great.
Jack is so cute with his scout uniform. That remember me my 2 youngs brothers when they were going to scout.

michelle said...

I have always enjoyed the pinewood derby with my boys. There is something so exciting about it. Matty is so cute in his uniform!

April said...

It truly is a blood sport...you got that right!
Unfortunately we don't really do blood or sports in our house, so we don't usually fair well in the pinewood derbies. This was a hilarious post!

Kelly said...

Your little man in uniform is so adorable. That's great that he had such a fun experience, even with no winning. Like Michelle, I don't have much of a competitive streak.

Amber Grannis said...

We love Pinewood derbies at hour house. And my husband WOULD be one of the power drill casualties. Just last year, in fact, he drilled a nice little hole right into the palm of his hand. My husband's motto...no blood, no glory!
Cutie picture of your little guy -- love those baby blues!

Amber Grannis said...

Oops...I typed "hour" instead of "our". That's what I get for typing and talking to my kids at the same tiime!

jenny said...

Okay, Jack is such a cutie. COngrats on doing the first pinewood derby!! Love the recap.

Laurie said...

So cute. I'm glad to hear he took it all in stride and enjoyed it. So much competition! I look forward to many a pinewood derby. Who knew they could be so dangerous!?

Amanda :-) said...

This is all new to me, but it's obviously skill-laden. *blinks*

Fancy mangling your hand up over this. What are men like??

Jack's looking fab with his cropped hair and his blue peepers! It sounds like you all had a brilliant time.

Barb said...

A blood sport, seriously! Poor guy.
Yes, pinewood derbys are a great physics lesson - add that weight!

Jill said...

The Pinewood Derby is the one scout activity I don't mind being involved with, it's actually fun.

Natasha said...

What a fun experience! I am glad you posted about this!