The Race

It is Race Day, and we got to Klauder Hall early to make sure we got good seats. The whole thing was really pretty amazing.

I had a chat with Ian before the races to make sure he was okay with the whole thing – win or lose. I reminded him that the whole point of the race is to have fun, and that is exactly what we did (once I got past the nightmare of the block of wood). We learned a lot about cutting wood, sanding it, painting it, and weighing it. The nice people at the Village of Kenmore Post Office deserve special thanks for weighing “Thunder” so many times near the end of the process.

This is a very serious event. Every care is taken to make sure the race is fair.
First, the track must be assembled.
Yes, folks, that is a laundry basket.
“Thunder” (Ian’s car) is 3rd from the right.
Check out the first car in line – turns out that thing was Fast! I have no idea how they got it into that shape, or how they made it heavy enough. I think it belonged to Jack and his Dad from Ian's den. (I think it's funny - you can tell just by looking at the cars who spent the most time on them!)


And here is my little Scout.


Race 1 results – “Thunder” won! Ian’s car is #116. The judges place the cars in this “shuttle box” in order of the winners. (There are four judges, by the way.)
Race #2 – “Thunder” won again!
Race #3 – “Thunder” won again!
Race #4 – okay, we’re getting tense now, and occasionally I have to remind myself to breathe. I found I was actually holding my breath for the results. “Thunder” won again! And for Race #5, I missed the shot, but “Thunder” won yet again!

Race #6 – “Thunder” took second! Tension is getting pretty thick.
In second on the track…

…and he takes second again! This got Ian into the final four.

The final four cars race four times, once in each lane. “Thunder” started out in Lane #2…
and here he is in the lead…

…and he took first place Again!

By this time I am completely speechless.

Here he is in the starting position in Lane 3 …

…and he won Again!

He took third in Race #3, and I started to breathe again, but then there was one final race to go… and it was a close one.

The Judges took a lifetime to make their final decision on the placement of the cars for the final race. It was Very close.

And the Winner is:

The final result of a month’s worth of blood, sweat and tears:


We learned so much while making the car, but let me tell you, the cuts on our fingers where our skin dried and cracked from all that sanding sure feel a whole lot better now!

I'm going to have to have another 'winning isn't everything' talk with Ian someday again soon, but tonight, he can bask in glory all he wants. He worked hard for this.

Impounded!

This Derby Car thing is QUITE serious.

On Saturday, we attended the Official Weigh-In.

The car must fit into a certain area (I have forgotten the exact measurements, aside from the fact that the wheels can be no more than 1/32" away from the body of the car), and is then weighed. It must weigh no more than 5 ounces. After the car is weighed, the number is applied (Ian's vehicle is #116), and the car is then impounded. This is the "lot" (Ian's car is in the middle):

I asked why they impound the cars. Get this - the parents cheat! After the official weigh-in, it was discovered that some over-ambitious parents altered the weight on their son's cars in an attempt to win. So now, once the car is weighed, the pack leader keeps the cars until Race Day.

Race Day is Friday, January 26th, Time 6:45 p.m. After all the work Ian put into the car, I hope he at least places. There are prizes for first, second and third places, and there are about 50 kids. We'll see!

Four Siblings

I look at this picture occasionally and think, "Wow. My Dad really looks like he's full of mischief." (Left to right are Aunt Dennie, Auntie Marlene, Uncle Gene and Dad.)

He's going to see how much he gets back at tax return time and figure out if he has enough to go see my brother in Seattle. That'd be so cool if he can swing it.

Hope he calls Mike and fills him in on his plans.

:D

Derby Car Update

Lesson number 6 (or is it 7?) : Quarters and nickels weigh the same: .2 oz.

We went to the den leader's home this morning, and he drilled out the bottom of Ian's car so we could stuff enough nickels in to make weight.

Lesson number 7: Drilling out wood means loss of some weight.

That's okay, though. Ian's car now weighs 4.7 ounces, and since he is supposed to be at a maximum of 5 ounces, we can stuff another nickel under there and be as close as we're going to get.

Busted!

I remember my mom telling about my brother getting really, really, really quiet once, and when she returned to the dining room, he was artfully using his spoon to fling Jello onto the ceiling. Way to go!

So here I am, upstairs putting the laundry away, and suddenly I realized it had gotten really, really, really quiet downstairs. That much quiet and one little boy can only mean one thing - Trouble.

However, I, grinning like an idiot, am armed with my new Nikon digital camera, and I am going get photographic proof of whatever he is doing.

I snuck down my stairs, camera poised, and CAUGHT HIM IN THE ACT:

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. I just love my kid.

Pinewood Derby Car lessons.

I just realized I haven't been on-line 'recreationally' since before Christmas! People are going to think I dropped off the face of the Earth.

I signed Ian up for Cub Scouts. We are working on the pinewood derby car, which is a HUGE event in the Cub Scout world. Each Cub Scout is given a block of wood with two grooves in the bottom (for the axles), four nails (the axles), and four plastic tires.





The goal is to turn this block of wood into a derby car that will win on race day. It is supposed to be fun. It certainly has been an experience. I may actually have to invest in some power tools.

The dads in the group really get into this thing, and I think the point is lost. I overhear them talking... "I'm going to put [this item] on it this year," or "I got a new [tool of choice] that I can use to [whatever]." The dads are extremely competitive about this thing, and one even said to his son, "NO! I'LL do it!" It's supposed to be a learning experience for the child. It certainly has been a learning experience for me.

The den leader offered to take Ian out (with his own children) to his father's wood shop in Orchard Park. His father has all sorts of wood working tools, and he was going to use his father's tools to cut out his children's cars. It was a great idea, and it took place the weekend Ian got strep. We ended up using a hand saw to painstakingly cut out Ian's car design.






Lesson number one: No matter what disease du jour Ian has next year, if someone offers use of a power tool, we're going!

We then have to sand the piece of wood so it is smooth. The den leader gave me some sand paper to use, and Ian and I were in business. Ian spent a solid hour and a half sanding this car, and I sunk another three hours into it.





Lesson number two: Sanding something until your fingers bleed is not fun. Lesson number three: There are different kinds of sand paper. Get a courser grit next time to start with, and use the fine grit to finish. We'd have spent less time sanding if we'd have used an emory board!

Now the car needs to be painted. The den leader assured me you can get paint at any hardware store. So, on the way home one day, Ian and I stopped at Sears Hardware. I went to where all the paint cans are stocked, found an older gentleman who works there, and said, "Hello. We're making a pinewood derby car..." and he cut me off. His children, and then his grandchildren made pinewood derby cars, and HE used to.... Well, after a bit, I snuck into the conversation the fact that we needed paint. He recommended a can of acrylic spray paint (Ian chose silver), and then, because Ian wanted to paint a lightning bolt on his car and call it "Thunder", we chose the smallest can of glossy white we could find. Ian will have silver and glossy white cars for his entire Cub Scout career. Lesson number four: K-Mart has a craft section that sells LITTLE cans of spray paint and LITTLE jars of paint that are perfect, and less than 1/3 of the cost.



There is a trick to spray painting. Ian and I went to the home of a friend of mine with the can of spray paint and the derby car. He said, "Wait a minute. You lived on the west side for a while. You don't know how to spray paint?!?!" Very funny. Lesson number five: Don't get too close, and don't hold the can in one position too long or you end up with drips. Use a sweeping motion and small spurts on the button for an even coat of paint. Oh, and you can't hold the car while you paint it, duh. Set it on another can of something so you can work around it.

Here is where we are today:

Today we are going to the den leader's home to weigh it. It has to be no more than 5 ounces heavy. According to my diet scale, we are six quarters short. But hey, this is fun!