I was talking to some friends about blogging the other night--basically in reference to the fact that my lame excuse for a Christmas post, "Elf Yourself," had expired and was a constant reminder of how rarely I post in general--and so I said, "My life is just not exciting enough to post about it all the time!" When truly, the real answer is more like: I am not creative enough to think of fun things to post about all the time, like many of you. AND there's probably a little bit of laziness mixed in there as well... Aaaaaanyway... my children would NOT agree that our lives are not exciting, so I am posting here on behalf of them today! Enjoy :o)
Last night was our family's first Pinewood Derby. The excitement in our house leading up to the event was palpable. Extreme amounts of time and thought and effort went into making said car, and by the time it was done, Lightning McQueen had been lovingly re-created. So much for being "original", but I digress... Bennett was absolutely sure said car was going to win the grand prize (I'm still not sure what he thought that grand prize was going to BE--perhaps a million dollars, or a trip to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory? We'll never know), and all week I kept giving him the pep talk about "It's not about winning. It's about having fun, and learning a new skill, and doing something fun with your Cub Scout friends, and.... blah blah blah blah blah." He would just look at me like, "Whatever, Mom. I know it's going to win." Ah, the pure innocence of never having raced in a Pinewood Derby before...
I'm sorry, but have you EVER seen a cuter Cub Scout? Let's be honest, you haven't :o)
So anyway, the much-anticipated event finally arrived. Bennett and Jeremy went early to weigh his car, only to find that it was 4 ounces UNDER weight (mind you, the weight limit is 5 ounces, so do the math, folks :o). So Jeremy ran out to his REAL car, gathered all the change he could find and taped it all over Lightning McQueen to increase its weight. So much for the painstaking design, but again I digress... Update: I stand corrected. Jeremy says the car was 1.4 oz under weight--I just heard the "4" part. Sorry!
Once the event got underway, it was an exciting evening, let me tell you--complete with a monotone MC. (Not Jason, Shandra--the other guy :o) Seriously, we were all looking at each other like, Who picked this dude??? But the cute Cub Scouts didn't seem to notice or care. Bennett's beloved Lightning McQueen won its first 2 heats, and got 2nd place in the 3rd.
Look who's in first place! The car with tape all over it!
Incredibly enough, Bennett (or should I say, Lightning McQueen) made it to the winner's circle. This was a very exciting time for our family :o) Unfortunately, he was beat out by cars that were definitely made by Cub Scouts themselves... Really people, really???
You be the judge, folks!
Thankfully, we barely avoided a complete meltdown and Bennett went home with the "Immensely Imaginative" award (wow, THAT was a lie. Come on people, he did Lightning McQueen!), as well as the news that, because he won 1st place in his age group, he gets to go to Districts! Bennett proudly called each and every grandparent to share his good news on the way home, who were all equally in shock that he was still AWAKE (yes, the Pinewood Derby for 8-10 yr old boys was held on a school night and didn't get out till after 9pm), but showed very believable amounts of excitement nonetheless :o) Thanks, everyone!
While I think my overall enthusiasm has been evident throughout this post, I have to say (in all seriousness) that my only favorite part of the whole PWD adventure was watching Jeremy and Bennett work together on this cute car. Jer has been home more the last couple months, and it has been pure heaven. It's been such a blast watching him get SO excited to have an excuse to finally buy a jig saw, print out all the different possible designs so Bennett could choose which one he wanted him to cut, teaching him how to sand wood to perfection, taping off the windshield just right so the lines would be perfect when Bennett painted it, and helping him put the finishing lacquer on the car so it would shine :o) In our house, we don't take any of these simple things for granted. Jer's school and work have been so demanding pretty much forever, so we are grateful for the immense blessing of quality time as a family. And this has definitely been quality time...
Go Lightning McQueen!!!
And yes, I do believe that woman behind my guys is getting teary-eyed at the Pinewood Derby.
I sure hope it wasn't because her car lost...
13 comments:
Fun, I am glad you do post every once and a while. I have stopped posting so often. I keep having family members call and tell me to get another post up. I am getting lazy, but like you I have started worrying about what people think about me and my posts. I did offend someone and now I just don't know what people feel about me. Makes me want to go private, but I am sure my mom wouldn't figure out how to get on my blog if I did that. Just know that you can say anything to me and I don't get offended. I don't hurt that easily. Your kids are getting too big. I can't believe you have a cub scout.
Ok, you should post more often. That was hilarious!!
He is so cute Karen...nice to have a post from you!!! And, I too have loved watching Trev and Carson enjoy more things together as he gets older. It is so sweet to watch dads with their boys! And I am so glad Jeremy has had some more home time...you guys definitely deserve that 100 times over. Miss you!
I agree...post more often! This was funny to read. :)
Way to get down with the derby! He is definitely a cute cub scout!!
"whatever mom. i know it's going to win." classic. i'm gonna tell him they're holding districts at Pixar headquarters.
Congrats Bennett!!! That's awesome. What a cutie :)
Glad to see a post! I can't believe how big Bennett is and congrats on the derby.
Great post Karen...took me way back as you often do with your boy tales. Love the cub, his dad and you well represent "cubbing moms" everywhere and feelings about a PWD! It is about the family time creating, excitement and sportsmanship. You succeeded at all three. Let's try one down the beach at our next reunion! Keep writing, you're a star...love you lots.
I can't believe it's taken you this long to post -- just kidding! I'm just as bad, but I have no guilt, so what does that say? I love reading about you guys and seeing pictures of your boys. He is the cutest cub scout I've ever seen (at least for a few more years.) :) My favorite picture though, is Dad and Son. I love family time.
Bennett is growing up so fast! I can't believe how much older he looks! And what a fun time at the Derby! I can't wait until we have scouts with my boys!!! How are things going with you? I miss you!
Hi Karen...so I had some questions for you. Joe is applying for cariolody and we'll be ranking our choices for fellowship match soon. One of the programs we are looking at is Georgetown in DC. We are a little concerned w/ housing prices and schools for our kids etc. I wondered what you have thought of your kids' school and where you live? Is it a long commute for your husband? How is the ward you are in? Y'all are in the DC area right?!
lisa hymas
fancy.cheese@hotmail.com
You just gave me flashbacks, nightmare type! Your cubby sprout is sooo cute! Our first derby was eye opening. The second one I knew about polishing axels and we did much better there. Some of my favorite moments were watching the dad's faces during the races-my Chang won as a wolf-more a function of being second son, poor Big Man took longer for me to get a clue. I am so glad that Jeremy was able to be involved!
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