Pinewood Derby

When the sign-up sheet was passed around to participate in the ward pinewood derby and passed it along. I knew my boys would like to do it but I didn’t know what to do with a race car. I remember my dad and brother going to town sawing, sanding, drilling, painting, ect. their cars but I didn’t know how they got from the beginning to the end. And Chris is always really busy so I didn’t think he’d have time.

Well the sign-up sheet of course was passed around in where there’s lots of testosterone and Chris gladly signed us up for two cars. The good thing was the cars were pre-cut. Chris let the boys pick out their cars and they were both really excited and played with their cars for a week even without wheels. Chris was so cute and went to work trying to see what we’d need to make our cars “fast”. The biggest goal of his was to have each car win a couple races. He did a little research figuring out where the best weight placement would be and bought an axle and wheel kit to help polish the axles that came with the car.

We borrowed our neighbors drill and went to town making holes for our weights. What a mess.

Jared’s car was easy and took us less than 20 mins to drill the holes with the right drill bit but Spencer’s was tricky. It was skinny and didn’t leave much room for drilling. We thought we’d have to put some of his weights sitting on the top but thanks to me, I pushed the limits and drilled deeper filling that puppy up.

I used wood filler to glue/secure the weights in place and then the boys and I painted them.

I let the boys go at it and then I touched it up after they were done glopping it on. Spencer named his car Green Monster and Jared named his Blue Magic. The night before the race Chris and I stayed up late, past twelve (that’s late for me!), polishing the axles. Each axle, 8 total, we sanded 8 times. We put the nail in the drill and then one person held down the button while the other held the sand paper and moved it up and down the nail. It took quite a bit of time but we could really tell the difference. The nails were a lot smoother than when we first got them. The next day I was in charge of putting the graphite in the wheels and spinning them and sanding the inner part of the wheels. I spun each wheel three different times for well over one minute each spin session. By the end my fingers were sore.

So did all our hard work pay off? Chris accomplished his goal of winning a couple of races and plus some… Spencer’s car never lost! We were pretty sure Spencer’s car was going to be the faster of the two because it was so much heavier in the back and had a sleeker build. I was worried what Jared would do when Spencer’s car beat him. The first time they raced against each other and Spencer won, Jared came up to me and said, “Spencer’s car won for me mom!”

Jared’s car ended up coming in third but we tell him it came in second.According to the numbers he technically got third (I think because he raced against Spencer more than the second place car) but Jared only lost to Spencer and the second place car never beat Jared. Although there was one race where Jared’s car crashed and didn’t cross the finish line so it got third that time… Anyways we ALL had a blast. The activities committee in our ward is AMAZING! They did a great job with décor, food, and organization. For winning Spencer got a trophy and when they called him up he was pretty funny. Everyone was yelling for him and cheering and he didn’t know what to make of it all. He didn’t get that he’d “won”.Jared was a pretty good loser until we got out to the car and he wanted a “piston cup” too.

I must say I got into the whole creating/making process more than I thought I would. Chris and I were tempted to buy new wheels and axles to replace our already sanded down ones and save them for future cars but decided against it. We decided the boys needed to do it for themselves one day. I definitely think this ward activity was a success. The atmosphere was great, there was a great turnout (around 40 participants), and it was fun seeing all the grown men getting into it. Who says this activity is just for scouts? I wouldn’t mind if this became a yearly tradition:)Miles with Kayla, who absolutely adores him. I just wish she was older so I could have her watch all three! I love how proud Jared is at the end of this video. This was his car's first race.

Spencer's first race.

A time they raced against each other.

I'm Scared...

Sunday Jared and Spencer were playing with their tunnels in all kinds of different forms. One of their ideas was to put their tunnels up against the couch and "slide" down them. Spencer was the first to try it. Jared encouraged him to go and just as Spencer was about to go down he stopped, looked at Jared and said, "I'm Scared." Jared replied, "You can do it Spencer. Just say I think I can." After repeating "I think I can" several times Spencer finally went with a loud, "I THINK I CAN!" Below is a clip of them playing and Spencer saying I think I can. He says it really cute:)

Easter and its Meaning

Today was a long day... We went to an easter egg hunt, did a couple errands, went to the park, rode bikes, ran another errand, hurried and made dinner and sent Chris on his way to priesthood. It was a good day just a long day leaving me very exhausted and to top it off I still needed to workout clean up my messy kitchen and semi messy front room and make our treat for tomorrow. My plan was to get the kids to bed soon after dinner; they too were tired from waking up early, playing hard, and no naps. Miles crashed but I still had the other two, the harder two. We got through the routine fairly smoothly (undress, pajamas on, go the bathroom, diapers on, brush teeth, say prayers, read at least one chapter from a book (right now it's James and the Giant Peach), and sing songs.)

My plan was to get through everything quickly so I could get on with everything else I had to do tonight. But I had an impression to ask the boys about Easter and get their thoughts. So I asked them if they knew why we celebrated Easter. Their response was for Candy and the Easter Bunny. I corrected them and told them about Christ, the atonement, crucifixion, and resurrection. Our conversation went on for a good 30 mins about Christ, his suffering, what it meant for us, and his love for us. It was a tender moment for me. One that strengthened my testimony as I explained Christ's atonement and resurrection and a moment where I was touched by the sensitivity of my children. Spencer was so concerned for Jesus and kept saying, "Jesus died! Jesus owie. Need a bandaid." And Jared had several questions and intently listened to everything and when I went and got pictures to show the boys he told me that we knew a song about this. I thought he would start singing a primary song but he sang the song "Gethsemane" which we hadn't sung for several months.

I'm grateful for the little prompting I had tonight. I was getting frazzled by the time bed time came around but after putting my sweet boys to bed I am rejuvinated. I still feel exhausted and I'm still not looking forward to exercising, baking, and cleaning, but I feel lifted and spritually fed making it worth putting off those things for a little while even if it means going to bed later. I am grateful for Easter and the opportunity it gives us to remember Christ, his suffering, his death, and his resurrection. What a powerful thing to know and share.