Saturday, February 28, 2009

The Derby

Today was the big day.
Our first ever AWANAs Pinewood Derby.
If you aren't familiar with Pinewood Derbys, what you do is buy a $3.00 kit that has a rectangular block of wood, some wheels and some axles (which are just nails). You then can fashion this block into any shape or size you want. You mess up on the shape then you buy another kit and start again. So after 6 kits, 3 cans of spray paint, graphite wheel lube all over everyone's hands, extra weights for the cars, and lots of band-aids for wounds during the construction we had our cars.
There are 3 categories one can win in.
The fastest car, the car that looks most like a car, and the novelty category which is something that looks like something other than a car (like a baseball bat or a watermelon).

The kids all decided they wanted to try to make the fastest car and they all wanted their cars to actually look like race cars.
They all drew the shape on the block of wood that they wanted Daddy to cut out. They all drew out the designs they wanted on their cars. They helped sand and paint the cars and the boys both put their own decals on the cars and helped glue on all the metal pieces.

The other goal (we found out) is to get your car to weigh exactly 5.0oz. So we added all sorts of weights. It was crazy.

The night before the race we put on the axles and the wheels. We figured out we had problems when we realized that not all the wheels were touching on the cars and that several of them didn't even spin. We were just a little stressed and just hoping the next day that they would at least cross the finish line.

Here are the finished cars on the day of the race.



The track was pretty cool. Each division ran several heats and each car took a turn in a different lane for each heat.


This was her car. She specifically wanted a pink race car with red stripes. She also was very specific about where she wanted her weights. She's a thinker that one!

We were pretty excited when we figured out there were only 4 cars racing in the Cubbies division because we knew they had at least that many trophies.


She ended up winning 3 out of 4 heats and she won the First Place Trophy! She was so excited!



He wanted an orange race car with a firebird on the hood and a spoiler. Next year we are going to add the weights before we paint the cars. He ended up coming in 5th or 6th for speed but won a First Place trophy in the automotive division because his looked most like a car.



He wanted a very flat, black race car with flames. We were actually afraid it was too thin and had a hard time getting it exactly 5.0 oz. His actually came in first on every race he was in. We were shocked! But very excited. I don't think he even cared that he won for speed, but just that he got a first place trophy. He actually kissed the trophy when they presented it to him. And I totally did not get it on film!

Here is the competition. The boys were both in the same division.
The boys' cars coming in first and second.


Here they are with their their trophies. I think boy #2 is trying to look tough and the girl has her "just another day in the life of a superhero" look (although this was the first trophy she has ever had and she was pretty excited about it). We were pleased that all the kids in the whole competition went home with a trophy or a medal.
We ran a final race at the end with our cars just for the fun of it. It was pretty close.


We really had a good time but honestly spent more time and energy and lost more stomach lining than we had planned on. But the kids had a great time so I guess we will probably try again next year. My oldest already has plans to enter the novelty category with a car that looks like a candy bar.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Thankful Thursday

1. Thankful for dear friends.
2. Thankful for my wonderfully thoughtful husband.
3. Thankful that he has a job.
4. Thankful that even though his hours aren't always the best, we have a house to live in and food to eat.
5. Thankful for sweet and patient violin and piano teachers.
6. Thankful that Pottery Barn catalogs are free.
7. Thankful that the weather is nice in Texas today.
8. Thankful that my nephew from Ethiopia is settling in well with his new mom and dad (my brother and sister-in-law) and that we are going to see them this weekend.
9. Thankful that my sister and nieces are coming down for a visit. Can't wait to see them either.
10. Thankful for the new running shoes my husband surprised me with. They are very comfy.
11. Thankful for the public library.
12. Thankful for all the friends I've recently gotten back in touch with through Facebook. Seriously. Who woulda thought?

That's all I've got for today. Have a Thankful Thursday! And Happy 5th Day of Valentine's!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Friends

When we first found out we were moving to Texas, Mrs. Troop told me some of their friends from church moved to Texas. She gave me their contact information and not only did they live in Texas, they lived 1.5 miles from the house we were moving to in Texas! The second day we were moving in they came by to bring us snacks and welcome us to the area. That next weekend they invited us over for supper and swimming. It was such a blessing to have friends when we moved here. Our kids had a great time together.

They even came to our OU party. They were the only ones. (It's hard to find dedicated Sooner fans south of the Red River for some reason)

Just recently they found a way to move back to Oklahoma. The land that they love. So for the past two days we had the kids over while the movers came to pack them up and move them out.

Here are the younger girls.

And the bigger kids.


We are really going to miss them. My daughter is especially going to miss their daughter. They were connected at the hip every time they got together.
They would even swing together in sync so they could talk. About what, I have no idea.

Yesterday when they left, my daughter turned to me and said, "I gave her my word." I've never heard her use that phrase before so I was a little confused. "What do you mean exactly?", I said. She replied, "I gave her my word. It was goodbye. That was my word."
So there you have it. Her word was goodbye.
And we will miss them.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Happy 2nd Day of Valentine's

So, when I first started dating my husband, I started this thing called the 14 days of Valentine's.

Actually for our first Valentine's we were in a Friendship Contract and could not give each other any gifts other than what we were giving our same gender friends. So that year, my husband gave his roommate a little plant and gave me a huge bouquet of plants. It was quite impressed by his creativeness.

The next year, I started the 14 Days of Valentine's. It was actually my cousin's idea. She started doing it for her husband and I thought it sounded like lots of fun. The basic idea is just to get your sweetheart something for the 1st through the 14th of February. Sometimes it is a homemade card, some new socks, a book he has wanted, homemade goodies, a fishing lure or anything else that he might really enjoy.

He was so excited every day with his little gifts that I decided to make it a tradition.

We are now in our 13th year of the 14 Days of Valentine's! There were some years that were more difficult than others. The year I had a 2 month old and a 20 month old was a little tough, but I still pulled it off. There were other years that I just didn't think I was going to make it to the 14th day. But I've gotten in the habit of picking little things up here and there during the year that I know he really wants and then hiding them in my secret Valentine's stash. It makes it a little easier to come up with 14 days in a row of thoughtful gifts. One year I made a t-shirt that said " I Love (with his name)". I still wear it. He loves it.

I'm doing pretty well this year. I've got 10 days covered so far. And I'm a resourceful gal and pretty sure I can come up with 4 more days.

And my husband knows that I am still madly in love with him. Enough to devote 14 days of love just for him.

Happy 2nd Day of Valentine's!
And while I'm at it, let me just add that I've not been posting because I have been seriously amusing myself at two new blogs I've found. Cake Wrecks cracks me up! I've spent way too much time reading this blog. No eternal value what-so-ever, but seriously funny! Or maybe I'm just easily amused. And my other favorite is Bakerella. LOVE this blog! She has some great cake ideas. I am SO going to try her cake pops when I get a chance.