the pinewood derby is no longer for scouts.

last weekend was my son's first ever pinewood derby.
every scout looks forward to the day when he's handed a block of wood and told to go forth and create.
not only create but, create a car.



the look on jonah's face when i told him he was going to get to design, cut, sand, paint, add wheels and weights and then RACE a car was priceless.
he couldn't wait to get started.

a pack meeting prior to race day was set aside for the designing and cutting of the cars.
two dads brought fancy saws and sanders and cut the wood blocks into high speed racers for our boys. {no fingers were lost in the process, thank goodness.}

at that point i handed to car over to jonah and told him that he needed to sand it smooth and then he could paint it however his little heart desired.

he, with little help from his poppy, taped the edges and then painted the car green and black.
i think jonah was going for a camo look.
but, it was his car. he had full creative control.



wheels were added.
jonah gave the final "looks good" and we put his pinewood derby car in a resealable bag so that no debris got in to the wheels.

it was tough waiting for race day.
we were both very excited to see what jonah's car was capable of.

and then it came.
january 26th, 10:00am, weigh-in. {cars must be no more than 5 ounces}

we got there around 9:30.
i'm assistant den leader and i was helping in the concession stand.
who am i kidding? i would've been there early anyway...i was excited!



ok, so upon pulling into the parking lot of the little church where our pack holds its weekly meetings i notice a dad outside with some piece of power something.
i thought, "wow, it's a little late for that.  hmph, jonah's been finished with his car for over a week."
little did i know he was boaring holes to add weights.
ok. that's cool.

we bounce out of the truck, still super excited about the car jonah had built with very little help, and go inside.

inside was a bit comical now that i'm looking back.

the scouts were all running around playing with each other. tag and hide and seek are popular among our boys.
the DADS were the ones getting weights on, adding graphite to the wheels, hurrying around like worker bees to ensure their boys victory at the finish line.
the scouts could care less. for real.

have you ever seen the movie down and derby??
it's a pretty accurate representation of what i witnessed last saturday.




now, i'm not saying we were the only family with a scout who built his own car.
there were others.
i know there were other scouts who built their own car.
but, i'd go out on a limb to say at least 50% of the cars raced on that track were built by the dads.

the sheer competition and disappointment on the dads faces gave it away.



all in all, though, it was a good day at the races!
the pinewood derby was a success.

cars were raced.
winners were chosen.
trophies were awarded.
fun was had by all.

{even if most of my fun was watching grown men act like little boys.}






{there was a sibling race, as well. the middle car is jake austin's. he built it himself.}

this little cutie came in first place in his den AND he was the pack champion!!



i'm sure you're wondering...jonah's car did not place. it came in 3rd {out of three} in every heat. and that's ok.
i may have jokingly told him that we are SO doing our research and starting early on next year's car.
he's already decided his car will be a military humvee.



have you ever been to the pinewood derby? am i right here, or am i right??