the competition

This is G's last year of pinewood derby races.  Thank goodness!  P has always emphasized that G is to do most if not all the work.  We don't have a ban saw, so G has to cut the shape with a hand saw.   Every year G has lost every single heat.  With only 4 boys in the pack G never placed.  So he was often the only child that didn't get any recognition.  Great!  So he learned to be a good sport.

This year G sawed his car so thin that P had him Spackle it instead of sand it down.  Instead of the time honored tradition of letting him hand paint designs on his car, we learned to decoupage.   When the finished car was only 2.5 oz, half the allowed weight, P cut out a hole and put in pennies and soldered them in.

G won a few races this year.  He also lost to the child that lost every other race and looked to be headed to a sad end.  After each race, he shook hands with the other boy.

I have heard that some parents make their kids cars.  Oh well.  I think that leads to anxiety disorders.  I think everything leads to anxiety disorders.  But something I thought was funny was that the husband of one family told us that he'd done the cutting, the sanding, the prime coat, the weights, and the wheels, but that the boy had done the paint job by hand.  The mother of that family told us that the boy did the whole thing himself. 

We combined with the other ward's pack this year so there was 8 boys participating.  Hurray for G not being the only boy that got a participation ribbon.  And hurray for an awesome cub master and committee chair that did the whole thing with me just sitting there looking pretty.  Sheesh, I've been primary president for 3 years now.  I'm getting so good at it, I'll probably get released tomorrow. : )