Pinewood Derby

I cringed when they announced the pinewood derby this month.  I jokingly asked Joseph what color he wanted his block to be.  It is not an area I feel confident in helping my son.  But one day I was talking to Lori, who is the mother of Joseph's best friend, William, and she said they were finishing up a car for their own derby and I expressed my dread at having to help Joseph make one.  She told me her husband would be happy to help Joseph make a car and we planned a day for Joseph to go home with William after school to work on it.  They did a beautiful job shaping the car. I wasn't there but from what I gather, there was some research going on about how to make a fast car!

Joseph brought it home and I took him to Ace to get a spray paint.  I helped him put coat after coat of paint on it so it would be nice and smooth and then he added his own touches.  He named his car the Splatmobile.  Cute!

The night before the race we went back to William's house and his father put on the wheels and the weights and made sure it was good to go!  What truly touched my heart is that he had somewhere else he needed to be and he still took a half an hour to help Joseph finish up his car and instruct us on applying graphite and all those other little details that apparently make a difference!  I am grateful every day for the wonderful people in our lives who are so willing to help. 

We went to the church and Joseph got his car weighed in and ready to go.  It was so much fun for him. His car came in first and second pretty consistently.  There were 12 racers total and Joseph got to race 8 times on the regular track and twice on the loop de loop track.  He came in second overall and I think he was pretty proud!