Pinewood Derby

#2 participated in his pack's Pinewood Derby last week. Mr. Wiedz and #2 had worked on the car all of January. They learned a lot last year and used some books and tips and supplies that a graduating family passed down to us. They were quite excited about the whole thing this year.

The planning process. #2 and Mr. Wiedz consulted some books and drew out the design of the car and discussed their plan. It was a really great dad/#2 process to watch.

Standing nervously in line to weigh in and turn in his car. We were all hoping that it would make weight, that they hadn't done something wrong, that they would get the thumbs up to race.

Thumbs up!!!!

#2 named his car the "Dark Knight" and it joined all the other cars waiting to race.

All the boys sit around the track and cheer for their car and their friends cars. Each car get to race 8 races randomly choosen by the computer. They've got quite a great set-up and some really awesome dads who volunteer to run the whole thing!

Our whole family doesn't regularly attend the pack meetings. Of course, the Pinewood Derby is an exception as it is so fun to cheer on all the boys. But the meeting goes on so long that the little guys really start to wear out by the end. In a great turn of events, #5 had taken a weird 15 nap before lunch and so I was able to lay him down for his "afternoon" nap even later, like 3:00, and that helped him make it into the longer evening. Mr. Wiedz did have to provide some distraction as the evening wore down.

#2's car did great! He won a trophy for being the fastest Wolf! It was a great evening.

Moments to Remember :: Pinewood Derby

Joining Jolanthe to remember a moment from this week.

I'm going to post all about the Pinewood Derby this coming week but looking back through pictures this one really jumped out to me. I loved watching him interact with his friends. And watching his siblings cheer for him.

Linking up ::

Pack Camp-out

#2 and I joined our Cub Scout Pack for a camp-out a couple of weekends ago. He was practically jumping up and down all day with excitement. We got to camp, not too far from home actually, set up and I helped with dinner while #2 ran around, climbing trees and exploring camp.

At our camp fire we had an awards time. #2 was awarded his Tiger Badge, he had worked on it all year and I was so proud of him. We also had a graduation time at camp fire. All of the boys moving up a den level got their new neckerchiefs. #2 was excited about graduating into the Wolf Den. He got his new neckerchief and we'd gone to the Scout store and picked up the new Wolf slide and Wolf book.
He's a WOLF!

After the awards part of the campfire we moved to a ceremonial campfire to retire two American flags. It was a special ceremony and was really neat to see. I was really impressed with how much the boys are taught about respecting the flag and all the details they put into the ceremony.

When all the campfires were wrapped up we went straight to bed, many hours later then our schedule.

Next morning there was lots of fun to be squeezed into our day...the plan was to leave after lunch to make it home in time to help with dinner and bedtime. The pack leaders took the boys on a hike to idetify plants and trees. A dad taught the boys about orienteering and they used maps and compasses to find treasures. The fire deptartment from the local town came out and gave the boys a first aid demonstration. Another dad lead knife safety and the boys whittled a bar of soap for practice, earning their whittling chip...another part of the weekend #2 was thrilled about! And yet another dad showed the boys how a GPS unit works and they used them to go geocaching for yet more treasures. All that with meals thrown in too.

As you might have guess, we were exhausted at the end of the day!

A huge thank you to Grammie and Grappie D for coming and spending the weekend with the other kids. It was a special time for #2 and I and wouldn't have been possible without their help!

Pinewood Derby

Mr. Wiedz and #2 participated in a Cub Scout tradition this month. The pinewood derby.

The packmaster gave each boy a block of pinewood for Christmas and the beginning of January Mr. Wiedz and #2 got started. They made a plan. They decided to make a replicate our drift boat, Wiedz Wonder.

They went to the neighbors and used the drill press to make holes in the body so they could sand out the inside.

Once the inside was completely sanded and ready to go. #2 added paint to the whole thing.

The details were the most fun. Though I didn't get pictures of them being made for the most part. They used clay to form seats and the anchor and paddles. This part was many days of forming and drying and painting.

Brother even helped!

Mr. Wiedz and #2 were so proud of their finished product.

The actual derby day came. It was a whole family affair (and I found out two days before that I was needing to bring 2-3 dozen homemade treats to share) and we were all excited to go and support #2 with his Cub Scout event.

When it came down to it his boat was too narrow to fit on the track so it didn't get to race. We were so proud of his good attitude and his support of the other Cub Scouts. He sat and watched all the other races and cheered for his friends. He didn't get upset about his car not making it.

He did get a best in show certificate and his boat was displayed on the prize table. Lots of people took pictures and came to see it.

He's so cute. I'm so proud. 

There are plans already for next years speed racer!