{Pinewood Derby}

Ayden participated in his first Pinewood Derby on Saturday. It was a pretty exciting time for him (and his Dad). Ryan and Ayden spent time together shaping and cutting and sanding his car. It was fun to watch them do this together. I did help with the painting and some of the finish work so I guess I was in there in the mix too. Ayden named his car "Red Rocket". He was very proud of it!!

When we got to the church for the weigh-in we found Ayden's car was really light. It was just over 3 oz., and it could be as heavy as 5 oz. We had no way of weighing it before we left our house so we had to add some weight once we were there. The only place to add the weight to was the top front, which I think hurt him in the end. It made his car not so aerodynamic you could say. Ayden got to run his car twice and unfortunately it lost both times. The second race was a close one though. He was bummed he didn't win. That boy has a competitive streak a mile wide running right straight down the middle of him. It is a constant effort to help him see the benefit in participating in something without the guarantee of winning. So I think in a way it was good for him to experience this. This was the first derby for all of us so we were kinda flying blind you could say. It was so much fun though and I think we all learned a lot.
Next year though we are coming back with experience, a killer design and a winning car!! Ryan has already scouted out some designs online, so we are ready for it baby!!