Monday, April 05, 2010
Easter Weekend
On Friday we did an accelerated departure, picking up the kids from school and heading out to Omaha, NE to see my Dad and Mary. The ride went quick and easy. The last couple of trips we've been on Anna's complained of being "car sick", but then does great -I think its a kind of protest.
Dad and Mary are always great to see. I used some of my accumulated Holiday Inn points (I've got a quarter million of them from my time in China) to get a couple of adjoining rooms at a close by Crowne Plaza. Pierce and Anna were very excited that they got their own room with their own beds (they usually double-up in a sleeper sofa).
We've formed a semi-tradition of meeting Dad and Mary at the local Friday's for dinner on Friday night when we arrive. Mac and cheese is the meal of choice for the kids. We were early enough that we were able to go back to the apartment to visit for a few hours. Pierce and Anna both had new toys they were eager to show, we had to keep moving them out of the main "traffic" area so we could move around.
Saturday started off a little cool, but turned nice. After a "only-ok" (and complimentary) breakfast at the hotel we headed out to the Dad's apartment for more visiting. The kids started to get a little stir-crazy (so did I), so we packed the whole group up and headed to a local park. There was a good-sized swing set that the kids, Nora and I used, the we went for a nice long walk. There was a miniature airfield near by that we tried to walk to, but never quite found.
Interestingly, Anna invented the concept of "little peoples". It started with her duck walking around the apartment claiming she was a little people. Of course she got Mary, Nora and myself doing it. Over the weekend it morphed into a whole story line, with a little people driving a miniature airplane at the park and living in a small culvert next to the trail we walked.
Saturday night we went to everyone's favorite for dinner, the Amazing Pizza Machine. We got an earlier start than usual (which was good). Dad, Mary, Anna and Nora went crazy on the ticket games and set a new, personal record -almost 1000 tickets. Pierce forewent the go-carts in favor of air hockey and driving games with me.
Easter morning started a little earlier than Nora and I had anticipated with Pierce and Anna waking up at 2:00 am to find their baskets. It took them about 30 minutes to get settled down and back to sleep. We had brunch at Granite City (Dad and Mary's suggestion and treat). It was extremely good and definitely a go-back.
We got back into town around 5:00 pm and, after a quick feeding of dog, headed over to Nora's parent's house. All the grandkids did an Easter egg hunt with plastic eggs hidden in flower beds, car bumpers, deck rails and more. Nora and Nicole did an egg pass after it was all over and found a significant number of "missed" eggs. Dinner, as always, was very good with lots of good food and conversation. We all bowed out around 7:30 pm -its a school night.
-Eric (Dad)
Dad and Mary are always great to see. I used some of my accumulated Holiday Inn points (I've got a quarter million of them from my time in China) to get a couple of adjoining rooms at a close by Crowne Plaza. Pierce and Anna were very excited that they got their own room with their own beds (they usually double-up in a sleeper sofa).
We've formed a semi-tradition of meeting Dad and Mary at the local Friday's for dinner on Friday night when we arrive. Mac and cheese is the meal of choice for the kids. We were early enough that we were able to go back to the apartment to visit for a few hours. Pierce and Anna both had new toys they were eager to show, we had to keep moving them out of the main "traffic" area so we could move around.
Saturday started off a little cool, but turned nice. After a "only-ok" (and complimentary) breakfast at the hotel we headed out to the Dad's apartment for more visiting. The kids started to get a little stir-crazy (so did I), so we packed the whole group up and headed to a local park. There was a good-sized swing set that the kids, Nora and I used, the we went for a nice long walk. There was a miniature airfield near by that we tried to walk to, but never quite found.
Interestingly, Anna invented the concept of "little peoples". It started with her duck walking around the apartment claiming she was a little people. Of course she got Mary, Nora and myself doing it. Over the weekend it morphed into a whole story line, with a little people driving a miniature airplane at the park and living in a small culvert next to the trail we walked.
Saturday night we went to everyone's favorite for dinner, the Amazing Pizza Machine. We got an earlier start than usual (which was good). Dad, Mary, Anna and Nora went crazy on the ticket games and set a new, personal record -almost 1000 tickets. Pierce forewent the go-carts in favor of air hockey and driving games with me.
Easter morning started a little earlier than Nora and I had anticipated with Pierce and Anna waking up at 2:00 am to find their baskets. It took them about 30 minutes to get settled down and back to sleep. We had brunch at Granite City (Dad and Mary's suggestion and treat). It was extremely good and definitely a go-back.
We got back into town around 5:00 pm and, after a quick feeding of dog, headed over to Nora's parent's house. All the grandkids did an Easter egg hunt with plastic eggs hidden in flower beds, car bumpers, deck rails and more. Nora and Nicole did an egg pass after it was all over and found a significant number of "missed" eggs. Dinner, as always, was very good with lots of good food and conversation. We all bowed out around 7:30 pm -its a school night.
-Eric (Dad)
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
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Saturday, January 30, 2010
Pierce's Pinewood Derby - Pictures
While Pierce and my cars didn't perform particularly well, we had fun. Here's a few pictures from the event along with a few comments on the proceedings.
"I'm cool."" I'm cool too." (and pretty -Eric)
The Ecto-1 (Eric's car), big and bad.
Pierce's car -he named it the "The Worst Car Ever" - it didn't win a singe race. Pierce selected the shape, did the final sanding, picked the paint design and we applied it to the car together.
Chili and hot dog pot luck kept everyone's bellies full.
Anna went for the high vantage point. The judges look over the cars.
Creating a license plate (I think)
Anna and Pierce's buddy Matt. Pierce announces the color guard and recites the Pledge of Allegiance.
Nora and the color guard (our Den) Miles plants the flag.
"How'd I do?"
Mom's from our Den. Miles is crafty too.
Setting up for Pierce's heat.... ...and they're off!
Final standings.
Labels: pinewood derby cub scouts
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Day of the (Pinewood) Derby
Pierce's cub scout Pinewood Derby race was today a little after lunch. The pack always does a nice job and the event includes a chili potluck lunch and arts and crafts in addition to the car races. I'd say Pierce's car was one of the more attractive, sleeker looking cars, but it wasn't a performer. Out of 6 heats he came in last 5 times. The last heat he came in 3rd out of 4th.
Of course, he was disappointed. But he took it well. Certainly I valued our time putting the car together. I suggested to Pierce that he could buy me a couple of custom-bits for my drill that are specific to Pinewood cars, as a Father's Day gift so we'll be more competitive next year.
Anna and Pierce both made multiple trips to the dessert table. The brownies were the biggest hit. The geezer heat ran last and, unfortunately, I had to leave for the airport before it was scheduled. The GB Ecto-1 car I entered got a lot of interest (which was fun) and was even raced against a few other cars for giggles. Nora tells me it was even slower than Pierce's car...
-Eric (Dad)
Friday, January 22, 2010
Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby Ecto-1: Geezer (Dad) Division
My Pierce's cub scout pack has a Pinewood Derby geezer's heat for parents who'd like to participate in the event. He and I spent this weekend building both a car for him, and one for me.
I based the Pinewood Ecto on the new Ecto-1 Christmas ornament. My original plan was to surround the pinewood block with a block of foam then carve and sand the shape. Unfortunately, the polyethylene (housing insulation) I was using tore easily on a razor and/or my palm sander. I did get a basic shape made, but it was pretty rough.
Plan B involved covering the shaped foam with Bondo, then sanding and dremeling to add detail. I built a roof rack from scrap polystyrene and the ladder from a metal coat hanger. Weight became a real issue, the entire car, with nails and wheels, can't exceed 5 ounces and I came in well over 7.
Plan C... dremel out all the insulation leaving the Bondo shell. Then, of course, re-Bondo where the shell was too thin and the foam was exposed. Also had cut cut and sand the pinewood block to about .33 inches tall and cut off the front and back immediately behind the axle holes.
Plan D, give up on weight cuz the car ain't getting any lighter and plan on being disqualified from racing. Hopefully the car is still eligible for creative design or some other non-speed related entry. I tried to dremel out door and window lines, but they were not as straight was I would have liked. Painting was a challenge, the windows are high-gloss black, the body high-gloss white, then the entire car was coated with a high-gloss clear-coat. I used the dremel lines to help cut painters tape for the windows, after they'd been painted black, so I could get good sharp paint lines separating them from the body. I met with just mixed success. I need more practice.
This turned into a rush job -I had to travel for business and had to have it finished in time for the weigh-in -so no front grill or back lights. The paint's a little rough but, for a 2-day build I'm pretty pleased.
-Eric (Dad)
I based the Pinewood Ecto on the new Ecto-1 Christmas ornament. My original plan was to surround the pinewood block with a block of foam then carve and sand the shape. Unfortunately, the polyethylene (housing insulation) I was using tore easily on a razor and/or my palm sander. I did get a basic shape made, but it was pretty rough.
Plan B involved covering the shaped foam with Bondo, then sanding and dremeling to add detail. I built a roof rack from scrap polystyrene and the ladder from a metal coat hanger. Weight became a real issue, the entire car, with nails and wheels, can't exceed 5 ounces and I came in well over 7.
Plan C... dremel out all the insulation leaving the Bondo shell. Then, of course, re-Bondo where the shell was too thin and the foam was exposed. Also had cut cut and sand the pinewood block to about .33 inches tall and cut off the front and back immediately behind the axle holes.
Plan D, give up on weight cuz the car ain't getting any lighter and plan on being disqualified from racing. Hopefully the car is still eligible for creative design or some other non-speed related entry. I tried to dremel out door and window lines, but they were not as straight was I would have liked. Painting was a challenge, the windows are high-gloss black, the body high-gloss white, then the entire car was coated with a high-gloss clear-coat. I used the dremel lines to help cut painters tape for the windows, after they'd been painted black, so I could get good sharp paint lines separating them from the body. I met with just mixed success. I need more practice.
This turned into a rush job -I had to travel for business and had to have it finished in time for the weigh-in -so no front grill or back lights. The paint's a little rough but, for a 2-day build I'm pretty pleased.
-Eric (Dad)
Labels: cub scouts pine wood derby ghostbusters ecto car
Monday, January 18, 2010
Stuck at the airport - weekend recap.
I found out Friday afternoon that I'll be working on a 3-week billable project in New Jersey. My Monday morning 6:30 am flight was canceled (we got socked with fog), and I've been waiting on standby ever since. Worst case scenario is I take a confirmed 5:15 pm flight after waiting around in the airport since 9:30 am...
This weekend was fun. Pierce and I finished his Pinewood derby car. He picked a design last week from a Pinewood Derby book he got about a year ago. Cutting and shaping was done last week with he and I sanding, painting and assembling it on Saturday. Its a good looking car, but I don't think its as fast as the car we made last year (we tested them out on the kitchen floor).
Pierce enjoyed the build, but had to be dragged away from his multitude of other activities to get it done. Pierce's troop has a geezers race for parents and friends who'd also like to race. I asked Nora and Anna if they'd like a car this year, but they demurred. So I made one for myself. Its a replica of the Ecto-1, the car the Ghostbusters drove in the first GB movie. The car started out as a foam shape surrounding the derby wood block. I ultimately covered the foam shape with Bondo to better shape and sand it (as well as prep it for painting). In an effort to reduce weight, I routed out all the foam (leaving the Bondo shell) and cut the pine block to a bare minimum. Unfortunately, the car is still wildly overweight and probably will be disqualified and not allowed to race -but it was fun making it.
Pierce and Anna did Tai Kwan Do a couple of times last week. They both got their first (blue) strip on Wednesday for having memorized their "C" form. Saturday morning met with a lot of protest from Pierce about not wanting to "clutter up" his free day, but once he got to Tai Kwon Do they both had a great time.
Anna and Nora have been aggressively selling girl scout cookies and deliveries were made this weekend. Anna was less-than-keen to get started, but seemed to have a lot of fun once the process started. Nora pre-printed receipts for each of their customers and Anna filled in names and amounts for each delivery. Anna had so much fun with the receipts she made extras to give to Pierce and me. Nora tells me that Anna wanted to explore each house where a delivery was made.
Nora scheduled a cub scout field trip to an art exhibit at the near-by community college. Almost the entire den showed up (which was good), but the exhibit was wildly weird (which I'm not sure was good). There were a lot of abstract, 3-d pieces/sculptures that the kids got a little too close to. The exhibit was essentially empty, so pretty much every guard in the place (politely) followed us. Eventually the kids got the hint...
-Eric (Dad)
Monday, January 11, 2010
Hey, I needed some way to hang it.
After what, I think, is three years of building Ghostbusters Proton Packs for sale, I kept one for myself (I've posted pictures of it in previous posts). It's been leaning against a chair in my office since we got back from our Halloween night party and I've been contemplating how best to either store or display it.
Hence the birth of another (small) crazy-Eric project: a wall-mount/wall charger. I wanted something more than just straight hooks, I wanted the piece to look cool even if the pack wasn't hanging from it. And, best-case scenario, like it was functional. The build took an afternoon and used a number of resin pieces and defective pulls that can't be sold. The LEDs are non-functional and the hooks are coat hooks from Home Depot (about $5 for the two of them). All-in-all, I'm pleased with the end result.
-Eric (Dad)
Hence the birth of another (small) crazy-Eric project: a wall-mount/wall charger. I wanted something more than just straight hooks, I wanted the piece to look cool even if the pack wasn't hanging from it. And, best-case scenario, like it was functional. The build took an afternoon and used a number of resin pieces and defective pulls that can't be sold. The LEDs are non-functional and the hooks are coat hooks from Home Depot (about $5 for the two of them). All-in-all, I'm pleased with the end result.
-Eric (Dad)
and now, just the regular, daily stuff
My last few postings have been centered either on crazy-Eric projects, or "big" outings with the family. Of course, in real life there's just little things going on...
Anna continues to be our spelling and math guru. She's had me create another tracking log for 20 hours of math work. When she hits the full 20 hours she gets another $20 from your's truly. She absolutely loves to spell -half the time when you ask her a question she responds by spelling the answer. She also has been putting overtime on her Leapster playing math games (and she seems to have a natural propensity for addition and subtraction).
We've been getting blasted by winter weather with sub-zero temperatures and lots of snow and ice so Pierce hasn't been able to do much bike riding (one of his favorite activities). One of our family holiday gifts was the Wii Fit Plus which includes bike riding -Pierce has been asking to play almost daily. Yeah for Wii-initiated exercise! Speaking of the Wii, both Nora and I have been doing our brand-new Biggest Loser Wii game. I highly recommend the game, its well executed and almost like having a personal trainer.
We went to Va. Beach for a few days after Christmas. Due to the high price of airfare, we decided to rent a minivan and drive from Kansas City to Virginia. We wanted to rent a vehicle for two reasons: a newer, more reliable vehicle than the ones we own, and a larger, more comfortable vehicle for a long-distance trek. I'm sure you can probably guess the net result, the rental car broke down in the mountains of Virginia and left us stranded for about 6 hours in the sub-freezing, snowing, rural reaches of the state. Fortunately, it happened when we'd exited the highway for gas, so we had access to food, water, heat and bathrooms. But it wasn't experience I'd care to go through again. After we got to town, we had a great visit with my Mom and both brothers and their families. And the return trip was uneventful (I hope to post some pictures soon).
Pierce and Anna were scheduled to return to school on Thursday, January 7. I played Mr. Mom for the first part of the week (I'm working from home and the kids are pretty self-sufficient), but then we got more snow and the kids got to stay home for all of the week. Aside from a little sledding, fort building, Wii-playing, online Web-Kinz-ing and swimming, it was pretty uneventful ;)
-Eric (Dad)
Anna continues to be our spelling and math guru. She's had me create another tracking log for 20 hours of math work. When she hits the full 20 hours she gets another $20 from your's truly. She absolutely loves to spell -half the time when you ask her a question she responds by spelling the answer. She also has been putting overtime on her Leapster playing math games (and she seems to have a natural propensity for addition and subtraction).
We've been getting blasted by winter weather with sub-zero temperatures and lots of snow and ice so Pierce hasn't been able to do much bike riding (one of his favorite activities). One of our family holiday gifts was the Wii Fit Plus which includes bike riding -Pierce has been asking to play almost daily. Yeah for Wii-initiated exercise! Speaking of the Wii, both Nora and I have been doing our brand-new Biggest Loser Wii game. I highly recommend the game, its well executed and almost like having a personal trainer.
We went to Va. Beach for a few days after Christmas. Due to the high price of airfare, we decided to rent a minivan and drive from Kansas City to Virginia. We wanted to rent a vehicle for two reasons: a newer, more reliable vehicle than the ones we own, and a larger, more comfortable vehicle for a long-distance trek. I'm sure you can probably guess the net result, the rental car broke down in the mountains of Virginia and left us stranded for about 6 hours in the sub-freezing, snowing, rural reaches of the state. Fortunately, it happened when we'd exited the highway for gas, so we had access to food, water, heat and bathrooms. But it wasn't experience I'd care to go through again. After we got to town, we had a great visit with my Mom and both brothers and their families. And the return trip was uneventful (I hope to post some pictures soon).
Pierce and Anna were scheduled to return to school on Thursday, January 7. I played Mr. Mom for the first part of the week (I'm working from home and the kids are pretty self-sufficient), but then we got more snow and the kids got to stay home for all of the week. Aside from a little sledding, fort building, Wii-playing, online Web-Kinz-ing and swimming, it was pretty uneventful ;)
-Eric (Dad)
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