Monday, February 02, 2009
I'm back -at least for a little while
Wow, January certainly went by quickly. I spent most of the month on the road. Sorry for the lack of posts. Let's catch up...
The big event for the month was Pierce's Pinewood Derby. One of my weekends home I attempted to make three cars. Pierce and I cut, shaped and painted his car. Nora and Anna designed a joint car that I cut and painted. Then I attempted to do a car for myself, but ran out of time -I'll finish it later and hopefully it will be ready for next year's race.
Pierce's entry (number 8)
As I probably mentioned last year, the cars are weighed in about a week before the race and the race officials hold all the cars until the Derby is over. Pierce didn't care, but Anna pitched an unholy fit when her car went into a box (I wasn't there, but Nora tells me that Anna cried, demanded and pleaded to have her car back). At one point she declared "I just don't deal well with boxes."
Nora and Anna's car
Of course, by the time she got home she was right as rain...
The day of the Derby I took Anna to a birthday party at a martial arts studio and was able to stay and watch for a little while. After the party, Anna went for a play date for the rest of the afternoon (we figured this would be easier for all if she wasn't trying to get her car back during the Derby). I got to the derby in time to see Pierce's car race. It did much better that his car from last year, winning one of his three heats.
Heat results
We think the shape and weight distribution of the car was good, but Nora and I didn't have time to spend sanding, shaping and lubricating the wheels. So he probably had too much friction on the axles to consistently win. But, Pierce was delighted with the results, so that's all that matters.
While I was out of town, Nora and Pierce decorated his car using scrap booking materials. The car looked REALLY good. I didn't even recognize it as the one that he and I built. Very unexpectedly, he won the best scout-themed car award.
Pierce with his best-themed car trophy (Pierce has been eating a hot dog -notice the ketchup around his mouth...)
and a picture of the winning team...
Anna and Pierce played with their cars all evening after we finished dinner.
-Eric (Dad)
The big event for the month was Pierce's Pinewood Derby. One of my weekends home I attempted to make three cars. Pierce and I cut, shaped and painted his car. Nora and Anna designed a joint car that I cut and painted. Then I attempted to do a car for myself, but ran out of time -I'll finish it later and hopefully it will be ready for next year's race.
Pierce's entry (number 8)
As I probably mentioned last year, the cars are weighed in about a week before the race and the race officials hold all the cars until the Derby is over. Pierce didn't care, but Anna pitched an unholy fit when her car went into a box (I wasn't there, but Nora tells me that Anna cried, demanded and pleaded to have her car back). At one point she declared "I just don't deal well with boxes."
Nora and Anna's car
Of course, by the time she got home she was right as rain...
The day of the Derby I took Anna to a birthday party at a martial arts studio and was able to stay and watch for a little while. After the party, Anna went for a play date for the rest of the afternoon (we figured this would be easier for all if she wasn't trying to get her car back during the Derby). I got to the derby in time to see Pierce's car race. It did much better that his car from last year, winning one of his three heats.
Heat results
We think the shape and weight distribution of the car was good, but Nora and I didn't have time to spend sanding, shaping and lubricating the wheels. So he probably had too much friction on the axles to consistently win. But, Pierce was delighted with the results, so that's all that matters.
While I was out of town, Nora and Pierce decorated his car using scrap booking materials. The car looked REALLY good. I didn't even recognize it as the one that he and I built. Very unexpectedly, he won the best scout-themed car award.
Pierce with his best-themed car trophy (Pierce has been eating a hot dog -notice the ketchup around his mouth...)
and a picture of the winning team...
Anna and Pierce played with their cars all evening after we finished dinner.
-Eric (Dad)
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