Its pinewood derby time yet again. I remember my own experiences with this fabled Cub Scout tradition... I have good memories of Dad helping me cut out the shape, sand it down, get the weights added in, then turn the wheels and get the axles all coated with graphite. My car won a few races my first year, but after that - I don't remember many victories from my corner...Fast forward now to Jason: we made 3 cars for him and I think he won a total of 1 race. Now fast forward more to Tyler: we made 3 cars for him and he won zero (yes, that's right none).
Conner had his first race last week. I am pleased to report that I am not favoring my youngest son - he won zero races, so he is off to our typical start. Each of these boys was the best sportsman. Most of the time, they really didn't care if the car didn't win, they just had fun with the electricity of the derby event. They were happy to race and participate. I on the other hand am pretty upset that I can't seem to get this pinewood derby thing down. I don't expect to create the car that wins the whole enchilada - I would be satisfied with just one win... Two years ago as we were making Tyler's second car, we were talking with Kristin's brother Travis who had just had both of his boys use a neat design. His cars ended up taking first and second at the derby. Tyler had high hopes. We crashed miserably with t
he same design that Travis took home the trophies with! I am convinced it is the Mackay Pinewood Derby Curse. It seems that nothing I do or try with respect to these little wood cars makes any difference, I still make a cellar-dweller. Don't get me wrong - the cars look really cool and the boys are so excited to see them match up against the other cars. They just don't go down the track for beans. I have done some research into the concept of designing the car. From all I have read, there is little impact to the shape of the car, the whole thing is that it needs to weigh in at the limit. I have really put forth the effort I thought these cars needed, but obviously I need to take some remedial coursework. If anyone has any thoughts on the matter, I would be happy to hear about it. Here is Conner at the derby last week. He is so happy and excited to be participating. And here is his car. He got the "Golden Speed" award for his car. It looks neat and we had a good time building it, but when the races came down, he got to run it twice and lost both times. They weren't even close races. We got toasted.
he same design that Travis took home the trophies with! I am convinced it is the Mackay Pinewood Derby Curse. It seems that nothing I do or try with respect to these little wood cars makes any difference, I still make a cellar-dweller. Don't get me wrong - the cars look really cool and the boys are so excited to see them match up against the other cars. They just don't go down the track for beans. I have done some research into the concept of designing the car. From all I have read, there is little impact to the shape of the car, the whole thing is that it needs to weigh in at the limit. I have really put forth the effort I thought these cars needed, but obviously I need to take some remedial coursework. If anyone has any thoughts on the matter, I would be happy to hear about it. Here is Conner at the derby last week. He is so happy and excited to be participating. And here is his car. He got the "Golden Speed" award for his car. It looks neat and we had a good time building it, but when the races came down, he got to run it twice and lost both times. They weren't even close races. We got toasted.
Well now we come to the reason why we stay around the TV all weekend in mid-March every year: it's NCAA tournament time!! We all had our brackets set (except Erin - she says she doesn't see the appeal). Then Thursday comes and the games begin. Kristin is so funny with her bracket. Some years she really obsesses and tries to scrutinize every game. Lately she has tried to go with her "gut" but she still ends up making multiple brackets. This year she has two entries, the official and the gut. After the first weekend, the gut bracket has two more correct picks on it than the other one... I keep telling her to just go with her gut. Jason usually makes out his bracket based on the mascots or school colors - it is all about if a spartan or musketeer is more ferocious than a buckeye or hoosier. I'm not sure how Tyler picks his teams, and Conner just takes the prompts from Kristin for right now. My method is pretty unscientific. I just try to figure out which one I think will win, but I admit that I am biased towards teams that I am a little familiar with. That means that west coast teams usually get the nod if I don't really know much about either one. We give one point for each game picked correctly. After the first weekend, our ratings are: Tyler: 34 points, Scott: 34 points, Kristin: 32 points, Jason: 30 points. Some of the upsets have taken their toll on our brackets. Already Jason and Tyler have two of their final 4 teams out. Krisin and I both have 1 of the final four gone. It is so maddening and yet so exciting all at the same time. These games are by far the best in sports. Professional players in the NBA are all just a bunch of well paid loafers compared with the college players. The hustle, the passion, the excecution are all so much better, nothing compares!
2 comments:
Pinewoods are always so much fun. Last year we had a ward derby so our girls got to participate. I have to say that the best part was one of the high school boys and his girlfriend decided to compete. He had spent hours on his car. While his girlfrind sanded the block and painted it. And she won in their division.
We are planning a trip to Seattle in April and it is looking like we will be making a stop in Boise on our way. Is there anything you would recomend doing or seeing? If you have any tips Julie has my email.
Robert & Paula Holder
And here I thought that you were an engineer! Haha! Don't feel bad, I'm sure we won't do that great either when it is Colter's turn. And I have to say that I am with Erin. I don't see the appeal in making a bracket.
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