2011 Pine Wood Derby

Last year's Pine Wood Derby was a bit of a disappointment. Bob and Ryan started their cars

near the end of February and had to have them done by mid-March. With this being smack dab in the middle of tax season, their cars were, to say the least, not the fastest in the pack! I think that both of them were out after two races. This year, however, they bought their cars in January and worked on them for several months.

Weighing in the cars. Ryan's was exactly 5 oz, and Bob's was 4.9 oz. The limit was 5 oz. Ryan's car is the second one on the bottom row (red), and Bob's is the first one on the top row (blue).

This picture cracks me up. If you look close enough, you can see Emma sticking her tongue out just like the dragon on the cover of the book.

Getting ready to race! The guy in charge has written a computer program that works with the track and actually tells the mph that each car is traveling.

Yay!

Emma entertained herself at the coloring table.

Nana came to lend some support.

The boys from Ryan's Den.

Ryan won several of the heats, but ended up not placing. He did, however, get the trophy for the fastest car in his Den. Quite the improvement over last year.

Bob got third place in the Open Division!

Ryan already has his plans ready for next year's cars.

Yep, that's plural. He plans on making several and then choosing the best one to enter.

Wagon's Ho!

One Day

One Family ~ Four Generations

90 Students

12 Stations

600 Photos (it was my job for the day)

0% Rain (Forecasted at 70%)

100% Teamwork

{Ryan - on the left}

{Absolutely Delicious!}

{Making Butter}

{With His Brand}

{Getting Ready for Sack Races}

Too much!

That's what I want to say to my calendar for this week...TOO MUCH! (Yes, in all caps, like I'm yelling...because I am!)

This is what I'll leave you with this weekend...a picture of the kids messing around last Sunday (and Emma in her twirly black polka dotted skirt). Next week is Spring Break, and things should slow down a bit. Besides having a bit of fun with the kids, spending some quality time at the poor farm, visiting a dear friend and working outside (if it's not raining), I have plans to finish the curtains for the two hall closets (found the perfect fabrics) and make a few fun little projects.

~~~

Happy weekend to all.

May you all get a little natural Vitamin D!

My new pantry

Remember these delightful photos of our hall closet? The one that was half coat mess and half everything else mess? I cringe when I see these photos, just like I used to cringe every time I'd walk by here. And, before we move on, do you see those annoying doors? One of us would forget and leave them home...then I'd try to walk through with a basket of laundry. Grrrrrr! And lastly, these wonderfully attractice cabinets that have lived in our kitchen since moving in, housing just about all of our food. Cabinet space is a bit limited here. Last week, with a couple of helpers, we did a bit of changin'!

Even during tax season, after many very long days at work, he's still willing to give me a hand. What a sweet guy!

Oh so much better!

No more cringing!

Just a bunch of totally organized, helpful shelves!

We're leaving the doors off, just like we did in both kids' rooms.

It's amazing how much more open the hallway is without the dark brown

doors.

Next project: curtains for the new pantry and for our game closet at the end of the hall.

Off to the fabric store...good day to you all!

Happy 10.25 Birthday, Ryan!

10.25 years...kind of a strange time to have a birthday party, eh?

Well, when your birthday is so close to Christmas, it's awfully hard to plan a party with school friends. Most are out of town or spending time in town with their families. So, when Ryan asked for a school friend party, we agreed to wait and have it in the spring. This past weekend, four of his friends met him at Fast Lanes for some racing, pizza, and sugar!

Both Dad and Bob were able to join us.

Mom took Emma to the mall...they both decided they'd much rather be

there than the race track.

Me and my not so little boy. Ryan and four very excited first time racers. All lined up and read to go!

Bob was SO tired! He got off work after being there for a looooonnnnngggg day and spent his evening watching the boys go crazy. Such a trooper!

Poor Ryan...he's used to driving the adult cars and pulling 22 second lap times. Since none of the other boys have their "license," he had to drive a kid cart and was driving much slower.

After the party was over, Dad and Ryan did a "real" race and pulled some pretty good times.

Ryan got a 21.9.