Pinewood Derby!

It was a long journey for this little block of wood that was sent home with Aiden 3 months ago. Yes, it was a block of wood, as I discovered when I opened the box. I expected to see a car and I didn't. Fear gripped me as I tried to figure out how Tom, whom I love, could possibly do this. But, with the right tools, even an accountant can make a good looking car! It just takes about $100 worth of new tools, 20+ hours and a lot of patience.

Aiden helped out quite a bit - which worried me when I saw his little fingers close to the sander and saw. But we made it out with no need to run to the ER and no stitches. He even helped paint it. And then Tom thought he would put a second coat on. This is where the trouble began and the "Flaming Dragon" became Tom's nemesis! The second coat looked terrible. Ok, sand it down and paint it again. Looks good. Decals go on. Let's put on the clear coat. Turns out clear coat paint does not like high gloss paint. The sander comes out again. Tom kept his cool and the car looked great. Next, the wheels. Seems easy enough, but they wouldn't go in. For at least 2 hours Tom worked on it and this time, he lost it a bit. Just a bit, but enough. So, we put the car away while he cooled down and the next day he figured it out. The Flaming Dragon was ready to race!

Things have changed in the derby arena since I watched my brother's cars race. Everything is electronic and the cars are pretty good looking. One guy spent 40 hours on his! Woah. We prewarned Aiden that he may not win and to try not to cry. He had 8 races to try. We bit our nails as we watched his first race and jumped up and down when he won! And then the announcer ruined the moment by saying that was the slowest race he's ever seen. Thanks. Thanks A LOT. Aiden didn't care, he was so excited! Race #2: His car went off the track and I saw his face fall and he bit his lip. "Keep it together," I mouthed to him and he nodded his head. The racing went on and it turns out that his winning race really was slow cause he never made it past 3rd place, but it didn't matter to him because he got first place in the first race. Thank goodness for that!

Next year Tom has big plans for his car, wait, I mean AIDEN'S car! Well done boys!

The Flaming Dragon takes it's place...

So excited to win that first race!