Pinewood Derby 2009

Peter's Cub Scout Pack did their Pinewood Derby this year; for those of you who've never experienced it, the boys build wooden cars and race them. The cars come as "kits", which are actually just a block of wood, 4 wheels and axles. What the boy does with the block of wood is up to him.

Theorectically, the boys are supposed to do all the work themselves; most of them do. In our family, the design of the cars has therefore progressed over the years, as Peter got more dexterity, and as he got older and was allowed access to power tools! For several years he made standard race cars, but never did particularly well; he was usually in the middle of the pack speed-wise, which was not enough to get him to district.

But starting last year, he decided to bag speed and go for originality. This years car? A replica of the Heisman Tropy:

Most Original 2009

Peter and I worked on it some at David's house -- David has a table saw and a router! GOOD stuff, and Peter was way psyched that he got to use power tools.

I, of course, thought it looked great, but I am a Mom, after all. Apparently, though, it really did: Peter took first place in the Most Original category, and will compete in the District Pinewood Derby.