Cub Scout Pinewood Derby...

this past Saturday, we had Den races for Jaden's Cub Scout pack...i'm sure u've heard of the Pinewood Derby races before...each boy gets a kit (remember, Santa gave Jaden this kit) - which contains a block of wood, axles (nails) & wheels...it's up to them to turn those items into a derby car...

of course Jaden's car had to be blue...& he went with a 3-headed dragon design of course ;0) he was soooo proud of his car...all he talked about was how much he hoped to win a trophy...

this was my 1st time at a Pinewood Derby race & i was surprised at how official it was...the boys had to turn in their cars, have them weighed (u want to get as close to 5oz as u can so the car is heavy enuff to pick up some speed, but u can't go over 5oz) & checked in to the computer...

the boys waited patiently for the races to start...

they raced 3 cars at a time...
(the skateboard car on the right was the overall winner)

they'd place them at the top of the track, leaning on these little pegs that would hold them in place until the start...
(the front light on the lighthouse car on the left actually blinked)

then the pack leader would pull out the pegs & the cars would take off...at the end of the track was a digital finish line that would record each finishing place...

Jaden's car was raced 3 times before it was taken out of the running...he placed 2nd, 2nd & 3rd...

here's a video of his 2nd race...we had a pretty fun time!



Jaden placed 6th overall (out of 9) - pretty good for his very 1st car if u ask me! (btw, no one got trophies - thank God!)

he won't get to compete in the pack races this Saturday during the Blue & Gold banquet (only the top 3 from each den do), but his car will be in the running for "most original design"...each boy will decorate a shoe box to set beside their car & folks will put money in the boxes of the cars they want to vote for...each quarter counts as 1 vote...i'm thinking about stacking Jaden's box with like $50 so he can win ~lol~ i bet i'm not the only parent considering that tho! ;0)