Pinewood Derby, 2011

It's that time of year, Pinewood Derby time! Today was the big day. Several weeks of planning, drilling, sawing, sanding, re-drilling, etc. went into Brendan's car. He decided he wanted to do an alligator car. Oh boy.

He and Karl worked together to get the basic shape carved out with the dremel tool. Then Karl carved out the bumps for his back. He gave Brendan the task of smoothing the rough spots out of the car with the dremel tool. Well, the bumps were rough so off they came! Karl used his growly voice but managed to salvage the bumpy back.

Next the painting. Pretty easy, we had the perfect shade of gator green for the back and white for the belly. Brendan did a nice job and we helped with touch up. Oh, and I did the teeth. Then come the weights to make it fast. The car can weigh up to 5 ounces, so the closer you are the better because the car will be faster. They kind of looked like alligator skin, so we glued them on the bottom and painted them white. Then the wheels went on last night and we made adjustments so that the car was running pretty straight and smooth.

This morning we were hurrying to get ready. Karl brought down the rule sheet while he was brushing his teeth and pointed out the clearance rule. No less than 5/8 of an inch. I measured. Whoops! So much for gator skin. I ran necessary supplies to the race site while Karl got the dremel tool out and starting gutting the gator to sink the weights in. Brendan meanwhile paced around the floor and did his best not to have a canary.

I waited for what seemed like an eternity and finally, right at 10 am, Brendan came running in with the gator. It weighed in at 5.1 oz. I said, "weigh it again just in case." 5.0 ounces the second time. So he did 2 out of 3. The third weight was 5 even again. Whew!

Brendan won a few races. The gator was pretty fast but ultimately he was beaten by more aerodynamic cars. However, to Brendan's delight and our pride, the gator was chosen as Best in Show! Way to go Brendan!

It's Lent!

Your Lenten altar just isn't complete without a Murray Wiggle doll on it! Reminds me of our Nativity this year with cars parked around it. The little pink thing is a replica of a 12 week old unborn baby. In honor of 40 Days for Life going on now, but he is actually always there to remind us to pray for the unborn.

Oh BTW, Karl Had a Birthday

Um, yeah. I am behind again. As I was sorting photos I couldn't resist showing you the dinner I cooked for Karl. Probably the most beautiful pork roast I ever made. No one ate it though because I discovered the toxic absorbent pad cooked and melted to the bottom of it. Again.

Yeah, March is Here!!

So excited for spring in the Flathead!!!

Lord of the Dance, how Irish Dancing Started

Saber the Drug Dog

Our neighbor, Officer McKinley, of the National Forest Service, brought Officer Saber, her K-9 partner to visit the scouts last night. The boys were so excited to see her in action, sniffing out real drugs in the basement of our church. That was a little weird. They also got a good talk about the the dangers of drugs from Sargent Dwayne of the Montana Highway Patrol. Brendan is in front, petting Saber and distracting her from looking at the camera. They had a million great questions and I hope the information sinks in and none of these kids will ever try drugs.

3rd Grade Field Trip

This is Brendan's class at Glacier National Park yesterday. They spent the entire day (Brendan said he never set foot inside the school)at the park learning and snow shoeing. Thanks to his wonderful, hard working teacher, Laurie Kollman and all the parents who drove.