Fourth of July and Pinewood Derby

We had a pretty low-key 4th of July in preparation for trips that we'll be taking later in the summer. Still, we had a great time. Our community had its own 4th of July parade that came right by our house and we saw plenty of good fireworks shows. For Jack it is a new experience that he seemed to enjoy. He reached right for the flame of the sparkler, but once we had that sorted out he had a good time with it. As you can probably tell from the pictures, it was really hot!

PINEWOOD DERBY- Ward Activity

Our ward had a pinewood derby for anyone that wanted to participate. We decided to join the competitors, but because this would be my first try at a car I was a little nervous. Not having the necessary tools I decided to take a couple swipes with the kitchen knife to see what kind of progress I could make (couldn't find my pocket knife). It didn't make the impact I was hoping it would so I was left to track down someone with tools. Where was Grandpa Jagoda when you need him? He did send a PDF file with an explanation on how to come up with a speedy car, but it was pretty complicated for my taste, so in the end we left it as it was and glued quarters to the bottom, hoping it would weigh somewhere close to the regulation requirement. We had our concept in mind, and it would be super cute (that's what we were going for), but would it be fast? Before leaving with our cute car, I told Savannah that I was glad that it looked really good, to which she responded, "Dad, I want to win." Here is the car:

What, was the result you ask? This picture should speak louder than words.

Savannah blew the doors off of the competition. She didn't loose a single race until they had her race against another category, the non-regulation category where they had cars twice as heavy as her own. But it was fun, everyone was rooting for the Sleeping Beauty car. They gave her a trophy for winning- She slept with it last night:)