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Monday, September 14, 2009

THE THRILL OF VICTORY!

Were you ever involved in a pinewood derby race? Did you help your son make that block of wood into a lean, mean, racing machine? Did you help him paint it with racing stripes and make sure it weighed just enough to qualify by using a glue gun and pennies or screws? Was it a last minute project that had the whole family rushing around to get it done and hoping the paint would dry before the first run down the track?
Or was it all Dad's job? Did he re-live his childhood with his son's race and want the car to be the best design, the fastest and the best paint?


We had a great opportunity in our ward, (our area for our church) to have a party with a chili cook-off AND a pinewood derby! One of the categories was the "unlimited" where anything goes - as long as it fit on the track. We had the old duffers talking smack for months about their fast cars. Andy, my husband was one of them.


Andy has a pinewood derby truck that he had bought over 10 years ago. He realized he had a secret weapon and wanted to keep it under wraps until the night of the race. He had everyone curious about his "car." Andy sent it to our son in Albuquerque, who is a custom airbrush artist, to have it painted.

The truck arrived, beautifully painted and ready to be revealed.

The night of the race, Andy happened to be fashionably late and placed his secret weapon on the table next to the other cars. The race began.

The truck, I mean, Andy, won every race he entered. He was awarded the Gold Award and a 100 Grand candy bar (the stakes were high).
He triumphantly carried the truck home, with a smile on his face and the satisfaction of knowing he beat all the other old duffers!
Saturday morning I noticed that everything had been rearranged on the mantle and the truck had taken it's "rightful place
!"

Victory is sweet!

17 comments:

Yvonne said...

I have to say as a mom of son's who never enjoyed the "thrill of victory" but rather the "agony of defeat", I do not miss those days ; ) My boys really had fun participating.

Congrats to your husband. Love the mantle display.

gigi said...

That is TO funny! Way to go Andy! That's really nice of you to leave that on the mantle for a few days anyway! We always loved the Pine Wood Derby and even won a time or two :) Those were fun good times.

Anonymous said...

I remember having lots of fun at many pine wood derbys with my oldest son. I now look forward to many more when Bubee turns eight.

Love how your mantle looks now. :)

Sondra said...

A pinewood derby truck? I've never heard of such a thing. Did it make the weight? It is pretty cool though. Being a single Mom, I always cringed at the yearly pinewood derby and having to compete against Dad's who were very competitive.
I think it's a very fun ward activity - especially for men. I would have had a ton of fun experiences the youthfulness of all those little men boys. LOL!
The paint is fabulous... they never really grow up do they?

Kristina P. said...

Very cool! I haven't been to a pinewood derby since my little brother was in Scouts.

Victoria Hayden said...

Connie...guess what?! You Won!!! Yay, so excited for you!!! I will be letting Janet know and you will be able to pick an 11x14 from any of the prints on her Etsy or on her blog she can special order. Can't wait to see what you get!! Have a wonderful day friend!

Hugs to you,
~Victoria~

Heffalump said...

Pinewood Derby has always been a frustration to me. The rules are that the boys are supposed to do as much of the work on their own as possible, so that is how we do it. We help them if they ask us. Their cars usually come out looking somewhat sloppy, but they are proud of their achievement making it themselves with just a little help. Then we go to the race, and all the "winners" are boys whose Dads did all the work. So the cheaters are rewarded.
However, I think a race where anything goes and the grown ups get to work on a car is great. Our ward let the Dads do up a car one year. The boys brought home an extra car for the family to complete, and it was fun to be able to work on it with my husband.

Kazzy said...

What a competitor! I am truly impressed.

Valerie said...

Holy cow! :) This cracked me up!
I love the picture of Andy...so funny that it ended up on the mantle. It certainly deserves a place of honor.

And congrats on your win @ Whimsy! Can't wait to see what you choose. Looks like winners all around.

Valerie said...

I'm not sure my first comment made any sense...I meant- so funny that the truck ended up on the mantle. Geesh.

And...mad skillz that artist son has! Awsome job on that truck! Surely he'll be getting lots of Pinewood Derby contracts!

CB said...

I can totally relate to this one and it made me laugh out loud!
I love the look on your husbands face and that truck IS Awesome!!

Men love the Pinewood Derby as much, if not more than, the boys. It is always such a crack up :D

Erin Ann said...

oh man, I can't stop laughing. I had my dad stop his working on his old truck to see the picture of Andy (with the same facial expression I've seen on my dad's face when he's up to no good) Too funny...and the truck fits nicely on the mantle. I especially like how the quote, "Enjoy the journey" still works with the truck in the background. Awesome!

Barbaloot said...

What a fantastic truck! I remember going to my brother's pinewood derby races...but I remember the sprinkler and watermelon cheers they did more than the winners of the races:)

Shauna said...

Connie, you won the Staples giveaway on my blog. Please e-mail me your mailing address asap to:
tryingtostaycalm@gmail.com

Small House said...

We haven't participated in the pinewood derby for a few years now. The boys just love this night. The truck is WONDERFUL! Good grief that would have taken a lot of time. I'd say a truck like that deserves the mantle...

Have a great day.
Sandra

wendy said...

That is awesome --impressive truck for sure. What a fun idea for an activity------
Of course the truck needed to take it's place on the mantel
Who said --WINNING ISN'T EVERYTHING---(tee,hee)

Nana said...

That is awesome!!! My youngest daugter painted a block like a school bus, her dad put some wheels on it and she won!! It was hilarious.