Pinewood Derby 2020

Today was the Pinewood Derby.  It got off to a late start, due to a snow delay!!

Can you believe it? SNOW in ATLANTA?!

Lex's car did really well during his first four heats.  He made it to the top 16, which meant that he would race in 4 more heats to determine the final four racers.

Lex made it to the final four!

He took home the 3rd Place trophy.

Way to go WHALE!

Way to go LEX!!

The Whale is Ready

Tonight we dropped off Lex's car for the Pinewood Derby!  It's painted to look like a Killer Whale, and he named it The Whale.

Race time is bright and early in the morning!

Cub Scouts Camp Out

Tonight Lex and Kevin went on a cub scout camp out.  Kevin sent me some photos.  Here they are:

Lex says that he learned to tie the bow tie knot, square knot, and half hitch knot.

They also learned all about owls and their bone structure, which allows them to turn their heads almost completely around.

Webelos Year Two

Rain Gutter Regatta

Lex took part in his Cub Scout Pack's Rain Gutter Regatta recently.  His boat has been floating around the house, so I thought it was time to document his fabulous creation.

So, without further ado, I hereby present for your approval:  THE RAFT.

This solidly-constructed boat, THE RAFT, proved to be Rain Gutter Regatta worthy, and is hereby granted the SEAL of APPROVAL.

THE END

Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet

Today we went to Lex's end of the year Cub Scout Banquet.

There was a fencing demonstration to watch.

There was cake to eat.

There were friends to play with.

There were awards to award.

Lex is going to be promoted from Webelos 1 to Webelos 2 later this month at a Den event.

Pinewood Derby

Today was Lex's Pack's Pinewood Derby!

He painted his car to look like an orca, and he named it The Whale.

It was a lot of fun, and I am really proud of Lex and his car!

Go Whale!

Connor earned his Tiger Badge!

Tonight was the Cub Scouts Blue and Gold Banquet, which marks the birthday of scouting, and is a perfect time to pass out any awards that the boys have earned.

Connor participated in the ceremony and earned his Tiger Badge!  He also earned a number of belt loops, for bowling, chess, soccer, tennis and bicycling.

Good job, Connor!  Congratulations!

Pinewood Derby

This past weekend was the Pinewood Derby for Connor's Cub Scout Pack.

(Goodness, Lex!  I mean, really!)

He built his car pretty much by himself.  He was so proud, he came to me and told me all about how Daddy let him use the jig saw all by himself!  I tried to smile and look pleased and not like I was having a heart attack.

In reality, he did a great job.  He only got a little bit of red spray paint on one pair of pants.  That's not a big deal.

He was so proud of his car.  He picked out Lego Egyptian stickers to decorate it.  There are Lego Pharaohs, Lego Mummies and Lego Scarabs on that car.

When we got to the derby, we had to check in Connor's car.  It had to weigh 5 oz or less.  The scale we had been using at home was my analog kitchen scale.  It was 5 oz.  No problem.

The scale they were using to check in the cars at the derby was a digital scale with two decimal points!  Connor's car weighed in at 5.05 oz!  It was .05 ounces too heavy!

So we borrowed a pocket knife (Cub Scout dads are always prepared) and I scraped some paint and a little bit of wood off of the front fender.  I didn't have any idea how much I should take off, so after a bit we went to have the car re-weighed so we would know how close we were getting.  It was exactly 5.00 oz the second time, so we checked it in!

This is a nice blurry photo of Connor's Tiger Cub Den:



The race track really was impressive.  It had four lanes with an automatic gate so that all four cars would start at the same time.  There was a sensor at the bottom that automatically registered the time that the car crossed the finish line.  The whole thing was hooked up to a computer that was displayed on two large projection screens.  Very fancy.  Very high tech.  I always knew that Cub Scouts took the pinewood derby seriously, and now I can attest first hand that it is true.


Here is a video of one of the heats of the race.  I think Connor's car came in second place during this one.

Sometimes homeschool looks like this

His challenge?  Show me how many ways you can make 60 cents.  Or 27 cents.  Each piece of paper had a different value on it, and he was setting up sets of coins that added up to that value.  We'll call this "First Grade Financial Literacy" and file it under social studies and math.  But mostly, he just thought it was a fun game.  Bonus?  This activity counts as an elective for Cub Scouts.

Rain Gutter Regatta

This past weekend we went on our first Cub Scout Camp Out.

For the longest time, our plan was just for Kevin and Connor to go, but then it became clear that Lex really wanted to go too, so he and I tagged along.

We all went to Lake Livingston State Park and slept in tents.  In November!  Living in Texas is nice that way.  No one goes camping in Ohio in November.  Without snow, I mean.

So we made our camp with all the other Tiger Cubs in Connor's den, and he participated in something called the Rain Gutter Regatta.  It's similar to the Pinewood Derby, but instead of building and racing cars, the boys build and race boats.

Connor and Daddy built his boat together, but for the first time, Connor got to use all the power tools and hand tools by himself.  He was so excited! 



Connor also designed the paint job so that his boat would look like a dragon.  Then, that sticker on the sail is the Fire Dragon from Lego Ninjago.



Here are some of the other boys in Connor's pack.  With their boats, of course.



Here are two of the rain gutters.  You can see that the ends are capped off, and they were filled with water to make the race track.



Connor raced a total of four times, and then they took the averages of the race times to determine the winners.  The top three from each den participated in a final race event to see who had the fastest boat in the whole pack.


The boys raced the boats by blowing on the sails.  Some of the times they used straws, and some of the times they didn't.  It was up to the boys if they wanted straws or not.



During some of the cub scout activities, Lex and I slipped away to check out Lake Livingston.



We climbed up to the top of a look out next to the fishing pier.



Later that night the pack cooked us all Frito pie for dinner.  Both our kids just ate the Fritos and cheese, but the chili was delicious!

After that there was a pack meeting where the kids put on skits and sang songs and were presented with awards.  Connor won a gold medal for having the fastest boat in the Tiger Den!  Every time someone congratulates him, though, he says that he didn't actually win, because he didn't win a trophy for having one of the best three times in the whole pack during the final rounds.  All three of the top boats for the pack were from the Bear Den, which makes them third graders.

Connor also was presented with his Bobcat Badge.  Which is the first badge that every boy earns when he first joins Cub Scouts. 

Of course there was more.  Things like campfires and s'mores and spooky stories and breakfast burritos.  All the things that you would expect on a Cub Scout Camp Out.  It was a good time.

We hosted a Tiger Cub meeting at our house tonight

That's Connor at the bottom left.  He was the only scout not wearing shoes, but he never had to leave the house.

Tiger Scout Stuff

Part I:

Here is our favorite little Tiger Scout in his uniform for the first time:



Doesn't he look great?

Part II:

There is going to be a troop camp out next month, and Kevin is planning on taking Connor.  Then, he asked Lex if he would like to join them, as other family members are allowed to attend.

Connor said, "I don't think that's a good idea, since lunch isn't going to be provided."

Lex said, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?  We can kill a bear and eat it!"

Daddy said, "Lex, you are going to fit right in with the rest of the scouts."

For some reason, Connor is totally fixated on which meals are going to be provided by the troop while they are camping.  They are supposed to eat lunch on their own, then go camping.  The troop will provide dinner and breakfast, and then they are supposed to tear down the camps and go home again for lunch.  This is important information, I won't deny it.  But I cannot explain why he has recited it no less than 19 times, any time the trip is mentioned.

And for some other reason, Lex is totally fixated on hunting animals and eating them.  Like bears.

Beetle Necklaces

So, Connor joined Cub Scouts, and one thing lead to another, and then we all made beetle necklaces.

Okay, let's back up.

Ever since Connor was born, Kevin has been waiting for the day when he would be old enough for Cub Scouts.  Well, that day has come, and they went and joined the local den, pack thingy.

And then they went out and bought his uniform.  It cost $130, and the pants were not even hemmed, and none of the patches were attached. 

So, someone had to spend hours sewing.  And it turned out that that someone was me.

Well, while I was sewing, Connor came in and asked me to teach him how to sew.  He even said that it was his uniform so he should probably do it himself.  I liked the sound of that.  I showed him how, and he even put a few stitches into a patch.

But then he wanted to try what his brother was doing.

You see, the whole time I was sewing, Lex was stringing beads.  I had given him some string and a big blunt needle and some beads to string together in order to keep him occupied.

Lex kept calling the beads "beetles." 

In the end, he made me a necklace.  Connor made one to send to his cousin Cedar.  And then Lex made another one for himself.



Don't we look good in our new necklaces?

This is the one that Connor made for his cousin Cedar.  I didn't bother explaining to him that bead necklaces were a choking hazard for little babies, mostly because I thought it was so sweet that he wanted to make it and mail it to his cousin, and I didn't want to discourage that at all.

This is the first necklace that Lex made.  The one that he made for me.  I love it!