on your mark, get set, go!

Ky and Kade just started cub scouts and right away it was pinewood derby time! In fact, due to freezing weather cancelling activities a few times, they had been to cub scouts exactly one time before the derby.  But, that didn't stop them from being completely excited about it.  As we first started talking about car design ideas, they were coming up with some awesome, and totally complicated designs.  We had to help them simplify their thinking, and I think we were all happy with how they turned out in the end.  

I'm not sure what Kade is doing, but Ky is pretending to eat his pizza car!

Kade was set on having a blue car with flames, and the number 35.  We made it happen, and it looked awesome!

I think this is the first time Ky has ever made this particular facial expression, and I'm happy that I caught it on camera.

Krew put on his coat and grabbed some toys before we left, and held still long enough for a photo.

The boys were all so excited for the races to start, and there was such a fun energy in the room.  The pinewood derby is one of the things that have made me excited to be the mom of three boys, and it was fun to actually be there experiencing it with my family.

Kade catching his blue car, which clearly won this heat!

After a few rounds, the one thing I was afraid of happening, happened: the twins had to race each other!  It's one thing to be eliminated by one of the other boys, but to be eliminated by your brother...

I love this picture of them together waiting for the race to start.  They both look so nervous!  But, also, it's such a fun iconic picture of the two of them in their scout shirts at the derby!  Kade beat Ky, and I was so impressed with how Ky handled the loss.

Ky with his car and participation badge!  He finished somewhere in the middle of the pack and was so great to cheer on the other boys once he got eliminated.  He is such a sweet boy!

Kade on the other hand was so super competitive.  He lost once toward the beginning of the evening, and had to fight back the tears.  He even took himself out in the hall so he could regain his composure.  Luckily for him, it was a double elimination format, and he was able to win third place!  He was so proud of his trophy that he took it to school along with his car, to show his teacher.

It was a great evening, and I'm already looking forward to the next derby.

we had to get out of the house!

This winter has been brutal!  In the past four weeks, the temperature has not risen above freezing!  Most days the wind chill never gets above zero.  Ky and Kade have only had outside recess once in the past month!  We are all going stir crazy and I'm running out of ways to keep Krew entertained during the day.  Luckily, he likes going to the play area at the gym, so for 45 minutes, three days a week he's entertained.  But, otherwise, he's sick of our toys and the inside of our house.  So, a few weeks ago, we headed to the local children's museum.   It's a lot smaller than all the other children's museums we've been to, but he still had fun. 

On your mark, get set, go!

This picture looks like a warm, sunny day, playing in the sandbox.  We can pretend, right?
Sad story: on the other side of this sandbox is a tree house with a slide.  I was so excited for Krew to be able to go down it, because before it got cold out, his favorite thing was to go to the park, or our backyard, or the neighbor's backyard and go down slides.  Even the huge slides that I thought were too big for him, he loved!  Well, I guess it has been a long winter, and a long time since he has been on a slide, because he just sat at the top and cried.  He was too scared to go down!  I really hope he gets over this new fear quickly once it warms up so he can spend the summer sliding!

I think this fishing/water area was his favorite, but it made me so nervous.  We have experience with getting completely soaked at the children's museum and since it was -8 degrees outside, I figured he would probably turn into an ice cube on the walk to the car if he was wet.  So, we came home and played with toys in the bathroom sink later.

Why is it that the Duplos at the museum are fun, but the ones he has at home are not?  Silly boy!