Derby Day

If you've ever been around Jaxon for longer than 5 minutes, then you know the boy is obsessed with cars. He was born this way. I can remember Jaxon pointing out my car in a crowded parking lot at 12 months old, and by the time he was 18 months, Jaxon would point to various cars we would pass on the road and say, "There's Grandfather's car!" It might not have been Grandfather, but it was most certainly the exact same model of car or truck! By the time Jaxon was 2, he was pointing out the cars of people he might have only met once. I'd hear, "There's Ms. Stephanie's car!" shouted from the backseat while driving down the road, and I'd have to think, "Who's Ms. Stephanie?"

So when our Cub Scout Pack leaders distributed kits for the boys to build their own Pinewood Derby cars, I knew Jaxon was going to be THRILLED about the project. Little brother Baylor was equally excited! Originally, both boys were going to work on their cars when they visited Grandfather and Grandma for the December camping trip. However, there just wasn't enough time due to all the other activities. The revised plan was for Grandfather to help the boys construct their cars while he watched the boys during my hospital stay for Grant's delivery. Unfortunately, Grandfather came down with a chest cold and his visit consisted of 5-minute driveway pitstop. Yeah, to say the very least, that wasn't the way anyone wanted or expected the visit to go.

Grandfather ended up building and decorating the derby cars on his own which I knew would lead to disappointment on race day. Knowing that this project would be something that Jaxon and Baylor would truly enjoy, I went to the store and purchased 2 new car kits so the boys could design and construct "play" cars.

We would use Grandfather's cars in the actual race, but the boys could play with their cars. This worked out perfectly because Grandfather's cars had to be considered "off limits" so the time and effort he put into weighting the bodies and aligning the wheels wasn't ruined by little hands hurling them across the floor and into the wall. Plus, once weighed and officially entered into the derby, the cars truly were off limits. Again, the play cars proved to be quite handy and helped us avoid a 3-year old meltdown when his car was taken.

The boys took the task of creating their cars VERY seriously. Thankfully, the kits I bought came with precut bodies that just needed to be sanded. It didn't require anywhere near the amount of effort as Grandfather's kits which came with a block of wood that had to be transformed into a car. I'd say Grandfather's years of experience running his own Pack's Pinewood Derby proved to be quite the asset for Jaxon and Baylor. Over the years, Grandfather picked up a trick or two for increasing the car's speed on the track. Once our competition learned of Grandfather's background, they started to refer to him as "The Ringer."

Here's a look at our team of racers. Grandfather themed his cars after Anh's practice which I was less than thrilled about, but only because I worried the boys would be disappointed by the brown and tan car bodies. Classy choices for business cards...perhaps, but not exactly thrilling race car colors, in my opinion. As you can see, Jaxon and Baylor went with more vibrant color options for their cars. Like I said, it worked out perfectly that we built separate cars to play with on race day. The only thing that mattered for the official cars entered into the race was SPEED, and Grandfather came through brilliantly in that department...at least for Jaxon.
Jaxon easily took first place in the Tiger division and advanced to the finals. Baylor wasn't as fortunate, but we wisely fibbed and told him he won his heat. Sometimes a little white lie is in everyone's best interest. Baylor was blissfully unaware of his loss and was able to instead focus on and celebrate his brother's win.
Jaxon ended up placing 6th in the finals, but his First Place win in the Tiger division resulted in a TROPHY!!! That trophy is now a prized possession by both Jaxon AND Baylor who promptly announced, "We share!" as Jaxon was presented with his trophy during the awards ceremony.
Well, Baylor, that's true. So, Grandfather will likely want to enjoy his allotted time with the trophy because if anyone deserves the acknowledgment, it's most definitely him. Thanks for guaranteeing us the win, Grandfather. You proved brown and tan can be cool, and in the process set the bar pretty high for next year!