Pinewood Derby

We had Brian's first Pinewood Derby last week. He had lots of fun making his car and even more fun racing it. We must have done pretty well for our first try since he won 3rd place in his den. His den had the most entries too, there were 12-15 other cars. Andrew and Timothy can hardly wait until it's their turn. They already have their cars all designed. :)

There was a Saturday activity where the boys and their dads met at one of the leader's houses to cut out their cars. Since the only tools we own are screwdrivers, hammers, and a drill, that was great for us. Derek is now thinking he needs a band saw-- whatever!! I don't have pictures of them cutting out the car (although I wish I did since I would love to have watched them do it since I think I have used our only power tool more than Derek-- he!he!) but I have pictures of the rest of the process.

Sanding the car:

Andrew wanted to help so bad

Drilling holes in the bottom to add weight:

Painting (of course he painted it blue, his favorite):

Adding the racing stripe:

The final product:

Checking in at the race (this is the most organized Pinewood Derby I have ever been to. It was all done on computer):

Setting his car (notice the guy with the lap top-- he was managing all the races):

Set to go:

Racing:

Winning (don't get confused-- it's a different race than the above pictures, I couldn't be at the top and the bottom of the track at the same time and the car obviously made it to the end of the track before I did):

Receiving his trophy and ribbon:

3rd place in the Wolf Den:

(Now that's it's all over and done with I am way glad that clear back when I was in Young Women's we had a combined activity with the Young Men that was a pinewood derby. And I'm glad that although he helped me, my brother insisted that I do all the work on my own car. At the time, I hated sanding that silly thing but all these years later it totally paid off as now I know how to make one. Who knew that all these years later I would have a whole house full of boys with at least 12 pinewood derbys to look forward to. :) Thanks Bro!!)

Chocolate Dipping & Christmas

I had hoped to get this posted before the end of the year but alas it didn't get done. But at least it's before Valentine's Day. I am doing a little better. :)

Chocolate Dipping:
Here are some photos from our traditional chocolate dipping event. (In Derek's family spanning back for 5 generations from our children the family gathers together, usually the Saturday after Thanksgiving, for Chocolate dipping. They dip and make "real" chocolates to enjoy throughout the holiday season. We have adapted it for our family and instead of making "real" chocolates we "dip" in a chocolate fountain.)

Dipping:

Eating:

Showing off their chocolatey faces:

Christmas Eve:

The last couple of years we have tried to do something special on Christmas Eve day. This year we went to Mt Vernon. We have been there several times this year already but Christmas is the only time of year that they have the third floor of the mansion open for tours. So we went to see the third floor. We also got to see a camel which is always brought to the estate for Christmas. Apparently Washington would bring one for entertainment even in his day. The turkey that was pardonded by President Obama on Thanksgiving was also there. We had an enjoyable time.

The camel:

Looking at the camel:

The camel saying, "Hi" to the babies:

Standing by a tree that was planted by George Washington:

Christmas Morning:

We kept telling the kids we weren't sure if Santa was going to stop at our house this year and if he did he would probably just leave coal. But thank goodness Santa is very forgiving and he made a stop anyway. :)

Opening Presents:

Kylie loved her baby doll so much she had to have it out of the box immediately.

She wrapped it in her new pillowcase

Philip was most entertained by the box of Clementine oranges

The kids with their loot:

Christmas Evening:

We took some time in the evening on Christmas Day to go see the lights at the Washington D.C. temple. As always-- they were beautiful. It made for a nice end to the day. (We have a picture of our family in this same spot every year since we moved here.)

We hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas. We sure did!!