Derby, Basketball, Readers

Hyrum and I started the year off with a crafty wood project, followed by a derby race of the pinewood kind. After having five boys in the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby race, I was worn down by nagging LeRoy to help them in a skill that is not his or bugging a neighbor to sponsor my child in an attempt to make their race car dreams come true.

I admit, I spent far more time researching how to build a speed-worthy car than I spend on most quality projects that I take on. I learned about sanding down and tweaking the tires, the most beneficial weight placement and the proper nose shape. I also cheated and purchased a pre-cut car online. No tools needed.

I left Hyrum with a bottle of paint, a brush, and stickers to apply after it dried. He was completely content to do it on his own without the rush of the race taking place that evening (which is how all previous races went). We then applied the weights and tires and adjusted as needed to get to the required weight. It took us a full week to perfect it with multiple attempts at a track to see that it would indeed glide gently to the left to "ride the rail".

Hyrum was on cloud nine as his car won six of eight races. Nathan was a tad pouty, complaining that I had never helped him with his cars, while Hyrum insisted that I would be helping with nexts year's car as well. He took fourth place overall and walked away with a superhero car that has since been across my kitchen floor more times than I can count.

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LeRoy has been waiting 27 years to have a sports kid; someone to watch and play and cheer and yell through basketball and football with him. Finally, his dreams are coming true. Both boys wanted to play basketball instead of previously played sports of soccer, swimming, and gymnastics.

Hyrum was randomly placed on a team but Nathan had to go to a "try out", which simply divided the talent as equally as possible between teams. Each boy gained a new coach and a team of all new friends and a season of new experiences. Throughout the season, I was so grateful to be inside instead of on the freezing cold soccer fields and I look forward to many basketball seasons to come.

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One of the highlights of January was everyone getting a pair of reading glasses. The idea is to be able to read laying down with the book on your belly without needing to hold the book above your head or cranking your neck up on a pillow.

The fun advantage/disadvantage is that you only see the book in front of you, not people sneaking up at the side and sticking their hand in front of your book, which is quite startling! It's also very entertaining to try walking around the house when all you can see is your feet directly below you. We know, we tried it.