Pinewood Derby - update

Here's the results of the pinewood derby:

Kieran took 3rd place in his den (the small group that meets monthly...keep in mind there are only 4 members of the den and I'm pretty sure one wasn't even there, but oh well).  If I remember correctly, Kieran's car averaged something like 132-135 miles per hour.  The overall winning car averaged right around 145 miles per hour.

Kieran's wolf den was also the fasted den in the pack.  The pack is comprised of 5-6 dens, so together with the other boys, Kieran and his den averaged the fastest overall speed.

Edit:  It's currently -18 degrees with a wind chill of -37, schools are closed for the second consecutive day.  This makes 4-5 days that have been cancelled this month alone, all because of cold temperatures/wind chills, none because of snow.  I am seriously considering moving.....

Pinewood Derby

The Cub Scout Pinewood Derby is tomorrow (Saturday, January 25).  Last year, Kieran wanted a semi-truck that was painted like Optimus Prime.  Well....this year he wanted to paint his car so it would look like something from the 'Seattle Seahawk Football team' (did you know the Seahawks are in the Super Bowl?  Kieran will certainly tell you!).  He still wanted the semi-truck though.

He knew we still had left over paint from painting the treadmill/bike room, so that was the base.  Don't worry about all of the washers on the back end, the car cannot be over 5 ounces, we will modify the number of washers after the first weigh in.

There is still a little work to be done, like outlining the windows and grill in black sharpie, but essentially it's finished.

The last piece that needed to be finished was the number 3 (Russell Wilson's number - quarterback) and the Seahawk emblem on the top.  Since those were both well beyond my expertise, Kieran asked Madeline for some help.  She made a stencil for the emblem on the top of the car and painted them yesterday when school was canceled for her (it's been cold here).

I asked her to text me a few pictures when she was finished with the car, here's how the transcript went:

Me:  (after getting the pictures) That is awesome!  Thanks.

Maddy:  Yea no problem.  The stencil didn't work so I had to just do it freehand

Me:  Are you friction kidding me?  Freehand!  Wow....

Maddy:  Thanks

I was impressed.  After I forwarded the pictures onto Sarah, she texted Maddy to say good job on the car and apparently Maddy responded that she 'thought it looked bad.'  No....bad is what it would've looked like if I painted it.

We'll see how the car runs tomorrow!

'Polar Vortex'

Why do people live in the middle of a continent, far from the influences of either warming or cooling maritime breezes?

Look at these two pictures when you think about that question.  The first taken on August 26th at the MN State Fair.

Yeah, the heat index was 106 at the time, though it actually got a little higher.  The second picture was taken this morning.

Yeah, trust me....it did (and still does) feel like -45.  Taken together, that's a 150 degree swing in a little over four months.

Govenor Dayton cancelled classes for all public schools on Friday, three days ahead of these really cold temperatures.  Actually, it never got as cold as it was predicted, no records were set today.

How do we spend our unexpected day off?

Luke crashed and feel asleep at the top of the stairs after lunch...

Lex took a nap after lunch as well (that's not unusual), but she is still wearing her pajamas!

Kieran is taking his football obsession to a new level.  We set up the PlayStation 2 this morning and he's been playing Madden football ever since....

 After getting some chores done, Madeline is now in her room.  Pretty sure she's hiding from Kieran, as he tends to want to talk football to anyone who is in listening distance.

 Sarah's at work and I've read two magazines, plus done all of the laundry.  As of right now, Madeline does not have school tomorrow, but Kieran and I are both 2 hours late....

***Update - now school is closed for Kieran and I tomorrow....