Pack 226 Pinewood Derby

We arrived at the race and the racks were all set up and ready to go!

Gabe built his car around the gun he wanted to use...

and he's very proud of this finished product!

I wish our pack let the boys be more involved on race day,

but instead the kids all settle in on the sidelines to watch the cars race down the track.

 A few of Gabe's den of Wolves....

Gabe's Pinewood Derby car might not have been the fastest in his den this year,

but he did win the peer vote and got the award for "Scout's Choice,"

which to Gabe is almost as good as being the fastest on the track!

We're proud of you Gabe!

You built an awesome looking car this year!

Happy Birthday Miley

Last night I dropped Kate off for a sleepover birthday party celebrating her friend and soccer teammate Miley!

When they woke up this morning the party moved from Miley's house to Camden Art Parties.

I thought the art place summed it up the best,

"These girls really know how to party! They showed up in a party bus complete with dance music and their very own chauffeur! You girls made me laugh like crazy in the photo booth and impressed me with your awesome painting skills! Thank you for letting me celebrate your birthday with you and your super cool friends! Happy birthday Miley!"

I picked Kate up full of smiles from an action packed birthday.

Happy Birthday Miley!!!

Silly girls enjoying the photo booth.

Derby Weigh-In

Gabe's Army truck derby car is finished, and tonight is the official weigh-in and registration!

This year Gabe had a very specific look he was going for,

and while it may not be the most aerodynamic, he loves it!

After checking in a getting the initial weight, Gabe and his Daddy decided to add

some tungsten putty to get the car to the maximum allowable weight.

And there you have it, exactly 5 ounces!

I have to brag on this kid tonight.  It's tough being Gabe's sibling through popcorn and derby season.  Gabe is given all sorts of prizes and rewards, lots of positive attention, and then gets to build a car...all while Kate and Grant just watch from the sidelines.  That isn't an easy feat!  But, they rarely complain and for the most part are very supportive of Gabe.  Thanks Grant (and Kate) for being so awesome!

Kitty Love

These two love their kitties!

And just before drifting off to sleep, Grant said to me,

"Mom, let's dream of trains and Grandma tonight." ♡

Hotel Fun

Even though it was a fun filled day, we weren't ready to say goodnight and head to bed.

The kids all enjoyed one more night swim at the hotel's indoor pool.

Then as the night was drawing to a close, these kids talked us in to a sleepover.

Jon and I had Kate, Jillian and Grant while the Ricards had Mason and Gabe.

And oddly enough, the boys had the calmer night!  They worked on their new toys then went to bed.

Our crew was FULL of energy, wide awake, and shortly after finally falling asleep, Kate threw up all over the bed she was sharing with Jillian!!!  :(  Needless to say, we got NO sleep....  Lovely way to end the evening.

Spin and Win

The boys and I are excited to be at the Mighty 8th Air Force Museum for a special Cub Scout

award day for the top 50 boys (popcorn sales) in the council.

Gabe was once again the top seller in the Coastal Georgia Council!

Thanks to all of you who support him every year!

Pulling up and seeing this sitting in the parking lot....the boys knew it was going to be a great day!

We arrived to the party, found friends, and the boys immediately went up to check out all the prizes!

But before we get to the prizes, it's time to eat!

I love how Grant just thinks he's one of the big boys.

Since Gabe was the top seler, he got to be the first scout to pick a prize!

He chose a Lego Ninjago set.  Later in the day he got to pick an additional three prizes,

1 prize for each $1000 in popcorn sales!  Gabe sold just over $4600 this year.

The top sellers of the Coastal Georgia Council!

At the end of the party, the "host" gave Gabe

his special corn hat for being the top seller.

I forgot to take a picture of Gabe with all of his prizes, so I took this picture later.

Everything you see here was won at the Spin & Win party...including the disc chair!

After the party ended we walked outside to load the prizes into the car before beginning a tour of the museum.  And guess what, it was SNOWING!!!  Okay, they were tiny little flurries too small to even capture on camera, but I'll take it!  It was hard to walk back inside knowing I might miss the only 60 seconds of snow we could see all year.  :)  But, Gabe really wanted to see the planes so we said goodbye to the flurries and headed back inside.

The museum was packed with history and we had a very knowledgeable tour guide telling us about everything.  I think all the boys really enjoyed their time walking through and discovering the past.

Thanks to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum for a wonderful morning!

The Throwback Pack

Good luck to the St. Marys Elementary robotics team as they compete in their 2nd round

of competition today. Kate and her dad left our hotel early this morning

to travel on up to Warner Robins to meet up with the team.

I know you guys will do great.....Good Luck "Throwback Pack!"

Happy Birthday Jillian

This afternoon we traveled up to Savannah for a busy weekend.

Gabe has earned a ticket to the Coastal Georgia Council's "Spin & Win" party for being one of the top 50 popcorn sellers. And Kate will travel a little further north in the morning to take part in another robotics competition with her Gifted class.  But tonight, we are at Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate our friend Jillian because today is her birthday and they have traveled with us to Savannah!

Happy Birthday Jillian!

Thanks for letting us come enjoy your special day!

Grant was SO excited when he won 125 tickets from this game!

And even more exciting was getting to feed them to the ticket counter!