This is what some might call a timely post.
Today was the infamous box car derby at church. I write infamous because last year we spent some quality time at Urgent Care for a split head...this year, only a bloody nose, and definitely no trips to any kind of doctor.
We planned our cars all week, and after they were cut Friday afternoon, we painted and decorated. Lucy wanted a purple cat with pink stripes, a green nose and a purple mouth. She wanted a star on the cat's ear, and red stripes on its tail. I was up late last night fulfilling these requests, and weighting the feline so that it would make it across the finish line.
Bowden drew a picture for me of a hammerhead shark...and he drew the mouth and fins and all...I had to put a lot of weight on that guy just because we cut him so slender...but he did very well.
Jack had a car made for him, and I painted an elephant and his name, but he doesn't care about racing, so I went to bed a whole half hour earlier.
The Cubbies raced first.

The chickens eagerly waited for the race to begin.

They already had their face paints and balloon bracelets.

The little one played with his Jack-mobile while waiting.

The custom underside.

Lucy went to sit with Bowden for the start of the races, but it didn't last long.

There's Lucy, in second, in this heat, at least.

In first, this heat!

First, again! They run each car four times, on each track, and average out the races.

The winners of design! Lucy came in second!

And the winners for speed! Lucy came in second between the Teeguarden twins.

The proud winner!

The Awana Grand Prix has had a balloon person and a face painter each year- they hired an actual clown named Bubbles or Sparkles or Blobby this year who went crazy-loco with balloons. No child could ask for too many.

It led to some wicked balloon sword fights on the deck in between races.

Sparks were next- Bowden's shark was ready to race.

Bowden ate Sun Chips and waited for the race to begin.

He made it through one race...

...one heat, I mean...

...and then left for the bounce house.

Lucy watched more than Bowden.

Jack liked every race. Jack liked everything, except the bounce house. He's too floppy for bouncing.

There's Lucy, with Jordan Gates, in the bounce house. I think Bowden went to get another balloon sword.

I had to fetch him and cajole him to get him to stay to accept his third place award for SPEED!

Only five people entered the free race, and I didn't even enter Jack...he didn't care, and I could have, but I think our family got more than it's fair share of trophies. These ladies won for design.

These folks won for speed.

The clown lady spent the last half hour making balloon animals for anyone- she just left them in piles on the table, and when the kids came by, she apparently loaded up their arms with the things.

Bowden, true son of his mother's, took more than he could comfortably hold because it was free. We left later than I had planned, because the whole thing is so much fun. I ate a couple hot dogs, two sodas, and a bag of Doritos...and the kids had those AND candy rings. It was excellent.

The Tate cars.

Lucy's with her two trophies.

I surprised her with little wire whiskers- she woke me up to tell me how much she liked them.

The Jack-mobile.

Bowden's Shark Monster. He designed this car- and about five others- himself- painted the whole body, drew on the fins and other designs, told me where to put the fin and how to color in the mouth. I am pretty impressed with his vision.

The little champions. Maybe next year they'll learn how to lose.