Mark the Hammerhead Shark

When things were crazy with Hubs gone and my mom in Hawaii, the rest of us were "car-a-zee." Unfortunately, Hubs was not in Hawaii for the Awana Grand Prix. But he and Son1 crafted a car over several nights before the big race.

The Awana Grand Prix is a pinewood derby race. Over 5,000 events are held annually at local clubs nationally. Each clubber purchases a pine block of wood and standard wheels. Everyone constructs a car that meets standard specifications to race in a four lane car race.

So Hubs and I discussed car design at length. I suggested our theme should reflect our time in Hawaii. Hmmm. Well, Son1 is CRAZY CRAZY for sharks, as in, he loves non-fiction shark books and ogles the majestic creature in aquariums and on TV. He knows sharks by their specific names. Get it? So we all settled on a shark car. Hubs called up a coworker with a band saw and a rotary sander in a garage with no light. So after sunset, in limited light, he made a few cuts and sanded it into a shark shape. At home, he and Son1 kept working. He pulled out his Dremel tool and mounted some glasses on his nose. Well Son1 figured he needed safety goggles, too. So he dug into some scuba equipment. Hubs and I had a good laugh.
But he chucked the scuba mask for more comfortable swim goggles.
Can you guess what kind of shark they are making? Let me say I am far less confident and more petrified of my children using anything that requires electricity than Hubs.
The next night Hubs and Son1 got to sanding. If you haven't figured out what kind of shark this is, well....hmmmm...they birth their young on the Windward side of our island every year. Maybe you have seen the show on the Discovery channel.A few years back we sprayed the lamps in our kitchen a stainless steel color. Hubs plucked that spray can from our shelf and together they dolled up that pinewood shark until he gleamed and shimmered a sharky silver.Hubs assembled the little car, complete with a 3 ounce weight in front. See that first little fin? That is the 3 ounce fishing weight, front loaded. The car could weigh a maximum of five ounces. We borrowed a mail scale from my neighbor, and sure enough, the HAMMERHEAD shark made weight. You can't see Mark the Hammerhead Shark's front grill, but it is a mean read set of chompers. Googly eyes rolled on either side of the head. Son1 added the number for on each side of the tail fin. Hubs asked him what number he wanted on his car. He looked at him rather obviously and said, "Four, 'cause I'm four!" We placed Mark high on a bookshelf until the night of the Grand Prix. I explained to Son1 that this was the only car he had. I wasn't going to craft another one for him if this one broke. So, he eyed it every night until the big event. See those stripes behind Son2? That is the only proof I have my mom was there.

The Awana club served dinner, but Son1 was too excited to eat. I started to cut his little brother's hot dog, but he was so impatient he grabbed Son1's hot dog and chomped it down whole. This is my lightweight child that can outeat any preschooler hands down. Where all of his food goes, we haven't a clue. Sure enough, he ate his own hot dog, some veggies, and everyone's chips, before dessert.

Weren't these cute?

After dinner, the cars were weighed, measured, and visually inspected for standards. we voted for best design in each category. There were over 60 cars and voting seemed like forever. See Mark? He was #3.

Just before the race, Son1 took his place at the sidelines. He had a great seat.
Finally it was Mark the Hammerhead Shark's turn to race.

Sadly, he did not win for speed. Hubs considered purchasing some graphite wheels for Mark. But he thought $30 on plastic wheels for our 4 year old son's car was a little excessive. While I was videoing, the father of the child's car that beat Mark the Hammerhead Shark grinned and told everyone he had bought graphite wheels. But that was ok. Mark was a winner, too, and not just in our hearts. Guess who won first place for best design?!?!?

By now, my kids were melting down, so my mom and I left and loaded them in the car. This was just the preschool race. They had still more grade levels to go. Just as I was buckling my kids in the car, my cell phone rang. What was Hubs doing awake on the East Coast? He wanted to know how Mark had performed. I laughed. It was well after midnight there. He told Son1 how he was proud of him.

As for me? I kept fighting with our desktop on uploading video. So Hubs never saw the video until he got home. But when he did, hmmm....he started to think about next year. And Son1? He was on Cloud Nine. He loved his trophy and he made sure to tell me that the packers should take great care of his Mark.