Cars and "camping"

Here is Levi's new absolute favorite thing in the whole world - cars! He gets so excited about them! Today, he wanted me to get down the box of cars for him in the playroom, and then he proceeded to carry most of them out to the living room, three or four at a time, until he had a huge pile of them. Just thinking about cars makes him happy! If he is upset and I mention cars, he gets a huge smile on his face and says, "Cah?!" (And anything with wheels is a "cah", by the way, including trucks, tractors, and heavy equipment...everything, that is, except buses. Buses - or "Buh?!" - are distinguishable and are another favorite!)

So here's my littlest man, playing with cars early this morning (this was before dragging the entire stash onto the couch)...

(He really enjoys lining them up.)

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Then, this evening after supper, Adam and the boys set up our tent in the backyard! Adam and Drake are "camping out" tonight as I type this, but earlier in the evening, we all sat out there and drank hot cocoa together!

What a yummy treat!

Daddy and the boys started wrestling (of course)!

Here's my baby; he's looking so grown-up to me lately. What do you think? Could be the new (shorter) haircut...

...and here's my big boy! I love this kid, and I hope he has a blast camping out with Daddy tonight!

AWANA Grand Prix

Last weekend was our AWANA Grand Prix! Drake spent several weeks preparing his pinewood derby car for the big event.

The car starts out as a block of wood. Drake and Adam designed a shape and drew it on the car, which Mr. Murray from AWANA then cut with his bandsaw. Here, Drake is sanding the car after it was cut to the shape he wanted.

Daddy had a go at it with the electric sander! Much faster...but noisy!

Nice and smooth! And lookin' pretty cool with the wheels on there. Next, Drake painted it, but you'll just have to imagine the painting/decorating stage, because there are no pictures!

Finally - it's the big day!

Mom and Levi ready to watch Big Bro's race!

The cars starting to line up for the race.

Drake's masterpiece!

...and a cool side view! We got there early, because Drake wanted to be one of the first to pick his number, ensuring he could get the #8. Why #8? The Seahawks car wouldn't be complete without Matt Hasselbeck's number!

Finally, it's Drake's car's turn. Ready to race!

The Seahawk-mobile won its first two heats! Drake was really stoked!

All the kids cheered as each car's owner was announced before each heat. And they watched the races so intently! Drake ended up winning his first two heats, then losing one, winning one, and losing another. It was a double elimination contest, so after losing twice he was out. (The two races he lost were second-place finishes to the kids who ended up taking first and second place. Not too bad for his first year! He was definitely happy about it!)

After the races, everyone enjoyed cake and other goodies.

Here's Drake showing off his car and "AWANA Grand Prix" ribbon after coming home and getting ready for bed. What a fun time!