Daryl's Mario Kart

Daryl had a Mario Standard Kart M and a Luigi Standard Kart M and one Standard Kart L for Mii outfit A and B.

2011 Philadelphia Phillies Scout Night

Daniel's Cub Scout pack attended the Philadelphia Phillies Scout Night. The Scouts were allowed to walk around Citizen's Bank Park and Daniel and his friend, Franz, was on the new HD video screen. This was the day the Phillies unveiled this HD video screen.

Here's the video where Daniel can be seen at 0:04-0:07 with his friend Franz.

Even though it was a pre-season game, Roy Oswalt pitched in the game and they were playing against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The wind was blowing hard and it was so cold. We didn't finish the game because when we went down to the concourse area, I told Daniel that the temperature is too cold and we forgot to bring thick jackets. We left early and didn't finish the game. I was still able to watch the remainder of the game at home and the Phillies won.

2011 Pinewood Derby Videos

I was not able to take a lot of videos of Daniel and Daryl's Pinewood Derby heats as Daniel had a school competition going on. We were actually driving back and forth since the other competition is also important. I'll be posting the details of that later. For now, here are a few of the videos.

This is Daryl's first heat. His car is the 3rd one from the right on this view. On 0:14 seconds, you will see that Daryl's car started to skid. I told him that his car Drifted (referring to the Tokyo drift on one of the Fast and the Furious movies). His car finished 3rd but jumped a bit after hitting the end of the track.

On this heat, Daryl's car is the 2nd one from the right. It appears that his car finished 2nd on this race.

This is Daniel's 1st heat of the competition. His car is on the 3rd lane from the right. If I remember correctly, he probably finished 6th on this one. I can't tell from the video because it looks like his car ended the same time as the other car.

Another heat with Daniel's car. His car is on the 4th lane from the right. It was obvious on this video that his car finished 4th.

I saw Daniel was a little bit frustrated because his car is way behind the other cars. But as I posted earlier, he won the Most Unique car and that wiped away the frustration.

I just hope next year's schedule wouldn't be as hectic as this year so I can take more videos and pictures.

2011 Pinewood Derby - Daniel's Car

Now for Daniel's Pinewood Derby car. This car is actually 1 year in the making since Daniel didn't win anything on the last year's Pinewood Derby. After last year's awarding, I told Daniel that it will be difficult for him to win because there will always be a faster car than yours. I told him that we should just target the special awards on the next race. So, read on....

This year, Daniel's car has the easiest cut. We just had to make remove the marked piece shown below.

As you can see, the wood will still have the rectangular shape.

The two pieces after cutting the top part.

Tada!!! Daniel's car is actually a spaghetti box. I told him about this design a year ago and that he should not tell anyone and he should keep it a secret. He actually did. 

I helped him scan one of the Spaghetti boxes and made a little bit of changes and here's how it would look like. I suggested to cut an area on the label just like a regular spaghetti box.

The wood was painted white to match the label.

Waiting for it to dry.

The label was cut in the center because I also suggested to put real spaghetti on the Pinewood Derby. I had to help him do this because we used super glue to attach the spaghetti. I didn't want him to glue his fingers.

We were able to salvage a clear plastic from the real spaghetti box.

It's time to add the weights. We also used the 1/2 ounces weights just like what we did on Daryl's Pinewood Derby car.

The weights fit nicely as well.

The block that Daniel received is a bit heavy, the block already weighed 4.8 ounces. After the cut piece, the weight went down a bit and we only added 1 ounce of weight.

At the registration table, Daniel's car is near Daryl's.

The parents liked Daniel's design because it's unique.

A picture of the car after the race.

We had to put a 'FRONT' sign on one side so the scouts putting the cars on the track will know which side is the front.

And just like what I told Daniel, we'll just target the special awards. He was sooooo happy when he received the 'Most Unique' car.

He even received a trophy with it.

The Most Unique car for the 2011 Pinewood Derby race for his Pack.

While at the car, I already told Daniel that I already have a couple of designs that I'm thinking of for next year. Now he's been thinking about it as well. Until next year then....

2011 Pinewood Derby - Daryl's Car

It's time for me to post the Pinewood Derby Cars of Daryl and Daniel. Let me start with Daryl's car this time since he's not a Cub Scout yet and he requested this design for his car. Last year, I just used a pre-cut car for him but this year was a little bit tough because of the different cuts.

This is the wooden block and we're starting with Daryl's design.

He wanted his car to look like this and I'll you know why later.

The rear of the car has an outline of the boosters of the car.

I have shaded the area that needs to be cut.

The block has been cut and as you can see, the wood is still rough.

Here's a different look.

The block looks nicer after sanding.

Back view

Made a hole at the back of the car for the weights.

We used 1/2 ounces weights. I got these from Harbour Freight store. 

They fit nicely and will be adding wood putty to cover it up.

Daryl draw on the car and wanted a Mario logo.

Here's another look.

I had to add one more weight at the bottom because it's still light.

Added wood putty on the bottom to cover the weights.

Here's the top view with the wood putty.

Now for the boosters. We used a Dremel tool to shape this.

We replaced the wood putty because it's taking long to dry.

Here's the bottom part.

Here's what it looks like after painting and adding Daryl's accessories.

He said that this guy is Mario and this is his Kart. I had to cut some more wood on the front of the car because it was over the weigh limit when we measured it.

Added a white circle.

Painted a red 'M' to signify that this is Mario's Kart. Daryl calls it Standard Kart M.

Ready to Race.

Vrrooomm....

Here's Daryl's car at the table after registration.

Now that those pictures are done, I mentioned earlier that there's a reason why he wanted this design. If you click on this link, you'll probably guess the reason.

Thanks for reading. I'll be posting Daniel's Pinewood Derby car in a bit. 

2011 Family Picture

This is this year's (2011) edition of Daniel's Family Picture sketch. As you can see below, he created a house with the family members in it.

On the body of the house (square part) is me and my wife. On the roof area, the kids have their on places.

The left side of the roof has Daryl on it with a car. This is so because Daryl really likes cars and he has a lot of drawings about cars as well. I will be posting his car drawings soon but don't expect it to be different from the one I posted on January 2nd. The car drawings look pretty much the same, I don't know how he does it but they really do.

In the middle part of the roof is Daniel. He's into video games, he thinks about it everyday and dreams about it, and talks a lot about it, too.

The right side has Daphne on it. She pretty much plays with any toy she can pick up. She even cleans up after her brothers who just leave their toys anywhere around the house. I'll probably just teach her to hide them somewhere the boys won't be able to find them.

Kids Workshop at The Home Depot - Battery Center

Last Saturday, I brought Daniel (or should I say dragged him) to the Kids Workshop at the Home Depot. He was a little tired from a lego-like building contest that he attended that morning. I told him that we should go so he can make a Heart Shelf for his little sister and he agreed.

When we arrived there, he was given an option to do the Heart Shelf or the Battery Center (scheduled last January 1st). Being a boy that he is, he didn't want to do the Heart Shelf because he thinks its for girls so he opted for the Battery Center.

The parts of the Battery Center laid out on the table

Bottom part is already assembled

Attaching the back piece

Finished product

The Battery Center, Certificate, Instructions, Pin and a couple of stickers

The pin and stickers at the upper left

One final look at the Battery Center

I think this product will be used by the kids so they can keep their batteries for their toys. The Battery Center can also be hanged on the wall if needed. I told Daniel to paint it first before using it. It may take a little while though since he has a lot of school and extra-curricular activities.