Pinewood Derby/Kub Kar Rally

DO THINGS

It's like our new family motto...except that it's not quite new. 

It's something we've been talking about for years. 

We've focused on "cheerfully do all things that lie in our power" (D&C 123:17) and on President Hinckley's admonition to "be up and doing" and on Nephi's call to "go and do" (1 Nephi 3:7), being doers (and not hearers only—James 1:22), and so on and so forth. There are a lot of scriptures about doing things. 

Admittedly, I'm sometimes a little like April Ludgate from Parks and Rec, who says, "I don't want to do things. I want to not do things." Certainly today I feel like I perhaps would have liked to do fewer things. 

Between an hour of gymnastics, two hours of music lessons, and two hours of church activities (plus all the time driving between those events) I hardly felt like I was home today! We did a lot of doing. 

Thank goodness Benjamin didn't have swim practice today!

With all my final projects due this week (and Andrew now out of town at a conference) I am anxiously anticipating doing a little less homework and a little less driving and far fewer extracurriculars...next week.

Anyway, our family motto has for years and years taken on a variation of the theme of doing things. 

Most recently, after a particularly unfortunate day of idleness and shenanigans, Andrew printed out the words DO THINGS and posted them around the house to remind the kids that...they've got work to do!

Uh-oh!

Okay, so the above song is never far from our lips either (we have not watched the entire musical—it's a little heavy on the swearing—but this song...is super catchy) but deep down inside we believe in DOING THINGS.

Hard things.

Fun things.

Quiet things.

Growing things.

Boring things. 

There are just so many things to be done.

It's been a frustration of ours to be in a ward that...isn't particularly fond of...doing things. Like, it's been a struggle for years. My girls have been told their ideas for activities are "too Grandma," too simple, too complicated, not unique, too unique, too long, too short... 

[715 words redacted here]

Our activity day leaders held their own little Pinewood Derby last week. They gave out "paper plate" prizes, where they wrote down the award on a paper plate and handed that to the winner. The other kids...got the joy of racing (and some candy). Which...is fine. I don't think everyone always needs a participation trophy. 

But the youth had their (combined ward) Pinewood Derby last night and it...was pretty incredible. They had the racetrack set up with a camera pointed at the finish line to capture those close calls (they played back finishers in slow mo). One of the youth didn't want to make a car or compete, so they asked him to be the announcer and he was...hilarious. He did such a good job! 

The gym was filled with chanting and cheering youth. There were cookies. There were hand-made trophy/car stands for winners of various prizes. The bishop of the other ward "threw them together."

I love that he has the hobby/talent/skill/time/supplies to do something and so he did. 

He DID the THING, guys! 

Benjamin didn't win anything, but he had a great time anyway (and got a stack of blue ribbons from his last swim meet, anyway, so he still felt like a winner).

Miriam ended up being declared the "best paint" job:

She was going to do a flamingo...but ran out of time. She painted it on Monday night after we got home from my 4'33" event on campus. She went with a floral motif, put the slogan "We can do it!" on the back and the number 42 on the front (for Rosie the Riveter, who was envisioned in 1942). 

I can't imagine that putting together all those awards (I think there were five of them...) took no effort. I'm fairly positive they took a fair amount of effort. But, I think it was worth it...to make this activity feel real to the kids.

It was quite an incredible night. 

To be fair, I spent most of my time squirreled away in a corner working on my final paper, but I could hear what was happening in the gym and the energy was palpable. 

So then this lady from the other ward walked past me and she goes, "What a night!"

"It sounds like so much fun!" I said. "I can't believe the bishop made all those awards for the kids—incredible! Our ward just...doesn't have the manpower to pull off an event like this."

"That's why I was so surprised when they told me your primary didn't want to participate in our primary derby tomorrow."

"Come again?" I said. 

"Oh, we invited your primary to participate in the derby we're having tomorrow for our primary kids, but we were told the parents in your ward wouldn't want to make the extra trip and..."

"Interesting," I said. "This is the first I'm hearing about it. My primary kids would love to come."

"Then come!" she said. 

So we did. And the kids had a great time! 

That sweet sister (who stopped me in the hall to make sure I knew our ward was invited to the derby) had made certificates for each child, as well as a little medal for them to "win" (made out of canning lids and cheap plastic cars that she painted and glued together). 

There were still prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, as well as the best paint job and the most unique car and the rest of the trophy-stand awards the bishop had made (for this group as well). My kids didn't win any of those awards. But they each got a certificate and a medal and they had a great time!

Zoë's car was "most artistic":

On the way out to the car Alexander sighed with a mix of satisfaction and relief, "I finally got an award for something."

The poor thing has been watching his siblings be awesome at swimming and piano and...painting cars...and he just had been feeling...a little down in the mouth. 

But here he is in all his awesomeness with his "Craziest Car!" 

I'm proud of him for doing the thing! 

And I'm so grateful for all the people who DID THINGS to make these days happen for the kids!