This year is Mister and Sister’s first year in the AWANA club. They’ve really enjoyed it. We recently had the opportunity to participate in our first AWANA Grand Prix. For those unfamiliar with the term, it is similar to another club’s pinewood derby.
We arrived at the race site a little early, so the cars could be weighed in and measured, to make sure they fit within the guidelines. After we got signed in, the kids ate donuts while we waited for the race officials to be ready.
Once all the participants were checked in, the kids got to vote on the best car designs. When we told Mister and Sister they could decorate their car any way they wanted, Mister asked for jet stickers and Sister asked for Bob the Tomato. I had NO idea there would be cars that were seriously decorated. Talk about some pretty stiff competition, these cars were seriously creative! One car was decorated for Ice Age, there was a rainbow, and one car had Legos on it! There was even a minion and a Pepsi bottle! The chocolate glazed donut was my personal favorite.
Something tells me our cars won’t be so easy to decorate next year. LOL!
Having never been to an event like this before, I was amazed at how many entrants there were. Seeing how many cars were actually there, I knew I had to have a little chat with Mister and Sister and realistic expectations. I reminded them of our family rule that we “win without gloating, lose without grumbling.” We’ve been working on that one a lot lately, as Mister is very competitive but does not always win or lose graciously. I also explained that there were a lot of cars racing, and that meant that there was a very good possibility that they would leave without winning. As I gave them their little pep talk, Mister patted my arm and said, “Don’t worry, Mom, I’ve got this.”
After the design judging was finished, and my little pep talk, the races began. I had no idea it was such a well regulated event. Each car raced at least three times, against different cars each time. So the fact that a car won all of it’s own heats did not necessarily mean that it would place in the top finishers. We all enjoyed watching the races.
Sister’s car placed eighth for speed in the entire race, Mister’s car placed first.
He thoroughly enjoyed patting my arm again, and saying, “See, Mom. I told you I had this.”
I guess we need to work on the “win without gloating” a little more. At least he only gloated to me, and not the other kids. We’re making progress. I do have to say, I was impressed when he told Sister, “I’ll help you with your car next year, so you can win a trophy, too.”
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
That looks very similar to the Pinewood Derby my son had in Cub Scouts!
brett says
What’s AWANA club? My son is in Cub Scouts and did a pinewood derby like this. Ive just not heard of AWANA. Sounds like fun tho
Jennifer B says
This looks like a lot of fun! I think my boys would love to do something like this. They love race cars of any sort!
Lisa Jones says
They Look Like They Had A Blast What Fun For The Kids!
Helene Cohen Bludman says
Congratulations! That looks like a lot of fun, and it’s always fun to place in the competition, too!
Dee says
WOW! Great job!! That looks like so much fun!
Sandra says
This looks so much!!! My boys would love it.
Marielle Altenor says
Such a good brother!! Congrats on winning first place wow!!!
Fabulous Perks says
Looks like loads of fun! Congrats on the win! I can’t wait to share moments like this with my little one.
Debbie Denny says
That looks like tons of fun
Maggie says
It looks like a lot of fun, and taking first is awesome! Congrats to both of them.
Tess says
Congrats on a good job! Looks like it was a blast.
Amanda RIpsam says
it does look like a lot of fun. I think the cars look great think by the looks on the faces they had a pretty enjoyable time.
Pam says
Looks like a lot of fun! My kids got to do something like this in Awana and they loved it.
becca says
what fun the race is on for sure. my hubby would love this.
Tough Cookie Mommy says
This looks like such a fun activity. I’m going to have to look to see if any of these are more local.
Liz Mays says
There is serious competition there, so I’m floored he got first place.That is AWESOME!!!!
Robin {Mom Foodie} says
Wowza, Mister really rocked it!!!!
Angelic Sinova says
I’ve never heard of AWANA club but it cools like some great quality bonding time <3
Tiffany says
YAY! My girls LOVED the Grand Prix! We won every year~ for best design, not speed. Our church had a MILLION boy scouts that did this for their troop and we’re pros at getting their cars to move fast. I knew we couldn’t compete so we went for design instead. 😉 Sometimes our cars didn’t even make it across the finish line but they sure looked good!! 😉
kay adeola says
Wow well done to Mister and of course Sister did a great job too.I have never been to anything like this and i am sure my kids would love it.
I can not believe how much people decorated those little cars lol.
trisha says
I think this is pretty amazing that yall are doing this together. Seriously, how fun is this!
Mama to 5 BLessings says
we are an Awanas family, love Awana games. Our is in a few weeks. Congrats to your son! My son won 1st place last year too!
Rebekah says
I’d never heard of anything like this, but congrats to your kids! That had to be a lot of fun for them.
Debbie L. says
SUch fun! I can remember Jason’s night years ago when he raced his car! FUN!
Taralyn says
How fun! Looks like they had a blast! Can’t wait until my kids are old enough!
Pam says
Very nice! And congratulations to both of them. I think he has reason to gloat. There looked like there was a lot of cars there and stiff competition.
Beth says
Looks like fun. So exciting that your son won. And great accomplishment for your daughter.
Jennifer Williams says
That looks like a lot of fun, wonder if there is anything similar here. I think he deserves to gloat a little, at least it was only gloating to his mom and dad. That is great that he is going to help his sister for next years race. It will be a fun project for the two of them.
Melanie says
How awesome! I used to remember going to these with my brothers. They really enjoyed it
Rosey says
8th and 1st are both awesome!! I love the family motto. I think I may adopt that here. 🙂
Congrats! This looks like a fun event.
Danielle says
Ha! I LOVE that last shot! Good for him! It looks like it was a blast, my kids would have loved that for sure.
Terry says
It looks like there were really a lot of entrants and winning 1st and 8th place sounds pretty amazing. What a fun time this must have been.
Danielle says
My son would have loved to attend something like this! He is absolutely crazy about cars these days 😉
Pam says
My kids used to do Awana and loved it, but I don’t remember doing the Grand Prix. Glad they had fun!
lawna says
This looks like fun, and even funner since you won first place! I bet my kids would have totally enjoyed that!
Aly Mashrah says
Haha, awesome job! It looks like he had so much fun.
Amber Nelson says
How fun! Congratulations to him and what a great brother!
Ave says
So many great cars! Looks like you all had a lot of fun! Congratulations!
Beth says
We love AWANA! Looks like so much fun and like everyone had a great time!
DeniseGabbard says
Fun stuff, and congrats to little Mister! We loved doing this kind of thing when we were kids.
April says
These events always look so fun! My girls had the opportunity to make pinewood derby cars for Girl Scouts. It was a fun time with dad.
Veronica says
We have Awana at our church too, and my daughter who is 17 volunteers and my son who is 12 just loves it. It is a great way to teach kids about Jesus’ love while having fun
Robbyn says
This looks so fun. I would love do something like this with my family.
Ashley B. says
My kids do the Pinewood Derby every year. It’s a lot of work, but they have a ton of fun!
Debi says
It looks like so much fun. My kids never did one of these.
Toni says
My son loved Awanas when we lived in AR and the church we attended had them. They are such a great group to be a part of.