Banana Derby

For Young Women's last week we did a pinewood derby. My kids realized what was going on and really wanted to participate, but since they're not young women, they were out of luck. To help them enjoy the race track as well I organized a Banana Derby. The kids invited several friends from the neighborhood and each one decorated a banana. We then fastened wheels to the undersides and raced them down the track. Needless to say, the kids had an absolute blast. They did a great job on their bananas, even turning them into rats or attaching spare tires. I didn't think they would work very well (and some of them didn't) but most went pretty far, and one even went off the end of the track.

I didn't get a picture, but Sammy was very happy to roam the gym and eat the extra bananas I brought. They're his favorite food and he thought he had died and gone to heaven when we pulled out several bunches and just let him eat.

All in all I think our banana derby was a success, and should definitely be repeated next time we have a track lying around.

(The ice cream at the end wasn't too shabby either!)

The pinewood derby in the evening was a blast and the girls enjoyed banana splits afterwards. Our winner was Meagan Wilkerson, who is actually a 10 year old who is staying in the ward with her dad for a few weeks. If I were a betting woman I would have put my money on her from the outset (just knowing her dad would be helping with a car gave her a guaranteed win).

All the cars looked fabulous, and we even had a VW van, a caterpillar, and a ginormous bolt strapped to the back of an otherwise standard car. I wish I had taken pictures, but you're going to have to use your imagination!