Eco-Marathon 2013

Shell's Eco-Marathon was in Houston a few weeks ago, and we attended to show our support for Louisiana Tech again this year! The event took place over four days, and I got to be there for parts of all four! Ross and I attended a reception Thursday night with the Louisiana Tech Engineering and Science Foundation (ESF) and the LA Tech team. On Friday, ESF had our board meeting and participated in the opening ceremonies for the event. Then the fun really began on Saturday when the competition started! Jackson and Audrey were beyond excited to see our friends, The Tims, over the weekend, and they had a blast cheering for the LA Tech cars! We all wore our Tech blue to show our support...

We couldn't have asked for better weather! It was gorgeous and not too hot!

The event takes place around Houston's Discovery Green, so we made our way across the track to let the kids play in the park for a while. Jackson and Audrey quickly took to the stage to give us a performance. I was pretty impressed with their moves! Carter had some good moves too, but he was being a little camera shy.

The playground was lots of fun, and Jackson showed us how strong and brave he is by tackling some of the tougher equipment. There were also lots of exhibits along the paths. The two favorites were a spinning wheel where the kids all won some coupons for gas savings, which the adults happily took, and the hands-on robotic demo. Jackson helped Audrey get a good look at it before taking a turn at driving it around.

All of that was lots of fun, but we were really there to cheer on the LA Tech team! Here are some pics of the beautiful cars they made and raced in an effort to get the most miles per gallon! Of course, the top pic with the kids in it is not one of the LA Tech cars...it's a Nascar race car!

We enjoyed some time in "the pit" and playing around inside the convention center too. The size of the competition grew quite a bit this year, and they also included more kid-friendly activities. Audrey liked the dance floor where your moves would help charge cell phones, etc. Jackson liked the paper airplanes and build-your-own saltwater-powered eco-car. I loved getting to spend some time with our LA Tech friends!

The LA Tech team did a great job again this year, and we were glad to get to be a part of it! There are more pictures from the weekend in the album

Eco-Marathon

Shell's Eco-Marathon has taken place in Houston for the last three years, and Louisiana Tech University has had a strong presence in the competition since it began in the Americas. It is a fun competition where high school and college students race "prototype" and "urban" vehicles to see who can get the best gas mileage. LA Tech has won multiple categories over the years, and we've even contributed by helping them win the spirit award! We gather on a balcony of the George R. Brown Convention Center in our Tech Blue every year to cheer them on, and this year was no exception!

This year's LA Tech team was full of new faces since many of the team members last year were seniors that have graduated. Some of them returned to cheer the team on as well. They raced three vehicles this year. A new urban vehicle, the urban car from last year, and a new prototype vehicle. True to their reputation, each car had a sleek design.

Here are the students working on getting the new urban ready for the race! This vehicle has to perform more like the cars we drive each day with stops and starts throughout the race.

The prototype vehicle is strictly designed and driven to see how many MPG it can get (i.e. no stops required).

This year the LA Tech Engineering and Science Foundation, which I am on the board for, held one of their meetings in conjunction with this event, and Shell gave us first-class treatment. We were given the VIP treatment during the opening ceremonies and given a special tour of the event on Friday. Ross, the kids, and I typically come to the race on Saturday, so being there for two days gave me some extra insight into the fun and challenges these teams face and the support team that keeps them going. The safety inspections were rigorous and resulted in several last-minute modifications for the team, but their faculty advisers, which includes our good friend, Heath, were right there to give them tips and advice and to help them out in any way. They were also well taken care of by the LA Tech family, which includes staff, alumni, friends, and family. Not only were they there to cheer them on, but they were there to run errands and supply sweet treats like this adorable cake!

Here are some pics of Ross, Jackson, and Audrey enjoying the event both from the balcony and in "the pit".

In the afternoon we decided to take a break from the heat. We headed across the track to Discovery Green where the kiddos played on the splash pad. Both kids loved running around in the spray! I left my camera at the convention center, but I snapped a few shots with my phone.

It was definitely a fun-filled day! Both kids were exhausted since we had them power through their normal nap times, but they were amazingly well behaved and made lots of new friends. However, both did crash for a little while at different times. This may be the first time Audrey has slept in my arms since she was a tiny baby...I cherished the moment!

The race continues tomorrow, so we're wishing the team much luck as they finish it out. I know the students have learned a ton from the experience...such an amazing opportunity!

As always, there are more pictures in the album.

Eco Car Marathon 2011

The annual Shell Eco Car Marathon was this weekend, which means the Tims were in town! Barbara and Carter spent the day with me and Jackson on Friday while everyone else was busy working. Then we made our way to Discovery Green for the car races on Saturday.

Friday morning we went to Space Center Houston where Ross was busy coordinating a National Robotics Week event. I got to be their unofficial photographer for a little while, so I'm sure there will be a fun post on that event too. The boys had a blast checking everything out. This was actually Jackson's first visit. Here are a couple of pictures of the action.

After lunch and a nap, we made our way back to Froberg's Farm to pick some more strawberries. Jackson remembered the rules for picking and made sure Carter did it right.

Jackson was much more interested in carrying the bucket than actually picking the strawberries this time. Carter on the other hand was all about finding the good ones and filling up both his bucket and Jackson's!

See everyone...

Friday evening we caught up with Ross and Audrey for dinner at Lupe, and they all got to play to their hearts content...i.e. they slept well that night!

The National Robotics Week event continued on Saturday, so I loaded Jackson and Audrey into the car and headed to Discovery Green to spend some more time with Barbara and Carter. The kiddos loved the play ground and splash pad!

It was a little chilly to be playing in the water, so the boys eventually decided they were ready to dry off and warm up. We grabed some lunch and headed to the LA Tech cheering section for the Eco Car Marathon where Ross was able to catch up with us.

The LA Tech team had two urban cars and a proto type competing this year, and when we left that evening the results were posted putting LA Tech in first place for the urban car competition for the day, as well as breaking an American record with 513 mpg! Way to go! Here are some pictures of the boys with the urban car that broke the record.

It was SO much fun to see everyone! There are more pictures in the album, and I'll post the final results when we find out more!

Eco-Car Marathon Weekend

This weekend was the Shell Eco-Car Marathon, which happened to be in Houston this year. Our friend, Heath, was one of the faculty advisors for Louisiana Tech's team. They entered 3 cars in this year's competition, a prototype vehicle and two urban cars. Barbara and Carter stayed with us for the weekend, and we managed to get all the kiddos downtown for some of the events Saturday afternoon. They had a blast! Here are some pictures of the cars and everyone cheering them on.

This is LA Tech's prototype vehicle. The competition is based on miles per gallon. This prototype car got up to 786 mpg, which placed 10th in the competition.

These are the urban cars. The red car was actually built and competed in last year's race, and the blue car was designed and built this year. The red car got up to around 150 mpg, and the blue car got up to 251 mpg, which placed 2nd in the competition and won the design innovation award! We're very proud of them!

There was also a spirit award, which LA Tech won hands down. There was a lot of Tech blue around, as well as a lot of bulldog barking going on.

Jackson LOVED the cars. As they went around the track he would say, "another car" and cheer and clap. He and Carter stayed up late last night to watch the urban cars run, which they would tell you was well worth it!

The boys had lots of fun the rest of the weekend too. They did everything from playing the piano to reading books to building towers to hunting easter eggs. We had so much fun with Barbara and Carter here. We wish we could see them more often!

Of course, there are more pictures in the album, but here's one last shot of our amazing friends at the competition!