Makin' Progress!

We've knocked off a ton of bucket list items this time! We did #13, #16, and #36. So... Maybe not a ton. But it was a lot for one day! 

Our first item was #16 - try the grossest sounding snow-cone flavors. 

I tried Tiger Blood, Emma got Cookie Dough, and Ally decided on Chocolate. 

EW. They were all pretty nasty. I thought mine was the best since it tasted a little like gummy bears. I don't really like gummy bears... but it was way better than Emma's and Ally's. Talk about disgusting!           They. Were. Gross. 

We didn't finish them.

Not that the people who made them aren't talented snow-cone artists! It's just the flavor syrup is... not pleasing to our taste-buds. 

Next up was #13! Leave a nice note on someones car. We parked at Walmart and chose a random car to leave this note and $3 with. 

While we were at Walmart we picked up supplies for #36 - homemade ice cream. 

Of course... I forgot to check and see how much ice cream the recipe made, so we ran out of condensed milk. 

Being inventive, I quickly looked up a substitute recipe and Emma whipped it up really fast. 

It's weird looking I know. But it smelled good! 

We were hopeful! 

...and then the machine wouldn't turn on. Luckily, we have a Dad who can fix anything! Our hero. 

We got it going and waited! 

This is the part where I mess up. Dad left to go flying and so I was in charge of watching and replacing the ice. Unfortunately, I fell asleep for a few hours and it all melted. Yeah. 

So we ended up drinking ice cream soup. 

In all honesty, it tasted really good! It just would have been better actually frozen. But we rolled with it! 

A few days afterwards, we knocked another one off. Stargazing! Taking pictures with my ipod at night with the flash is difficult... The flash is blinding! But, we had so much fun trying to find constellations, even if we weren't very good. At all. It's a lot more difficult than I thought! Pretty much the only ones we could find were the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper. 

And I'm not even positive it was really the Little Dipper. So, yeah, it was difficult. 

We've done 12, which means we have 27 left! 

We can do this! 

Check out the remaining challenges by clicking this link - Summer 2013 Bucket List!

Cousin Camp Part 2

I'm back and ready to finish the post about Cousin Camp 2013.  The last thing I wrote about was archery.  After everyone had a turn - including the adults - we roasted marshmallows and whoever wanted to take a dip in the pool did.  So now we are ready for...

Day 3

Jonah wakes up and looks a little rough!  After breakfast, the moms go shopping locally - Posh, Junk Generatioin, Thrift Store, and since my cousins are from Kansas City they say it's fun to try a new Wal-Mart, so Wal-Mart!

After shopping, I load up five kids and we meet Bryan and three others at Winfield Lake.
Landon remembered how to ski!  I was so proud of him. 

 Patrick gets his picture taken at just the right moment!

Gibson, 13, is also an awesome skier. 



Out of place picture - This is the night swim I talked about earlier.  Doesn't Glynne have enormous feet?? Actually, Emma is behind her own legs and Glynne is hugging them.  Funny, huh?

Before playing volleyball, we all gathered in our basement to watch the Cousin Camp Dance Video.  It was so cute.  The room was filled with laughter!!  We then put in last year's video and had more laughs. Glynne did a wonderful job directing and editing both videos.  Thank you Glynne!!!

I LOVE playing volleyball!!  We had so many people that wanted (or got begged) to play that we actually had to rotate out. Now that is exciting!!

(L to R) Alicia, Aunt Pat, Andrea
They live in Kansas City and are wonderful guests.  They didn't let a crumb stay on the floor for more than 2 seconds!!!

 That was the end of Day 3...on to

 

Day 4

The last day started out very early.  We left our house at 6:15 to drive to Wellington so these four could race in the 5K wHEAT Run.  It was so much fun to cheer them on!  They did great.

This is the Ping-Pong table I mentioned in the first post.  Can you believe it!?!  I had no idea they were making something so cool. Gibson even had the idea of staining the 2x4s.  It looks really nice.  We have since moved it to our stone slab where the pool is and have enjoyed it immensely! 

The whole gang! 

 

See the hand waving good-bye??  So sad.  Until next year... 

 

 

Cousin Camp 2013

I can't believe Cousin Camp is already over.  For months we anticipate and plan for lots of fun and then it comes and goes.  This year was packed full of activities like the last couple of years, but there was also more down time which allowed some of the kids to come up with their own creative activities (i.e. the building of a ping pong table!)  Here are lots of pictures and some explanations.  I was going to divide this post into 3 parts, but honestly, if I don't just cram them all into one, I'm afraid I won't ever write parts 2 and 3!

Getting ready for camp!

 

 

Day 1

Isaac and Jonah patiently wait for the first cars to arrive so we can shout, "Welcome to Cousin Camp!!!"

 

 

The waterslide starts the beginning of the festivities!

 

 

 

This year we added a pool under the zip line.  Lucy gets ready to drop!

 

Jonah, at first, wanted nothing to do with the pool.  My, how quickly things change!

After dinner, we walk to my sister's house.  She and her husband, Kyle, live on 30 acres just around the corner from us.  There we eat popsicles, ride horses, play horseshoes, and some lucky ones even get motorcycle rides.

 Day 2

 

To start the day off, the kids eat cereal.  Each cousin brings a box of his/her favorite kind.

After breakfast, we have a camp meeting which includes a short devotion, an overview of the video we'll be filming, and a quick explanation of the craft projects.  This year I told them the crafts had a theme - "Christmas in July."  We made airplane ornaments and family Christmas trees collages.

Instead of doing a movie this year, Glynne choreographed and filmed a dance video to an upbeat Toby Mac song.
The kids loved learning their parts and did a great job.  The moms and grandmas even learned a routine!



Jonah has more fun reading with Grandma Candy than dancing.

The older kids learn their part.  Again, much enthusiasm. 

While the kids are dancing, we are prepping for the Christmas tree project.

Lucy watches while Kate and Emma work on the Davis family collage.   Making room for 11 trees (yes, we even made one for the new baby) takes a long time and a long frame!!



One of the final products!!  Isn't it cute??  This collage represents the Watson family which includes Dennis, my cousin, Andrea, and their three children, William, Patrick, and Lucy. 

Getting ready to film the dance video.  We asked that all the kids stay in the house, so we didn't have to go round everyone up.  They didn't need too much convincing since it was about a hundred degrees outside!

Ally supervises another project in the bonus room - airplane ornaments.  Considering we had 9 boy cousins and only 2 girl cousins (minus the 3 older girls), we decided to make a more masculine craft!!

Jackson lends a helping hand to Andrea who is graciously shucking corn for dinner.



Later that evening, we all watch as Kyle Bliss instructs us in the proper way to shoot an arrow.
  Archery was a big hit this year.  Thank you Kyle!!

 

Well, I guess there is a limit as to how long a post can be and I have reached it.  I will have to fill you in on Day 3 and 4 in another post.  Until then...