Some of us crazy moms decided to take our 14 kiddos on an overnight camping trip without our hubbies. Really? What were we thinking? Actually though, it ended up being a lot of fun and there is definitely strength in numbers. We made so many memories on that trip. I lead a hiking group of area homeschoolers, and we had a hike planned for Friday, October 27th at Inks Lake State Park. I noticed there were surprisingly a lot of limited use cabins available for the night before, so I posted on our group page to see if anyone else would be interested in staying overnight the night before the hike. 6 of us moms accepted the challenge and I think we are all glad we did. The weather was gorgeous on Thursday night. We had smores, told ghost stories, explored, came across lots of critters (snakes, racoons, cool bugs) and have so many crazy stories to take away from this night. A cold front came through that night though and it was WAY colder that next day (the day of our hike). Check out the differences in attire from the first day (shorts and t-shirts) to the second day (winter wear).
On our way!
Our "limited use" cabin. The kids were working on their Junior Ranger badge activities.
The first thing Luke did when we arrived was begin climbing the gorgeous trees outside our cabin.
Some of the littles chatting around the fire.
As more kids arrived, more were in the trees.
The little kids loved playing hide and see around our cabins.
Smores were a hit!
The boys loved playing and exploring all around our campsites. I believe they were pretending to be adventurers searching for a sea monster.
Luke, Abbey and I shared a cabin with our friends, Ilene, Mason and Bella. There were two sets of twin bunk beds in the cabin. Ilene and I slept on the bottom bunks, Abbey and Bella on the top bunks and our boys on air mattresses. Us moms had a difficult time sleeping. At one point, I needed to use the restroom (it was probably 1am). So, I grabbed a flashlight and sneaked out of our cabin quietly as I didn't want to wake anyone. The restroom was a bit of a walk away from our cabin. Ilene didn't see me sneak out, but awakened and noticed a flashlight shining around our cabin (my flashlight). She thought I was still in bed and that, perhaps, a park ranger was shining their flashlight around our cabin. Afraid, she called her husband (who was back at her house) and told him that she thought someone was near our cabin. Then, as I returned she was really afraid as she saw the flashlight again and heard the door handle jiggle as if someone was trying to enter the cabin (ha--I was). She really freaked out as she saw someone enter and then approach my bed. Once she saw the person get into my bed, she realized it was me. But until then, she thought someone was approaching my bed to hurt me. Ha! We have a funny story to tell now.
Hiking the next day:
Abbey and her friend, Bella.
Our crazy group of hikers, photo taken by our awesome hiking guide.
checking out a vernal pool.
Luke and Abbey and their friends, Mason and Bella earned a Junior Ranger badge.
Such a pretty campsite we had and amazing memories!
We thoroughly enjoy getting dressed up each Halloween in our group costume. We usually plan months in advance what type of "theme" we are going to dress in. That way, we can begin searching for deals or find used costumes. When you buy used, then you can usually sell used at the same price as you bought it for--which means you are out no money for something the kids think is very fun. It makes some pretty great memories. This year, I found an Ironman and a Black Widow costume at the disney store outlet on super clearance back in April. They are awesome costumes and I think I paid something like $7 each. So, I have known since the Spring what our family theme was going to be. I ended up finding Drew's whole costume from someone near us who was selling used and then I found mine new for even less than Drew's. I already had the blonde wig for myself and the red wig that Abbey wore (thanks to American Cancer Society and chemotherapy treatment). Here are some photos from our fun Halloween.
The Sunday before Halloween we participated in "Trunk or Treat" at the church where the kids go to AWANAs. They had so much fun. We snapped a few photos of the kids at home and then headed to Trunk or Treat.
Luke and Abbey and some of their friends.
Then, on Halloween, the whole family dressed up in our Marvel themed costumes. I was Valkyrie, Drew was Thor, Luke was Iron man and Abbey was Black Widow.
We trick or treated near our house with our friends.
It was so much fun! I wonder what we will be dressed up like next year.
Our kids get very excited about parties--especially their birthday parties. We only do big parties on even birthday years. Since we skip a year, we do a lot of planning for the parties on the even years to make sure they are extra special. Luke decided many months ago that he was going to have an outdoor adventure themed party for his 8th birthday. So, we discussed over several months what types of activities we could do, what kind of food we could have and more. This was a really fun party for me to plan, because I personally LOVE all things outdoor adventure. Here is how his party went down:
We divided all of the kids up into two teams. We decided this before the party to make sure that the teams were as even as possible, and that there wouldn't be any complaints over which teams the kids were on. We had some competitive kids attending this party and I knew it could be disastrous if we picked the teams at the party. Minus a few kids who were unhappy about the team they were on, this part went pretty well. So, as the kids arrived, they received their team's battle symbol on their face in the form of warpaint (courtesy of Mimi). We came up with the battle symbol for the war paint pre-party as well.
And some kids were more excited about the war paint than others...
Excited!
Rocking the war paint!
Also rocking the war paint!
not sure about the war paint...
not so excited about the war paint.
But for the most part, the kids really enjoyed the war paint and it added to the fun. Once everyone arrived, we began the team competitions.
Go Red Team!
The first event was archery. In this event, each kid got three attempts at earning points by hitting the target in specific areas. Papa ran this event and added up the points for each kid. The team's score was equal to the kid's score on that team that was the highest. (This made less math for us to have to do--ha!)
Cheering on the remaining competitors
Even the little siblings participated.
The red team won the first event. Then, it was time for the next event--the obstacle race. But before we began that, we had to take a quick break for some team pictures. (Each team came up with their team name before the first event.)
The blue team was missing several who didn't want to be in the picture.
Next up was the obstacle race. Each team raced around many obstacles and the team with the fastest total time won. The competitors had to race around the balance beam (which outlines our treehouse), run over and under hurdles, complete the in and out ladder obstacle, run around the fire pit, complete 5 jumps with a jump rope (or do 10 jumping jacks), complete the ninja line obstacle, and lastly, throw the weighted ball into a target, and then run and tag the next teammate.
Cheering on their friends
Abbey tagging Ryah, the next competitor for the obstacle course.
I wish I had taken a good video of the obstacle course, but I was also snapping pictures, and timing the kids so I am giving myself some grace there. But, here is a little glimpse of the obstacle course.
One of the final obstacles was the ninja line. We just had the kids go to the 5th hold, since it was tough (a rope knot). Here is a little video of Luke recently playing on the Ninjaline, in case you are curious what it is:
The kids had the option of skipping the ninjaline and throwing the weighted ball into the target 3 times (they only had to throw it in once if they attempted the ninjaline).
The blue team ended up winning this challenge. So, the teams were tied up going into the final challenge: a scavenger hunt. The kids were each given a compass (which also was one of their party favors). They used the compass and the word clues to try to find each subsequent clue, which eventually led them to the treasure. Each team had a different set of clues and locations to travel to, before finding the final treasure. The first team to the treasure was the blue team, so they were the winners. (I didn't get any photos or videos of this because I was running this particular challenge by myself.) The blue team got to line up first to select a treasure: some really beautiful polished rocks we purchased. The red team also got to pick out a treasure.
(We wanted to let the kids take a turn on our zipline during the party; however, we couldn't figure out how to get over 22 kids in and out of the harness and give them all turns within the time constraints of the party. That would likely take days.)
Then, it was time for cake. We had snacks out on a snack table inside the house that guests could munch on throughout the party. In lieu of cake, we were just going to have birthday smores, but I couldn't figure out how to put the candles on that. So, instead I made pumpkin cupcakes with a cinnamon icing and then we had smores too!
And apparently Abbey was a little excited about that cupcake and couldn't wait for Luke to blow out his candles before taking her first bite--ha!
Then, after Luke opened presents it was smores time at the fire pit for those who wanted one.
And we gave each family a little rustic party favor--a pencil holder that Drew crafted from a fallen tree:
I just added the bow and the words on the bottom.
Luke said he enjoyed his party and soon it will be time to plan Abbey's 6th birthday (in January). But, in the meantime, I am going to enjoy this time in between when there is no party planning going on. Party planning is so much fun and I love seeing the kids enjoy the fruits of the planning, but it is also so much work. We have so many fun memories from that day though that we get to keep with us forever!
