Week 33 Sunday (8/31/14)

A Girls Only Weekend at Mendota Campground!  

Entry 6 

                                Games! Games! Games! continued

Today, I want to share the games I named Flip the Pencils and the Crepe Paper Twist

Flip The Pencils

I think we had a total of about 8 or 10 pencils spread out on a table. You had to pick up and pencil, balance it on top of your extended fingers, and then throw it in the air and catch it with the same hand. Then you picked up two pencils and did the same thing. If you dropped the pencils you had to start from your last location. We were being timed so the winner was the person who caught all of the pencils the fastest. 

Maddie's down to her last two pencils!

Go Maddie!  Go Maddie!

Mom concentrating on the task at hand

Alaina - almost done

Crepe Paper Twist

I love love loved this game.  Each team was given two rolls of the same color of crepe paper. Only one team member completed this task. We began with it on the ground. When the time started, we were to grab and end and extend both arms and began twirling them like a windmill until all of the crepe paper was off of the ground and wrapped around both arms. I had a great workout on my arms, used the best color of crepe paper (pink), and won my heat.

Just a side note, my niece Rachel, was on the trip but spent almost the entire time in the camper due to horrendous allergies. I wish I had taken pictures of you, Rachel when you emerged, but I didn't think you would appreciate a picture with swollen allergy eyes. I love you bunches, Boo.


The End of the Greatest Sister, Niece, and Mom Day! Tomorrow back to the Blog Schedule.

Week 33 Saturday (8/30/14)

A Girls Only Weekend at Mendota Campground!  Entry 5 

                                Games! Games! Games! continued

Today, I want to share the games I named Noodle and Balloons and the Cereal Box Puzzle.

Noodles and Balloons

I find this type of game frustrating because gosh, I stink at it. The nieces went later and had a great strategy that I never even thought of at the time. I thought I had to hold the noodle at the bottom and swing the thing - okay I was dead wrong. I should have figured that one out because the girls asked clarifying questions that should have been a hint to my brain. 

Susan is headed in the correct direction
while I appear to be going backwards!

Diane, Maddie, and Molly prepare to take off.

Does anyone know which way to go?
That is the frustrating part of this game.
The balloon does not understand the plan.

Maddie turns and faces the end goal.

Now, we're off and running!

Kim and Alaina take the challenge on next.

Cereal Box Puzzle

This game is a version of concentration. All of the pieces were square but Susan had cut up the fronts of two cereal boxes which we had to reconstruct while being times. 

Molly tries to beat her Mom, Diane.
This looks easy, but I found it fun and challenging.

A close-up of the action!

The old Captain Crunch Box - well actually
it's the new "peanut butter" Captain Crunch box.

This is the second to the last entry about the trip. So bear with me for one more day and then things will return to normal.

Week 33 Friday (8/29/14)

A Girls Only Weekend at Mendota Campground!

Entry 4

                                Games! Games! Games! continued
Today, I want to share the games I named Five Pennies More, Flip the Cup, and Peanut Butter Covered Ping Pong Balls.

                                       Five Pennies More
         This was a great game, but I must say it was extremely frustrating. The first can had five pennies in it and each of the following cans had five pennies more than the previous can. The task was to put the cans in order from the can with the lowest weight to the highest weight. Now, this sounds easy, but I stunk at this one. We were timed which heightened the stress levels. Apparently, I stink at determining weight. Gosh! Could this be related to my life long struggle with weight? Probably not - it just could be that I just stink at this one.

Mom lifts them up and tries to determine the order

Lindsay prepares to be frustrated. This game stinks!
(Sorry Susan) I am glad we played it, however.
Susan's job was the mix them around and start the competition.

Lindsay is focused - I love that about my teammate!

                                           Flip the Cup

     This game was so much fun, but it took a long time to be able to flip a cup from the edge of the table onto a bottle of water. For this game you can put the cup right side up or upside down. I experimented both ways and liked the cup upside down. My Mom was pretty good at this game and beat me quickly. Oh Man!

 Maddie analyzes Diane's flipping technique

Molly has a bird's eye view

Mom is so composed and I felt like a wreck

Kim and Alaina go head to head

                   Peanut Butter Covered Ping Pong Balls
         I loved this game. Kids would lovvvvvvvvve this one. You have to bounce the ball on the first table at an angle and have it bounce into the air and land on the peanut butter bread on the next table. Your partner frantically returns to balls to you so you can keep trying until each one of us scored two.

the targets

The contenders: Alaina and Kim

Ready, aim, fire!

SUCCESS!

Week 33 Thursday (8/28/14)

A Girls Only Weekend at Mendota Campground!

Entry 3

Games! Games! Games!

         This trip was so much fun because of the family bonding and the amazing games that filled our Saturday. Susan called them Minute to Win It Games. I kinda remember that show, but I only watched it a couple of times.

         I already said that we were a competitive group and that just heightened the fun. My partner was Lindsay who was a perfect partner for me. She was a gem.

        

The Hula Hoop Toss

       This game was one I have played before and I loved it. From a distance, Lindsay had to throw the hoop 2 times successfully around a bottle filled with different sodas. Then, I had to do the same. We competed against another team and the winner of the heat received a point on Susan’s chart. There was a lot of laughter, and this was a great starter game.

         This would be a great game for kids to play on a field day!

The hula hoops were the little ones,
not the big ones that kids use.

Diane studies the field and prepares to throw her first hoop.

She throws and rings it right away.  That is so annoying
because she was much better than I was that day!

The Beyonce Bounce

         Yes – I came up with that name after observing my nieces, Maddie and Molly demonstrating how you have to shake the ole bootie to get the ping pong balls out of the Kleenex box wrapped around the derriere. I decided I had no finesse in this area and spent a lot of time jumping around and swaying the big old butt to and fro. I did empty my box before my competitor, but lets just say it was ugly. Really ugly!  This was a hysterical game and we all got to the belly laugh stage as we observed each other. Maddie, Molly, and Alaina definitely won for technique, if not for speed. I cringe at what the people walking by thought of our “little games.” But when it comes right down to it…….who cares?

Molly demonstrate the Beyonce style

Mom gets hooked up

Kim can really shake her bootie. Look at those balls fly.

Are they all out yet?

Stacking the Red Solo Cup

         First of all, I couldn’t remember the name of that country song so I called sister Susan who came through for me. This game reminds me of a college drinking game, which may be where it originated. The partners have to stack 6 cups and basically make a tower on both ends OF A YARDSTICK. Each twosome competed against another team and once again the winning team of the heat received a point. The funny thing about this game was when someone began saying the phrase “This is a stupid game.” (I think it was Diane).

This phrase was used every time anyone had difficulty in a challenge. I guess we all realized our strengths and weaknesses while competing against each other.

Diane and Kim begin balancing on the yardstick.
Be careful girls or they will all come falling down!

They are so focused!

Maddie and Alains give it a go, but off they fell
(just like Humpty Dumpty)

Go Kim Go!  Go Kim Go!

And they are almost there!

Here is our camp leader and the ultimate planner (Sister Susan)

Molly and Mom study the situation. 
Do you think they have potential to become engineers?


That is the end of the today's entry. Tomorrow - yet another entry full of ridiculous, fun challenges.
Stay tuned...

Week 33 Wednesday (8/27/14)

A Girls Only Weekend at Mendota Campground!

Entry #2

         As each of us arrived, we waved and had hugs all around. My family truly gets along famously when we are together. This trip was so unique because the guys were absent, which really gave us a lot of time for “girl talk.” I loved talking with everyone individually.

Maddie, on the left, applies a thick layer of bug spray
as Molly and I pose for the camera.

Molly is a first grade teacher. Yes, I think she followed in my footsteps.
She is getting married next summer to a great guy.
Her Mom is my youngest sister, Diane.

Alaina, Maddie, and Mom

Alaina is the mother of a one year old. She left him home in the capable hands of her hubby, Tim. She is a great Mom. Alaina is my sister, Susan's daughter. Alaina is definitely a product of both of her parents. Alaina is naturally funny and like her parents, extremely quick witted.

Who knew we would have jackets on when the forecast called for high 80's?
Alaina, Maddie, Mom, and Kim

Maddie is one of my Godchildren. She was a super star soccer player through college until a wicked knee injury ended her soccer career. Maddie loved being the youngest of my nieces until good ole Rachel came along. Maddie still teases me about being my favorite. She is a great listener and always has a quick comeback. I love her!

         One of the best parts of this trip was being able to go natural. I didn’t wear any makeup or fancy clothes. We weren’t out to impress each other, but just enjoy the pleasure of each other’s company. Okay, so basically I’m saying “Don’t judge how we look – just look for the sheer happiness in our faces.”

      

Alaina has a bit of a cheesy smile, and Lord knows why
Maddie is covering her mouth.
Mom looks amused watching these two ham bones.

My Mom is an energetic senior citizen. My Dad passed away 20 years ago, but Mom was lucky to find love again, in her husband, Ron. She loves to cook and play golf. She adores her grandchildren and great grandchildren. I love her bunches.

I love this picture of my sister, Kim, and her amazing daughter Maddie.
Don't ya just love a two generation photo of a Mom and her daughter?

Kim follows me in age. Like all of my sisters, she is very close to her three children. Kim is a happy person. My favorite thing to hear is her high pitched Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!  She is always game to have fun and is happily married to Greg.

My sisters Susan and Diane appear to watch Lindsay do ???

Susan is the only blonde daughter in the group. In that respect, she definitely takes after my Mom’s family. She is also taller than the rest of us. Susan organized this trip and is a detail girl. She works with her husband, Rick. Susan is great with numbers and as I said earlier, is so darn funny and quick witted.

Diane is my youngest sister. She is an amazing waitress and has been in that business for years. She still has a teenager (Rachel), which we all know takes a lot of energy. I am so thrilled that Diane could come to this event, because her work frequently gets in the way of her fun. Love ya, Di.

This is Lindsay. She is married to Kim's son Wesley. I have truly enjoyed her this trip because we have never really had a lot of time together to just talk. Lindsay is a fun partner. We played all of the games together and I really loved getting to know her better. 

As you can see from the background, the rain was moving in.

Tomorrow, I will share “most” of the games that Susan selected for us to play. We are a game playing family and extremely competitive. Until tomorrow then……..