Fun in the Sun!

A couple months ago, as a Primary Presidency, we started planning a fun summer activity for the kids. We really wanted to do an outdoor, water activity. After much planning, we were all ready for July 31st. I made and handed out the invites (beach balls, they were pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself) and we were all excited. The day arrived and.....it rained. Like pouring rain! And cold!! So one hour prior to the start of the activity, we're all calling the kids frantically, telling them it's been cancelled for that day. Total bummer!

We rescheduled for one week later, and it was such a good thing we did! It was a beautiful sunny warm day! We held it at a nearby park and had a blast! We had several events for the kids.

The first was the "Ice Cube Melt". We split into two teams, put them in a circle and handed them an ice cube. They had to melt the ice cube before the other team, using ONLY their hands. Once the first person's hands got too cold, they passed it to the next player, and so on. The first team to finish, wins!







Our next event was the water balloon toss. Fairly standard, everyone pairs up and makes two lines. They toss the balloon and after each successful catch, they each take one step backwards, thus increasing the space between them. We let the kids start over when they broke a balloon. Again, good times for all.








Next was the Sponge Race! This is a relay race. Two teams, two buckets per team. The bucket at the start line is full of water. Then at the finish line, an empty bucket with a line marked on it, a la Double Dare. Each team member has to soak a big sponge with water, then run to the other side and squeeze the sponge into the empty bucket. They then run back to the other side and hand the sponge off to the next person. First team to fill their bucket to the line, wins! Of course, I overestimated how much water they would get from one bucket to the other, and our teams ran out of water! Luckily, it was just as one team reached their line. Oops! It was still fun! Jilly and I sat between the buckets as judges, and cheered everyone on.







My friend Michelle, sweet as always, offered to take a picture of Jilly and me. I gladly accepted, because there seem to be very few pictures of both of us. :-) Of course, Jilly didn't get the memo about where to look. But I still love it!
(And yes, that is my swimsuit, not some skanky shirt I wore to a church activity. ;-))

Next up for our enjoyment was the Water Balloon Squat. Another relay race, this one the teams have to run across, get a water balloon and sit on it until it pops! Then run back and tag the next team member. First team to get everyone in line to pop a balloon, wins.






We had one non-water game. Commonly known as Michelle's boring Egg Race, it was actually quite fun!!! (For those of you who weren't at our planning meeting, we kept teasing Michelle that her Egg Race was going to be boring, compared to all the water games, which of course it so wasn't!!) She has this awesome game kit, that has 4 sets with a spoon, egg shell and egg white/yolk bean bag inside. We split the kids into 4 teams, they had to run to the other side and back, while balancing the egg. If it fell off, it would "break" and you'd have to start over. It's such a cute game! No mess and completely re-usable, since it's all durable plastic and bean bags. Score!!




We also had a Penny Pool. In a little inflatable pool, we put 15 pennies. On the backs of 5, I marked them with a Sharpie. The kids had to pick up a penny with their toes. If they got a black one, then they got a special prize (piece of candy, ooooh).




Last but not least, we had lots of bubbles for them to play with.






There was one extra-special part about the day we had the activity. One of the girls, Jenna, turned 4 that day! Here's the big birthday girl, having a blast at the activity!


We had a ton of fun. Thanks to Heidi, Michelle and Kati for all your hard work and preparation! Major kudos to Brad L, Justin and Brad A for lugging around a bunch of stuff, hauling water and procuring our popsicle treats. It was a great time for our Primary!