It's hard for me to believe, but our baby is 11 years old!
This year we hosted a "Survivor" style backyard campout for Jacob and seven of his friends. First, we had the boys pull colored bandanas from a bag to choose the two teams of four. They named their teams the Green Mambas and the Orange Survivors. Then we got down to the "survivor" games which each team could earn points (5 pts. for winning, 3 pts. for second) towards a final prize (no elimination challenges or voting guests out of the party.)
Our first game was Water Relay. The object, carry a soaked sponge while walking over wobbly 2x4s and fill your team cup with water until the ping pong ball comes out. Team members had to stay on the course or start over. Well, it was fun, but they never could get the darn ball to float over the edge of the cups. Tie score 4 to4.
The next challenge was Walk the Plank. With ropes looped under two 2x4s, the teams had to walk up the driveway to victory. It wasn't easy keeping in step, but the Green Mambas worked it out and blew past their opponents! Score 5 to 3...Green took the overall lead.
Next up was Catch It...a water balloon that is. Teams had to catch flying water balloons with bath towels. I'm not sure who had more fun, the kids or Jim with his new toy! Once again the Green Mamabas prevailed and caught two balloons. Running score...Green 14 - Orange 10.
After a few games it was time to send the survivors back to camp for some grub. The BBQ sloppy joes were a hit and everyone enjoyed some rest time.
After eating, it was time to see if the boys could work a sling shot (every boys' dream) in the Pop 'Em challenge. This time the boys had to shoot down the opposing teams water balloons. The team with the most left at the end of the game won. Once again things didn't go quite as planned. While the boys had fun trying, not a single water balloon was popped and only minor injuries to thumbs were reported. It was funny to watch, but we don't have pictures. At this point the Green Mamabas remain in the lead.
Next up was the dreaded ultimate survivor challenge...eating unknown foods!! This challenge was fun to create. This games was a head to head as well as a team challenge. The boys lined up and the food they ate was chosen at random by pulling the food names from a bag. Based on the name of the food, the boys could decide to eat it or not. They had a mere 20 seconds to chew and get everything down. Under each bowl was the number of points that would be awarded if the food was completely consumed in the alloted time. Some of the tasty treats included: Eye of Newt (jarred mushrooms w/chocolate syrup), Snake Eyes (sliced green olives), Congealed Bat's Blood (spoonful of jellied cranberry sauce), Slice Pig's Snout (anchovies), Ground Rat Brains (potted meat...looked like wet cat food, but wasn't), Spicey Bird Eggs (peeled grapes with green Tabasco sauce)...the list goes on and on...
Poor Austin (on left), someone yelled it's bacon when the anchovy bowl was opened and well...it wasn't!
After the feast, the teams were tied! One last bonus item was offered...tempura sushi roll. Jacob loves it and it was his turn to eat. Jacob and Ryan went head to head and in the end, the judge (Jim), gave the win to Ryan and the Orange Survivors. However, Ryan was washing his rice down with water and sticky rice was all that was left on Jacob's tongue (you make the call!) Jacob was so mad!!
After the winning team picked it's tent (the bigger one of course!), the boys heading out on their final challenge...Treasure Hunt! With compasses and flashlights in hand, the boys searched the vacant lots for clues to their final reward. Once all the clues were found, they had to come back to the starting point, unwrap the packages they found along the way (which contained puzzle pieces) and put together a puzzle which gave them the final clue to the hidden treasure and a set of three numbers to unlock the loot. While the Orange Survivors made it back to the house first, the Green Mamabas solved the puzzle and figured out the combination to unlock the goodies that awaited...the fixin's for S'mores!!!
Garrett kept working on his lock, determined to have S'mores!
Once the birthday gifts were open and the fire was just right. The boys settled in for some campfire fun and more eating!
By the end of the day, the boys were exhausted and so were we! It turned out to be a great day and a beautiful night for the boys to campout. Jacob was so happy with everything and his buddies loved the party, too!
