The D&H Summer Games, Day 1

I couldn't afford to send my kids to camp this year. 

Actually, that's a lie. I could afford it but they're too young. But it sounds more dramatic when I say that I was in some sort of financial peril about it. 

I'm in a strange mood tonight.

I thought it would be fun to create an at-home field day week kind of like what some summer camps have, without having to drive them to and from camp and spending $3010911 a week. Lots of games and crafts that are all outside, get the kids doing something other than play in the pool every.single.day this summer. And since my kids play with the neighbor girls every day anyways, we didn't even have to recruit kids to do it with.

Thus, The Duran-Hansen Summer Games were born. 

Actually, it's also a fantastic reason to exhaust the crap ton of summer Pinterest ideas that I have pinned. 

It was kind of cloudy and blah today, so I created an itinerary that only got them slightly wet:

Day 1 

- Sidewalk Chalk Color Course
- Water Balloon Hot Potato 
- Giant Water Pillow of Doom

We started off with a simple color coordinated sidewalk chalk game. I made several circles in three different colors going down the sidewalk. Each kid picked a color, then had to hop their way down the sidewalk, only touching their chosen color. And if they hit the yellow circles, they got sprayed with a Super Soaker wielded by a mom (we needed a reason to turn the water guns on the kids. And they can't argue. It's the RULES). 

Unfortunately I made it a little too easy for the kids, so we just sprayed them for fun. But they had fun with it. 

Note that the girls are carrying pistols. This is why Calen is way okay with playing with girls.

After they got bored with this game, we did a little classic Hot Potato with water balloons. And they got just a little wet. If only you could hear the giggles. 

Next was the Giant Water Pillow Of Doom. Or something along those lines. I made this thing last year and it was such a big hit with the Under-Eight crowd that random kids I didn't even know would show up and start playing on it. Without my permission by the way. But who am I to say no to kids having fun on a giant choking hazard?

We made it in the back yard this year to prevent stranger weirdlies from showing up and asking "Just what is that thing anyways?" 50 times in an hour. We did put blue food coloring in it but it didn't seem to stay, but it was full of glitter. There are no rules to it, just jump, rolls, stomp on it whatever. It's like if you owned a water bed, but your mom never allowed you to jump/screw around on it. Well now your dreams have come true. 

Leaping onto the water pillow

He kept saying he was dead

Cam says "you can't make me step onto this creepy water trap"

"Okay, maybe I'll play on it. After I remove my shirt and eat some food coloring"

WE INTERRUPT THIS BROADCAST FOR A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

During our escapades in the back this afternoon my neighbor Marina and I noticed a HUGE bird flapping around in a tree across the fence. So like any good parent, we abandoned our kids in the back yard and ran around the fence under the tree to investigate. Turns out it was a Great Blue Heron stuck in the tree via a fishing hook stuck in it's head and the fishing wire wrapped around a tree branch. So Marina made a phone call and pretty soon both the city fire department and the CGFD arrived and spent the next 1.5 hours staring at the bird in the tree. After a failed fire truck-bucket rescue attempt and some extension ladder issues, the managed to cut down the entire branch with bird in tow, removed the hook and transported it to some rescue center. Marina got a call later saying the heron will be perfectly fine! So not only are we super awesome summer camp leaders but wild animal rescuers as well. Holla!

Blue Heron rescue.

Stay tuned tomorrow for Day 2 of our little summer camp. Hopefully we won't be rescuing anymore animals in the process.

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