We started off with target shooting with nerf guns. Next they army crawled down the stairs under obstacles set up to make it harder. They had a RC Car obstacle course they had to navigate. We had to cross a field of hot lava using only small blocks as stepping stones. And the final and most difficult obstacle was the gauntlet, or the "goblin" as Darcy kept calling it. They had to get through an obstacle course between our couches and climb over a ladder then run through the gauntlet where several of us were swinging pillows at them. They were only safe when they jumped on the bean bag. The kids had a great time and Cody was happy with how it turned out. Here are some pictures from his party.
Shelby wanted to combine an obstacle course party with a craft party. We divided up all the craft supplies for the turkeys they were going to make and then they had to complete a treasure hunt with challenges to find all the craft supplies. For one of the challenges we divided the girls into two teams and they each had to put on a bunch of Dallin's clothes, eat two Ritz crackers, blow out a candle and then take off all of Dallin's clothes. It was fun to watch them having so much fun. Another challenge was to cross the basement using only 6 blocks. They had to pass the blocks forward and use teamwork to get everyone across the basement. They aldo did a puzzle challenge where they had to unscramble two puzzles and put them together.
There were a couple of other challenges, but I think the favorite activity was called All Aboard. James hooked a rope to the ceiling in the garage and the girls had to swing from the steps over to some cushions and try to get everyone on the cushions at the same time.
After they completed all the challenges and collected all the craft supplies they painted their turkeys and ate pizza and cake. Shelby loved her party and the turkeys turned out really cute!
We had Dallin's birthday party yesterday. He wanted to do a Spartan Challenge birthday party. We started planning his party right after Cody's party. The boys started out as recruits and had to pass off several challenges to get Spartan certified and earn their bow. To become an apprentice they had to cut a 2x4 with a saw. They did this challenge individually and as a team. Dallin and Canyon were the fastest team and cut through the wood in only 34 seconds.
To become Infantry certified they had to demonstrate strength by seeing how many times they could climb the incline bars (picture below). This was extra challenging because the some of the bars were able to spin and the entire contraption was swinging from the beam. They went back and forth as many times as they could. I was impressed with how well some of them did. I had a hard time just getting from the first rung to the second, but most of the boys made it all the way across and back.
To become Soldier certified they needed to demonstrate the ability to use a spear. They each needed at least two hits to move on to Warrior certification. Dallin, Canyon and Eli were the best at this event. But they had an unfair advantage since they were practicing all week.
The Warrior certification was target shooting with paint ball guns. I think this was one of the favorite events for the kids. They each had 30 paintballs and shot 10 standing, 10 sitting and 10 prone. We put about 20 tin cans out for them to aim at. Most of them got about 5 hits.
To become Captain certified they had to complete the All Aboard challenge. James bolted a chain to our roof and hung the rope from the top of our roof for them to swing on. They started out getting everyone on a board but that was too easy. So we took away the board and they had to get everyone on two tires. They were able to do that so we took away one of the tires and they tried to get all nine of them on one tire. That proved to be too difficult. They could get about 5 boys on but then one would fall off when the next one got on.
After completing the all aboard challenge they became Spartan certified and earned their bow. I made all the bows from PVC pipe, mason twine and insulation; and dowels with erasers for the arrows. The kids had so much fun shooting their bows. It was a really fun party. We got lucky on the weather. It was 60 degrees and cloudy the entire day. For December 1st I'd say that's pretty good weather. Now I can breathe a big sigh of relief to be done with all the birthday parties for the year!
