Waterbrooke Summer Kids Fun

Summer fun for kids at Waterbrooke starts with Wacky Wednesdays during July.  Since the 4th of July fell on a Wednesday this year, we only had 3 days to pack in the fun.

 We begin with puppet show and singing and this year we had DVD skits, too.

                                     
Kids can't wait to be big enough to help be puppeteers.  This year, 5th graders helped lip sinc songs and the teens did all the skits.

                                      

Here's Maddie, Jack, and Grace performing.

 The kids are split into age groups with teen leaders and go to three stations - crazy games, crafts, and snack object lessons.


                                 
This one was called Trap Your Leader, and they had 3 minutes to trap a kid in toilet paper.  Then I timed them to see how fast they could escape AND clean up all the mess.

 Mateo had to go from his team to  a drop spot carrying pretzels on his eyes,  The team could give him shouted directions. 

                                                
Go Lucas - don't drop the egg!

                                       
This is called Flamingo Pillow Fight - try to knock the other person so they put their foot down while you stay balanced on one foot.  Everyone wanted to try knocking Alex over, but he is the champ!

                                    
Kids were blindfolded and had to see how many socks they could put on in two minutes - all on the same foot.

Lunch outside under the trees by the lake.  Beautiful!

 Free play after lunch - the train ride is very popular since we put it on a hill and they continue flying down to the lake!  The older kids take a running leap like Jeremiah did here!

 Go Caleb - how far can you go?

 Teen helpers come an hour early to plan and prepare an practice the scripts for the puppet skits.  I also have two-3 parents who greet, lead crafts, and lead the snack object lesson.  I get to play all the games!

 Grace and Hannah led the preschool class and the little kids loved them to death!

Drew (in the back) helped lead the 1-2nd graders, and the three in the front (Ethan, Austin, and Cody)  were first time helpers - 5th graders who did puppet songs and helped watch the 11 preschoolers. 

 The last Wednesday of the month we Wet and Wild Wacky Wednesday.  Woot woot!

 They have the most fun throwing water on each other - I can hardly keep it in the pool!

 Slip and Slide was provided this year by the Piersons - we were pretty hard on it, and had to replace it at the end.  We had a visiting family enjoy our activities so much, they wanted to do something extra, so I said we needed another Slip and Slide and they bought TWO - one for the Piersons and one for us for next year!!!

 When you put it on the hills, kids tend to slide right off!

 Rolly Things get plenty of use whether its a wet or dry day - sit, roll, hide, jump, push ... what else could you do with these things?  The Youth Group used them for goals for Ultimate Frisbee - toss the frisbee through the rolly thing for an extra 5 points!

Here's our youngest camper on Wet and Wild day - Alissa thinks we're CRAZY!

Stay tuned for a post on VBS - maybe tomorrow:)

July Update in August!

We kept busy this summer with a variety of fun things to do.  We share season tickets for the Twins with people from school, so we went to three different games over the course of the summer. 

 Unfortunately, the team is in a building year, and didn't win, but we had fun anyways. The Target dog lights up and wags his tail when it gets dark!

 TC Bear always has fun - this was a game with Pittsburg, I think.

 I finally found the big glove and had to get in line for a picture.  The folks behind us used my camera.  Maybe this one will make it on the Christmas card this year???

 Rally caps did NOT help the team get some runs - oh well.

 We went up north with our friends Joan and Tim to spend some time on Big Stony Lake near Hackensack at their cabin.  We had a great time and enjoyed the peaceful beauty of nature. 

 Ahhh...

 There were several egles hanging out in their favorite tree.  They come back every year.  This year there were young ones, too.

 I can't resist the beautiful sunsets - be prepared for more!

 Of course, we spent some time on the golf course.  This bunch of birch trees was just begging for a Christmas card shot.  Hmmm - how to choose?

 Jump in the lake to clean up after the golf - so much more refreshing than a shower!

 Yeah - me, too!

T his year we bought a fishing liscense and headed out to catch our supper...

 I got the first catch of the day ... and practically the last one, too.  We didn't get many, but it was fun.

 More sunsets ...

 ... beautiful!

 We always spend our pontoon rides watching for the loon family.  They have two babies - well, maybe they are teenagers here.

 The young ones are getting braver, but don't stray TOO far from mom or dad.

 One more sunset...

 We woke up Sunday morning and our hosts were gone!  Joan and Tim left in the middle of the night because their daughter Adria went into labor a couple of weeks early - welcome, Rawley!

 We took time on the way home to play another round of golf on a fun links course - it looks like moguls with no snow!

 Jane and I went with Jenna and the kids to the Minnesota Zoo on a beautiful Thursday in July.  It was a perfect ratio - one adult to one child, since Jane brought Maddox, too.

 Charlie was interested in everything.

 Maddox climbs on top, inside, and all over.

 Mabel enjoyed the day, too.

 Time for sunscreen!

 The petting zoo was a big hit with Charlie.

 Maddox loved the dinosaurs the best, I think.

 This was a cool interactive dino - some big kids put it together, but let Charlie help.

 Love the reflection.

Let's come back tomorrow, OK mom?

I've got more pics to post from Wacky Wednesday and VBS and then a few things from August, too. My plan is to get it done BEFORE school starts.  Since tomorrow is the last workshop day, I guess that means SOON!