Of all the "Cousin Camp Celebration" activities (ring toss, water balloons, etc. for prizes), I think the obstacle course was the favorite. This was my sister's brainchild, and it was absolute genius! [Did I ever mention that she and I are a lot alike? ;)]
She did a farm-themed obstacle course this year. Some ran on foot, others wanted to use their bikes. We let them do what they wanted, and it (surprisingly) didn't seem to affect the scores much.
First they ran through a lane made of two boards and zig-zagged through orange cones.
Then they loaded a 5-gallon bucket of hay onto a wagon and guided it through another narrow lane made of bricks and a series of zig-zagging cones.
Then they pumped four times on the water pump (for effect only - the watering can was already filled with water since the pump no longer works).
Next, they loaded the watering can onto the wagon and pulled it over to the cage that housed several stuffed animals. Here, they shelled an ear of corn for the animals,
fed them some hay from the bucket,
and poured water from the watering can into their bowl.
When they were done with that, they hopped onto this toy 4-wheeler and raced across the finish line (a rope held by two other cousins).
Here they are in the order of finishing times (quickest time on the left). Surprisingly, it didn't go in age order! Notice the Olympic-style "medals"? I got those at Dollar Tree and they all seemed to like them.
Then my brother-in-law brought out their miniature horse and, just for fun, took him through the obstacle course. Dusty made the worst time of all, but we all had fun watching!
(And no, he didn't actually get on the 4-wheeler!)
Later in the afternoon, we visited my brother-in-law's parents' farm just up the road. They have a dairy farm with a soft ice cream machine on the premises. You can guess that we accepted the offer of free ice cream cones!
This is one of my favorite pictures of this niece. It was taken at the same farm, where there was a batch of newborn, just-opened-their-eyes kittens right outside the front door. This niece is absolutely crazy about cats, so this picture is a great reflection of who she is at this point in her life. Can you believe I didn't even have to pose this one? I just looked over and saw it, whipped out my camera and was fortunate enough to catch it while it lasted!
This is my 14-year-old nephew, just to give you an idea of how big this tricycle was. He enjoyed it, and I joked that this would be a blackmail picture in a few years. :)
This cart is similar to golf carts, except they use it to get around the farm. The kids all enjoyed taking rides in it.
And lastly, when we got back to my sister's farm, we had a "candy shower." My brother-in-law stood on the balcony and rained candy down on them. They had a blast, and the candy was fairly evenly distributed (can you believe it?).
We ended the day - and Cousin Camp - with a pizza party. All in all, it was a great success, even if the weather didn't cooperate and we had to change plans a few times.
Next year, we're having it at my house. We're still trying to figure out how to get everyone here, but we're going to make it work!
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