Our first baby girl, Audrey LeighAnn, turned thirteen last Sunday!!! (And that is not an April Fool's Joke!)
I had suggested that we have a kareoke party (the Japanese have Kareoke "bars" where you get your own private room and it's super fun), but she said no. Then I suggested a Scavenger Hunt and she didn't protest. One of her favorite shows is "The Amazing Race" and one early morning in December when Mick got up with Gigi and couldn't get back to sleep he had a brainstorm to have an "Amazing Race" birthday party and e-mailed me a bunch of ideas.
We tried to keep it a secret from her, but darn Google and it's auto-fill feature...she was googling one day and it suggested "Amazing Race Printables." Oh well! No surprise needed to make this a super fun party!!!!!!! :)
The day of the party arrived and we had 4 teams of two.
Um, yes...I did have t-shirts made with Audrey's picture on it....overboard?
We had a staggered start and this was the first clue.
Audrey had already taken off because it was suggested by Mason (holding the clue) that she go first because she was the birthday girl (followed closely by "Don't you think I should go second since I suggested Audrey go first?"). :)
This was their mission once they got to the basketball court.
Michael and Max Coletta were nice enough to accept their fate of being volunteered (Thanks Megan!) to be the judges at this event. They liked using the stopwatch! The shots (lay-up, then where the dots are, then a free throw) had to be done in one minute and if they didn't get it accomplished, they had to start again!
Once they completed that mission, they received their next directional clue.
And then this was their mission.
Mick was the official judge on this one.
Their next direction was
and they had a choice to do one of two missions.
Two teams chose the soccer/socks mission and two chose the mailbox mission. The soccer/socks one was faster. I didn't even get a picture of it in progress, but caught up with them at the post office.
Way to go Jenae and Kyle!
They were super tired though from the extra biking!
Brad Goode was our judge here! Julia and Olivia handed out the clue at the Torii! Thank you!
In case you were wondering, there are 2,544 boxes at the Mainside post office. :)
Then their next clue was
They were told that if they weren't safe on their bikes (not using a helmet, crossing somewhere other than a crosswalk) or being rowdy or loud where they shouldn't, etc...they would get a penalty.
And all judges had four of these in their possession but they are such GREAT KIDS that no one received one!!!! :)
The library one was the funniest because only two of the teams had a clue on what they were doing. Really? They don't teach the Dewey Decimal System anymore?
Haille and Ariele smoked through this round, and had already made up time on the soccer/socks round, so (spoiler alert!) they were the winners! Mason and Lucas ended up using Lucas' iPhone to find out what the Dewey Decimal system was and came in second!
Then they had a LONG bike ride ahead of them which was straight into the wind!!!!
The kids were EXHAUSTED when they got to Penny Lake and were not fired up about having to put a tent together in the wind!
Mason and Lucas finished this first and received this last clue.
See, we have this amazing benefit from our Outdoor Recreation Department where we can check out all sorts of equipment for free. Tents/kayaks/jumpees/skis/snow boards/snow gear clothing/coolers/basketballs/sumo suits/etc/etc/etc. So we had to use it! :)
There's my birthday girl and her friend Becky running to the finish line!
I asked Audrey at this moment, "Did you have fun?" and she said, "Not really. I'm tired." :-D
Mason provided some good commentary for me though when they finished!
Such a character!!!
We went back to our house for pizza/cake/presents (only the second birthday party for Audrey where presents were allowed!) and announced the big winners!
(I think I deleted the correct video. Sorry folks. But I already told you who won and were the runners-up!)
Everybody had a fun time and it was satisfying to have it over. (Read: It was a LOT of work to prepare for it! Mick said, "Kind of puts a sleepover into perspective, doesn't it?)
Little sisters Gigi and Claire stayed with my friend Kathy (thank you!) and Gigi came home and fell asleep on a chair. Even Dora couldn't keep her awake.
And yes...she HAD been in her pajamas all day. :) It was a busy day for Mommy and that was one step I skipped! :)
A few last pictures of her amazing day!
That's a t-shirt quilt made from t-shirts from kindergarten to present! My friend Kristen Razvillas did this for me and it is loved! Post a comment or e-mail me if you would like her contact information. Seems like her site is down.
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