Family Fall Fest

I first heard about the YMCA of the Rockies – Estes Park a few years back from my fantastic fellow nurse and friend Sharon. It has been on my radar since, and we FINALLY went last weekend!

We booked a spot at the Family Fall Fest one month prior, and within a few days it had sold out. Because it’s AWESOME! It was very fun and actually relaxing! (“What – did you say relaxing? With a preschooler and an infant?!”) Yes, relaxing! Meals and activities were included, so all we had to do was bring ourselves and choose what we wanted to do.

We checked in Friday afternoon amongst a swarming sea of energetic college students who were there for a Navigator conference. Brought us back, Graham and I, to our ol’ college days. It was good to be around all that energy (minus all the honking of horns as kids pulled up and the fire alarm that was set off in our lodge. *smile*) It just so happened that our friends the Hannemans were there for the conference, and Drew and Stacy Frazer, so we got to meet up with them in the cafeteria at mealtimes. Small world!

At three, Audrey is in the “I make my own choices” stage so it was fun to let her choose between different activity options. It also reduced that perpetual, inevitable whining. (Not eliminated mind you, but reduced.) There were multiple activities available during all waking hours. The options included a campfire with s’mores, ghost stories in the library, a scavenger hunt, blowing
bubbles, painting/carving pumpkins, sugar cookie decorating, fingernail painting, fall crafts, square dancing, an enchanted forest (too scary for Audrey), archery, bubble blowing, horse drawn hayrack rides (the only activity that cost extra) and a roller skating party, to name a few.

Mealtime was buffet style in the cafeteria and all the guests ate at the same place. The food was ok (you know, it’s like being at camp) but there were vegan and gluten free options available, which was impressive. (BTW, why is it that in a buffet line I load my plate with 20 times my normal amount – and eat it all?! Multiply that times five meals and we’ve got a situation on our hands ladies…) Interestingly, as I walked toward my table on the last day, kids chasing kids around tables of college guys, I saw a mom give her kid a bowl in which to puke. He did. Must’ve had a bug, because the food wasn’t THAT bad, trust me.

There were elk that made their way into the lawns around the camp buildings every evening; beautiful, graceful creatures. Apparently it’s the largest herd in the area, or this side of the Rockies or something. They ate grass, lounged around and did their elk call thing. All while completely ignoring us curious humans, snapping pics and sneaking ever closer. It was fun to see.

Audrey LOVED roller skating. She wore her little princess outfit (all the kids were dressed up) and when she first got into the rink, she insisted that I take her right back out. Then dad joined in and we each held a hand, which changed everything. Around and around she skated until the final song!

We went square dancing on the last night. What fun! You KNOW I was right up out of my seat, holding Neve and do-si-do-ing with the best of ‘em. Neve was in my arms facing out and just staring at the scene as she bounced to the music, but she wasn’t crying so it worked. Very cute. :o) Graham and Audrey took a little coaxing but they finally got out there and cut a little rug (after they finished their caramel apples). It was a fun mixture of kids and adults, and I could have kept going all night!

Sunday morning we checked out and went to a church service at a chapel on site. No nursery, no Sunday school (weird, huh?) just a crowd of retired folks listening to the minister tell anecdotes on life. Neve started babbling loudly halfway through, and I could feel eyes boring into me (Graham’s included). SO she and I hung out in the ladies’ room for a while until she finished saying whatever she was saying. Afterwards though, everyone oooh-ed and aaah-ed over our kids. I’d go back for that!

So, YMCA of the Rockies Family Fall Fest. We will be there next year, hopefully bringing along more friends. It was a blast for all of us!

Audrey said...

"Wow mom, look how big you're getting!" (As I viewed my 5 month post partum self in a mirror)

Treasure Hunt

Audrey’s 3rd birthday party was by far her BEST party yet. Searching for ideas for her big day, I came across the blog “From the Blue Shed”, in which blogger Robin Gage sung praises of a recent treasure hunt party for her little girl. She had me at hello!
Initially I thought “Ok, keep the cake/food/decorations low key, no presents. Replace all the birthday fluff with a simple treasure hunt in the park, ta DA! Easy for me, fun for everyone!” Then I started planning and shopping and it got complicated, fast. Lots of brain cells burned on this one, folks! I quickly lost track of how many trips to Hobby Lobby, Target and Michaels I made until I felt good about what was in each kid’s treasure chest. All that AFTER I had researched, bought, reconsidered and returned a piñata, which was originally the final ‘treasure’. Bless little Audrey and Neve; they were so patient with all our trips to the store. Surprisingly Audrey didn’t pay much attention to what I was purchasing and was just as excited as the other kids when she got her treasure on the big day.

As I continued to plan, I started to think that the activity promoted materialism too much, so Graham and I decided to incorporate a bible verse about treasure. At the start of the hunt, we briefly mentioned that Jesus talked about ‘treasure in heaven’ and what that means for kids… sharing, being kind, obeying parents, etc. stores up treasure in heaven. In each kid’s treasure chest was the verse Mt 6:20. Not sure if the message stuck (those 11 kids were sooo ready to go!) But maybe it did.

To start, each child got a tote bag, a tool for digging and copies of a hand drawn map of the park that revealed where the first clue was hidden.

At each location, a rolled up paper 'clue' was near or attached to the object. It was set it up so that everyone heard the clue in a group before rushing off to the next location so the smaller kids didn’t fall behind. I found smooth round rocks in our back yard (we have a plethora of rocks to choose from!) and painted designs on them. These were buried in the sand for clue #1.

Little Neve was content with my friend Shawna for most of the hunt, which meant I could participate!

Graham and I (laaaate one night) test-popped a glitter filled balloon with a clue inside. Rrrouch! Warp speed glitter stinging eyes and face? I’ll pass. We ended up filling 11 balloons with 11 pieces of paper, one of which was clue 2. Much better. Clue 3 was rubber banded to a pine cone under a pine tree. I bought packs of splash bomb balls for clue 4 and scattered them in the grass around a big beach ball. All the kids ran excitedly from one location to the next, it was so cute!

The adults followed behind...

For the final clue, pink feathers were placed on and around a tree at the far side of the park. (Someone accused me of kidnapping a rare bird from the Denver zoo, a-la a recent news story. Nope, Hobby Lobby.) Audrey ran with dad - precious!

Finally, the BIG surprise! In the volleyball court, name tags attached to string were sticking out of the sand everywhere… and buried beneath were individual treasure chests filled with all sorts of fun stuff! The kids LOVED it! So fun!

Note to self: I couldn’t have pulled this off if every single detail wasn’t in place ahead of time. Maybe YOU could, but if I feel ill-prepared and guests start showing up, I’m a deer in the headlights man! But thankfully this time the details were all in place and it ended up being a really fun party – for kids, adults, and the hostess too! I most highly recommend this type of party for kids ages 3 – 10 and maybe even beyond (city-wide scavengers hunt anyone?) Good times, great memories. Happy 3rd birthday, Audrey!