How we do Birthdays

 BIRTHDAY ARE ALWAYS, FUN, LOUD, AND INVOLVE FOOD AND AS MANY FAMILY MEMBERS AS WE CAN GATHER!

Dru got her first baby doll from Grandma
and Grandpa

 


Aunt Andy read Reese the book that Aunt Bristy
 gave her that is personalized with her name.While Grandpa holds her a she layed on the pillow and pillowcase Grandma made.

A one year old diva!

 Every grandchild gets a one-of-a-kind homemade pillowcase with a new pillow from Grandma and Grandpa, with a little cash or gift inside. The pillowcases are to be saved and then the usable part will be made into  a quilt for that grandchild when they graduate high school. We will see if Grandma actually follows through!

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Siblings arealways willing to help blow out the candles
 

Day Two



MORE OF GRANDMALOT!
The knights and ladies slept well in the castle (tent) after watching "The Sword and the Stone". Dinner was the drum sticks from the bunny that we destroyed! Who would know that there are enough drum sticks from a bunny to feed 8 kids and 2 adults!
The competitions were fun!


 
Using lances to slay dragons (Pictures of dragons on suspended 2 liter bottles) Archery, and jousting



The Black Knight doesn't stand a chance!



Even the parents competed on the Wobble Boards

Uncle Chad photo bombed the finding of the grail



More of Day One



Being Knighted



  The knight was attacked! We must destroy the bunny that we all fear! The knights and fair lady blew him up (Monty Python style) and then according to Grandpa we ate him for dinner! It tasted amazingly like chicken!

I have a round dining room table that we explained was for "The knights of the round table" but when it was discovered that all the knights could not fit around it, we put in the leaves of the table and it was oval, thus we were the "Knights of the not-so-round table".

All meals were eaten with our hands and the food was served on platters and we had tin plates and goblets to eat on. Towels were used instead of napkins and the bread was torn apart instead of cut. I think the kids would like this type of dining all the time.

King Arthur leading a quest.

GRANDMALOT Day One

Noble Knights and Fair Ladies

Receiving Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake

The Fair Ladies and Noble Knights arrived at the castle on a bright and hot morning. Right away they were read the first quest from a scroll in the squire Patsy's bag.The mom's helped us get to the splash pad. They have all the car seats and extra pairs of eyes is necessary round water! We had a snack at the castle before leaving to get everyone on the same tummy schedule but ate at the park before going back. 

Even the youngest Knight



and fair lady had fun



Once back at the castle, the squire revealed who was to be King Arthur. He was knighted and then he in turn

The knighting of a king!

knighted and named the other knights. They were given a quest to find the grail. Of course this took some teaching about what mid-evil times were like and what a grail is!  



The afternoon was spent painting tunics, making shields, jousting and looking for the grail.

A Fair Lady indeed!

Each knight/lady pained their own tunic and made their own horses





The lances were used to slay a dragon

Invites



Kinda plain

Getting the invites out proved to be quite a production! Since I wanted them to resemble a royal decree, I knew they had to be a scroll. I know that the post office will mail about anything--for a price! It was much more fun to deliver in person! Addie did one group and then the net day I dressed in the same outfit and went to three more houses! The kids and their parents got a kick out of it. The invite and the tunic bears our family "crest" which is a combination of each families first letter of their last name. The helmet is a 4 qt. ice cream bucket spray painted black and the face shield is the portion that was cut for the face.
Grandpa was behind me as the kids answered the door he made the coconuts clanging together sound as I galloped forward! Is this how a self-respecting granny should behave? It was fun and I am always delighted that the kids are exited.


 

Used matches to burn the outside--too uncontrollable!



The electric burner was easier

 

 




 

The finished one, ready to roll.

Ready to deliver.

Addie was a good sport

and dressed up and read the decree. I love my assistants!( and their siblings of course)

 

GRANDMALOT (CAMELOT) HERE WE COME!

The camp assistants (and Grandpa!) conspired and decided that the theme this year is Holy Grail! Of the Monty Python variety! I figured I had better tone it down a little and do a milder version and call it Grandmalot after Camelot. we will have princesses and knights (ka nig its to Python fans). We will learn about the knights of the round table (I just happen to have a large, round, oak dining table) and about the various contests that were held at that time. The kids will have helmets out of gallon-sized ice cream buckets, javelins for jousting, and we will make a coat of arms flag. We have a family brand of sorts now that includes all the initial of all the families. We will be able to fly the flag at all family gatherings from here on out.
The assistants really want to follow the movie line! We will do some of the things but some are so silly we will not be doing. Does anyone fully "get" Monty Python? We will have a long hunt for the "grail" that will include crossing a bridge (you have to endure watching the movie to understand). We will have catapults for a contest with the parents when they come to pick them up.
Food will be pretty mid-evil too. Served on tin plates. Drumsticks, broccoli trees, anything to eat with our hands.
There are still a lot of details to work out and schedules to figure out. Grandpa is in charge of silly and I will take care of the rest! Wish me luck!

Decision and planning time!

It is Spring! That means that flowers bloom and so do the ideas and plans for this summers Camp! The grown-ups (supposedly!) want to do "Monty Pythons Holy Grail". I don't think I could stand the sound of coconuts all weekend! I guess we could do a more logical twist and do knights (not ka nig its) and princesses.  I bought the first swim noodle I saw t the dollar store last week in anticipation of needing lances. (or just about anything else, love them!) I will be having the older grands over this coming week to get the plans rolling!