Lisa planned day 1-Luau.  She taught on the Fruit of the Spirit.  There was sunshine toast for breakfast, fruit kabobs and goldfish (in little hula dancer cups) for snack, Hawaiian pizza for lunch, and pineapple chicken for dinner (with coconut cups).  Everyone wore flower leis, got butterfly nets and lanterns, and there were inflatable flamingos and palm trees as decorations (and prizes).  We played a fruit relay, colored pictures, had a hula hoop contest, etc.  The devotionals for the day involved a game of Jenga and a baggie of fruit candies.

Alison planned day 2-Army.  I taught on the Armor of God.  We had "soldiers in sleeping bags" (pigs-in-a-blanket) for breakfast, US Army issued MRE's (Meal Ready to Eat) for lunch (courtesy of my brother, Captain Justin Gell of the US Army), and "soldier soup" for dinner.  Snack was person-shaped sugar cookies iced white and decorated with armor/colored with edible markers (thanks Jaime Rinehart, Cherry-Tart Designs).  Campers were issued a badge on which they earned stars (points) for completing various tasks, increasing their rank from private up to different officers.  We played a lot of games:  Air Force Academy, MIA, paratroopers, rocket launchers, mine field, bomb squad.  Our craft for the day included coloring shrinky-dinks and creating jewelry with the charms.  Some campers tried communicating with semaphore flags.  The devotionals included a doll house doll dressed in armor and water grenades with scripture references to look up.

Charity planned day 3-Farm.  She taught on the power of the tongue and our words.  We made our own butter to go with homemade biscuits for breakfast, grilled hot dogs for lunch, had haystacks and made dirt cups for snacks, and enjoyed a full farm chicken dinner with corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, etc., and a late night marshmallow roast.  Everyone wore their bandannas.  All the kids got a turn to ride Grandma's horse (Ryland's first horse ride!) and shuck corn.  They had a duck walk race, played duck-duck-goose and red-light/green-light, made roosters from their footprints, and made "carrot" napkin holders for the dinner table.  Devotionals emphasized the importance of using sweet words and re-enforced the previous days' thoughts on implementing the Fruit of the Spirit and the Armor of God.

A video of Ryland & Kirsten shucking corn:

It was a great week full of fun with family, but we came home awfully dirty and exhausted.  In a couple of months maybe we'll be ready to start thinking about next year's Cousin Camp...