Mom Boy Olympics

One of the greatest things about having a daddy as a Children's Ministry Director is that Jaden and Cody get to benefit directly from his creative planning! In January, Jason planned a very successful father-daughter dance at our church. In May, Jason teamed up with some other dads from our church to coordinate another event-- our church's first ever Mom Boy Olympics. Our family was very excited to participate! We even invited Aunt Chelsea to join us as an extra stand-in mom. Our first activity after arriving at the event was to take some silly photo booth pictures. And, yes, our matching blue shirts were purposeful! :)

Then, each boy could select 5 competitive events (from a list of 15-20) to take part in. Not surprisingly, Cody and Jaden wanted to compete in the same events. We forgot to take pictures of our first two activities that were outdoors-- the water balloon toss, and the basketball shot. Since Cody and Jaden were in the pre-K and younger category, no official scores or results were taken. The goal was to simply enjoy participating. We were okay with that. :) 

Inside, we took part in the relay races next. The original ideas Jason had for this event had to be completely revamped since the heavy rains we got that afternoon forced nearly everything to be moved inside. Jaden and Cody didn't mind at all. They loved balancing (I use that term very loosely) this stuffed doggie on their head and running across the room. They laughed when Mommy and Aunt Chelsea had to do the same.

Balancing a ping-pong ball on the spoon was a little more challenging, but Cody and Jaden ran alongside us for support!

Our next event was the puzzle assembly. The facilitator at this event timed the boys, but they didn't really get into the competition aspect. Someday, no doubt, they will! Chelsea and Cody worked together on a tricky Minions puzzle...

while Jaden and Mommy completed an Avengers one.

By far, Cody and Jaden's favorite activity of the whole day was competing in this obstacle course event-- which was basically just like an inflatable slide. The helmets were a mandatory precaution, though Cody and Jaden thankfully didn't get too crazy.

The boys loved hearing us shout, "Ready, Set, Go!" and then raced to climb up the wall.

After we completed our chosen events, we were allowed to participate in any of the other activities just for fun. Jaden and Cody pretty much wanted to stand in line for the obstacle course over and over again! At the end of the evening, we got a bunch of sugary snacks and then attended the closing ceremonies. A few prizes were awarded to the older kid age group winners, and then every boy received a medal. It was a pretty touching moment (or so I heard-- I was in the bathroom with Jaden at this point...). Jason had all the moms put the medal around their sons, reminding them how dearly loved they were by God and their mothers, no matter what their accomplishments were in life.

We definitely had a memorable afternoon! Jason could be assured that he planned a great event when both boys asked that evening, "Can we go back to Mom Boy Olympics tomorrow?" :)