Stronghold Castle Part 4

After lunch we played the True/False game. A false chair was place on one end of the room and true chair on the other end. The teams lined up and each person sat across from someone on the opposite team who had the same number. The fact was read, a number was called, and the race was on! Who would get to the correct chair first? Poised to run...

Jason, I think Jacob won. Don't knock Mr. Sisson over!Sam and Aaron The look of triumph.A few spectators Now, Ahna, no cheating! You can't pull Mandie off the chair!

Many times someone ended up on the floor. Sometimes both players missed the chair! Skits were next on the agenda. We gave each team 10 minutes and several random items and told them to come up with a skit. Everyone was very creative!

The first group did a version of the fairy tale, "Jake and the magic Bead-stalk".
Jake (Nate) and Melody traded their performing monkey (Anna) to the man (JasonS)with the magic beads.

"Mom, it was her idea!" "No! He did it!"

"Oh no! We have a giant bead stalk in the middle of the yard! Mom is going to kill us!"

"Quick. Chop down the bead stalk with your wooden spoon so the giants can't get us!"

The next skit involved an wicked old lady (LarryP) and her gang whose plot was to take over the world. They themselves would be safe since the old lady had a secret potion.They used a feather and pepper shaker to accomplish their evil plot by causing all the people to sniff and sneeze endlessly.

The helpless population then collapsed in a faint.

Never fear! The hero saved the people by giving them the secret potion and overthrowing the gang with their own method of sneezing fits.

We don't have a video clip of this next skit, so I don't quite remember the plot. I do like the wig on Mr. A!

The hero and his lady.

The plot of this skit was so involved I won't even try to explain it.

Queen Crystal and King Aaron "My poor husband is dead!"

The three-headed monster--Ahna C, Jacob S, and Haley S

The deaf and mute servants--Bristol W and Shalom S

Vanquishing the three-headed monster with a battle of unusual facts.

The last skit also involved a king (JacobB) and his queen (JillR).

In honor of the king's birthday, he ordered his servant (Mr. Kalebaugh) to make a statue of him. The statue was not to his liking, but he allowed the craftsman to take the blind cupbearer's job instead of being thrown into the dungeon.

The last game we played was Live Backgammon.

Crystal and I waiting to move... Crystal, me, Blake P, Josiah C, and Shalom S

Larry P, Michael C, Amanda C, Jacob B, Nate S, Kayla D, and Jill R

I had to include one more picture of our cutest little attendee. It was so much fun to cuddle her!

Some beautiful ladies of the realm.
As with all fun things, our time at the castle went by very quickly and it was time to pack up and head out. We really enjoyed planning this event! Thanks everyone for coming!

If you are interested in seeing more pictures, here are a few blog links.

Beck and Rach's blog

Dawn's blog
Capps
xanga.com/pollockfam

For some reason I was unable to link directly to the Pollock's blog, so I put the full info on here. The date for the castle post was March 20, 2009.

Stronghold Castle Part 3

Saturday morning after breakfast, we all headed over to the secret chapel for morning devotions. Because I didn't get any pictures of the secret passage-way, I borrowed these next two photos from another family's blog.

It was a bit crowded, but we all found a spot to sit. We had a few extra visitors that morning. Freddie and Engelbert Humperdink joined us for chapel. Don't ask why. It's a long story!

Jason led us in It Is Well with My Soul and Amazing Grace. Dad gave a short devotional on "strongholds."

Mel by the chapel window

We were so glad Kyle and Gretchen were able to come up for this event!

We were especially excited to see little Alaina in person for the first time!

She was probably the most popular person there! I just had to chuckle when I saw this picture--typical guy poses. I think they were waiting for our next game to begin.

We split everyone into teams, and they went around the castle playing a variation of Bocci ball. We used bean bags instead of balls. I think the tower was a favorite place to play. The players would throw the lead bag up a level or onto the stairs, and it was quite a challenge to follow it with the other bean bags. If you didn't throw it far enough, your bean bag dropped down through the open area in the middle to the lowest floor!

Breakfast and lunch were provided by a couple from our church. Marge and Mourey did a great job preparing the food, and it was so nice to have that job taken care of by such capable friends!

In addition to the lunch desserts, we had some goodies left over from the previous evening along with the donuts from breakfast. We weren't lacking in the area of sweets!

After lunch, everyone packed up their rooms, and we started a little bit of clean up. Melody and Crystal took down all the room signs.

It was suggested by a few people that we sing in the tower.

We all stood on different levels, and it was really neat to hear the sound coming from all around us. The 4-part harmony was beautiful!

Here's a short video clip of one of the songs.

It was such a fun place to take pictures. Crystal, Mel, and I went outside that day to take a few more photos in the sunlight.

One more castle post to come tomorrow.