It's the Relationships in This Life That Count....

Last week, I blogged about the importance of getting to know our ancestors.  It's interesting how life works because this week allowed for me to get to know more of my extended family that is still living.  It's easy to get to know and love our immediate family as we have more opportunity to do so, but it takes more effort to form relationships with our extended family.  I feel like technology plays a huge role in this effort.  I am able to keep in touch with my cousin, Sharlee, through her blog.  I am able to keep in touch with other family members like my cousin, Teresa, through Facebook and texting.  What a blessing!  

This past Friday marked the beginning of my Uncle Chris' journey in becoming part of our eternal family.  He was able to go to the temple to receive his endowment.  I considered it a great blessing to witness such a great miracle for our family.  Congratulations Uncle Chris along with the Christoffersen family.  We love you!

Then, the following day, yesterday marked our first annual family reunion.  In the last almost thirteen months, we've only gotten together for two funerals.  It was time to get together to reminisce about the past, laugh about the present, and make new memories.  Therefore, I had decided to organize a family reunion as part of my 30 by 30 list.  My cousin, Lori, stated it best on Facebook, "I had a GREAT time at my family reunion today!  It is so fun laughing and reminiscing with my cousins!  Every time I see them, it reminds me how much fun we used to have and makes me wish I could see them more often than I do!  They were my very first friends - before I had any other friends!  I live them and am so happy I got to spend a few hours with them all today!  And we owe it all to Jenniffer Elmer, who took the words, "We should have a family reunion sometime..." and turned them into a reality!"  We had a nice potluck style meal followed by some Minute to Win It games where many laughs were had by all.  Thanks for those who came!  I guess I did a good enough job because I was nominated to be in charge of them from now on....oh boy!  

So below you will find the games played along with a picture or two....

All the games were found on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Minute_to_Win_It_challenges.  A few changes were made to the games.  

Noodling Around                                                                                                                                       The contestant must pick up six pieces of penne pasta from the table, using only an uncooked strand of spaghetti in their mouth. Sometimes they are provided with another piece of pasta if it breaks, but most of the time not. If any penne break or fall, the game is lost.

Prize-pool noodle

Keep it Up                                                                                                                                                       The contestant must keep a feather in the air using only their breath for 60 seconds. The contestant fails the challenge if the feather touches the body or the ground, or if the contestant goes out of the stage.

Prize-airplane

A Bit Dicey                                                                                                                                              The contestant must stack six dice on a plastic spoon held in their mouth and balance them for three seconds.                                                                                                                    Prize-knife

This Blows                                                                                                                                            The contestant must inflate a standard balloon, then release the air in a controlled fashion to blow 15 cups off a table. The blueprint shows that the cups are right side up, but they are actually upside down.                                                                                                    Prize-tissue

Face the Cookie 

The contestant, using only their face, must move an Oreo cookie from their forehead to their mouth. 

Prize-Cookie Mix

Don’t Blow the King

The contestant must blow a standard deck of cards off a can, but leave the bottom card, the kind, still standing on the can.  The contestant has five attempts.

Prize-King size candy bar

Penny Hose

The contestant must retrieve two pennies dropped into a pair of tights without stretching or bunching the tights or having one hand help the other.

Prize-2 rolls of pennies

Floatacious

The contestant must stack five empty soda cans on top of each other on a plastic plate floating in a bowl of water                                                                                                                   Prize-floaties

Elephant March                                                                                                                                    The contestant, wearing pantyhose on their head with a tennis ball at one end, must swing their head side to side to knock down 8 soda bottles. The bottles are set in two rows, each row is 8 feet (2.4 m) apart. Each bottle in its row is 4 inches (10 cm) apart. The contestant must keep one foot on either side of the foul line between the two rows.            

Prize-Paint By Number Elephant

Spudnick                                                                                                                                                       The contestant must jam five bendy straws into a potato so that they stick, and then place a peanut M&M on top of each straw. The peanut M&Ms must stay on the straws for three seconds in order to count.                                                                                                     

Prize-Potato Skin chips

UNTIL NEXT YEAR....