simply brookes:: home made

as you know,

my twins had a birthday this month.

see here

we aren't the 'humungo party every year' kind of fam.

we usually celebrate with a small, intimate, gathering of closest pals.

not this year, i guess.

this year the girls thought we could

do a simple little neighborhood thing.

well,

that turned into a full fledged,

all-out neighborhood production of

a brookes version

amazing race

birthday party.

(wow. that was a mouthful, wasn't it?)

so if any of you are interested in creating your own game.

grab a notepad and pencil.

this is what we did.

and i think it was a hit...

first stop...

the teaser

our invitation

this got their juices flowing

and the talk of the hood as to what was yet to come...

*hint to race organizers:

enlist the help of some solid
roll-up-your-sleeve helpers.

you'll need them every step of the way.

was lucky enough to have the help

of this little lady

(and her hubs and #1 son among others)

for undying assistance at each station

so let's get started.

this is what greeted the racers as they entered
the race zone

peeps began arriving at 3:30

race started at 4:00

sharp

once racers started to arrive and

race time neared we

gathered the peeps

to officially divide the teams

we had 4 teams
of 2 or 3 racers:

this is how we
grouped each team...

khloe

kim

kourtney

harry

ron

hermione

mary kate

ashley

gale

peeta

katniss

stickers were placed on each team members back.

yes or no questions only.

not allowed to ask same racer two questions in a row.

racers had to figure out who's name was on their back...
ready go!

racers had to not only figure out who was on their back,
but who they were coupled with.

once they did, they got their buff
(bandanas from wallie)

gave racers

quick review of

race rules:

1. wear buffs at all times
2. all racers must be present when
challenge clue is being received or read.
3. all challenge cards must be turned in at
final race mat to win.
4. each team must have one working cell phone with
them them all times.
5. no team may start a challenge
until all racers are accounted for.
6. no single racer can complete
two individual challenges in a row.

we had 6 challenges

two roadblocks,

one detour and

one fast forward.

this is what our challenge cards

looked like

(i had fun with this part,

guess it's the teacher in me)

let the race begin:

CHALLENGE 1:

"lap it"

racers needed to choose their quickest

racer to run a .04 miles around neighboring

cul de sac

ROADBLOCK:

"text it"

racers had to text birthday girls

one birthday message using 50 characters or more

and include one thing they liked about each girl.

CHALLENGE 2:

"raw or fried?"

teams had to run to club house,

and one brave racer had to choose between

a raw and fast serving of potatoes

or a slow order of french fries for their next clue.

ROAD BLOCK:

"sing it"

choose a random customer eating in club house,

and sing in their sweetest, softest voice,

a full rendition of 'happy birthday' in honor of the

birthday girls.

first team to complete

both tasks was awarded a coveted

FAST FORWARD

"want a ride?"

3 bikes with helmets

available to ride to next pit stop

this brings us to
CHALLENGE 3:
"piece it"

after making their way back to home base,
teams had to put together
a 100 piece puzzle.

perfect for a much needed rest

and a little hydration.

CHALLENGE 4:
"recite it"
teams had to use their cell phone
and call for one listen
to a specific robert frost poem.
the goal was to memorize the poem
and recite by memory at their
next pit stop for their next clue.
no pencils, or pens...
did i mention by memory?
they could call for another listen as many
times as they'd like.

CHALLENGE 5:
"blind leading the blind"

using one caller and one blind folded
teams had to make their way through
back yard obstacle course listening to
cues from caller
for their next clue.

DETOUR:
"decode it"
after obtaining a bag of beans at the
end of their blindfold challenge,
teams had to find a hidden code written within
the beans.

this code is the combination
to a lock which would open a trunk
that would contain their next clue.

combo code:
2-6-98
(twins birthday!)

finally,
last challenge
CHALLENGE 6:
"party parade"

after reaching pit stop,
racers had to pick one item
from each of two bins:

"wear it"

variety of hats, masks, metallic,floral head bands
or hawaiian lei

"make noise with it"

noise makers

after donning their new party attire,
the team had to make their way back to
the final pit stop
(btw, we wanted to hear the teams
before we saw them)

they had to be singing
"for she's a jolly good fellow..."
first team to make it back to the winners mat

claimed first place.