First Presbyterian Church, Baker City, OR

First Presbyterian Church
Young Families Group

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2004-05 Young Families Events

Labor Day Picnic and "Presbyterian Olympics"

Competitors in the 3-legged race line up at the starting line.

Our 2004 Fall kick-off event for the Young Families Group found us enjoying a beautiful day Participants in the suitcase race dress in the outfits found in their suitcases. in the park with a sloppy joe potluck followed by relays and races for participants young and "not so young". Events included a water balloon toss, 3-legged race, a limbo competition, piggy-back race, leapfrog race, garbage can basketball shootout, a suitcase race, and a summersault race. A fun time was had by all!
A basket is scored during the garbage can basketball tournament.The leapfrog relays are off and running.

Movie, Meal, and a Mess

Signboard playing cards were worn in the presence of the Queen of Hearts and her court.Creating hats for the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. Our October event found us creating wild tea party hats, extravagant sunglasses, and playing card signboards before eating pizza and watching Alice in Wonderland.


A small member of the group glues pompoms on her glasses. A green and gold fan visits Wonderland.We ate cookies that said "try me" and mushrooms (marshmallows) with Alice and sported mustaches like the walrus as we play-acted along with the movie. Have you ever played croquette with rubber chickens and spiky rubber balls? It was much easier than flamingos and hedgehogs! We hope the kids had as much fun as the adults did watching.

Two adventurers in Wonderland play croquette with rubber chickens and spiky rubber balls.

Two cards ham it up enroute to Wonderland.

 
Visitors to Wonderland eat cookies labeled Try Me and hope they don't grow or shrink!


Children's Holiday Crafting Fair

One of our young artists decorates a candle box with a little help from the project leader.


Have you ever made turkeys from small flower pots, snowmen from tube socks, or angels from sea shells? The Young Families Group kids have and they did a great job of assembling and One of our volunteer leaders assists with making a turkey craft project.decorating their creations!

We had seven stations with different Thanksgiving and Christmas craft projects and a wonderful group of volunteers to lead and assist us with them. And of course there was Christmas music and an abundance of healthy snacks, cookies, and drinks to keep the creative juices flowing.

Intense concentration was required for some of our craft projects!
Frosty the Snowman took many forms at the snowman-making station.
 Two proud crafters display their works of art.


Friendship Banner for Uruguay

Sewing the cloth pictures from Uruguay onto a felt banner to be displayed in the sanctuary.In January, we gathered to make a friendship banner for the Sunday School Children at the church in Uruguay where Naomi Kulog served as a Young Adult Volunteer during 2003-2004. When Naomi returned from her volunteer experience, the children there sent back wonderful cloth pictures illustrating the Israelite's exodus from Egypt and their arrival in the promised land. These pictures inspired us to create a friendship banner to send with Naomi when she returned for a visit in late January.

Two scholars locate Uruguay on the globe.
First Naomi showed us photos from her stay in Uruguay and read us a South American trickster tale to help us learn about the country where our banner was going. She also brought cakes, sausage, and hot chocolate for refreshments, which was a typical pre-Sunday School meal for the children down there.

Two artists hard at work creating their pictures to be ironed onto the banner.Then we used fabric crayons to color our own drawings depicting Bible stories and ironed them onto a banner, sewn just for the occasion. All children signed their names and ages on their colorful drawings, and 2 days later the banner was on the plane enroute to Uruguay with Naomi. We also sewed the pictures from Uruguay onto a banner to hang in the sanctuary.

Naomi and several of the artists with their pictures ready to be ironed onto the banner.
The finished product proudly displayed by two of the artists.
A participant signs her picture after it has been ironed on the banner.

Valentine Swim Party

In February we celebrated Valentine's Day by dunking, splashing, and swimming around our valentines at Sam-O-Swim pool. We filled up both pools with an amazing 35 participants and 2 large inflatable orca whales! Floating inner tubes, noodles, balls, and boats contributed to the water fun and frenzy. After burning lots of energy in the pools, we replenished our depleted calorie supplies with valentine treats in the pool lobby.

Lenten Soup Suppers

In March we attended the church Lenten Soup Suppers, where a meal of soup and bread was shared before separating into study groups for adults and children. While the adults were studying the series "Seeking Peace, Unity, and Purity" from the Theological Task Force on Peace Unity and Purity of the Church, the younger members of the group studied Lenten topics, created artwork, and played "sardines" while waiting for the adults to wrap up their discussion.

Bowling Party

Going for the spare with a flare.In ABowling wouldn't be bowling without snacks!pril we met at the Baker Bowl for 2 hours of bowling and snacking. Approximately 30 bowlers participated and the 6 family-sized pizzas were demolished in short order. There was some uncertainty among the youngest bowlers whether the ball should be bounced or pushed/rolled down the alley. Often there was time to get and eat a snack before their balls actually made it to the pins....and bumpers in the gutters were essential to getting the ball that far! All participants looked very fashionable in their bowling shoes, but we have to look into fancy bowling shirts for next time!

Three happy bowlers ready to demonstrate their skills.
Making sure the score keeper is honest.

Rainy Day Board Games

The Young Families Group met on a rainy May 15 to play board games. A small but dedicated group learned a lot about each other playing iMagiNiff and tested their US trivia knowledge with the Scrambled States of America game. Younger members played Picture Bingo and Bug Dominoes. The number of interesting games that we did not have time to play makes it highly probable that there will be another board game get-together planned for next year.

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