Anybody out there looking for a Dino Detective?

Well you came to the right place. This morning this house had a whole crew of Dinosaur Detectives, dressed and equipped to do the job. I gotta say I was sorta kinda dreading this theme, but it turned out to be fun - for the whole family. I honestly didn't know what I was gonna do to make the boys look like paleontologists, but one idea led to another, and soon, everyone was contributing ideas and items for the costumes. JR had a couple of "safari" style hats on the boat, as well as a few kids binoculars, so we decided to grab a pizza and head to the marina for dinner last night. We had our pizza, the boys swam off the back of the boat for awhile, they took sun showers, then we headed back home. LTD entertained them while I made their vests - from brown paper bags, and before they headed off to bed, I tried them on to be sure they were gonna fit. They looked pretty good! Cap came up with some safety glasses, brushes, magnifying glasses, and a few other little tools. LTD made them little field note books with their names on them, and I made sure they both had cargo shorts. We used two of JR's tool belts and added things like play cell phones, pencils for note taking, rulers and measuring tapes. Of course I had to get into the act to some extent, and grabbed Cap's Tilley Hat & a pair of his travel binoculars as well as one of his denim shirts. I found some cargo shorts of my own, a tee shirt, work boots and my outfit was complete. We laid out all the kids items on the dining room table so that they'd find them first thing this morning. They were SO psyched! They inhaled their breakfasts, and managed to do their other morning chores (brush their teeth, make beds, etc.) in record time. They just couldn't wait to get dressed, and once they did, even I was impressed with how this all pulled together!

It was surprising to see even the bigger kids at VBS dressed up as detectives too. They shed their outfits soon after the judging, but clearly were very much into it. The day absolutely flew by as there were so many activities to do. Even I was having fun, watching them all work and play so hard.

They searched for suitable dig sites.

They dug for bones. Took careful notes.Learned Bible verses. Had some yummy snacks. Played some games.And learned to work as a team. It was clear that everyone enjoyed the day but as the closing ceremony drew near, the kids were showing sure signs of fatigue.

The winning detectives were announced just before we left, and once again, we have winners. A tie for first place went to JR & Drew! Another trip to the prize box, and two very tired boys piled into the van for the ride home. All I could think of as I drove, was my daily power nap. The boys on the other hand had other ideas....they are already looking forward to making hats for tomorrow's Silly Hat contest. I suppose we can do that - just as soon as we take our well deserved (mine) and much needed (JR & Drew) naps.. Even award-winning detectives have to rest, once in awhile.