 A fine bunch of slimy Falcons Hello adventurers, It seems that some of you had doubted how sticky Slimefest would be, and I can only offer my sincerest of thanks to the parents who were willing to drive you all home after such a sloppy, stinky, sticky mess of a week. If we can make it through that, we can make it through anything.  Ayda and Ella enjoying the slime, as Ava looks on It was a week that saw players competing in a half-dozen challenges that were designed to put them to the test, both mentally and physically, while also balancing their abilities to compete independently and as a team, all of which is in preparation for the final Survivor night, which, believe it or not, it just about a month away!  Coyotes working their way through the slackline We started things off with the tire relay, where everyone learned two things: one, that tires are waaay heavier than one might think, and two, that this is not your ordinary slime. Players chased each other in an effort to slime their opponent, and in the end, there weren’t many who were able to avoid those oozing sponges. On the Coyotes team, Amadea was pure machine, while for the Ravens, Thomas eliminated five players, including his sister Avery.  Josie is still smiling after the mud pit Next we moved on to the electric fence game, where despite the setbacks of some wasps (shoutout to Dawson, Hayden, Avery, and Savannah, the newest members of the Stingers ---an exclusive club), teams were able to coordinate a plan which saw them climbing over the fence without ever touching it, all while holding a leaking and dripping bag of slime. Some teams used pyramid formations, some used crowd surfing techniques, and others simply opted to fling players across and hope for the best.  Mr. Paton, chasing kids with slime during the pickle rally, and having more fun than anyone! After that, it was time for the slackline, where every single team quickly proved how agile they were, absolutely blowing away our expectations of performance, despite some newly greased hands. Where on the first day of the week the best team time was 2:10, by Friday afternoon the Foxes had managed to shift their team around in under 30 seconds, while the Falcons were able to do so in a mere 21!  Bill and Thomas unearthed their inner animal But what I am sure was a highlight of the day for many was the mud pit, a Souris favorite brought back to life for another year. Lined with straw and filled with mud, players competed for a ‘flip’, wherein they had to dip the other teammate’s player into the mud. There was no way to stay clean here, and we saw some amazing spectacles of gymnastics and tactics. Dawson was an unstoppable force, while Ella was bending over backwards for a win. When the mud pit was finished, players took their positions on the obstacle course, consisting of the slackline, over and unders, an army crawl, a tire tunnel, a ladder stack, monkey bars, and a finishing sprint. It took teamwork to get the slime from the beginning to the end, and while at times progress was slow, every single team was able to fill their bucket in the end, with the Ravens and Falcons pulling out ahead. In pickle-race action, Ella again proved herself to be indomitable, narrowly edging over Reagan in the final round of action, while Abby seized a decisive win in Falcon play. For some teams, this was all that we had time for, while for others they unlocked the bridge building game, trading in marbles, pennies, and seaglass for nails, boards, and ropes in an effort to build the farthest reaching bridge through the trees of the woodlot. Multiple different tactics were used, but in the end it was the Ravens who reigned loftiest, while the Foxes uncrowned the Falcons to seize second place in this part of the competition.  In a harrowing climb to the finish, it was Caleb who scored big for the Foxes It was not easy calculating the scores this week, as each game, challenge, and activity had to be cross referenced and tallied up back at the shop, and several times it came down to the photo record to determine which team was best able to pull things off. This, coupled with bonus points for stings, scrapes, and lost pickles, made for a very close race indeed, with the Ravens seizing the lead, and being the first to break the 300 ceiling, closing the week, and the midway point of the season, with an impressive score of 312. Coyotes continued their battle for second, pulling ahead, while the Falcons had a strong showing coming off a weaker fourth week, but still they lingered in the rankings, closing in a not-so-distant third place, leaving the Foxes with shrinking hopes of unseating them.  Looking ahead to the competition component of Week 6, everything will come down to player’s abilities to work together for the greater good, and it will be a week where skill, technique, and patience will be a virtue, where we put not only the fire-making abilities, but their culinary talents to the test.
Some hints for the upcoming week:
Well, I think that’s about it for now; we can’t wait to see you for what is sure to be one of the most memorable weeks of the summer; our much anticipated Campfire Cookout! Remember that this week we go from 5-8PM, instead of our regular afternoon sessions. See you at the beach! Yours in adventure, Nathan and Jesse
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 Hello adventurers, Braving the heat, the cold, the rain, and the occasional ‘lake snake’, last week’s adventure was one for the history books. It started out at the edge of an old dirt road, and led us deep into the heart of Prince Edward Island’s forests as we followed the winding Naufrage River to the head of Larkin’s Dam.  Luc 'The Lifter' barrel-y getting by for the Coyotes But this was to be no ordinary hike, though. Right away players discovered the barrels (ugh! The barrels!) that would have to be pushed, carried, rolled, and floated for every inch of their three kilometer journey, and it was these barrels that would ultimately lead to teams scoring their points in the end. Shout out to Luc “the lifter” for doing so much barrel work for the Coyotes, and to Ayda for keeping a close eye on the Falcon’s barrels.  A flock of Falcons, spotted in the wild The pathway we followed didn’t last long, and soon everyone was in the water, doing their best to trek against the stream. All along the way there were checkpoints set up, that had players tree-climbing, log racing, and hopping and blocking, in order to complete the checkpoint challenges, score points, and be able to move on. It was Bill who found many of the checkpoints for the Ravens, while Camden kept his eye out for the Foxes.  Some of the other Ravens help Markus get over the checkpoint Rumors persisted of a swimming hole, and while some teams discovered the difficulty of the Sun-and-Moon puzzle, others were amazed to find a fully equipped water slide! It was here that faces were painted, players got stuck in inner-tubes, splashes were made, and absolutely everyone got soaked (no matter how cold out it was!). Tripp loved the waterslide most of all, while Bella and Liam and enjoyed getting their faces painted.  No fear here! Addison braves the waterslide with the Falcons From that point onward, it was a race to the real swimming hole, and a race against time, too, as teams competed to be the first to reach the dam, in order to solidify their place as the week’s scoring leaders. It was a valiant effort on the part of the Ravens, who found countless bonus bottles along the way, but in the end it was the Coyotes who took command of the lead, scoring a bonus multiplier by completing the Sun-and-Moon challenge, something which many of the teams did not even earn the chance to attempt. Still, it was enough to put them ahead on the leaderboard this week.  Ella, one of the leaders of the Foxes, was not afraid to get messy! Falcons, on the other hand, suffered several blow-backs, including a heart-breaking fault, the loss of a marble, and major difficulties in orchestrating the Sun-and-Moon game, and they ultimately fell to last place for this week’s challenge, while the ever-steady Foxes continued their battle to hold on, now narrowing in on the once unbeatable Falcons.   Bella makes climbing look easy Looking ahead to the upcoming week, we are preparing for our annual SlimeFest, and so you should be prepared to get stickier, messier, and sloppier than you ever have before!
This week’s hints:
Can't wait to see you all out there! Yours in adventure, Nathan and Jesse  The Coyotes prepare for a team photo -- but took a little time to get it right! Hello adventurers! What strikes me as we look back on last week was the sheer variety in all that we did; right from the very start things heated up with a competitive photo challenge, which saw players crab-walking, cartwheeling, leap-frogging, face-painting, and so much more. All week each team tried to out-do the other, and it made for some fantastic photos, as you can clearly see.  Ravens, of course, had no fear of getting dirty!  ...and the Foxes were quick to one-up them! After that players unlocked access to the ‘float the boat’ challenge, wherein they had to dig an entirely new channel to the river, and divert enough water using a hand-made dam in order to float a water bottle all the way down. This was certainly more easily said than done, but our Red Rockers rose valiantly to the occasion, and while I had never seen such a motley assortment of shovels (shout out to all the Dads who helped with that one!) they put them to good use, and every single team was able to complete this challenge.  Hearts were clearly on the line. This is where things then got tricky, as players were next tasked with building a raft worthy of standing on, and with enough buoyancy to float their entire team. Most (but not all!) of the teams made it, and while the rafts were hardly seaworthy, they were enough to score some points all the same.  Falcons embarked upon a short-lived voyage, but it was a vessel none-the-less. For some teams, due to timing, this is where the week’s challenges ended, but for others, they unlocked the fire-building challenge, where with one match they learned how to build and tend to a campfire. Many were interested at first, but when they saw that it took patience, not prodding, to build a successful fire, several team members abandoned the task in favor of swim time, while those who remained earned their stripes in fire-making (shout outs to Lexi and Rorie of the Foxes!), something they should indeed be proud of, and a skill which will serve them well in future challenges and our camping trip.  The Coyotes took a more 'relaxed' approach to the whole ordeal. When it comes to this week’s score, things once again took an interesting turn, as the Ravens moved up a position to close in on the Falcons, tying for first, while the Coyotes climbed from the basement to narrow the gap towards first place, landing in second. Foxes too are fresh on the hunt, with only five points keeping them out of contention. 
And while Coyotes move to second in score ranking, this week’s upcoming challenge is one that just might give them an edge over the rest, as it will be determination, leadership, and creativity that will lead to success this week, more than anything else. This week’s hints:
Yours in adventure, Nathan and Jesse  The Falcons set out on their journey across the desert, in search of their first stone. Hello adventurers! What a week we had! I don't think anyone knew what to expect, but all our teams rose valiantly to the occasion, as competition between teams (and siblings) grew ever fiercer.  Members of the Foxes search for their third stone. From the very beginning it was a race to gather the seven stones, as we wandered eastward over the bridge, through the thorns, and into the dense forest maze. Stones were gathered along the way, as were mysterious keys, culminating in a mind-bending puzzle which saw players deciphering the riddle to know which order to place the rainbow stones in, which would in turn unlock the ropes they were seeking. The foxes were thankful to Serena who knew her cardinal directions, while the Coyotes owed it to Eva, Josie, Armand and Luc for their decoding skills.  The Ravens work at solving the rainbow puzzle. With ropes in hand they made their way to the birch grove, where a spiderweb was woven, and many attempts were made to climb across it without touching the ground, or each other. For the foxes, Kennedy proved herself to be the nimblest climber of them all, while with the Coyotes Reagan was unafraid to take her chance, knowing that Danica was there to hold on tight to the ropes, and Addison held strong for the Falcons.  Racing for the Foxes, Caleb makes one of several daring attempts. With the spider’s web out of the way, that left the Overflow game, where water was gathered from the spring and poured into the hidden pipes, until the keys floated to the surface. Thomas, of the Ravens, was clever in solving the wine bottle trick, and Rita of the Falcons proved able in her water gathering abilities, but in the end she had more water on herself than in the pipes.  Falcons race towards the treasure. When at last the final keys had been discovered, it was time to head back to the beach, where using the ropes from the spider’s web as a measure the players solved the final clues, found their spot, and dug for buried treasure. It was Abby that made the discovery for the Falcons, while Savannah, Lexi, Bella and Anna made sure they had the keys ready. The excitement ran high as the thud of the treasure chest rang out under their shovel, as all the while the clock was ticking and the score was running up.  Trying all the keys as time is almost up. Speaking of score, I am certain that there are many anxious team members who have long been awaiting the results of this week’s competition, and so I have included below the up-to-date leaderboard. There are no doubt some surprises on there (shout out to the Ravens for a tight race with the Falcons!), but I am confident that our upcoming challenge, with the potential to score 60+ points, will provide an opportunity to level the playing field.  Also, I felt that I should provide a few hints for this week: 1. A good shovel will make all the difference (think of the shovel that we used to dig the treasure). The more, the better, so that everyone has one to use. 2. Knot tying skills will come in handy. 3. Be prepared to be soaked! And don't forget: if you are interested in the overnight camping trip, be sure to let me know, and if you wanted to order a custom shirt, take a look at the options below, and be sure to get your name on the list before Friday! [Logo Mermaid + Logo Black]
That's about it for this update; can't wait to see you all again.
Yours in adventure, Nathan and Jesse |
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