Bastings Bowl

When the Bastings all get together, it doesn't take long before some kind of competition is made.

For example, here they are playing an RBI baseballl tournament.

 

In the past, the Bastings boys have gotten together at Christmas time for the Bastings Bowl which entailed playing football in the cold (sometimes snow) and seeing who can score the most or tackle the hardest. One year Craig got the Energizer Bunny award and for those of you who know Craig, I don't need to explain why.

 

So this year the Bastings Bowl evolved into something different. The whole family was included this time and it involved a series of competitive events.

For the kids: Just Dance Wii, Obstacle Course, and Minute-to-Win-it
For the adults: Indian Leg Wrestling, Basketball Shooting, and Minute-to-Win-it

So the Friday night after Christmas the kids started off the competition with Just Dance.
1st group: Meagan, Jessica, Nathan, and Kayla

2nd group: Maddie, Tanner, Derek, and Connor

3rd group: Sariah, Katy, Austin, and Klayton

After one minute into the song, Austin decided he wasn't a fan of the dancing thing so Craig jumped in his place and he had some pretty good dancing moves himself!

Some of the women wanted to get in on the dancing too and put on their best moves to Ricky Martin's "Livin la Vida Loca"

 Winner of the kids Just Dance Competition: Maddie

Next up was the Double Elimination Indian Leg Wrestling Tournament:

 First lay side by side by your partner (aka opponent) with your heads in opposite directions

 On the count of 3 hook your right legs together

Then use those leg muscles and push with all your might

 
Until your partner starts to lift off the ground

Then keep pushing those legs and lifting them up further

 Until they finally flip on over.
Then do it all again with a new partner.

A couple things to remember:

 Try not to laugh (as you can tell that was really hard sometimes)

 And NEVER underestimate your opponent
(Vicki beat both Dave and Mike)

 And when Craig went up against Andrea he thought he would mess with her and give her a little leeway. However, he gave her too much and she flipped him on over.

The final round came down to Matt and Jeff.

Winner: Matt

 

Watching this was hilarious!!! We all laughed so hard that night!!

And the best part......we got it all on video :)

Tri-Cousin Birthday Party

Austin and his cousins Connor and Jessica all have birthdays within a week of each other (22nd, 24th, and 26th) and since everyone was together for the holidays we thought it would be fun to have a combined birthday celebration.

We did so at the Phillips 66 Gymnastics Center and everyone had a great time.

Most of the time was spent having fun in the big foam pit. 

 There was lots of jumping from the trampolines into the pit.

 Kayla and Kambria had fun jumping in together.

 Love those happy faces!!

 Sometimes the pit was hard to get out of.

 The big kids started hitting each other with the foam sqaures.

 And soon everyone joined in.

 Even Papa Dave got in on the action.

 However, he got too close to the edge and was pushed into the pit, along with Kelsey.

Austin, Braxton, Connor, and Klayton hanging out on the rings.

 The kids enjoyed doing flips into the foam pit.

 The adults even did a few flips of their own. Everyone was having such a great time that someone (who shall go nameless) split their pants doing somersaults.

 Testing out the balance beam

 Jeff, Kristi, and Craig seeing who can cross the fastest.

 Several people attempted to climb up the rope.

 However, Klayton was the only one who made it to the top and rang the bell.

 The birthday kids each got a certificate and a medal.

 Happy Birthday Jessica, Connor, and Austin!!

Family Fun

 

Between me and Craig, we had so much family come into town over the holidays. It was craziness but we had a lot of fun enjoying time with each other.

 Playing Dominion

 (one of the only games other than Rook that Craig actually enjoys playing)

 On Thursday December 27th we headed down to Tulsa with my family to do some ice-skating.

I can't even remember the last time I went ice-skating so it took a few times around the rink before I felt comfortable enough to pick up some speed. Craig took off right away and even did a few turns. Kristina discovered that she didn't quite enjoy ice-skating and was glad she chose soccer as her sport. We had a great time doing something different.

 

After skating, Craig left with Tyler and headed to the Nowata Firearms to do some shooting.

 Craig has never shot a gun before but Tyler is a collector and a pro so he couldn't wait to take Craig. Tyler said that for a first-timer Craig actually had a pretty good shot.

 Craig's brother Matt and his kids came into town on Thursday and we ate a nice dinner out at Dave and Debbie's house that evening.

(Dave, Craig, Matt, and Maddie)

Kelsey and Todd

Vicki, Sara, and Me

After dinner we enjoyed a few games of Mafia.....a Bastings family favorite!!