Luckily everyone had slept well and we were on target for a fantastic day of games. Today this included skipping.... water relay pool ball roll a tasty watermelon break catapulting (during which one child found a bull's eye all of his own!) and archery! We made our own sandwiches for a picnic lunch. Then everyone relaxed in different ways....... ...... in order to prepare for part 2: swimming pool Olympics! This included the noodle races.... and the ring grab! The snack was appreciated by everyone and then we played the hat game. Some of the kids came into the veg garden to pick produce for tomorrow.... and eat some on the way! The kids were so hungry that by the time the pizzas arrived the boys had turned into zombies! But they soon fell silent when they finally started to eat! What a fantastic day!
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Saying goodbye to these 14 kids was not easy, but we knew their parents would be missing them loads too. The walk to town was hot and sunny, but a few children found things to interest them on the way! We had a water break and then split up to do some SHOPPING - the boys were done fairly fast, but the girls took things far more seriously! Lunch was delicious, as usual, and then one girl lost a tooth - the third one this week! More money for shopping coming her way? The children were grateful for a shady place to look at their wares before we thanked Marilena for her delicious food and headed home, via the town centre. At 4.30pm most of the parents had arrived, so we began our ceremony and awarded the sport's day champions: Masterchef winners..... ......best kept bedroom.... ...and of course certificates. The kids did us proud with their rendition of The Hazelhut song. What a team, what a week! Please come again whenever you like, you fantastic Hazelhutters!!!!
The Hazelhut buffet lunch did not fail to impress all our visitors this week. The children cover our full age range from 8 - 13 and we have 5 lovely girls and 8 fantastic fellows staying here. It was a hot day so the children couldn't wait to swim in the pool. While some showed off their talents, others played ball. and others relaxed pool side.... The next activity was in the art room where the children made magnets. There was not much free time before dinner, but some children played ping pong or did other things. As always the lasagne and yogurt was much appreciated.
Many Hazelhutters were looking forward to horse riding today - it is a favourite event in the Hazelhut week. However one child has a bad allergy to these lovely creatures and 2 friends kept him company on a trip to Villa Lante with James. While they walked around the beautiful gardens and cooled down with an ice cream, their friends cleaned and saddled up their ponies, then followed a specially designed obstacle course under the hot sun. They made a lot of progress in a short time and all attempted trotting by the end of the morning! Both parties were very hungry at lunch time and we all enjoyed our pasta and fruit salad at 'I Giardini di Ararat' very much! Back home we did some baking, cooled down in the pool and then...... .....pizza party!!!!! What a fantastic bunch of Hazelhutters - we don't want to let them go!!!!
The fishing trip started with getting to know the bait! Then it was time to choose our fishing rods and get reeling them in. Then... ...nothing... ...for ages! All of a sudden... ...fish galore! Back to the Hazelhut for... ...an even trickier hunt for potatoes and carrots for our fish and chip dinner - recently eaten with relish!
Each day we have enjoyed the company of these 14 children more. Today we did so much together - made things, played games, sang songs, created pancakes, talked, laughed, ate and jumped(!) In doing so we discovered that they are..... intelligent funny sporty thoughtful clever beautiful handsome friendly sweet lyrical fun-loving Hazelhutters!!!
What a hot sports day! Luckily we started with something cool - the water relay! Then we headed into the shade for the skipping contest. The 'Wellie Chuck' was unfortunately in the sunshine......! At snack time we had our first ever lost tooth at The Hazelhut! Then we split into boys and girls for Commando relay - pretty evenly matched! The final activity before lunch was target shooting - catapult and archery. There was also time to relax while others took their turns..... The kids made their own sandwiches for lunch VERY fast, which suggests they were VERY hungry! After lunch we spent time indoors out of the heat of the sun. The girls discovered Jacks, while the boys played table tennis and snooker. Later the swimming Olympics began...... The children competed well, but underneath it all, they just wanted to play! In the evening one kind Hazelhutter helped to make chutney in the kitchen while others played football or jacks.... I leave you with a photo of most of this lovely group getting ready for the film.
At lunch time we welcomed 11 of our soon to be 14 Hazelhutters for a big feed. They are a lovely bunch and we were happy to get the meeting over and show them the grounds including the areas not to go to and the previous group's secret arms stash! We could tell that these guys will fit in just fine! The pool has never looked so full as they all cooled off together. A little lizard had fallen in the pool, but 2 girls dashed to its rescue and saved its life! Later in the art room everyone showed creative flair as they made name pegs using all kinds of materials. Everyone was thrilled when the lasagne arrived and we could take our favourite dining shot. This is going to be a fun week!
It has come around quickly, but today really was the final day with these 12 guys we have got to know so well. So how can we best describe them? Fun loving for sure. Adventurous and curious. Faithful and prepared to look out for each other. Comical and happy. Always hungry! All winners in so many ways......... From the peace of the Hazelhut tonight, we are missing you! Come back next year.
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