Six mallets.
Three teams.
Two winners.
One freaking hilly park.
This could mean only one thing...
EXTREME CROQUET!!!!
In celebration of our dear friend Melissa’s birthday, last Saturday the Allers put together a game of pure genius. They call it extreme croquet and extreme it is. They set up a course in Rock Canyon Park, a park near us that is hill-tastic (see pic of Sarah on top of a hill in all her glory). They make it extreme by placing the wickets (the little arches you’re aiming to get your ball through) on the edges of hills, in the middle of patches of trees, in tall clumps of grass, in a ring of rocks, and so forth. 
For example, if you hit your ball wrong on the edge of the hill, hasta la vista. It could roll all the way down the hill, especially if it hit the dreaded asphalt path (see pic of Doug yelling in frustration). Jake got caught going up and down the hill for a good twenty minutes. It wasn’t pretty. We were in teams according to marriages, and Team Spurlock and Team Aller (they had other team names that were fantastic but I’ve already forgotten them--sorry guys) put up a good fight. Sarah claimed Dino (her internal baby) as a slight disadvantage, though, because it was really hard to swing the mallet with her pregnant stomach. Dumb ol’ Dave was totally schooling us, but I was hanging on right behind him.
However, he managed to aggressively keep me away from the final wicket by knocking me into a pile of boulders. Again. And again. (We were laughing so hard.) The rest of the players were stuck in the patch of trees for quite some time (see pic), so they were no help. When the rest of the other players FINALLY caught up with us, Dave still managed to thwart our success. Melissa snuck by, giving us a run for our money. And even though Jake had battled with the hill forever, he came out of nowhere to almost steal the victory with Melissa! As if! But luckily a turn of events gave Dave a taste of screwing up (something I was quite familiar with), Jake didn’t have a chance to get through, and somehow Team Shafer came in victorious. We became los champions.
It was a hilarious game. I recommend it to one and all. :)
7 comments:
Sweeeet! I wonder what Dwight would say about that?
Steve Holt!
I'm jealous. The only extreme sports I'm doing these days are "extreme sitting and typing" and "extreme wallpaper removal" (courtesy of the Barnos).
Oh, and nice A.D. refernce, Jake. I miss that show.
Ah... yes. Team Spurlock was "Steve Holt!" and Team Aller was "Team Kelly Clarkson." At times they were also "Team Voldemort" and "Team Slytherin."
Well done, folks, well done.
I'd like to point out a few minor discrepancies.
1. Sarah didn't 'claim' anything. I dare anyone to play with a b-ball strapped around their belly.
2. Jake only emerged ahead b/c of cheating - which I may have taken advantage of myself. But would not have claimed any sort of victory - for shame!
3. True congratulations belong to the Shaffer's who won fair and square. They persevered with unwavering determination and came out victorious! Sorry I let you down Dave.....
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