Treasure Hunting

The birthday party was a huge success yesterday! Ryley and her friends loved it.

I have to say that one of my favorite parts of the whole thing was planning the treasure hunt with Ryan. We stayed up late Friday night writing clues and devising a plan to actually bury a treasure chest in our yard, an idea which didn’t pan out in daylight (but Ryan’s last-minute improvisation was amazing). I just love being married to my best friend.

I won’t bore you with a complete play-by-play, but here are some images from the hunt. The first clue was found in the fridge.

Thinking hard and discussing solutions:

The hunt took them off the premises:

And back:

We took a little snack break after Clue #9:

Then they continued the search with a key hidden in a book on our bookshelves. Ryan used a knife to carve it in and everything. Don’t worry; the book is stupid. :-)

Then they had to assemble the puzzle with all the pieces they had collected along the way:

X marks the spot:

Only the ground was too rocky to dig a hole and bury the treasure in the allotted time we had before the party. So Ryan added one more clue…

…leading them to the crawlspace:

Cries of “Jackpot!” “Woohoo!”

They were given bags to fill with loot:

Amirah is a ham!!!

We followed the treasure hunt with cupcakes, presents, and trampoline:

Cheers !

 

Ryley said it was her best birthday party yet, and we tend to agree.

But next year, let’s do something that requires less work! ;-)