Today was Dalli’s 8th birthday. We invited some friends over for a small birthday party, and ranch style scavenger hunt. I started by hiding clues one by one that would eventually lead to the actual scavenger hunt list. Putting this together took immense concentration (you laugh but I had to draw from my higher education for this!). However, once I got started I was on fire! It did help tremendously when my favorite husband took the children to check the red tank. This gave me some time to hide everything, and make the actual scavenger list. The scavenger list was fairly easy, mostly I just drove around the yard and found things that were out of place. It was like using child labor to pick up the yard. Come to think of it, maybe I should have another scavenger hunt in the Spring (think how clean my yard will be)

The clues were as follows:

You will find the first clue in the black case of an instrument that the birthday girl knows how to play well. (Violin case)

Look for this clue in a red machine that is used when the Cain family watches movies. (Popcorn maker)

Look in the mud room high and low, then open the door located on the left side of a big machine. (Washing machine)

The next clue you will find under a chair that the littlest Cain sits in, especially when she is hungry! (Booster chair)

Moving on, your dad uses this to change the channel. (Remote control)

You will find me inside an egg. A big egg that is colored. A big green egg. Don’t crack it, just gently lift the lid and look inside! (In the big green egg BBQ)

For the next clue, look where the horse treats are kept.

Now look for the list, you will have to lift the lid and look in. You will see it located where oval breakable things that you eat come from. (chicken coop)

Then came the actual list:

A purple rope
An antler
2 pieces of PVC pipe
A wooden spool
A blade of green grass
A piece of a dead garden vegetable
A branding iron
A snow shovel
Something red
A piece of trash
2 horse treats
A snow ball
2 clothes pins
A picture of a wheel barrow

And on it went.

We didn’t count on the high of 31 degrees that we were dealt, but it really didn’t slow down these ranch kids. After the scavenger hunt Dalli opened presents all kinds of loot including a package of Glitzi Globes!! (Oh yea, from aisle four) We ate some chocolate cake then we bundled back up and shuffled outside to destroy a piñata. A regular fiesta. We did have to improvise when the first swing decapitated Dora!

A great day.