WSGA Southwest Chapter: My First Event at Rainier Vista

In late January, I was contacted by the WSGA president asking me if I wanted to be a chapter rep this next year. This wasn't the first time I have been contacted throughout the years about being a chapter rep. Back then, I had the time and not the money and now I have the money and not the time. I bit the bullet and told him I would. It would be a great experience even though I didn't have a lot of time to spare. But I was sure going to try.

I had to update my WSGA password and log in information and renew my WSGA membership. I think the last time it was updated was back in 2021? 2022? Then life got busy planning a wedding and renovating a house. I was also in the midst of finishing up a DJA and applying for the job opening. Everything was happening all at once. The noise in my head was loud during that time. Frequent walks in the park listening to podcasts helped a little bit.

I was nominated as the Southwest Chapter Rep and I had to write up a little blurb about myself and after about a week of the WSGA members deciding who to vote for, the polls closed and we waited until the middle of March to find out if I got the position or not. Of course, that is when I was preparing for my job interview and I was out of my mind for a couple days.  

That afternoon I looked at my email and posted on Facebook:

"Just checked my email, you are looking at the new WSGA Southwest Chapter Rep!"

It was great news after the day I had earlier. I had just finished a virtual high anxiety interview conducted by three people I knew. My mind was shot that day, and I constantly played the questions over and over in my head criticizing every answer I gave. 

I had plans for the year. I really wanted to try to represent every area of SW Washington the best I could. I did have to remember that the WGA Campout was in my region, and the 25th Anniversary Going Ape event was being held this summer. It was going to be a busy year with geocaching events, possibly starting a new job and continuing to renovate a house.

I knew I wanted to host a geocaching event at the park next to the house. I also wanted to incorporate an Adventure Lab as well. It will bring more people to the park knowing they will get something out of it other than just an event. I tried to host my first event back in 2020. I had a great idea of having my 10th geocaching anniversary at the park, but Covid derailed that and I didn't make the time to do it until now.

I created a cache page for my event, but I didn't know it had to be from the SW Chapter geocaching account. I messed that up, but the WSGA president didn't care too much as long as we were getting events up out there for people to go to. I picked out the day, the time and where it was going to be.

The day of, I had Ben help me load up the car with a table, the WSGA tote with the banners, information, swag and raffle tickets. I made sure I had a cool logbook and a space for people to share stories, laugh and hang out. We got there a little bit early (the weather was even great) so we could set everything up. I had made an Adventure Lab in the park a few days prior and made it live just as the event started.

We had a great turnout - about 20 people came to hang out and talk about geocaching. A few people went to go do the Adventure Lab while others stood around sharing stories. We were there for a little over an hour and were even able to have a raffle drawing for random prizes I found in my WSGA tote. I received it from the prior chapter rep, and it desperately needed to be restoked.

It was different actually going to a geocaching event that I hosted. It was weird having people come up to me instead of me going up to other people. It gave me a different perspective on a hobby I have been doing since July 2010. It was also nice to see that I have the support of my geocaching community. I just wished I had more time on the weekends to do more. We will see how the rest of the year goes and if I can hit my goals I have set up for myself.

Next Adventure:  Father's Day

Amy and Jean's Birthday in Bonney Lake

Amy has been notorious, over the years, making it difficult for her family and friends to get her gifts she could use for her birthday and/or Christmas. This year, Ben and I decided to make her a scavenger hunt around Bonney Lake for her birthday. You know, to test her detective skills and all. 

Ben and I worked on the scavenger hunt for a few days. We worked out each card, made sure each card made sense, they were in an order that made sense and they were simple enough, yet challenging for her to figure out. We didn't want to make it too easy. Once we were done, we ran it by Trish, just to see if it was diverse enough and she said it was perfect.

We planned out the Friday and Saturday we would be there. Because Jean doesn't drive anymore, she had to come down on Saturday with Lynn and her son, Javis. David also doesn't drive and his transportation would have to be planned out. That really didn't leave us with much time to do the scavenger hunt. We would have to see how it played out.

We also talked about the menu and what Ben, and I could bring with us to contribute. We managed to make a menu and made a note of what we were going to bring with us.

Friday, June 6th

Both Ben and I worked that day, and I had packed up the stuff we were going to bring with us to Bonney Lake. I wanted to maximize the time we had after I got off work. I packed up what I could into the Escape (since it was my turn to drive) and all I had to do was wait until Ben came home. Once he did, he got changed, grabbed a couple things, grabbed the cooler and packed it away in the Escape. We were on our way up to Bonney Lake on a Friday night.

The traffic surprisingly wasn't that bad. There were a few slow spots but that's pretty usual with the route we take up. After about an hour on the road we drove up into the driveway. We grabbed as much as we could carry into the house. We did have to come back for another trip. Trish always asks, "are you sure you brought enough stuff?" 

I always overprepare when I travel short distances. You never know what you'll need. She had also asked us to bring an extra folding table and some chairs for the party, so the Escape was extra full. We spent some time settling in and visiting while Trish was getting ready to cook burgers out on the grill. She also grilled some corn on the cob. Ben and I brought some chips to go with our dinner. 

Once dinner was done, we dished up and sat outside. It was such a nice evening! I love summer and wish it was year-round. We talked about our days, the weekend, how the rental house was coming and other random things as they came up. We cleaned up the table, and everyone wanted to play a game, so Amy went and got Yahtzee. I haven't played Yahtzee in a while.

We played two games and I literally destroyed everyone that first game. I was rolling super lucky because I have never gotten that many Yahtzee's during a game or have ever scored that many points in a single game before. It probably won't ever happen again. I savored every moment of it. I slayed them all in Yahtzee!

We had a small birthday party when we went into the house for the night. Trish always gets Amy small roses and Ben, and I bought Amy her own set of measuring cups. We were hoping that Amy planning, shopping and making one meal a week would stick. It failed just like everything else we've tried at making her more independent.

We hung out for a little bit longer before deciding to go to bed because the morning was going to be busy if we wanted to fit in the scavenger hunt in along with when everyone else was going to arrive for the party. It was going to be a short window of time.

I slept the best I could in a bed that wasn't mine.

Saturday, June 7th

I set my alarm for 9 a.m. I got up when it went off and I could hear Trish upstairs getting breakfast ready. I jumped into the shower really quick and got dressed. I grabbed what I needed for the day and went upstairs to see if Trish needed any help. I helped her get the table ready. Amy and Ben emerged from bed. We had a quick breakfast of eggs and sausage. Everyone finished up getting ready and we were in the car just after 10. We had to be finished with the scavenger hunt before 1.

We wanted to make sure we beat most of the traffic and the heat. Before we could start the scavenger hunt, we had to meet someone at the Safeway to sell a leaf blower we connected with on OfferUp. The person wanted it and handed us the money. I gave Amy the first envelope and off we went.

The rules were simple. Amy had to figure out each clue and direct us to where we needed to go. If she was wrong, she had to figure out where the correct place was. She could use her phone to help herself with the clues. We were not going to give away anything. She did pretty well on most of them but got stuck on three of the ten we created. She appeared to have fun, and we took pictures along the way.

We made cards for:

Mazatlan - she had to translate a question asked in Spanish into English.

New Peking - attached a YouTube video onto a QR code of the music video Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News. She sang a lot of Huey Lewis and the News at open mic night in this restaurant.

Fred Meyer - attached a YouTube video onto a QR code of the music video Low by Flo Rida. Amy works here.

Hops and Drops - a riddle about a neighborhood gathering place.

Costco - she is against Costco and one of her tasks was to go in and buy a $1.50 hotdog and drink combo.

Starbucks - a quick riddle about a quick drink on the go.

Target - a quick whimsical riddle on "targets". We also took a quick potty break at the Target while we were there.

Allen York Park - had to figure out what park to go to based on the history of the Lake Tapps reservoir.

Wendys - attached a YouTube video onto a QR code asking Amy, where's the beef?

Victor Falls - another riddle about a park she had to figure out based on the history of the falls.

We made a loop around Bonney Lake, and we made decent time if we wouldn't have gotten hung up on three of those questions that took longer than they should have. It was approaching 1:00 and we had to get back to the house. Ed had arrived while we were out, Amy went to go pick up David and Jean, Lynn and Javis arrived shortly after.

When we got home, we had a party for Amy and Jean with family and friends. Trish made kabobs, we had a green salad, fruit and chips and for dessert we had cupcakes, ice cream and gluten free brownies. We hung out, visited and had a great time on a hot, almost summery, day.

We thanked Trish for a wonderful time and headed home just before dark. We had another long day ahead of us before we started another work week.

Happy Birthday Amy and Jean!

Next Adventure:  WSGA Southwest Chapter: My First Event at Rainier Vista

Brian's First Birthday!

Mom was probably more excited about Brian's first birthday than anyone was. She started talking to me about it around Mother's Day. Mother's Day was at our house. We made chicken, potatoes and green been sheet pan meal for dinner. I made a purple Funfetti cake for Erika because she wanted a purple cake and I made some gluten free brownies for Ben. The mother's opened some homemade gifts, received some pretty flowers and enjoyed everyone's company. Brian was now walking well, and I had to put a lot of my stuff away because he would grab them and pull them off the shelves.

Over the next few days Mom would pester me about Brian's birthday. I told her she needs to talk to Erika since Brian's her kid. Erika kept saying she would get back to us but never really did until the last minute. I found out on the Wednesday before his birthday that we were actually having a party. Mom made me get a couple of Baby Shark decorations online and luckily, I had enough time for Amazon to get it to us before the party.

Erika let everyone know that it was going to be at their house at noon. Zach wanted to have chili dogs, chips and fruit. You know, something easy for a last-minute birthday party. We all didn't mind because we like food. 

On Friday after work, I went to go pick up a few things. I hit up the Dollar Tree, Safeway and Winco. I grabbed a few decorations, a fun gift for a one-year-old and some chips to go with the chili dogs. I came home, ate something and then went for a walk since it was so nice. I listened to my murder porn. Ben and I stayed up way too late, but I got everything organized for the next day and got in a quick shower.

For some reason I got up at 8. I just went back to bed until mom called me. We talked for almost an hour about random things. I thought about going for a walk, but it was raining and I really wasn't feeling it. I ate a quick light breakfast to tie me over until the party. Ben finally got up, shaved and got in a shower. I was glad I did all of that the night before. 

We grabbed everything we were going to bring with us, including the extra table and chairs, packed it up in the Escape and headed over to Erika and Zac's house to party with Brian! Traffic wasn't bad, which was nice. Sometimes that area during the afternoon sucks. When we got there, we tried parking out of the way so everyone could fit in their yard. 

Zac had the BBQ all set up getting ready for the hot dogs and sausage dogs. We all went inside to see if Erika needed any help getting the rest of the stuff ready. I even packed up the dinosaur year blanket so we could get one more of Brian before he is over a year old. Erika let me get that last month I needed. She had made it really difficult throughout the year mostly because Zac didn't care so she started to not care about it. Mom and I had to do it and some of the months it was hard to get over there and get the pictures. We got his year-old photo, and other people started to arrive.

We had chips, potato salad, fruit, chili, hot dogs, buns, condiments and birthday cupcakes. We all filled up our plates and found a place to sit down. I haven't had a chili dog in quite some time. We made sure Ben brought his own gluten free buns since they are expensive. We visited as we ate food. Brian was having a great time with his pieces of hot dog.

We helped Erika clean up and set up presents on the floor so he could open them up, with the help of his mom, of course. He has been into bucket lately, so I bought him his very own bucket and shovel. I was hoping as some point this summer, we would make it to the beach so we could build sandcastles as a family. He got some new clothes, toys and some stuffed animals. He was so excited with all the cool new stuff to play with.

Mom grabbed him and plopped him back into his highchair so he could have a Baby Shark birthday cupcake. We put a party hat on him and sang to him. This was the first time he's ever had a cupcake and from the look of it, he enjoyed it thoroughly. 

After birthday cupcakes, Erika cleaned him up and we started putting everything away. Our tables and chairs were loaded up and Erika thanked everyone for coming over and celebrating with Brian.

Ben and I got home, unloaded everything and took a walk around the park before getting ready for session 10 of D&D over at Nicole and Del's house. 

I can't believe he is now a one-year-old. The year really did fly by. I'm kinda excited to see what he will be like during his next birthday. I know he will have more teeth, will be walking better and saying more, clearer words.

Happy 1st Birthday Brian!

Next Adventure: Amy and Jean's Birthday in Bonney Lake