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
