Treasure Hunt

We had been tossing around the idea of some sort of hike or picnic today, then last night out of the blue our friend Mr. F. messaged that he had set up a scavenger hunt for the kids on a local trail! What a fabulous thing to do, and such perfect timing!

We didn't tell the kids anything about the hunt, just the hike. We packed our backpacks and set off, warning them to watch for rattle snakes. 

These holes were a bit too tiny for snakes, so we're going to say ants. 

A heart!

When we got to the spot where Mr. F. had told us to start. I told the kids I thought I saw something go under the flat rock. Remembering the snake warnings, they all backed away! Logan got brave, though, and lifted the rock to find...

A clue! The hunt was on, and the kids immediately spotted the dead tree in the distance.

Sheridan's turn to retrieve this one.

Ooh, we had to count steps! She was very excited, as she was wearing the (fake) Fitbit she got for her birthday.

Some cool plants along the way...

Christopher's turn...big yucca above the old board!

But there were TWO piles of three rocks. What happened if he chose the wrong one? Was there a trap??? His siblings, of course, came up with all sorts of dire predictions...

...so he leaned in close and spotted the paper sticking out of the first one. Then, of course, he lifted the other anyway. No booby traps - much disappointment.

The next clue said to look for the alligator head.

Do you see it? He's kind of smiling, so we deemed it safe to approach.

For the next clue we had to walk until two telephone poles became one.

Can you see the second behind this one? No? Must be the right spot!

Next clue: Turn around and follow the trail of seashells (now how did THOSE get there?)

Treasure!!

Very much so!

Fossils, pyrite, serpentine, petrified wood...SO COOL!!!

We explored them for a few minutes, then put them in Mom's backpack for safe keeping, and finished the rest of the trail.

Shane spotted these cactus plants clinging to the edge.

Do you see the turtle?

Spidey hidey hole

Hmm...Mr. F.? Were you here too? We left it for others to find!

The lighting doesn't do it justice - pretty rich red striped rock!

 Snack break! (And time to look at the rocks some more)

The yucca flowers have died off, but the seed pods are starting to look like pickles!

We started seeing signs Mr. F. had been busier than we thought.

We had our treasure, so we left these for others to find!

I don't think he put any up there, Sheridan.

Another not-a-good-picture, but those three rocks were a bit shinier than the others in the area!

Who might be living in there?

Hmm...

 Now this one we think arrived here naturally, but the shape was cool!

As was the shape of these little wispy plants.

Cool rock AND pottery!

 Almost missed these!

Spot for Brer Rabbit to hide:

Water break! And perhaps a little more sunscreen for Grace.

Scared up a lizard or two

Then back to the car just as it started getting really hot! Thank you SO MUCH Mr. F. for a fabulous start to the day! If anyone needs us, we will be poring over some rock books...

This Week

Saturday was the quarterly Community Pot Luck up in High Rolls.

I try to do a little kitchen clean-up each time I am there, but somehow these muffins escaped my notice last week.

That's not streusel.

Fortunately, with mountain folk, you never have to rely on mass-produced foods of questionable age. Mountain folk can COOK!

As usual, I was too busy socializing to get pictures until half the food was gone. I may or may not have been partially responsible for the quick disappearance of these:

Cheese pierogies with chorizo bacon bits. Even yummier than they looked. I could have happily just eaten those all night!

Of course, some visitors were unimpressed,

but I think that's because her Momma is such a good cook, she takes great food for granted.

I counted 53 people, not a huge crowd, but just the right size. I actually got to talk to everyone this time!

Socializing is definitely the best part of the pot lucks.

***

The very next day was Logan's birthday party at our house. What was I thinking?! He wanted a Magic Tree House birthday party, which was great - there are so many themes in the books, I could use the leftover decorations and party favors from every other party we have ever had! For food we did "High Tide in Hawaii" and had fresh fruit and veggies, Hawaiian cole slaw, mango salsa, and of course meatballs.

Daddy always decorates the cakes, and I thought to make it easy on him I would order a toy treehouse as a cake topper. This turned out to be WAY too big, but also so darn perfect!

Look at the little Jack and Annie!! I just used it as a table decoration, and Logan absolutely loved it. He loves tiny things like that, and he couldn't wait to play with it as soon as the party was over.

As I said, Daddy always decorates the kids' cakes, but he got stuck on a car wreck. In fact, he missed the entire party! I waited as long as I could, but when it became evident this would be a long haul, I fashioned a tree and treehouse with sprinkles, frosting and graham crackers.

Logan was happy with it!

Mostly the kids just like to run around, but we had two MTH activities. For Dinosaurs Before Dark, they dug for dino bones in side back yard.

No shovels, paleontologists wouldn't want to damage the bones!

When they found all the bones, they had to bring them in and figure out how they fit together.

Easier said than done!

I finally took pity and gave them a picture.

And here we have the Loganosaurus Rex (signed by most of the attendees):

While they were digging for bones, Christopher and Jayden were stealthily setting up the treasure hunt for Pirates Past Noon:

That carried them all over the house and yard, until they found the goody bags in the pirate ship playset I picked up at a yard sale years ago.

Hawaiian cowboy pirate dude! With a glow stick!

Sharing the same brain, as usual.

***

Last week of summer reading!! The story time activity was supposed to be chalk drawing outside, but it is hovering around 900 degrees this week. I varied crafts inside for a bit, then settled on cool new shoes for school, to go with Pete the Cat, Rockin' in My School Shoes. I've noticed some increasingly ridiculous shoes available in the stores...so we tried to top those:

Rocket boosters, wheels, spikes, AND they play music!

Modeled after Honey Lemon's purse, this one blows bubbles and stores extra school supplies, among other things - just push the right button.

The Gardener's model. Seeds are stored in the brown part of the toe. As you walk it plants them, then when you walk back it squirts water out of the sides and waters them!

***

900 degree weather is a bad time to be orphaned and trapped in an abandoned car. Thank goodness for Good Samaritans who are willing to spend an hour rescuing kittens, and Grandma, who is willing to foster and nurse back to health!

And for a teen volunteer who was quite happy to spend her entire 2-hour shift in that exact spot.

***

Christopher spent the week at Camp Innoventure, where he learned how to set up a business. The kids had the chance to make things to sell at the Farmer's Market, and he chose bat houses.

He had to do everything himself, from measuring

to cutting (this made him really nervous but he did great!)

to drilling, 

then screwing together and sanding.

He sold 4 at the Farmer's Market Saturday, and has requests for more! Time for him to start buying ME lunch!

***

At home we started on the Netherlands. They seem to like sour things.

So do my kids!

***

For the last Teens and Tweens, we had water gun fights and pizza.

This young lady just needed a moment. School is starting soon, it's stressful.

***

Finally, we had our closing Dance Party, complete with ice cream bar (and yes, of course we have been reading Groovy Joe in all our story times!) About 80 kids and parents got to watch me do the Tooty Ta and Baby Shark, which should be enough to make anyone happy to go back to school. Huge thanks to the volunteers who pulled one last day of work and served the ice cream! And of course to all the sponsors, parents, and library staff who also helped make it a great summer!