Part of my daily life is to be a big kid. Responsibly, of course. But still, a big kid. I ride bikes, do cannon balls, dance to Bieber (I have no shame!), play with chalk and play doh, jump rope…. the list goes on and on. So it’s no surprise that my sister and I wanted to have a treasure hunt. We slaved over this thing for a week and this is how it turned out.

First we read Pirate Pete to the kids, on the last page a treasure map fell out with a quick rhyme about how Pirate Pete stashed his treasure close by. The end of the note told them to go to the barn. Both boys were unimpressed. Z was more interested in Baby O, while M was terrified they would run into Pirate Pete. Neither wanted to go to the barn. With a little reverse psychology and skilled child-focussed marketing tactics, we convinced the boys to go on the treasure hunt. So they found 4 “clues”: the one in the barn had a clue about getting your letters in a box (mailbox), the mailbox had a clue about playing soccer on a table (leading them to the foosball table), the foosball table said to go swing and play (playset) and then it said to put your clues together.

When they flipped over each clue it had a portion of a drawing on it, forming a bicycle when put together like a puzzle. The bicycle meant to go to the garage (where we keep bikes). There we found a bucket full of  treasure! Candy, Batman coloring books, yo-yo’s and stuff. They really believed Pirate Pete left it for them. Later, Z’s brother A retuned from school and asked him where he got the yo-yo. Z replied, “Pirate Pete left it for me”… stinking cute!

Success! I’d like to add that I try to make everyday an adventure for the kids. We stop and “make wishes” with pennies at every water fountain we pass. We bake at least once a week. We constantly have front yard picnics and try to make it at the park often also. We write letters to friends (even ones who live minutes away) and include tattoos, stickers and coloring pages in the envelope. Who doesn’t like to get mail?  We climb trees, build forts (inside and out), and have nerf gun and super soaker fights. My point is, you don’t have to spend a fortune or devote an entire day to a theme park. Kids have fun sometimes just with cardboard boxes, crayons, sticks and bikes. I just try to create memories for all of us.