graduation gift scavenger hunt

So, we had some fun with Aspen's graduation gift :) We made her work for it!!

We decided that we would do a scavenger hunt with ten clues...my graduation card to her would have the first clue, and at each spot there would be a little gift and another clue. All of the little gifts pointed toward a theme that began to become apparent as we went on. I had my coworkers help me with the clues, and it really turned out to be a lot of fun!! Most of the hiding places were around our house -- in the mailbox, the grill, the waterfall, etc. We did make her drive around the neighborhood a bit -- to the oldest, biggest tree in the neighborhood, and to the entrance of our subdivision. So that made the hunt more dimensional too. In addition, we switched up the type of clues too -- we used riddles, photo clues, scriptures that she had to look up in her Bible, things she had to google, etc. It took her awhile to think of the first clue, but then she got into the groove and we were off on the hunt! I think she really enjoyed it :) We enjoyed watching her go through it!!

At the end of the hunt, she opened up a picture frame with a photo of her and Chris...and her graduation card from Chris. Tears started then...and then Chris was supposed to go over her gift and explain it to her -- but he was choked up too and couldn't speak for a bit :) An emotional day to be sure. He finally calmed a bit and was able to tell her -- not only was she going to be going on a CRUISE to Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and Cozumel, but it was going to be just HER AND HIM on the adventure!!! A daddy/daughter bonding trip. Oh she lost it!! If you know Aspen at all, or have followed the blog long enough, you know how fun her reactions can be to things -- she certainly did not disappoint this time either :) Enjoy the photos!

My card, plus the 9 additional clues for the scavenger hunt!

About half way through the hunt, the little gifts began to kick in and she was getting excited because she was pretty sure she knew what was coming -- a beach trip!

Here she is looking for the waterfall clue!

And here we go...I'll just let you enjoy the sequence :)

She was so excited to find out that it would just be the two of them on the cruise!!

We had so much fun with the hunt! Hopefully it will be a memory that she has for the rest of her life!

They will be leaving on Saturday, June 14th -- they will drive down to Galveston, park the car, and board the cruise ship for a seven day voyage! I hope they have the most amazing time together :)