We have a lot of blogs to write. I’ll start with last weekend’s puzzle hunt.

We invited the family to do a puzzle hunt after the traditional Fourth of July BBQ. Elisa and I weren’t able to be there, unfortunately. (More on that later). Chad had a series of five puzzles that could be jumbled up so six teams could participate. He’s brilliant. I think about 30 people joined in. They had to solve clues that took them around Idaho Falls. The clues and solutions are posted here.

The first puzzle was to fish an envelope out from under a sunken trampoline, using a magnet and twine. Another puzzle was to find a DVD created by one of my cousins as a school project, and figure out where a certain scene was filmed. Another one was to drive around town using Presidential trivia and Presidential street names to decide the correct route. Another was to locate certain words containing X’s in a copy of the Declaration of Independence, and then find the location on an Idaho Falls map corresponding to one of them. The last puzzle was to find a message hidden in some patriotic lyrics. Then everyone had to go by my grandparents’ house and say why they are grateful for America. Finally they drove to my parents’ house where they found the prize. The prize was that my parents invited the family over for root beer floats and fireworks on Sunday evening.

Some of the teams got really competitive! I wish I could have seen them. The puzzles all got solved way faster than I expected. I had vetted them with coworkers, but my family solved everything faster and easier than anyone else I tested the clues on. It just reinforced for us how smart my family members are!

If you were on one of the teams, then please let us know what you wish had been different–longer or shorter, harder or easier, more kid-friendly, etc. There is a sequel in the works.