Avast me harties!

About a month or so before vacation, Jacob and I were talking about the trip and I asked him what he was looking forward to doing the most when we were at the beach. Immediately he said, "Playing pirates." Well, Nana and I ran with that idea! She was in charge of the accessories...swords, hats, and eye patches. I took responsibility for the treasure hunt, including an actual chest filled with "treasure." (I can't take credit for this idea. I stole it from my friend Karen who did it with her kids last year at the beach.)

Part of my job included creating a treasure map. With Andy's help, I created one that used landmarks outside the beach house so that the boys could follow the map to find the "buried" (or hidden in some grass) treasure. The boys actually "helped" me too. I was having hard time finding a chance to make the map so Friday morning I said I was going to do an art project...and they decided to do it with me. Little did they know that my map would actually be used!

That night the boys got their costumes and a chance to just run around acting crazy. (That's the picture above.) Saturday morning after breakfast Nana and I ducked outside to hide the chest. After a good dousing with bug spray, the hunt was on!

Ready to head out the door

They found Captain Hook's tree...now off to the next landmark. (Andy came up with all the names. He was pretty creative!)

Ah, the Guarded Plant. (It took two tries to get here. Daddy's 25 paces are a bit longer than Jacob's...and much, much longer than Zack's!)

Consulting the map.

Next was the Lebanon Grass. (It was replanted from our house in PA, hence the name.)

Looking for the Tall Tree...where X marks the spot.

Jacob spies something.

Examining the treasure. The first thing Zack said, after the oohs and ahs, was "We need to call Auntie Ali and tell her what we found!" What made this even more special is that it had been a week since her visit.

Once inside they were able to really delve into the treats. The "gold" and "silver" coins were a huge hit, as were the rest of the surprises. Who says you can't have candy at 9:30 in the morning? It's vacation, right?