Hebgen Lake 2012

What a fun summer! I actually moved everything except the bed, fridge and rocking chair out of the house by myself while Johnny was out of town BEFORE we left for Montana. Don't be too impressed. We had absolutely nothing in Grandview house and all of my family blitzed the big stuff. I got to drive up to Montana by myself and I felt the anticipation of peace that Grandfather Richards said Hebgen Lake provides - a necessary break from the hustle and bustle of normal life. I woke up early Sunday morning after feeding Scott and threw everyone into the car sleeping. Davis stayed awake with me and just sat in the back reading book after book, but everyone else slept all the way through most of Idaho. It is my preferred mode of travel - wake up early and get out the door. We stopped in Rigby to take the sacrament in our pajamas in the foyer. Then we made it.
Hebgen is heaven. It's a break and it's being with family and getting to know aunts and uncles that really are only a few years older than you. It's big family meals together where little kids sneak treats off the table before the prayer. It's birthday parties playing Button, button, who's got the button and dance parties doing the shopping cart and the sprinkler. It's sending your husband off to play frisbee golf with the uncles even though you'd almost rather have him stay to keep the ratio 2:4 on KP (kid patrol) but you send him off anyway because it's also a 7 mile roadbike ride through Yellowstone on your own without any children and that's reciprocation and supporting each other in our separate roles if I ever heard of it. It's drinking ice cold delicious water from the cabin tap - best water on earth. It's gathering for CatchPhrase around the kitchen table with younger cousins who are so clever and growing up so beautifully. It's taking a walk with your boys who are excited out of their minds from seeing a calf on Denny Creek road that escaped past the cattle guard. It's eating lunch on the boat. It's watching your husband teach your son how to catch a squirrel. It's Papa's treasure box of treats. It's hearty crock-pot dinners at the end of a beach day. It's going to PlayMill by yourself and seeing Ellen Rowan and Teresa Nielson there at the same vacation spot you're at. It's the treasure hunt. It's writing and hiding the clues for the treasure hunt. It's watching your kids experience things that you love for their first time. It's sitting together at family firesides in ZAMM cabin and hearing cousins and aunts and uncles bear testimony when you normally would never hear them.
Hebgen is heaven. Zion is about making memories. Families are forever.

The treasure hunt was especially awesome because the treasure was in a plastic chest sealed with a combination lock and held down with a cinder block at the bottom of the lake. Now that I've revealed the end, here's the clues from the beginning. Imagine Van reading them in a Russian pirate voice.

Come here, little pirates. It's time to be brave
I'm sharing a secret I took to me grave
Dread Pirate Richards is my name
Hebgen Lake was mine before you came
To find my treasure, follow each clue
Grab a compass, life jacket and shoes
If you make it to the end
You'll each have a piece of treasure, my friend

This hunt starts where the waves hit the sand
Search the jumping mechanism to find the clue you demand

Now look for an object that rocks back and forth
You'll take about 25 steps due north

The Black Pearl holds it's very own treasure chest
Take off your shoes and search your best

Head for the island where you might spot an owl
Look for a clue covered up by a towel

Look on the beach, X marks the spot
You'll have to dig down. Careful! The sand is hot

Now swim straight out from the dock
Use NOTHING to open up the lock