Mysterious doings are afoot amongst the cousin clan. No one knows who it could possibly have been, but someone left top secret letters in all the cousins’ lockers on the last day of school before Thanksgiving break. Each cousin received a manila envelope marked “Top Secret” which contained a very unusual missive. Two of the cousins who are too small to have a locker had them turn up in their backpacks, and the very small cousins had them show up in mailboxes. (By way of background, it should be noted that the Wilson cousins will all be in Santa Cruz for Thanksgiving, the Janks cousins will be in Seattle, and the Merkles will be in Boise.)
Interesting, don’t you think? Perhaps it’s the CIA. Anyway, the cousins all found each other at recess, and it turns out that each one of them had a different hint listed in their letters. Here are some of the others: It’s big. It’s beautiful. It’s foreign. It’s closed. It’s German. You’ve been there.
In the top secret meeting at recess which took place between the school buses, the kids figured out the password almost immediately. Agent 008 wouldn’t even tell her mom what the password was after school. “It says not to trust anybody, Mom.”
Immediately after school, the cousins all scattered to the four winds for break. I can’t speak for the others, but the Boise contingent has had even more strange communications that took a good deal of wit to decipher. Yesterday, in the middle of a snowstorm, the beagle at Granny’s house began to bark frantically. After going outside to investigate, Agent 005 discovered a capped beer bottle tied to the gate in the back yard, and inside was another mysterious note – this time in code. Oddly enough, there were no tracks in the snow – Dad was on a plane to England, and Mom and Granny were out running errands. So it couldn’t possibly have been any of us. Plus, my kids already made me give them a handwriting sample to compare to the “top secret” on the envelopes and I was completely cleared of suspicion because the handwriting sample I gave them was much more “loopy” than the writing on the envelopes.
Anyway, here’s what they found in the beer bottle:
After much deliberating last night, Agents 001,002,003,005, and 009 have cracked the code. They are now just waiting for Wednesday at 2:00 to see what comes next.
Also, it should be noted that this mystery looks as if it may take all of Advent to unravel – and even the most devoted of Dave Ramsey enthusiasts can’t object to the price tag. It’s an awful lot of bang for zero bucks. (Although the ultimate treasure at the end may well involve some cash!)
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This looks like more fun than…um…something that’s a whole lot of fun!
(OK, so metaphors ain’t my strong suit.)
I’ve done a jigsaw puzzle of the password.
How fun!!!
Wonderfully exciting! What kid wouldn’t enjoy such mysteries?
P.S. A note in defense of Dave Ramsey: he’s not against you spending big money, he’s against spending money you don’t have. I’m sure some extreme spendthrifts can twist that, but really, he’s most generous, and teaches that generosity and charity and all that jazz is necessary for a healthy Christian budget. :o)
What a great idea!! What fun to have with cousins…maybe a Christmas break Mission. Hmmm…
Oh, what fun! Makes me want to have some kids of my own so I can do something like this!
So much fun! Makes me think of the Easter hunts my Grandma used to put together… some years the hunts ranged all over the farm, others, the whole city. Just the memory of this will be a precious treasure for them.
Hannah,
Just to clarify: we like Dave Ramsey and appreciate all he has done to help folks. My point in the previous post was about the temptation some folks have to take good advice and make it into a super-law, etc. So please don’t think we are anti-Ramsey. We really are not.
Cheers,
Nancy
Wowser! You people are so stinking creative it’s just downright amazing, I love it!!! I can’t wait to try something like this with my kids someday. 🙂
I just want to know where this creativity came from. I was raised in such a serious household, my poor husband has had to sanctify the dickens out of me to help me build up a sense of humor. 🙂 Oh but seriously, this is great fun!!!
[Love the festive holiday header!]
This smells of a Nate Wilson scheme. What fun your kiddos will have with it this Advent season.
Ditto to what Valerie said. Very festive indeed!
Katie, I was thinking of comparing the typewriter with the one used in the Esquire Napkin Project, but I’m too lazy. I did manage to decipher the code, though.
Ohhh… I have been to the password indicated as well. I am impressed that they can pronounce it… I get it all twisted up. Love this!
This is so great! How fun for all the cousins!
SO RAD!!!
I think I want to play!! (lol) What a great idea. The kids are going to remember this for a long time.
Too cool. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear all the details about how this plays out. Hint, hint. 🙂