Photos: Hayley’s early surprise birthday treasure hunt

Hayley wanted her own english cutback saddle for riding so her birthday seemed the perfect opportunity to get one. I’d asked her if that was what she really wanted since it was so expensive she wasn’t going to get a ton of other stuff and she completely agreed… but I wanted it to be special still so we decided to surprise her with the saddle on Easter weekend when Jeff’s family was here.

I meticulously crafted clues and designed them, planning out how to hide them through the house. Some clues she had to actually figure out the puzzle on it to get to the next step. One was backwards so you had to hold it up to a mirror. I was afraid see wouldn’t get them all and ran them by Jeff. In the end, Hayley did better than he did!

Mason and her family came over too and everyone watched them run from clue to clue trying to figure out how to solve the mystery. Eventually we ended up in the garage in my Jeep and there under a blanket was her new saddle. It was total surprise and she was over the top happy, thanking and hugging everyone. When I told her I had Coldstone ice cream cupcakes for everyone after, she even started tearing up she was just so excited by it all. I fretted so much about making this perfect and it turned out just as I hoped!

As soon as she was cleared by the doctor to get back on the horse, she was ready to try it out and already loves riding with it.

See more photos from this set:
Regular view (easiest to find one in particular or print)
Slideshow view (easiest to see them all)

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