Where's Waldo?

Just over a week ago I helped organize a live version of Where's Waldo. Do you remember that popular book from the 90's?

It took a bit of pre-organizing. I had to round up some volunteers from our ward, people that I knew would be dependable, creative and who the youth would mostly know. 

The adults and youth all met at 6:15 p.m. in different locations. 

The game began at 7:00 p.m. at City Creek Center (our local outdoor mall) and it ended promptly at 8:00 p.m.  

None of us youth leaders could volunteer because we needed drivers.

The only rules were everyone had to be in an open location. They were not allowed in the retail stores or restaurants. The youth split off into groups ranging from 2-5 people.Then they took their list of people to find and went searching. 

The volunteers were allowed to stay put or roam around the mall. I didn't give them much instruction regarding what to do other than that. They each had was a pack of stickers and when a group located them they gave them a sticker. 

It was a beautiful night. 

I didn't know what everyone was disguised as, so it was just as fun for me and the other youth leaders to wander and try to find them. I found everyone but Bob Scott. He was in the food court, surrounded by shopping bags, watching a movie on his lap top. 

The teams were all over the place. They covered a lot of miles trying to be the fastest team. 

Heather enjoyed a hot chocolate in the food court while reading a book. 

Bro. Ashby won the prize in my books. He came dressed up in work attire. He fooled me for sure. He even brought a ladder. He was carrying it around and moving all over the place. At one point I spotted him up on the ladder tinkering with a lamp post. It was a hoot! 

Brother Loesch stayed put listening to music, playing a video game and also enjoying a drink. While his head was down I couldn't tell who he was. He blended in great. 

Isaiah was transformed into an old man. When I spotted him he was standing at a window looking in, not moving...he really seemed a little out of it and he was tough for the youth to find. 

This guy came with his son. Yep, that's Tyson and Lydia. Ha ha. He said this group of girls passed him 3 or 4 times during the game without noticing him. Another group thought it sort of resembled Lydia but then looked up at Tyson and kept on going. 

Lydia got into it. She was walking and talking like a boy. Tyson said she would recognize the girls and make sure not to make eye contact with them. One group almost didn't find him, they finally did with a few minutes to spare. 

Tyson enjoyed walking around a little too much. He said he felt pretty tough with this tattoo sleeves. 

This picture says it all. 

The Stanger family were darling and I'm so glad they could fill in at a moments notice. 

Bro & Sis Tanner had a little date night here in the trees. They stayed put and were pretty tricky to find. Keep strolling down to see his amazing costume!

Bishops wife had a lot of fun. We love her and appreciated Carole coming at the last moment as well. (I had a few drop out for various reasons.)

Can you guess who is under this hat? Its Brother McMurdie. He had himself a little cat nap. I never could locate him. I needed a hint. He was down a corridor around a corner on this bench. 

This is our presidency. I'm so lucky to work with them. 

Joselyn wasn't part of the game, but she looked pretty and was protecting the refreshments.

We ordered 4 dozen glazed donuts from Dicks Market. They were a great treat...and made my car smell delicious all day long. 

They groups had lots of funny stories to tell us when they returned. 

Everyone finished...but this group came in first!

These were all our volunteers. They were just great! I couldn't have been more pleased. That's Sister Hawkes on the end. I never crossed passed with her either. Or maybe I did...and just never noticed her. I tell ya...everyone did a top notch job. 

I told you you'd see a neat costume at the end. Abe Lincoln was one of our volunteers. This mask is amazing all by itself, but Paul Tanner our Elders Quorum President MADE IT himself. He works in prosthetic's and he created this for another event he was involved in.  Check out the young mens faces...they are in awe and so was I. 

One more. 

Alright...last one. 

Our whole crew. 

Everyone were such good participants and truly made it a success. 

 It didn't cost anything besides refreshments, the youth got to build relationships with the adults, they got exercise, made good memories and a few brought new friends along to join in the fun.