Looking for something to do with the kids to break up the long holiday weekend?  Get your stamps ready……

Some of you have no doubt heard my recent mumblings of Letterboxing.  What, you say, IS letterboxing….well, I’ll not only tell you but I’ll show you!  Letterboxing was introduced to our family by a friend and fellow memory-preserving mom as a great way to have little adventures with the kids any day of the week.  In a nutshell, letterboxing is like a treasure hunt in which you find hidden boxes or packages in public places.  The treasure really is in the finding itself, but getting there is always half the fun,right?!  Here are the two questions I am most often asked:  “Who hides these boxes?”  Anyone can.  Someday, we may hide one too!  “How do you find out where there are boxes hidden?”  there are a couple of websites with locations…I’ll tell you more about that later.

Ok, first step is the prepare.  The treasure will be found but you need to be ready what to do with it!  Each hidden treasure will consist of a journal book and a stamp.  As treasure hunters, you will need to also have a journal and a stamp.  My kids each have their own 3×5 bound notebook on which they stamp from the treasure we find.  I then write on their page where we found that letterbox.  The MOST fun part is to also come up with your own family stamp!  The family stamp is used to stamp in the notebook that is always kept with the treasure.  It becomes a log book of who has located the treasure over time.  It’s fun to look through the journal to see who has found the treasure before you!

I have to be honest, I was super excited to come up with our family stamp.  It can be anything, really.  A lot of people hand-carve stamps….yeah, I didn’t do that!  I got on etsy and found a moving stamp and had it converted to a family camping stamp, something we like to do as often as we can.

I know, super cute ;)  So, family stamp is in our hands, notebooks are purchased…you will also always need to carry a stamp pad.  Even if you purchase a self-inking stamp.

We decided our first outing would be on a Thursday night at Ouabache State Park which is close to our home.  We made an evening of it, hooking up with the Schwartz family to not only letterbox but take our bikes and ride the beautiful trails as well.  From the letterboxing site, we knew there were two boxes hidden at the park, so we printed off both clues and were on our way!

When we pulled into the park, there was a gentleman settling in for the weekend….

He was there over the weekend giving short little history lessons on life as it was once lived.  Yeah, we went with two teachers…so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity!  This had absolutely nothing to do with letterboxing, but it was part of the outing just the same ;)

OK!  Let’s get to it!  The first clues were very specific and we knew right where to look…except the area was COVERED in poison ivy!  Denny and Conner hopped in anyway but they never did find the hidden box.  I know, we were a little disappointed but that sometimes happens.  It’s a good idea to print of multiple boxes if they are close to the area you will be searching.  The websites are actually great for keeping track of when they were found the last time.  You can even leave comments as the person who hid the clue can view it as well.  Here we are following the first clue which involved finding this road sign…

We moved on to the next clue which involved locating the giant fire tower and following the fence row…

And the Dad’s were SUPER excited…

This was another clue that involved crawling through the brush (and more than likely poison ivy) so Conner and Denny were again the only ones brave enough to go in!  Conner was very determined to be the one to find it…my hero ;)

And it wasn’t long before Conner yelled, “I FOUND IT!!!!”

Pause for cheers from the crowd.

Trenton, Evie, Conner and Makenna holding their treasure.  Yes, it’s not always a box!  This was a padded envelope covered in duct tape to hopefully protect it from the elements.

The first thing we did was take out the stamp.  It was hand-carved with a bison (they have bison at the park) and “OUABACHE” written on it!  There was NO stamp pad hidden with the clue.  I’m sure it would dry out too quickly outside in the weather to be of much use.  No worries, we had our own :)  The kids stamped their books right away…well, Trenton karate-chopped his stamp.  Oh, that boy….

Then we put our family stamp on the notebook that stays with the letterbox!  Back into the envelope went the bison stamp and journal of finders and we then put it back in the brush for the next family to find!

Now, LET’S RIDE!!!!!

Yes, I was shooting and driving…I don’t think that’s been banned yet but it’s not recommended ;)  And the LIGHT was sooo gorgeous!  A couple of times I got off my bike just to look around and dream about a couple in love walking onto the path ready for an engagement session.  Yes, I sometimes dream about my job…lame!

The kids were tired from riding so we stopped at the playground to burn off the last of their energy.  We couldn’t stop laughing at the results of them riding through all of the puddles on the trail… ;)

And what trip to Ouabache would be complete without the trek up the fire tower…makes me ill just thinking about it again.  It’s REALLY high.

Conner, Makenna, Trenton and Evie :)

I think our first Letterboxing experience was a great success.  It didn’t take a lot of time so I love the idea of making it just a small part of a larger day.  Maybe use it as a reward…if you take the kids to the mall, you can stop for 30-40 minutes on the way home to find a letterbox.  But only if they’re good while shopping!

I’ve been told that some clues involve reading a compass to find the box.  Just print off your clues ahead of time and be prepared.  There are two websites that you can visit to find the listings in the areas you are visiting:  letterboxing.org and atlasquest.com.  Be sure to return to the site after you’ve found your box as well!  Record the date you found the box and any comments you may have.  I left a comment for the one at Ouabache that we couldn’t find.  That if it’s still there, they may want to ask the park if they can clear the area of the poison ivy…or maybe find a new place to hide it.

I really wasn’t sure what my kids would think about it before hand.  When they hear treasure hunt, they expect a treasure.  Maybe that’s the problem…they’re used to stuff.  We all are!  I loved seeing how excited they were at searching and the reward at finding it was all they needed :)

So, happy letterboxing to you and your family!  I hope to share more about other boxes we find along the way!

I think it was late on a Saturday night in January when Heidi contacted me.  Heidi is my cousin’s wife and we often share random texts about where we are and what we’re doing..it’s our way of staying in touch.  This time, she was contacting me from Las Vegas where she and her co-workers were attending a convention for Scale Computing.  She was in a slight panic…her boss Peter just learned  that he needed a portrait of he and his wife together ASAP!  So, Heidi’s job was to make that happen the minute they landed back in Indiana.  Which was Monday.

Peter and Susan were interviewed by Entrepreneur Magazine about their lives as business owners and how they make it work with their marriage.  This is where I came in…the magazine needed images of Peter and Susan in their beautiful home to accompany the article.

Peter and Susan had literally been home only hours after taking the red eye home.  With coffee in hand, they greeted my warmly and never let it show how exhausted they must have been!  We talked a little about their work and the article as we shot in their family room and library.

We were shooting away and I noticed that Peter and Susan’s kids were home that day.  I had mentioned getting some family shots as well…I think the kids had the same idea!  Just about the time I had finished with Peter and Susan, Alyssa and Nicholas came down the stairs all done up and were dressed for the camera :)

Peter and Susan, you have a gorgeous family!  Thank you so much for a great morning so many  months ago :)

You can read the article in Entrepreneur magazine here. I love the title of the article…Is your business taking over your marriage?  Something all self-employed people have dealt with at one time or another…myself included!  It’s about finding the balance, something I know I’m always striving to achieve :)  Also, if you’re interested in learning more about entrepreneurial families, check out Peter and Susan’s website!

She’s a happy girl.  That’s how her mother describes Lila.  If you know mom Morgan, then you will also know that it could be said “like mother, like daughter.”  Morgan is a dear friend and I have cherished the time that I’ve been able to spend with both of her children over the last year.  It has truly been a family affair :)

We again chose Grandma Mitchel’s house as the location for Lila’s one year session.  The last time we were there, Lila was 6 months old and not even sitting up yet.  This time, we tried so hard to schedule carefully around naptimes and the family dinner that was planned…only to have it start raining again literally the  minute we stepped out the door!  Yep, that’s the kind of Spring it was around here…we all know it.  We decided to shoot indoors and wait out the storm as we were certain the rain would pass….

…but not before I put in a special order with Mother Nature for this to appear ;)

Lila didn’t care about the wet grass, or the mud, or the cold water from the pond in the back yard.  She just wanted to RUN!

And run she did, through the puddles and giggling like she had just broken free from Mom’s arms!

Miss Lila, how I adore your wrinkled up nose and your pretty blue eyes.  Hoping to get some days by the pond with you and your Mommy this summer ;)  Happy Birthday, big girl!