Letterboxing

Due to the nature of the Real Estate biz, we haven’t seen Brad much lately.  We were scheduled to run the Bearathon (half marathon) in Waco Saturday, but we decided last minute that what we really just needed family day.

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It.was.wonderful!

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Brad took the whole day off, and we tried something we’ve been wanting to do with our kids, LETTERBOXING!  If you’ve never heard of this fun activity, you need to look into it.  Basically, there are little boxes hidden all over the world (over 20,000 in North America alone) that you walk by all the time.  This is a secret treasure hunt game where you go on a quest to find little waterproof boxes that are hidden right under your nose.  You are given clues, and then you go on your hunt.  You can find the location of many boxes on Letterboxing.org or AtlasQuest.com.

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We had so much fun!  We didn’t find all the boxes we set out to find, because there were a few that were missing, but we had fun with the Letterboxes we did find. This is a fun, free activity you can do anywhere you go.  To get started all you need is a rubber stamp, an ink pad, a log book, and a pen…and a “trail name” if you don’t want to use your own name.

Then you set out on your search.  Be sure to stop and read any fun historical facts or monuments.  It educational as well as exciting.

When you find the Letterbox you’re searching for, there will be a little book and a unique stamp inside a waterproof bag, inside the box.  Not too fancy.

You stamp your book with their stamp, and stamp their log book with yours.

You can write a message and browse through the book to see who else has discovered this little secret box.

It’s really fun to see how long it’s been hidden and how recently it was found.  Preston has a dog stamp, and his “trail name” is Sam (our dog’s name), LK has a cat stamp, and her name is Lacy (our old cat’s name), and AnnaLeigh has a bone stamp, and she just scribbled on the page for her name, “Anna-wee!” :)

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We had fun exploring, climbing, and playing…

Then back in the car…ring pops in hand (to keep us happy and awake from Letterbox to Letterbox)

Then we went to our state park, and the weather couldn’t have been any better!  It was a simply glorious day!  We picnicked…avoiding the caterpillars that were dropping from the trees.  Poor Preston had 2 land on him, but the rest of us were “worm-free” THANK GOODNESS!  I would have been DONE if one of those things had landed on me.  I’m not afraid of bugs, but I just don’t do worms…and caterpillars fall into that category for me. :)

The kids skipped along, and enjoyed the weather.  With this sweet picture in front of me…

And this sweet picture behind me, how could I not thank the Lord?

What precious gifts he has given me, and what awe-inspiring beauty surrounds me.  Praise the Lord!

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We searched and searched and found another Letterbox!  YAY!

Pinky carried a purse that held the stamps and ink pad.  She felt so big distributing the stamps.

She waited with her hand on her hip in her sassy little style for Preston to finish.  So cute…and such a mess!

So proud!  Preston loved Letterboxing!  Please look at that little maniac in the background stuffing everything back into her purse.  She makes me smile!

We enjoyed a wonderful leisurely day and had fun at the park!

LK encouraged AnnaLeigh to get just a little bit closer so she could touch the water.  Yes, we did end up with muddy, wet pants. :)  Oh well.

We met some ducks along the way, and I just happened to have a few crackers.  The kids were excited.  The ducks were, too.

Another family passed us, and Lilly Katherine handed the little girl one of her crackers so she could feed the ducks with us.  It’s so neat when you see your children do an act of kindness to someone else….and you didn’t even ask them to do it.  I was so proud of my baby girl.

She’s talking to the ducks in this picture.

Preston, on the other hand is trying to lure the duck closer so he can catch it.  The difference in boys and girls never ceases to amaze me.

We also saw another little family of five sunning on a log.

It was a FUN, FULL day and the maniacs were all exhausted.

My sweet baby girl was so tired, and I love how she plays with my hair when she hugs me.

I convinced them to at least look at the camera so we could get a quick family pic.  One day I’ll learn to take the family picture FIRST…not last.  Oh well, we had an absolutely wonderful day, and I’m so thankful for my sweet family.

¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

-Ephesians 3:16-21