Letterboxing

Letterboxing is a fun family activity.  It is really similar to geocaching except you are given clues to find the hidden item instead of GPS coordinates. 

Also, letterboxing is about collecting stamps--like the kind you use ink and notepad.  Each letterbox has clues that lead to a hidden container that should contain a stamp and a little notepad.

{A letterbox we found.}

 The idea is that once you find a letterbox you leave your stamp in the letterbox book (indicating that you actually found it) and then use the letterbox stamp in your own stamp book for you to keep and remember.  (If you're a little confused by my explanation, visit the links below for more detailed instructions.)  

To start letterboxing, you will first need a stamp book.  This is for collecting the stamps that you will find at each letterbox.  You can have one stamp book for the whole family or you can have one for each child, whatever works best for you.  I like to use sketch pads (the stamps look really nice on the blank paper) and then cut them in half so I really get two stamp books from each sketch pad.

Next, you will need to buy or make a stamp.  This stamp is going to be your "signature" that you use when you find a letterbox.  Here again you can either have a family stamp or individual stamps.  There are los of tutorials available online that show how to make your own stamp.  This can be fun because then you're stamp will truly be unique and one of a kind.  

You will also need to buy an ink pad so that you actually use the stamps (most letterboxes don't include an ink pad, plus you don't know how used the ink will be once you find it).

Once you have those three things--stamp book, stamp, and ink pad--you ready to find your first letterbox!

You will find the clues for the letterboxes on these websites:

www.letterboxing.org  

and

atlasquest.com.

 When you go to these websites, simply enter where you live or where you are going to see if there are letterboxes in that area.

Once you pick a letterbox and have the clues, you are ready for the search!

I love letterboxing because sometimes they are hidden in locations you've never explored before.

{A beautiful waterfall we found while letterboxing}

Plus, it feels like a treasure hunt as you try to decipher the clues. 

If you like geocaching or outdoor activities, then you are sure to love letterboxing!

{Tuesday's Tip} 20 Fun Things To Do on a Walk

The weather is getting a bit cooler and it's time to enjoy evening walks together as a family.  There are always fun things to discover on your walk.

For instance, we saw this tree with hundreds of birds all talking together (at least that's what it sounded like!).  I didn't have my best camera with me while we were out on our walk, so this is the best I could get.  It was cool to see and fun to watch them.

{birds in the tree}

We also found a tree with seeds like long beans that we used to sword fight.  We also pretended they were light sabers and fought off the bad guys on our way home.  There are always fun things to do, see, and pretend.

To make your walks enjoyable for the entire family, I came up with 20 more idea's to use the next time you go on a walk with your family!

{20 Fun Things to do on a Walk}

{Helicopter seeds}

              Find "helicopter seeds" and make them fly
(I learned you have to break them in half and then throw in the air and watch them twirl down)  

 Jump over cracks

Find sprinklers to run through.
Make a scavenger hunt and see what you can find

{coin toss}

Bring a coin and toss it when you get to a corner. Go left on heads and right on tails.
 Have a race to the corner

Play follow the leader
Play "I Spy"

{skipping}

Play "Paper, Rock, Scissors" and the winner decides how to cross the road (like skipping, jumping, galloping, tip-toeing, etc.). Be sure to watch for cars.

Roller-skate

Find a pine cone to throw and see who can throw it the farthest
Go to the park or other nearby trail to walk

See how many animals or bugs you find

Find a rock to kick and see who can kick it the farthest

Balance on the curb

Collect leaves

{beautiful sunset}

Go at sunset
Take pictures doing funny things
If there are farm animals in your area take grain, carrots, or apples to feed the animals

Sing a song like The Ants Go Marching or The Princess Pat

You can add to this list with your own ideas, it's easy.  Enjoy your walks before it becomes too cold!

{Tuesday's Tip} Climb Every Mountain

All summer I've been wanting to go on a local hike.  Yesterday, I finally did it!  It was just me my baby yesterday with no other appointments, so I packed us up and off we went.

I used a hiking backpack for the trip to carry my baby on my back.  The backpack I used has a shade canopy and a pouch to carry other essential items.  In the pouch I carried some water and snacks for both of us along with my camera and extra baby clothes in case the lake area was cold.

There are lots of different styles of hiking backpacks out there.  These backpacks are great for both the carrier and the baby because: 1) the carrier has the advantage of using his/her hips (and legs) to carry the bulk of the weight instead of it resting all on your back and shoulders, and 2) the baby gets to sit comfortably and either enjoy the view or take a nap.

We are blessed to live so close to beautiful mountains where I live.  I picked a hike up a local canyon that I had never done before and one that I thought would challenge me, but not take all day.  I chose to hike up to White Pine Lake.

Being in nature all by yourself gives you a lot of time to think.  To be honest, I kept asking myself on the way to the lake, "Are you sure you can make it all the way with a baby on your back?!"  But each time I just kept hiking and, eventually, we made it!

We didn't stay at the lake for very long.  Just long enough to rest, stretch our legs, and have lunch.  But it was still so much fun!

If you want to find out about hiking trails--easy or hard--you can purchase brochures and books online or at your local bookstore or town visitor's center.

You can also find several hikes available online.  Here are some websites I found helpful:

1. http://www.utah.com/hike/
This website is for all of Utah, although it does not include


2. http://www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/uwcnf/recreation
This website is for the Unita-Wasatch-Cache National Forest.  There is a list of other ranger districts in Utah on the right column of this page.


3. http://www.tourcachevalley.com/outdoor/hiking.php
This website is for Cache Valley only.  But you can go to your own city or county website and search for hiking trail information.

4. http://www.trails.com/
This website was very helpful.  However, my search was limited because I don't have a login.

5. http://www.localhikes.com/Default.asp
This website shows a list of hiking trails near U.S. metropolitan areas in every state.


6. http://logancanyonhiking.com/
This website is specific to hiking trails in Logan Canyon, UT.


It's such a great feeling to finish something you started and to achieve one of your goals.  Good luck finding a hiking trail near you.  Now is the perfect time of year for hiking, so go out and enjoy!

{Tuesday's Tip} Waste Not

Recently I had a lot of leftover bread pieces from several different loaves of bread (for some reason my family doesn't always eat the loaf ends).  It was time to either give the bread away or throw it away, so we opted to go feed it to the ducks!

Feeding the ducks is a great summer time activity.  It gets both you and yours kids out of the house and enjoying nature!  We are lucky to have a couple dams near by that always have ducks.  But if you have trouble finding some, look for the little canals, streams, or ponds that ducks would love.

To be honest, it took me a few days before we actually went and fed the ducks.  But I had my bag of bread already to go so that I'd be able to grab it and go when I was ready.

This is a cheap and easy activity too because you can either use leftovers (as long as their safe for birds to eat) or sometimes there are bird-food dispensers that only take a dime or quarter.

{Tuesday's Tip} Make a Splash & Cool Off

We have been having one HOT summer this year where we live.  You literally start melting as soon as you step out the door.  So we've been trying to come up with some activities that can help us keep cool without spending a lot of money.  

One great way to cool off on hot summer days is to find a park with lots of shade or...a splash pad!

If you've never been to a splash pad park, you need to go!  The one closest to where we live is about 15 minutes away.  But it is great for kids of all ages and it's actually a really popular spot!

Each splash pad is a little different.  Some have sprinklers that spray up from the ground, others have pipes that spray like a shower.  Our splash pad is located at a park, so it has all the typical park amenities: nearby parking, playground, grassy area, covered pavilion, and bathrooms.  There are also a couple benches on the perimeter of the splash pad to help parents keep a close eye on their kids.  The sprinklers are activated by pressing a button.  There are several sprinklers in a circular, cement area that spray in different patterns.

It's the same idea as running through the sprinklers at home...but tons more fun!  Dress your kids in swimsuits or clothes that can get wet in (and you too!).  We make sure to pack towels, sunscreen, and snacks so that we can play as long as we'd like. 

If you don't know if there is a splash pad near you, here is a list of local splash pads from EnjoyUtah!.org. 

So, go on and make a splash!

{Tuesday's Tip} Notice What is Around You

The other day as my daughter and I were walking on a small nature trail, we had a surprisingly fun learning experience.  You see, my daughter loves butterflies.  She also is one of the most imaginative children I've ever met.  She believes that butterflies are really fairies only we (normal human beings) can't see them, we just see butterflies.  But, if we could see butterflies with magic, we would see the beautiful fairies as they really are.

Naturally, we were looking for butterflies along the trail.  As we were walking I just happened to notice one butterfly hanging upside down from a branch.  It had just come out of the cocoon but wasn't ready to take off and fly away.  While we watched the butterfly I explained what the butterfly was doing and how it had changed from a caterpillar inside the cocoon to a beautiful butterfly.

This turned out to be a special little teaching moment because she was so fascinated by the butterfly.  It was very exciting!  It was a good reminder that we need to take in more of the beautiful world we live in.  Afterwards, we took a trip to the library and searched online for more cool facts about butterflies.  I love watching my kids learn, and it is good to keep their young minds active even during summer vacation. 

Outdoor Snacks

My family just took a camping trip to Yellowstone. It was so fun and a much needed break. An important part of any outdoor activity is having good food and water that will keep you and your kids energized and happy.

 

 Here are a couple easy snacks ideas for when you pack for your own hiking or camping trips. Plus, most of these you can have your kids help you pack or prepared. 

{Homemade Trail Mix} Trail Mix is a great outdoor snack. It is easy to put in separate baggies and lightweight to carry. It doesn't require any utensils and usually isn't very messy.  Plus you can get some much needed protein and nutrients to keep your energy up while your enjoying the outdoors. The other fun part is that you can make it however you want!

I was able to use a lot of things that I already had on hand except for the nuts.  I had mixed nuts, craisins, raisins, dried strawberries, and M&M's. I put each of the items in a separate bowl and let everyone make their own bag of trail mix.



{Water & Apple} Whenever you're playing outside, you should bring water with you. We invested in a Camelbak for everyone in our family because we use them so much.  But any water bottle will do. Then grab an apple and your set! The other nice thing about the Camelbak is that you also store your apples and trail mix in the bag so your hands are free for hiking.

{Hot Cocoa & Popcorn} Another one of our favorite snack is hot cocoa and popcorn. After a long day of hiking, this is a fun bedtime snack to help your body relax. We have used campfire and a camp stove to heat the water for the hot cocoa (or hot apple cider) and cook the popcorn.

 

On our last camping trip we used the Jiffy Pop and it was so yummy! You have to be careful when holding it over the fire, if you get to close you could burn yourself. But it was fun to watch the popcorn grow and was so good to have a warm treat.

What are some of your favorite camping snacks?

{Tuesday's Tip} Be Prepared

I love summer time. 

There are so many fun things to do outdoors! When enjoying the outdoors there are a few things you should always have on hand when you're with your kids.

If you keep these items in your car, then you will be prepared for any adventure to the park, zoo, mountains, etc.

Here's my  list of "go-to" essentials for the car:

Sunscreen

Bug spray

Wipes (or hand sanitizer)

Snacks

First aid kit with lots of bandaids

Water (I keep my Camelbak in the car filled with water)

Coins 

The last one might not seem that essential, but I keep quarters and dimes in my car for a couple reasons.

{ #1}  Depending on the trip, I give my kids the chance to earn a little spending money while we're traveling. Money can be a great incentive and it can be used to teach so many useful life lessons.

            {#2}  Some of the small and simple activities use coins, so their great to have on hand. For example: duck or fish food, candy machines, small kiddie rides, smashing a penny, parking meter, lemonade stands on the side of the road, etc.

I try to have these essentials in my car whenever I travel. I use my camelbak as a little backpack to keep everything organized. It is so convenient to grab one bag and take it with us on any of our little outings. It makes summer activities so easy and stress-free because you know you are already prepared!

So, get packed and have some fun summer adventures outdoors!

Jokes On You!

Today we went on a family outing to the library.  For fun reading, I had everyone find a joke book they wanted to checkout.  The kids laughed and laughed as they read through their books -- they thought the jokes were so silly!

 

So when it was dinner time, I allowed everyone to bring their joke books to the table.  While we ate dinner we took turns telling some of our favorite jokes from the books. It brought a lot of laughter to the dinner table that night!

This was a simple activity that turned out to be way more fun and entertaining than I anticipated!  Plus it was and easy, free dinner activity that made everyone smile -- ya can't beat that!!

{Tuesday's Tip} Be Spontaneous

There is something about the outdoors that soothes the soul.

The other day we stopped and enjoyed nature for a little bit while the sun was going down and it was heavenly.  It was a spur of the moment stop but later I realized it was much needed!  We had long day of shopping and passed by the Great Salt Lake on our way home.  We decided to go walk along the beach and climbed around on the rocks for awhile.  Then we played in the water - it was so fun!

Hearing the waves and feeling the water on my toes was very relaxing.  I need to remember to do that more often.  It makes me stop and pause in life for a moment and allows me to just enjoy.

If it would have been a planned outing, then it would have been fun to bring play clothes for the water or a picnic.  But spur of the moment outings can be just as much fun and memorable for the whole family!  There is something special about these unplanned trips that adds a sense of adventure and thrill to life.