Who knew?

Who knew that there were so many beautiful and unique gardens here in Knoxville? Certainly not me. I have never been one to go admire the beauty of my surroundings. I always thought there was so many more challenging and exciting activities I could be engaging in. However, our new letterboxing adventures have opened my eyes to a whole new world. The local gardens are amazing. Each on so very different from the others. And not just flowers. There are the most unusual trees, interesting out building, memorials, landmarks, and some incredible rock gardens imaginable. Here a few pictures of a garden we visited today. It is located on Tennessee Avenue. It is free and open to the public on weekdays from 8:00 til 4:00.

If Those Rocks Could Talk

Took these pictures today at the Dohm-Cooper Garden, while letterboxing. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and located in Fountain City. The workmanship and size of the garden was amazing. The property was originally developed in the 1920's by Arthur Savage and is currently being restored to its' former glory. I remember passing these gardens as a child and being intrigued by the unique buildings and pathways. I imagined all sorts of playtime scenarios that might unfold behind the rock walls. It was a blessing to walk those pathways and look at the structures up close with my children. The quality of the photos is very poor. The lighting was "interesting" at best.

It Just Keeps Getting Better.

Today's letterbox hunt was the best yet. We found our way to the Baker's Peter House. The history behind the historical site was interesting to say the least. We all loved the story of Dr. Baker and his son Abner. If you are not into letter boxing I still suggest you check out the history behind this great local treasure. I hate to sound like a broken record but we have learned so much during our hunts and we are having a blast.

All Aboard!

Lettering boxing has proved to be amazingly (is that a word?) educational for our family. Compass reading, history, local government, vocabulary, pre-driving directional skills, critical thinking, and team work are just a few of the attributes we are learning. I can honestly say this may be the single most important educational decision I have made as a homeschool mom. I realize how huge of a statement that is. I also realize the implications of making a statement of that magnitude. But at this moment I believe it to be absolutely true.

Years of forcing Grace to do her math. Years of standing over Elijah forcing him to read. Years of spending hundreds of dollars on curriculum. Years of lesson planning. Now it has come to this, a money free, lesson plan free, hassle free, learning experience that my kids BEG to do. And I enjoy it, to boot! It's exactly what we homeschoolers dream of.




This was a difficult find. But, not to hard for those Durham kids.

Although we didn't find the box at this location, we did find some really cool old train cars.

This was our last find of the day. It was a beautiful church and as soon as we had found the box the church bells began to ring. They sounded beautiful and it was the first time my children had ever heard church bells ring.

Our Recent Finds

We have managed to go on three letterbox hunts in the past few days. We ended up with two successful hunts but we are not giving up on the third. We will regroup and try yet again. The picture below is at Victor Ashe Park today. Notice, if you will, our Cherdo in the far left corner of the page.



This next picture was taken at Pratt's Country Store. If you have never been there, I strongly suggest you stop in one day. Lots of fresh fruits and locally grown veggies. It is privately owned by a local homeschool family. I am sure they would appreciate the business. The specific letterbox had very cute clues, not too hard and not too easy.



The more letterboxes we find the more my kids want to look. I will admit that I am pretty keen on looking for them myself. I think we may have hit on a lifetime, family hobby. If we could just sell Fred on the concept!

Hee Haw!

Yes, we are definitely addicted to letterboxing. We stopped by a local graveyard on the way to the pool today. Not your typical stop, but we aren't your typical family. I think this is my favorite letterbox so far. The first picture is Aaron looking behind a "cellulous" for the box. Cellulous, is our new vocabulary word for the week. Thanks to our Cherdopedia we have been able to learn several new words while letterbox hunting.


Can you guess who are famous letterbox was in honor of? Yep, Archie Campbell. The planter had hand made the coolest stamp of Archie Campbell himself. The kids loved learning about this famous person and can't wait to see a episode of Hee Haw. Anyone know where I can get my hands on those?

The cemetery was one of the most interesting one I have seen in a long time. Full of old and new graves alike. The kids were amazed to see all of the baby and children graves. It was very sobering to realize how blessed we are not to have to deal with polio, scarlet fever, small pox, and many other deadly diseases. We have really learned a lot from these new experiences. It has definitely been worth our time.

What are the odds?

We went letterboxing today with a group of great fellow homeschoolers. We went to two different sites, followed all the clues and found NOTHING. Neither letterbox was anyone to be found. We did have a nice LONG, HOT and interesting five mile hike. lol I decided I would not end my day in defeat. The kids and I went to two more sites after Grace's dance this evening. We were able to find both boxes in less than thirty minutes combined. YEA!!!!



This is Grace finding the letterbox at Young-Williams Animal shelter. Took less than 10 minutes to find. Now that is more like it.


Aaron rehiding the box for the next person.

Some of our fellow Think Tankers. Although, we didn't find our box we still enjoyed the company and the much needed exercise. Not real sure why we chose at day when it was 91 degrees outside.

The Durham kids in front of the last letterbox site of the day. Took less than five minutes to find. Now that is more like it!

Oh brother, where art thou?

Today's adventure took us to Northwest Middle school. There are two registered letterboxes along the school's nature trail. The first box was easy enough to find. But oh brother, the second one was a doosie. We turned a .3 mile hike into a 3 mile hike and still didn't find the letterbox. We regrouped and tried again only to realize that the letterbox was not in the hiding place. ARGH!! Oh well, we had a blast and got some great exercise. I love this new hobby.

It was a graveyard smash!

On our second letterbox adventure we found ourselves in a graveyard. We spent the weekend in Alabama and decided to do a little research. Come to find out there is a letterbox located in the local cemetery in Frederick's hometown. We were excited to learn that Scottsboro has a registered letterbox considering the size of the town. We were even more excited when realized that the box was hidden in the cemetery where the kids' great grandfather is buried. We decided to check it before leaving town on Sunday night. It just so happened that by the time we figured out all the clues, the sun had set and we were standing in the center of a very old and very dark graveyard. I wasn't to keen on sticking my had inside the old tree trunk in the dark (no, we were not smart enough to bring a flashlight). I finally felt around until I found a broken stick to use to poke around until I felt the box. Nothing like walking around in the dark, feeling behind tombstones for sticks, and reaching inside tree branches. Homeschoolers really know how to have fun! The kids absolutely loved the entire excursion. And I was thrilled to add yet another stamp to our notebook!

Oh for the Love of Letterboxing!

We went on our very first letterboxing adventure today. Everyone had a blast. The location was next to the West Side Y. So after hiking to the treasure site we were able to cool off in the Y pool. It just doesn't get any better than that!

Even the little guys loved it. They enjoyed looking for the clues. These particular clues were perfect. Not to hard, but clever enough to require a little thinking on our part. Grace did great at figuring out what the clues meant. She never ceases to amaze me.

This is what the letter box looked like once we opened it. They had very cute, homemade stamp. Several people had visited the box before us. It was cool to read the comments left behind and see everyone else's stamps.

We were very careful to leave the box better than we found it! The kids insisted on putting these sticks on the rocks over the hidden box. Because everyone knows, X marks the spot. We absolutely loved this activity and we are looking forward to our next treasure hunt. If, you want to know more about Letterboxing here is a great link to check out:Atlas Quest: A Letterboxing Community

Baseball lives on.....

Our season may have ended but baseball lives on at the Smokies Baseball Park. We had a great time this evening. Nice cool evening, good clean fun, exciting game, and ice cream to top it all off. Now it just doesn't get much better than that. If you haven't been out to the Smokies game, you are really missing out.

Homeschoolers (being the frugal people that we are) should really take advantage of having a minor league baseball team in our own back yard. The park offers a summer reading program that gives free tickets to almost all of the home games. If your child completes all five levels of the program you get invited to the end of summer party at the park.

During the games they provide lots of opportunity for your children to get up and moving. Kiddos get to run the bases, chase the chicken, and play at the kids area. There are games, dances, interactive videos, and of course there is always the game! My family really enjoys going, even the little guys. If you are looking for a good, inexpensive, family friendly, summer activity, I highly suggest you take a look at the Smokies Baseball Park.

Your Champions in my book.

Baseball season came to a dramatic finish tonight. With Elijah and Isaac having already finished their seasons with less than perfect records, it was up to Zion and Aaron to bring home the gold. Their team, the Pirates, had an undefeated season heading into the post season tournament. The team made it to the championship without losing a single game. So tonight was THE GAME. The winner would walk away with a championship and a years worth of bragging rights. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. The Pirate's lost 19-18.

I am very competitive in everything I do. I hate to lose at anything. Normally, I would tell you that being second means your are the first loser. But tonight, my boys were champions!

This was Aaron's first year of t-ball. He was the only three year old in the league. He learned to stand in the out field without playing in the dirt. He learned that his hat was for keeping the sun out of his eyes not for throwing in the air. He learned to hit the ball, throw the ball, and which way to go around the bases. Maybe, next year he will hit past pitcher, throw the ball further than two feet, and actually run to the bases instead of walking. He came along way and I am proud of my Champion.

This was Zion's second year so it was fitting for him to play second base. He did a great job and was true joy to watch. Zion plays ball like he does everything else in life. He is confident, joyful, excited and full of awe and wonder. This year he learned to slide into base and took full advantage of every opportunity to do so. Although he left his "happy dance" of last season behind, I loved every minute of watching my Champion play ball.

It is sad for me to say goodbye to this baseball season. But like all seasons it must come to and end. Seeing my babies grow and learn blesses my soul. They worked so hard, learned so much, had loads of fun, and learned to love the game. In my book that is the heart of a champion.