Hello there Reader,

Okay, I’m just going to straight-up show off.

One of the reasons I started Infinite Halls is that I have awesome friends. Truly. They rock so hard that it sometimes feels unfair that I get to have them in my life—and many of them I met through my kids. I know that you have too!

They are thoughtful, interesting, and quietly intentional as parents. They’re not posting about parenting. They’re not trying to be examples. But the way they live and raise their families has shaped me, and I want the world to meet them: Tomoko and Jarl

They have supported Infinite Screentime from the very beginning. They are part of my squad—the kind of friends you can go to and say, “This is friggin’ hard,” and they will sit down and help you figure it out.

We’ve shared stories about the ridiculous and ingenious things our kids have done to get around our screen-time limits. We once drilled all the way down into which study apps work best for academically ambitious kids. Maybe that’s another episode?

Tomoko, in particular, is extremely practical—sometimes so practical that it’s a little annoying. I say that with love... She will cut straight through your hand-wringing and get to the actual problem.

But like every family, Tomoko and Jarl’s family has a fingerprint that is uniquely their own. And I wanted to tell you about something they have been doing together for almost a decade:

Geocaching.

I had never heard of it before they mentioned it, almost casually.

“It’s like the world’s biggest treasure hunt,” Jarl explained.

There’s an app. It gives you coordinates and clues that lead you to an object hidden by someone else. Sometimes it’s tiny. Sometimes it’s elaborate. You find it, sign your name, put it back—and keep going.

Somehow, that simple loop became something much bigger for their family.

They started geocaching when their son was seven. It feels a little crazy to think about now because their children are in high school. Like so many of us, they were simply trying to figure out how to get their kids outside.

But what they did—and this is the part I can’t stop thinking about—is that they didn’t fight the screen.

They followed it.

The app became the reason to leave the house. It turned a walk into a mission and a hike into a puzzle.

And once they started, they kept going.

More than a thousand geocaches. Across cities, countries, and years.

This wasn’t a one-off family activity. It became part of how they experience the world together.

I thought this would be a story about “less screen time.”

It wasn’t.

The screen was always part of the experience. They used it to navigate, read hints, and solve problems. But it was never the endpoint.

It was a doorway.

At one point, Jarl said:

That is exactly what it feels like they have given their children—not just an activity, but a way of seeing.

A reason to look a little closer.
To stay curious a little longer.
To move through familiar places as though something might be hidden there.

Listen to Tomoko and Jarl’s story here:

S1 | EP6: Background Noise,... Aug 12 · Infinite Halls: Real Sto... 21:37   ​

There is something quietly powerful about geocaching. It doesn’t announce itself as meaningful. On the surface, it’s just an app, a set of coordinates, and a hidden box. But underneath, it is nurturing something deeper: Attention. Persistence. Problem-solving. Shared experience. And maybe most importantly, it is showing children that the world is worth exploring. Listen NOW!

Tomoko and Jarl also helped me put together a quick-start guide for families who want to try geocaching themselves.

Maybe this is the universe giving you a little nudge to use technology more intentionally—and get your family outdoors. The weather is getting nicer, and I can almost guarantee there’s a geocache hiding somewhere near you.

​Download the free Family Guide to Geocaching​

And please share it with a friend who might want to join the treasure hunt!

Peace, Love, and Hairgrease,
Arcadia