Shortly after Cory and I began dating I moved to Jasper, Alberta for a job opportunity. Just as anyone who has been involved in a long distance relationship can tell you, it was difficult. We decided to take on a project that would keep us connected in a fun and new way. Then came the idea of creating a children's book together!

It has always been a dream of mine to create a book, and the fusion of our skills, writing and photography, fit this projects needs perfectly.

But the project has become more than that. It became a desire to share with others our passion for outdoor adventure. Cory and I love to get outside and go canoeing, hiking, biking - you name it - and we've seen some pretty spectacular places along the way. We want others, especially young kids and families, to be inspired by this story and our adventures and ultimately explore these places for themselves.

Our unique children's book pairs Cory's landscape and adventure photography with our written story of a young boy named Olen. Olen, along with other elements throughout the book, is illustrated by the very talented Tara Put of Calgary, Alberta.

The story sees Olen head out on an adventure to the Canadian Rockies where he tries out a bunch of new activities such as canoeing, hiking, fishing, and camping.

The funds we are looking to raise will cover the cost of printing the finished book, the cost of hiring our amazing illustrator, the cost of creating additional rewards - such as creating prints and stickers, shipping costs, business cards for promotional purposes during the campaign, and Kickstarter fees.

We know that it takes a lot of hard work to get a project like this up and running and we would be truly disappointed if we didn't feel we were putting 100% of our efforts behind this campaign.

We've created a well thought out social media strategy that we intend to follow and build off of. Other efforts of ours include hosting a launch party at a local restaurant in order to bring attention and awareness to our project. We will also be collaborating with a local coffee shop at the halfway point in the campaign to sell Olen cookies, again in hopes of bringing more awareness to our campaign.

We have also created social media accounts for people to follow in order to stay up to date with the campaign and engage with us during our Kickstarter experience! Be sure to check them out:

Facebook: Olen's Adventures & Instagram: @olensadventures